Another One in the Books...

It's now the last day in August, and that can mean only one thing (well, actually, it means a bunch of things, but for the sake of dramatic effect, let's just leave it at one, okay?):

It's time again for the annual End of the Month Slush Dump. (fixed-ish)

Yes. It's that time where I unload the massive collection of bookmarked links of things I meant to get around to writing about, yet never quite did. It's like that jug of Clamato you have in the back of your fridge that terrifies you, but you just had to buy it because someone told you that it's great in Bloody Marys. The same holds true for that jar of mint jelly, but really, when was the last time you had lamb? Ten, fifteen years ago?

So, do yourself a favor and dump that silliness before it kills you. Just remember to be strong. But, do wait until after you've perused the following collection of random and pointless links. You may thank me.

First up is a story about Wal-Mart de Mexico --that nation's largest private-sector employer-- and how they've managed to be turning in booming profits. Is Wal-Mart just ridiculously damn popular south of the border, or could it be the fact that they do not pay the teenage employees who work as baggers?

I'll let you decide.

Next, here's a little story about more stupidity at the hands of Comcast. Apparently, they put a cable on the ground through the yard of a woman who doesn't have cable, and when, after six months, she asked that they bury it, Comcast was unable to locate the line.

Me? I'd have gotten a nice set of scissors and taken care of the thing myself, but that's me. I'm a real do-it-yourself-er.

Now, the red states are still littered with imitation patriots, and some of them may believe that a simple magnet slapped upon the hide of their favorite pickup truck is not nearly symbolic enough of a display of their nationalism pride in "e'merka." So, Oklahoma brings you the "Global War on Terrorism" license plate. Now you folks in Oklahoma can be even MORE patriotic than anyone else because you've got license plates to prove just how patriotic you really are. Currently, I am unable to decide if it's patriotic, or just plain idiotic. I think I'll settle on the latter. And, when people in Oklahoma start driving around with copies of the U.S. Constitution on or in their cars, then I'll consider them patriots. Stickers, magnets, license plates are just never going to impress me.


Next, this is a great example of how a tragedy can really bring out the loonies:

Apparently, according to one raving nut, the I35 bridge collapse in Minnesota was an inside job by the United States' government in an attempt to silence the growing Muslim population in the Minneapolis metropolitan area. And, it's been confirmed by the Russians.

Personally, after reading this woman's raving madness, I'm more inclined to believe it actually was pigeon crap that brought down the bridge.

Now, here we have something interesting. It is a collection of the 52 Most Influential Photographs. It spans everything from the earliest surviving photograph (taken in 1827) to the disgusting goatse and Abu Ghraib photos. Some are fascinating and some are disturbing, so proceed at your own risk.

Here's a little story about a disruptive editor doing his best to make the most of his last days at work. Who said editors didn't have a sense of humor?

If you are living in Palestine, and you are a good swimmer, Hamas has got a job for you in their navy --No, they don't have a single boat. But they definitely need people who can swim.

The Muslim world has declared a fatwa against Harry Potter. See, Christians? You guys really aren't all that different from one another. I think it's time for a group hug. Share the love through your universal fear and hatred of a fictional boy wizard.

Next up, we've got tattoos. Lot's of odd tattoos. First, there are the science tattoos. And, not to be outdone by the broad swipe of science, the fans of human anatomy also have tattoos devoted to displaying their passion. Personally, I don't think I could ever get a tattoo. I'm just not that into that sort of commitment. However, I have seen some pretty slick ones, and the ones in these two photo sets are indeed super cool.

Now, if you're anything like me, you love the Waffle House. Don't ask me why, but whenever I head South (which, from Wisconsin is pretty much everywhere), I do make a point to hit at least one. So, imagine my giddy glee when I learned that the original Waffle House has been restored to its 1955 glory!

If that doesn't inspire you to run out and order up a plate of scattered, smothered, covered, cursed, resuscitated, and violated hash browns, I don't know how to help you.

Next, have you ever been out hunting or fishing only to have that animal in your sights bolt and run because of your Bible? Well, fear not, Christian hunters and huntresses, the Christian Outdoorsman has the answer for you. To quote:

"We carry the most popular camouflage Bibles on the market today. Ever been on a tree stand, or a mountain top or stream and wished you had you Bible along for meditation? Makes a perfect gift for the Christian Outdoorsman."

Yes. The... most... popular. But, what if I want a blaze orange Bible so as not to get shot when I am clutching the good word close to my heart?

And what have we here? Why, it's foodie-writer Michael Ruhlman and his rabid outrage at the ubiquity of the dreaded Chicken Caesar Salad. Seriously, it's everywhere, and it is indeed the "emblem of American mediocrity."

Ruhlman's answer to this nonsense was to create something so profane and heart-stoppingly perverse that it would inevitably destroy anyone's expectations of what exactly a Caesar Salad is. So, I give you, Michael Ruhlman's: THE Chicken Fried Pork Belly Caesar. And, though you may not find it on a menu at Applebee's or The Cheesecake Factory, apparently, chef Chris Cosentino has put it on the menu of his San Francisco restaurant Incanto.

So, obviously, if you are in or around the San Francisco area, make a point to stop by and try this odd little protest from the mind of a very disturbed individual. My guess is, it's probably amazingly delicious, and I know in my heart that my cardiologist is silently weeping as I read the recipe. I can almost hear the cries of his poor, shattered spirit now.

Okay, now this next one is a little odd, and it might be kind of difficult to explain. But, as you know, approximately 70% of earth is covered with water, and subsequently, 30% is land (duh). However, what would the earth look like if that situation was reversed? Here's a map.

Did you ever wonder why the Palestinians are so pissed off? Well, it may have something to do with this.

Here's a little blurb on the small, strange, but, as a psoriasis sufferer myself, highly useful Doctor Fish. If it wasn't for the Remicade I'm currently getting loaded into my system, I'm thinking I'd have a pool filled with these hungry little guys.

Then again, there is a certain horror-movie aspect to it all, isn't there?

Comic books? Well... Here's one from 1960 that was put out by the good bigots people behind George Wallace's unfortunately successful gubernatorial campaign. There's an awful lot of love and smarts in that one, I tell ya.

Speaking of salt mines, here's a link to the Wieliczka Salt Mine in Poland where, when they weren't busting their humps, the workers took to carving some amazing and awesome things.

Hey! Would you buy a $100,000 watch? How about a $3,750 to $18,000 pen?

No?

Well, I've got to wrap this up, so, finally, here's one of those eCard sites. However, unlike most eCards, the messages in these cards actually fit in those awkward spaces where you really can't find the perfect card to send. Funny!

