I don't know what I really am politically. Am I conservative or liberal? Sites tend to peg me as centrist which would seem to fit information I've been learning about my personality type in that I prefer harmonizing with people over exerting my will. So I guess if conservative is red, and liberal, blue; that would make me purple. I would have to say I'm a bluish-purple. How blue? I don't know, but I do know when the waters get too blue, I'm out. Same for the red, though I wonder if I have a greater tolerance for the red waters than the blue