Enjoy the linkage, folks.

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Posted By Dan to The Wisdom of a Distracted Mind at 8/31/2007 08:56:00 AM

I Love You, Knoxville.

I read this, and I was literally weeping with laughter.

Alex Linder the founder of VNN and the lead organizer of the rally kicked off events by rushing the clowns in a fit of rage, and was promptly arrested by 4 Knoxville police officers who dropped him to the ground when he resisted and dragged him off past the red shiny shoes of the clowns. http://www.volunteertv.com/home/headlines/7704982.html
“White Power!” the Nazi’s shouted, “White Flour?” the clowns yelled back running in circles throwing flour in the air and raising separate letters which spelt “White Flour”.

“White Power!” the Nazi’s angrily shouted once more, “White flowers?” the clowns cheers and threw white flowers in the air and danced about merrily.
Link to full story

Brilliant!

I think someone has finally come up with a way to appropriately counter all those obnoxious, whimpering, lackwitted bigots who, though entitled to their right to free speech, are also entitled to be mocked and mocked well by a bunch of clowns.

It's the feel-good story of the summer, I think. Thank you, Knoxville.

-DP

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Posted By Dan to The Wisdom of a Distracted Mind at 8/30/2007 12:09:00 PM

It's All Sorts of Broke'd Up...

Hiya, kind reader people.

You may have noticed that things here have considerably slowed over this last week. There are two reasons for this:

First, as usual, these hands and fingers of mine are screaming painful, and typing has, once again, become something of a huge chore. On the plus side, I get my lovely infusion of Remicade next week (more pudding! Yes!), and that usually helps a smidge.

Now, on the plus, PLUS side, I get the spend the next week just absolutely hammered on pain killers. For example, this morning, I woke up in a world of head-to-toe hurt, and today's breakfast was a simple one. It included a pot of coffee, two cherry-flavored Twizzlers, an ice-cream sandwich and a couple of Vicodin. An omlette would have been nifty, and though apparently I'm a chef (I say "merde" a lot, and I read somewhere that the definition of a chef is a cook who swears in French), with only two reasonably good fingers, I moved on to easier, less-healthy, alternatives. But, if you've never had an ice-cream sandwich for breakfast, I suggest you give it a try. It plays wonderfully well with coffee.

The other reason I've been slowed down is that I finally believe that the ex-girlfriend/girlfriend and I have reached the end of our tumultuous seven-and-a-half year relationship.

I'm not terribly broken up about it. But, there is a nagging, little pang of regret that seeps in now and then to gnaw on my good mood with its dull, little molars. I mean, you waste that much time trying to love the unlovable, and there's going to be some feelings of annoyance. It's like lutefisk. People claim to love it, but try eating it every damn day for seven and a half years. Trust me, the faces you will make will run the gamut from happiness to mock-happiness to disgust and, finally, absolute horror to the point where if you see a plate of the stuff, you'll start screaming and running around until you find a window to jump through as you beg for death's sweet embrace.

The fact is, I just got kind of tired with all the on-off silliness. So, for the first time ever, I tossed all that unconditional nonsense out the window and started issuing ultimatums willy-nilly. I'm getting old, after all, and I think I could go for something at least alittle stable. There's a whole heap of security in that, I think, and security is a pretty handy thing in my world.

So, there's a bit of a dark cloud hanging over me. But, it's only a week, so it's not too bad.

-DP

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Posted By Dan to The Wisdom of a Distracted Mind at 8/30/2007 10:21:00 AM

Transparent Screens?

Not exactly.

Here's a link to a Flickr set of what seems to be non-existent computer displays (but, look closely? See the icons there? Weird, huh?).

It hurts the head a little. But, in a good way. Seriously. It's good.

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Posted By Dan to The Wisdom of a Distracted Mind at 8/29/2007 10:54:00 AM

[The Wisdom of a Distracted Mind] He's Certainly Got Balls.

I just read that Bush is going to be in New Orleans today to mark the two-year anniversary of hurricane Katrina.

That should go well.

I am just somewhat curious as to how his handlers can keep him inside his little, opaque bubble of blissful ignorance, and I imagine that the protesters will seriously outnumber the handful of supporters they can drum up. My guess is that they're probably busing in a bunch of folks from Texas to vet the crowd with whatever loyal Bushies remain.

Will we see a contrite and humble Bush standing bravely in the epicenter of what has become a beaming hallmark of his administration's failure and hypocrisy? Or, will we see yet another display of preachy, prattling, fear-mongering gibberish from a man who has become so obsessed with warfare that he pays little to no attention to cries of his own constituents?

Now, I know it's impossible to make bad gumbo in New Orleans (I believe there's a state law against that, actually), but I'm willing to turn a blind eye if someone was willing to serve Dubya a gumbo made from quality ingredients found floating among the rotting death and backed up sewers of the Lower Ninth Ward. Think of it as a public service. After all, how much more damage could this incompetent simp do if he's spending the twilight of his presidency on the thunder box battling a brutal case of explosive diarrhea?

Ah well... That's just a random thought before my morning coffee. It really is the little things that make me smile, ya know.

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Posted By Dan to The Wisdom of a Distracted Mind at 8/29/2007 07:56:00 AM

[The Wisdom of a Distracted Mind] Awwwww.....

I'll admit it. This gave me a little sniffle:

Orphaned hedgehogs adopt cleaning brush as their mother
Last updated at 14:22pm on 27th August 2007

Four tiny orpahned hedgehogs are snuggling up to the bristles of a cleaning brush - because they think it's their mother.

The four inch long creatures are being hand-reared by staff at the New Forest Otter, Owl and Wildlife Park in Ashurst, Hants.

Workers say Mary, Mungo, Midge and Slappy get comfort from playing with the centre's cleaning brush and enjoy rubbing against it. Link to Full Story

Hedgehogs have always been my favorite little critter, and I wish we had them here in Wisconsin. I had three or four of the little guys when I was in Germany that would run up to the back door every now and then. Eventually, the hedgehogs and I became pretty good friends, and they'd even let me pick them up, but usually they just sort of hovered around my ankles.

It's a nice, cute, bittersweet tale which I hope you enjoy.

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Posted By Dan to The Wisdom of a Distracted Mind at 8/27/2007 07:23:00 PM

[The Wisdom of a Distracted Mind] See ya, Fredo!

Wow. Alberto Gonzalez resigned?

And I thought today was going to be a bad day. Talk about a great way to start the week. Of course, I still hope they hang the bastard in court for his lies.

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Posted By Dan to The Wisdom of a Distracted Mind at 8/27/2007 07:17:00 AM

[The Wisdom of a Distracted Mind] Must Reads!

Hey! I found a list on the internets of the Top Ten Must Reads in Literature.

Yeah. I know. A list on the internet! What'll they think of next?

Anyway, I don't know if I agree entirely with the list. However, I do agree that all of the books on that list are definitely in the must read category (Joyce was a surprise since I can't think of the last last time I saw James Joyce on any list that wasn't a syllabus).

Now, my personal list off the top of my pointy little head is as follows:

1. Harvey & Eck -Erin O'Brien (It's at the top of my must read list because I've not read it, and I really, really must.)
   
2. The Odyssey -Homer
   
3. On the Road -Kerouak
   
4. The Lord of the Rings -Tolkien
   
5. Farenheit 451 -Bradbury (It's really a toss up with Dandelion Wine)
   
6. The Metamorphosis -Kafka
   
7. The Sound and the Fury -Falkner
   
8. One Hundred Years of Solitude -Gabriel Garcia Marquez
   
9. Walden: Or a Life in the Woods -Thoreau
   
10. Moby Dick -Melville

That's just a quick and dirty list from me. I'm willing to bet that list will change in about an hour. And, that's the way these "must read" lists work. I think all books have a must read quality to them in one form or another, and at the time of putting this one together --with the exclusion of O'Brien's novel-- these are just a few books I've read that have in one way or another furthered my own understanding of both myself and the world around me.

Furthermore, I don't think anyone will ever come up with a tangible, solid, and widely accepted definition as to what "literature" is. To me, it's always been used as nothing more than a way to elevate a novel to the point where it can be discussed with a certain air of pretension and a sense of accomplishment. And, that's something that's always annoyed me. After all, all books should just be read. And their affect upon a person should be solely individual, and it shouldn't be swayed by popular opinion.

In other words, read whatever you damn well please, people!

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Posted By Dan to The Wisdom of a Distracted Mind at 8/25/2007 10:25:00 AM

[The Wisdom of a Distracted Mind] Saturday Normalcy.

Now, I know there was something I really wanted to write about today, but for the life of me, I can't even imagine what it is. Hopefully, you're all considerably less befuddled than I am this morning. Don't worry, though, I've got a bucket of coffee, and eventually, it will work its way into my system to jar my still-sleeping noggin into a somewhat more awake state.

Anyway, yesterday, I spent most of the day with a mop in my hand trying in vain to keep Mother Nature's mess out of my basement. Wisconsin's flooded, don't cha know, der hey! We've had nothing but rain all week, and though the house is on a hill, I still get a considerable amount of water in the basement. So, I turned on the news and swabbed the decks and watched the footage of the helicopters buzzing around an area considerably worse off than here.

The news showed one house that had burned down in the middle of the flood. It just seemed to sort of sit there burning wildly in the center of a lake, and it looked something like a bizarre modern day viking funeral. And, roughly, a hundred yards away, a mob of firemen stood shrugging as if to say "What the...?"

I think floods are the worst. They can destroy everything without destroying anything. The house will stand, but the lives inside and all the kitsch and whatever memories we like to fill our worlds with so as to feel comfortable and safe will be gone. And, ironically, in the footage I saw, some places were flooded to the point where only the rooftops were visible, and realized that the only memories that will survive in that house will be whatever crap they stuffed into the attic, and if they're like me, they crammed it up there in order to forget about those transient little things that are too precious to throw away, but too much of an eyesore or an annoyance to keep around in plain sight.

Fires, on the other hand, are personal. They don't usually destroy an entire community. A house burns down, and you can discover the kindness of your neighbors. And, there's a lot of comfort in that. However, when an entire neighborhood is flooded, you quickly learn your entire neighborhood is just as screwed as you, and finding that much-needed sympathy is almost impossible.

I suppose that's the weird thing about floods. They can rip a world apart, but also pull a community together, I guess.

In other news, it's been a dreadful week on this end. I am notentirely thrilled with this book I've been writing. And, it's not that I'm a perfectionist, per se. I just have certain expectations, and it's almost as though what seemed like a good idea at the time has turned into something somewhat flat and generic. So, I've spent heaps of time rattling around inside my head trying to breathe life into a story that seems to need a little more. Eventually, I'm sure I'll figure it out, and what tends to work for me is to just walk away and let my ideas stew like an old chicken.

Aside from that, it's pretty much been the usual nonsense. The ex-girlfriend/girlfriend has been up to her usual puzzling antics, and I'm thinking she's once again returned to the "just friends" stage without really letting me know. At this point in our long, difficult and exceptionally weird relationship, I tend to approach her in much the same way a behavioral psychologist approaches a shotgun-wielding lab-monkey. In other words: One false move, and there's a pretty good chance I could wind up with a gaping hole in my chest.

On the other hand, it's definitely not a boring relationship. Perhaps I'll whine more about that later. Right now, it's just sort of one of those "eh" things.

Fortunately, the weather here today is supposed to be like San Diego in winter. In other words, it's going to be sunny and seventy degrees. That's kind of odd for August in Wisconsin since the usual temperature is somewhere around a billion, and the humidity is like some sort of South American equatorial rain forest. But, today? It's normal. It's not normal for Wisconsin, but it's normal weather for normal people in those normal parts of the world, and I will probably spend a lot of time outside today being normal. I may even drink a normal beer or two this afternoon beneath a normal sun.

Of course, before I start drinking beer and living my normal life, I really need to get some coffee into my system. Chemical dependency is a bitch!

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Posted By Dan to The Wisdom of a Distracted Mind at 8/25/2007 08:12:00 AM

[The Wisdom of a Distracted Mind] Calm Down...

So, the folks in Malaysia are hoppin' mad at the illustration of Jesus seen here.

I think Christians are desperately trying to catch up the Muslims on the insignificant outrage front. I mean, come on. It's a freakin' picture. There's no need to shut down a newspaper for a whole month while its employees are forced to starve. Personally, from what I gather from the Bible, I don't think that's what Jesus would do. I think the J-Man would see something like this and say, "You know? I'm really more a wine guy than a Bud drinker. I look like I'm going to a NASCAR race here, instead of my one true love that is the Kenny-G concert experience. I likes me some sax."

Anyway, my favorite quote from the furious Malaysian Christian group is this:

So when Tamil-language newspaper, Makkal Osai, published a picture on its front page apparently showing Jesus smoking and drinking it was bound to cause offence.

Christian groups said that although the Jesus of the Bible was a compassionate figure - who turned water into wine, shared a flagon with his disciples at the Last Supper and mixed with tax collectors and prostitutes - action should still be taken.

So, it's okay to print a biblically acceptable and accurate portrait of Jesus sharing a bottle of Thunderbird with a bunch of whores and IRS agents, but god forbid Jesus smokes and drinks Budweiser. Oh, the outrage!

I guess now we'll have to give the Christians a soft pat on the head as we tell them "there, there... We're sorry you're always getting picked on and persecuted. We'll throw those evil, mean newspaper people out on the street so they have no money. Will that make you feel better?"

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Posted By Dan to The Wisdom of a Distracted Mind at 8/24/2007 12:56:00 PM

[The Wisdom of a Distracted Mind] Bumper Stickers...

I decided to goof around with Scalzi's Weekend Assignment this week.

Now, I don't have any bumper stickers on my car, and I tend to agree with John in that bumper stickers muck up a car's feng shui. Plus, I seem to need all the help I can when I am driving. However, if I was going to have a sticker on my car, it would probably be something along the lines of the sticker above.

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Posted By Dan to The Wisdom of a Distracted Mind at 8/23/2007 12:05:00 PM

[The Wisdom of a Distracted Mind] The Apple.

Here's the latest picture of the slowly rotting, but still mysteriously floating apple.

I meant to snap a picture yesterday, but between the roofers and all the rain we've been having, I decided not to. I know. Wisconsin has the worst drought in 100 years, but I go camping, and it rains. And, the week I decide to have a roof put on, the state's been dealing with rain and flooding. I can't win. I don't even try anymore.

Anyway, it's looking kind of ratty now, huh?

The one thing not looking ratty would have to be the six roofers banging around on top of the house. Every woman in the neighborhood has been walking past my house over the last two days, and I have a feeling the typical conversation in my neighbor's houses tonight will probably run along the lines of "Honey? I think we need a new roof."

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Posted By Dan to The Wisdom of a Distracted Mind at 8/22/2007 02:29:00 PM

[The Wisdom of a Distracted Mind] Bad Hand!

The hand's gone bad... Bad, I say!

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Posted By Dan to The Wisdom of a Distracted Mind at 8/20/2007 02:18:00 PM

Frankenpalm Goes a Pimp Slappin'

I think I will have fun with this all day... Poor Paul. He wounded his Cannuck paw when he was playing with razor blades with no adult supervision.

He really does take a lot of looking after, I think...

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Posted By Dan to The Wisdom of a Distracted Mind at 8/20/2007 11:52:00 AM

[The Wisdom of a Distracted Mind] Bad Form Turkey!

I used to like Turkey. I've had fun in Istanbul, and it's a remarkable country that was, at the time I was there fifteen years ago, remarkably progressive. Unfortunately, much of that progress has gone out the window and Turkey is now becoming a full-blown theocratic regime where the free exchange of ideas is seemingly prohibited.

PZ Myers points out this morning that Adnan Oktar (aka Harun Yahya) whacko Islamic creationist (yeah. They have those retards polluting the Islamic faith as well) took a whimpering and bleating argument to a Turkish court to have more than a million Wordpress blogs critical of his creationist tome silenced and blocked. And, he won.

So, in other words, Turkey uses outright censorship to silence its critics. And, they side with a single maniacal zealot rather than its own people. And, where there once existed a progressive nation headed for inclusion in the European Union, there is now a fascist, theocratic state that as far as I'm concerned deserves nothing but scorn and ridicule.

To make matters worse, Oktar took his chest-thumping madness and gloated to Wordpress users about this victory. And, the blogs you see listed below are also on the to-be-censored list. I think it would be a nice message to send to the idiots that be in Turkey if people copy and paste the URLs into a blog entry as a show of support to the bloggers there who have essentially been silenced as a result of one silly madman's inability to handle criticism.

http://adnanoktar.wordpress.com
http://adnanoktarveislam.wordpress.com/
http://fitikado.wordpress.com
http://oktarbabuna.wordpress.com
http://adnancilar.wordpress.com/
http://adnanoktarveislam.wordpress.com/
http://whoisharunyahya.wordpress.com/
http://adnanoktargercekleri.wordpress.com/
http://quiestharunyahya.wordpress.com/
http://harunyahyaarabic.wordpress.com/
http://safsataciharunyahya.wordpress.com/
http://savsatalaracevap.wordpress.com/

I think PZ Myers put it best:

It sure would be a shame if someone echoed all those urls, and these anti-creationist blogs got more publicity and attention because of a stunt by Adnan Oktar, now wouldn't it?

It is easy to treat this as a joke and an amazing act of pig-headed stupidity by a creationist, but we shouldn't forget the scary part: a government with a pious judiciary was rather easily inclined to endorse mass, indiscriminate censorship on the whim of an evil clown.

P.S. Here's a way to get around the block — you can still read and post to Wordpress blogs in Turkey if you use OpenDNS. Spread the word.

-DP

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Posted By Dan to The Wisdom of a Distracted Mind at 8/20/2007 09:55:00 AM

[The Wisdom of a Distracted Mind] Sunday morning spaceships and cowbell.

I think some of you might like this. I saw this little animation on TV last night as I was bopping through the channels, and I thought it was pretty neat and weird. Plus, it's got plenty of sweet, delicious, square-headed alien cowbell.

It's probably best not to ask too many questions.

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Posted By Dan to The Wisdom of a Distracted Mind at 8/19/2007 07:38:00 AM

The Dude Abides...

Here's some Friday music for you that I nicked from a stringbender I learned about on Jeff Bridges' website.

It's pretty cool, and I can't believe I'd never heard of this Andy McKee fellow before. I'm kind of fascinated by his playing. And, you know, he's playing freakin' Toto! So, that's worth a few instant awesome points right there. Granted, it's not the greatest of versions of this tune I've heard (I once caught a reggae band playing it, and that was far more awesome than any human could endure. Indeed, my only hope for survival was to drink a great many fruity umbrella drinks to knock my consciousness just far enough outside of reality to handle it).

Anyway, if you check out some of Mr. McKee's other videos, I'm pretty sure he'll blow your mind somehow.

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Posted By Dan to The Wisdom of a Distracted Mind at 8/17/2007 05:41:00 PM

Pumpkin's Meme.

Dawn's daughter "Pumpkin" put together a nice, little meme for us to do, and though I am trying to do as few of these meme-things as humanly possible, this one just has to be done.

So, without further ado, here are my answers Pumpkin. I hope you enjoy.

• What's your favorite movie???
  

You know, this is not exactly an easy question to answer. There are a whole heap of great movies out there that I have loved, and it really does change depending on little things like the kind of day I'm having, my mood, and possibly even the flapping of a butterfly's wings in China.

However, for the sake of an answer, I'll say it's a toss up between Finding Forrester, The Tao of Steve, Shaun of the Dead, and any of the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

• What's your favorite color???

I don't have one. But, I do own a lot of blue things and a lot of red things. Normally, I just tell people my favorite color is anything transparent.

• What's your favorite ice cream flavor???

It's definitely butter pecan. I know. You're thinking how old is this guy? 90? But, I will probably never turn away a bowl of butter pecan ice cream.

• Where do you want to go on vacation???

Mars. It's outside my cell-phone coverage area, and I think I would enjoy the quiet.

• What's your favorite animal???

The sloth (three-toed or two-toed doesn't matter to me). Some people like hyper puppies, but I would rather have a pet that moves about as fast as I do. I can't imagine a lot of stress with a sloth.

• What's your favorite T.V. show???

Right now, my favoriteshow is Doctor Who. And, when that season is finished, my next favorite will be House (my buddies and I have actually turned it into a drinking game. First, we all throw five bucks into a bowl and pick a disease during the first commercial break, and whoever picks it right wins. If no one gets it, the money rolls over to the next week. I won about $200 on hemochromatosis. The drinking part comes in whenever anyone says Lupus).

• What's your fav. drink???

Ice-cold Coke or an ice-cold beer (whichever is closest).

• What's your favorite flower???

Whatever keeps the girlfriend from yelling at me when I inevitably screw up (I buy a lot of flowers). However, my personal favorite would have to be lilacs.

• What's your favorite pet???

Sea monkeys.

Seriously, I am more of a cat-person than a dog-person, but I like all pets.

• What's your favorite book???

Lately, it's been the phone-book. I've been living on delivered pizza and Chinese food for the last several days since I just don't feel like cooking.

On the other hand, for just reading for enjoyment, I'll say The Hitchhikers' Guide the Galaxy by Douglas Adams is my favorite book. But, like movies, those things always change for any number of reasons.

Well, there you have it Pumpkin. Hope you enjoy, and I look forward to your next wonderful meme. Do me a favor and keep an eye on that mom of yours. Parents always need a lot of looking after, you know, and they can be such a handful.

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Posted By Dan to The Wisdom of a Distracted Mind at 8/17/2007 03:13:00 PM

I'm Not Eating It.

Yep. The magic apple is still dangling from the leaf. However, as you can see, it looks as though something is about to give. It's really looking nasty now, huh?

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Posted By Dan to The Wisdom of a Distracted Mind at 8/16/2007 04:41:00 PM

Here...

Hi there. My brain is exceptionally mushy this morning due to lack of sleep. So, in lieu of coming up with an idea and tossing it out here, I'm going to just give you this link:

Idea Generator

It's a little strange, but really; what on the internet these days isn't? The first "idea" that little gizmo spat out for me was "battery operated torture apparatus." And, unfortunately, though I can think of a great many of those, I really don't have the mental acumen at this point of the day to go into any great detail.

Anyway, give it a whirl and see when it takes you.

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Posted By Dan to The Wisdom of a Distracted Mind at 8/16/2007 10:09:00 AM

This Pretty Much Explains it

And, in the case of my ever-evolving, ultra-rocky relationship with the Girlfriend/Ex-Girlfriend, I think she's got a button you push to make flaming razor blades shoot out.

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Posted By Dan to The Wisdom of a Distracted Mind at 8/15/2007 02:26:00 PM

Tilt your head...

Yowza! It's been quite the long stretch of time since I last engaged in one of John Scalzi's Monday Photo Shoots. I'm not sure why I've not done one, really. I suppose I can always tumble back upon the age-old excuse that there simply wasn't enough time. After all, in my defense, I'm a slow-moving land mammal, and I'm pretty sure a glacier could overtake me. But, really, I don't have a clue at the moment.

Anyway, for this week's assignment, Scalzi wanted pictures of things at an angle, and since I live in a ridiculously crooked world, I figured it wouldn't be too tough to walk around and find something angular to photo.

In this one, we've got a dead leaf from my apple tree trapped in the sticky, kite-string angle of a single spider web. Trust me on this: my apple tree is a very weird place.

Here's my muddy mountain bike in black and white. That thing is one massive collection of all sorts of odd and awkward angles. Just looking at it is exercise. The thing I find most fascinating are the welds. Yeah. I know. I'm weird. But, considering those welds are perfect, and the bike itself is aluminum, whoever did that job knew what they were doing (oh. And don't mind the elephant. They're good luck, don't ya know).

This one's not exactly in my immediate world per se. I took this some years back when I was up around Mount St. Helens. As you can see, when she erupted, St. Helens pretty much turned a nice Cascade Mountain forest into huge a telephone-pole farm. And this picture was snapped more than twenty years after the eruption. So, the next time any of you see a volcano going off, either toss in a virgin to calm it down (apparently that works), or, better yet, run like bloody hell.

As you can see, I'm still a long ways away from the mountain, and even though everything in this area was blown all over the place, this one tree did its best to hang on and even managed to keep a few branches. In fact, it's pretty much the only straight thing in the picture.

Well, there you have some angles to tilt your head at.

Enjoy.

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Posted By Dan to The Wisdom of a Distracted Mind at 8/15/2007 12:21:00 PM

[The Wisdom of a Distracted Mind] Busy busy busy...

Hi folks. I'm going to be off today. There's just a mountain of madness I need to climb.

So, please feel free to use the comment section to talk amongst yourselves or ask me whatever questions you may have on your mind. I'll answer them tomorrow when I get back.

If you would like something to talk about, well... Share your thoughts on cheese.

-DP

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Posted By Dan to The Wisdom of a Distracted Mind at 8/14/2007 03:25:00 PM

[The Wisdom of a Distracted Mind] Update!

Now, because I know Emily is probably losing vast amounts of much-needed sleep as she tosses, turns, and breaks out in a cold sweat with wonder over whether or not Newton was wrong, I think it's important to update the status of the very bad, gravity-violating apple.

I took a picture today, and as you can see, the apple is still aloft. It's a little more wrinkled, but it still shows no signs of succumbing to the Laws of Gravity.

So, I hope this helps you rest a little easier Emily.

--
Posted By Dan to The Wisdom of a Distracted Mind at 8/13/2007 06:40:00 PM

[The Wisdom of a Distracted Mind] Never Trust the Slow Moving Tourists...

Here's a funny spin on a Bush press conference. The zombie menace is a dangerous --albeit slow-moving-- one.

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Posted By Dan to The Wisdom of a Distracted Mind at 8/13/2007 10:52:00 AM

Bye Bye Little "Turd Blossom."

Inasmuch as I'd like to see members of the Bush Neocon Cabal dragged out in chains and leg-irons for their shadowy and underhanded destruction of the Constitution and America as a whole, I think the fact that Karl Rove is willingly stepping down is still enough to give me a certain warm, fuzzy feeling as it's nice to watch Bush's sphere of chums steadily shrink.

It's somewhat delightful to see the rats jump from the sinking ship that is the Bush Administration, and when it comes to rats, Bush's buddy Karl "Turd Blossom" Rove is a pretty big one.

Of course, I do wonder just what effect, if any, this will have on poor, lonely Dubya? His administration is coming unglued, and in the face of the swirling tempest of an increasing number of controversies, those who can jump are doing so. And, without the protection of a loyal Bush White House, what will happen to Dubya's little buddy in the face of the ever growing number of congressional subpoenas?

Nonetheless, Karl rove is a sleazy son of a bitch, and the damage he's done just in terms of campaign tactics alone has turned America into a stinging embarrassment of a democracy. In 2001, Rove helped get Bush appointed to the position of president. From then on out, it was a never-ending onslaught of fear and lies and the outright terrorizing of American citizens to help keep Dubya in power.

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Posted By Dan to The Wisdom of a Distracted Mind at 8/13/2007 08:13:00 AM

Ooo... Ahh...

Yeah. This is one of those sickeningly common sunsets in the little bucolic world of my friends. As far as sunsets go, it's not the best I've ever seen, but it was the one I saw, so I felt like sharing it with you all.

Unfortunately, just beyond that sunset was a rather violent temper-tantrum of nature. Yes. That's my luck. Wisconsin's going through one of its worst droughts in half a century, and when it finally does decide to rain, it does so on the same night I am sleeping in a tent.

Needless to say, I got my ass kicked and wound up getting about ten minutes of sleep. However, it was a heck of a lot of fun.

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Posted By Dan to The Wisdom of a Distracted Mind at 8/12/2007 04:08:00 PM

[The Wisdom of a Distracted Mind] Where I'll Be...

Someone asked, so here is a picture of where my tent and I are going. I'll be somewhere near (or in) that pond trying not to drown. Yes. I'll be in a tent. My college buddy's wife won't let me in their house unsupervised (apparently, I can be a bit of a handful. Pffft!). We do this every year with a big party of destructive (but also quite handy when it comes to fixing things) guys I went to college with while their respective wives and children look on in utter horror and embarrassment.

But yes. It's a big field where I can run and chase the birds and bunnies. I think that's why they bought the house, really.

Anyway, have a great weekend.

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Posted By Dan to The Wisdom of a Distracted Mind at 8/11/2007 10:21:00 AM

[The Wisdom of a Distracted Mind] Umm... Seriously?

So, you're really going to go with calling a hurricane, "Flossie?"

I mean, I'm not really an expert on these sorts of things, but couldn't you have gone with a little tougher sounding name? After all, Flossie sounds like something Paris Hilton or Britney Spears would name one of their accessory animals.

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Posted By Dan to The Wisdom of a Distracted Mind at 8/11/2007 08:09:00 AM

[The Wisdom of a Distracted Mind] Caturday.

Yes. It's Caturday.

Enjoy!

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Posted By Dan to The Wisdom of a Distracted Mind at 8/11/2007 07:44:00 AM

This is Odd...

Yes. I know. I've been obsessed with my apple tree as of late (in my defense, there are apples pretty much everywhere). But, before I abandon the apple-based pictures completely, I had to share at least one last photo with you.

It caught my eye this morning as I was lugging out the garbage, and it first struck me in one of those odd ways where something just doesn't fit right with one's perception of reality.

So, I looked a little closer and noticed that there was an apple stuck to a leaf and dangling down.

Weird, huh?

I mean, normally, I'll find leaves and whatnots stuck in spiderwebs, but I don't know if I've ever seen an apple stuck to a leaf.

Anyway, it was a little tough taking a picture of it since it is still a leaf and there's a bit of a breeze, and I'm not exactly the best of shutter-snappers, but I think I managed to catch it somewhat decently (but there's a mountain of bad, blurry pictures).

Of course, now I'm wondering which will give out first: whatever it is that's holding the apple to the leaf, or the leaf itself.

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Posted By Dan to The Wisdom of a Distracted Mind at 8/10/2007 12:39:00 PM

Whoa... Friday!

Yay! It's Friday!

So, for wont of a tradition, I suppose I have to ask, what are everyone's plans for this weekend? Is anyone doing anything fun and exciting?

As for me, I'll be heading out of town this weekend, so I imagine things here will be somewhat quiet. Also, you'll probably notice the odd little "word verification" box in the comment form while I'm out. The reason for this is that the last thing I want is to have this blog assaulted by whatever spambots are lurking out there and not be around to delete the trash they slap into the comments.

Sure. I could probably get away with not using it since this blog is still relatively shiny and new, and I've only had a handful of spam annoyances so far, but I don't want to chance it. And, I really don't want to spend my Sunday picking through cleaning things up. So, I'll add the extra step in commenting, an apologize ahead of time if it presents any sort of hassle. It'll most likely be gone by Sunday.

Anyway, who's doing what this weekend?

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Posted By Dan to The Wisdom of a Distracted Mind at 8/10/2007 10:42:00 AM

That Explains Why the Light's

Yes. Those are bees (wasps, I think) moving into the motion sensor for the backyard floodlights. I don't think this will end well for them. There's a lot of juice running around there, and as far as I know, bees are pretty good conductors of electricity.

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Posted By Dan to The Wisdom of a Distracted Mind at 8/09/2007 12:54:00 PM

How Do You Like Them Apples?

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Posted By Dan to The Wisdom of a Distracted Mind at 8/09/2007 12:46:00 PM

[The Wisdom of a Distracted Mind] No. I'm Not Ranting.

I'm laughing... Madly... (either click the picture to see a larger version, or click here to see the original.)


Hilarious! Someone owns the copyright to a version of the Bible (The Revised Standard Version).

It's almost as though it was a --I don't know-- a work of fiction, perhaps?

Thanks go to Phil Plait.

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Posted By Dan to The Wisdom of a Distracted Mind at 8/09/2007 11:21:00 AM

The Bad Monkey!

There are simply so many things wrong with this short article that I don't even know where to begin. So, I'm just going to let you all read and digest the saucy bits all on your own.

Diapered monkey bites woman outside downtown bar Steven Elbow — 8/08/2007 12:22 pm
A diapered monkey allegedly bit a young woman on the thumb early today outside a State Street bar.

The small black and white monkey, 12 to 18 inches tall with a long tail, bit the woman around 1 a.m. in front of State Street Brats, then ran off, police said. At noon today, police spokesman Joel DeSpain said the monkey was still on the lam.

"This guy was in the beer garden at State Street Brats letting women pet his monkey," DeSpain said, adding that when the 20-year-old victim attempted to do so, it bit her.

She suffered four puncture marks to her thumb, two on the top and two on the bottom.

Police today were able to contact the monkey's owner, who lives in a second-story State Street apartment. DeSpain said animal control officers were being called in to quarantine the monkey for observation to make sure it is not diseased.

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Posted By Dan to The Wisdom of a Distracted Mind at 8/09/2007 11:02:00 AM

South Carolina: 2 Texas: 3

Well, in the race to become the "Dumbest State in the Union," I should tell you that Texas has pulled ahead of South Carolina (don't worry, South Carolinians. I'm sure you'll catch up by the weekend).

It didn't take much, really. In fact, all it took was Texas' Minister of Biblical Indoctrination Dentist cum Chairman of the State Board of Education, Don McLeroy, to open his rather uneducated mouth.

The analogy of evolution as the matrix [sic], it’s, it’s really amazing that we do live, seems to me, in a matrix-type world. I mean, we have been programmed, our society has been programmed, in the way we look at things outside. It's very interesting. But what do the Scriptures say? I love Psalm 100, I memorized it when I was a little kid, and it says “Make a joyful noise onto the Lord, all ye lambs. Serve the Lord with gladness, come before his presence with singing, know ye that the Lord, he is God. It is he that hath made us and not we ourselves. We are his people and the sheep of his pasture.”

In that bold bit above, McLeroy here is accusing humanists and evolutionists of being "programmed."

Yeah. A religious person who believes in Biblical literalism, and the importance of teaching Biblical literalism under the "big tent" of Intelligent Design in public schools, has the unmitigated gall of asserting that those who do not believe as he, are somehow programmed to believe otherwise as in the movie The Matrix.

Mind-boggling, huh?

And this poor, dumb dentist carries on like this for quite some time.

Well, pretty soon we are going to be entering back into our Matrix-type world. We'll be watching the Super Bowl, we'll be going back to where naturalism has blinded all ye lambs from the truth. You'€™ll be back in a world where people don'€™t care about the Lord. He is God, and to effectively get this truth out to a world that has been blinded from the truth, we must prepare ourselves and we must train our minds.

You put this moron in charge of education?

Here's my favorite bit:

My summary is, uh, here are mypoints. We are not opposing un-intelligent people. They're very smart, highly intellectual and very fine people. But they've been blinded from the truth. They're living in this Matrix world. They do not claim Yahweh is God. They basically think they have made themselves. So we need to be prepared. We need to be smart. We need to train our minds.

Good luck, Texas.

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Posted By Dan to The Wisdom of a Distracted Mind at 8/09/2007 09:44:00 AM

It's No Fun for a Cat in a Wet

It's raining here today. And, fortunately, it's a nice, steady drizzle as opposed to a deluge to flood the neighborhood.

On the other hand, it's raining just hard enough to dissuade DogCat from going outside; however, he's been making many trips to both the front and back door to check the weather beyond each. It's how his kitty brain works. He seems to think that there are several distinct and entirely different worlds beyond each door. So, earlier, he came in from the rain, ate, and started running back and forth between the two doors as though he was searching for a suitable climate. "This one's too rainy. So is this one. And this one. God damnit! Is there a door in this house that doesn't have rain on the other side? Why isn't there a third option?"

Eventually, he abandoned his quest and threw himself onto the dead-center of the kitchen floor with a heavy thud and proceeded to pout. And now, he is a hazard --a big, fluffy hazard for me to walk around since, if I try to step over him, there's a chance I could wind up walking with a limp for the rest of the day.

I know what is going on in his mind. As I type this, I know it's only a matter of time before he blames both the water dish and the large bowl of dry cat food for this dreadful weather. Soon I will hear the clunk of his food bowl as he overturns it to send his kibble chattering across the floor. Then, there will be a light "clink" as he takes out the oppressive water dish.

Fortunately, I've dumped most of the kibble into a different bowl but kept enough in the original bowl so as not to incite a wailing tantrum and stored the rest in a safe place on top of the fridge. And, the water bowl was completely emptied because he prefers to drink out of the toilet, and I have no problems if he wants to pass his time batting around an empty bowl. My other cat, DeafCat, will just have to go thirsty for a little while until this episode is over.

The thing is, I'll know the exact time when the rain stops. DogCat will come running into my office, he will wail and smack my arm with his paw to get my attention, and then he will run to the nearest door and begin his weird series of barking and whimpering and tail wagging madness.

Until that happens, however, unlike my weird pet, I'm just going to enjoy the morning rain.

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Posted By Dan to The Wisdom of a Distracted Mind at 8/09/2007 08:53:00 AM

My Day...

There are only two reasons why I am doing this meme. Only two. That's it.

First, I am so hopped up on pain killers right now, the thought of thinking about anything beyond the vast expanse of my forehead is right up there on the list of impossible things to do. Seriously. A helicopter full of swimsuit models and talking goats with twelve-packs of ice-cold beer strung around their necks could land in my backyard, and the only response I could muster would be something roughly along the lines of "cool." (Case in point: I am watching a commercial on TV about the Fisher and Paykel "dishdrawer," and I'm thinking Hmm... That's kind of handy as opposed to My god! That guy's wife is smokin' hot, and I think he is a very smart man for installing the dishdrawer in his kitchen!).

And, second, the basement of Dawn's summer estate in New Jersey is taking on water (That's why I got a commercial grade mop and bucket, Dawn. As a result, we here in Wisconsin are now suffering the worst drought in more than fifty years. Sure, the grass is dead, and my cat thinks the yard is just one big litter box now, but my basement is dry).

So, in light of those two things, here's a list of ten things I've done today (I don't think we'll have a number eleven since ten already seems like way too many things for a Wednesday).

1. Woke up at 7:00. I actually overslept, so I suppose you could say that I slept late. Unfortunately, it wasn't the alarm clock which woke me up. It was my aching hands and a screaming bad knee. Bad morning.
   
2. Made coffee. That was followed quickly by drinking coffee as soon as there was enough raw sludge in the pot to fill a mug (I don't like to wait, and yowza! It was brutally strong).
3. Listened to my ears ring while I twitched a little. It's a fun little game I play every morning as the onslaught of caffeine works its way into my system. I call it dancing.
   
4. Watched the news and read my newspapers. There really wasn't much there: Bridge collapse; Okay. Trapped miners in Utah; Interesting. Tornado in Brooklyn. Fascina... wait. What?
   
5. Thought about picking up the apples in the backyard. I didn't really get much farther than that. There are a lot of apples, and things hurt today, so they'll wait. It's a nice tree, though, and I'd hate to chop it down. However, if, say, it was to be hit by lightning, I'd be overjoyed.
   
6. Sat down and started writing. It's nothing terribly exciting, so don't pop a fuse. Seriously. People who think the life of a writer is all laughs and fun are lethally misinformed. It's actually kind of annoying.
   
7. Made another pot of coffee at 9:00. That should tell you something.
   
8. Had a nice breakfast on the patio with the girlfriend/ex-girlfriend. She drops by now and then in the morning for coffee and whatnots. I like seeing her, so it's always nice.
   
9. Sat back down and resumed writing. The little break was nice for the sore hands, but it really didn't take long for them to start aching again. But the weather should be changing soon, and I should get back to being my silly, yet productive, self.
   
10. Took a couple of Vicodin and did Dawn's meme while they started working. Ahhh...

So, there you have it. Ten things I've managed to do today. Yes. I know it's a seriously low-impact day, but sometimes, I really do enjoy them. Still, there is a whole mountain of guilt at not getting all that much done. I guess that's what tomorrow's for.

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Posted By Dan to The Wisdom of a Distracted Mind at 8/08/2007 04:16:00 PM

What? Couldn't Find a Fig Leaf?

Priest Jogging Naked Charged By Police

FREDERICK, Colo. -- A Catholic priest faces an indecent exposure charge after police said he went jogging in the nude about an hour before sunrise.

The Rev. Robert Whipkey told officers he had been running naked at a high school track and didn't think anyone would be around at that time of day, a police report said.

He told officers he sweats profusely if he wears clothing while jogging. "I know what I did was wrong," he said in the report.

Sure... A naked priest on a high-school track is not working out insofar as he is advertising. Either that, or the priest is lying and someone's husband (or wife for all I know) came home a little early from work that day.

Still... I have to wonder: If he was naked, how the hell did they know he was a priest?

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Posted By Dan to The Wisdom of a Distracted Mind at 8/08/2007 01:58:00 PM

So Sad...

I know. It's a lonely world for a crocodile in a Russian nuclear research town. It may even drive you to try and take your own life by defenestration.

Tue Aug 7, 3:46
PM MOSCOW (AFP) - Residents in the Russian nuclear research town of Sarov got a jaw-dropping surprise on Tuesday when a crocodile fell from the twelfth-storey apartment of its owner, the emergency situations ministry said.

The one-metre (3.3-feet) caiman crocodile landed on a pavement after leaning too far out of the window of the apartment where it had lived for the last 15 years, the RIA Novosti news agency quoted an official with the local branch of the ministry as saying.

Frightened passers-by called the emergency services and rescuers managed to lasso the stunned animal and take it to a shelter for stray pets.

It was soon returned to its owner, unharmed apart from damage to one of its teeth, the official said.

Located in Nizhny Novgorod province east of Moscow, Sarov was the birthplace of the Soviet Union's first nuclear weapons and today is home to the Russian Federal Nuclear Centre.

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Posted By Dan to The Wisdom of a Distracted Mind at 8/08/2007 11:26:00 AM

P-Zizzle in the Hizzle!

Word!

Thanks to Dorid for pointing out just what our kids is learning in those durn, dirty, godless, libral colledges. And, it's clear this P.Z. Mayeraz perfessor person is not only damaging our kids head with this
propoganada, but he also seems to be bringing some serious Bio-shizzle
to the big learnizzle up there in Minnesizzle, beyotch!

Gads! It's tough to keep that up for any length of time.

Anyway, I saw this. It made me laugh. And, I figured I'd post it here to boost PZ's already booming street-cred since the foo' was recently seen cavorting with hard-timer/domestic goddess Martha Stewart at Science-Foo (the man certainly does run with a rather rough crowd, and if you start dissin' Evo-Devo, Martha will shank you with an Origami cheese knife like a prison-yard snitch).

So, enjoy the giggle, and thank you PZ and Dorid for the best laugh I've had in ages.

Peace Out, G'

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Posted By Dan to The Wisdom of a Distracted Mind at 8/08/2007 10:41:00 AM

[The Wisdom of a Distracted Mind] Mirror... Mirror...

Well, this should solve the alert problem thanks to AOL's Mobile blogging feature. It may be a little redundant, but we'll see.

Now, some of the characters may not transfer from my blogger blog to my AOL Journal, but I will try to tidy up the entries whenever I can. I hope that helps all the alerted readers out there.

Tootles,
DP

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Posted By Dan to The Wisdom of a Distracted Mind at 8/07/2007 04:34:00 PM

Meanwhile...

Originally posted on The Wisdom of a Distracted Mind.

I just realized something.

I started writing in this Blogger blog in earnest two weeks ago on July 23rd, and in those two weeks, I've written almost fifty posts.

Fifty!?!

My God! I need to get a life.


Nonetheless, I do hope you've all enjoyed the first two weeks as much
as I have. I know I irked some readers with my religious and political
ranting (which I expect to stop), and I also know I lost a whole heap
of readers who didn't wish to make the leap with me from my AOL Journal
to here.

That's unfortunate.

Anyway, the
number of posts here will be tanking somewhat. Hopefully, that means
the quality of what I write will go up as the quantity of pointless,
inane chatter goes down. The thing is, I've got a book to write and
another I've desperately got to convince myself is worthy of selling. I
don't know why that's such a torture for me, but it is. I think writing
a book is perhaps the easiest thing in the world. And, when I'm writing
it, it seems like I'm writing the best damn thing ever written.
However, when it comes to tossing it out there for the general public
to digest, all those illusions I've maintained of my writing abilities
during the book's (or story's) creation go flying out the window faster
than a handful of crystal meth when the S.W.A.T. team comes knocking.

To
put it simply, I'm at a new square one, and I'm stark naked with only a
collection of wordy little pages to cover myself as I hope like hell my
story doesn't have any embarrassing holes in it.

Oh well... Bring on the gray hairs.

-DP

Where to Find Me.

    Hey!   If you're here looking for me and my silliness, I've packed a few bags and headed over to:

THIS IS A LINK TO The Wisdom of a Distracted Mind (on Blogspot)

    Stop by.  Click the link above!  It's not just a collection of blue-colored words.  I'm not sure what will happen to this journal.  I've not made up my mind about that yet. 

-DP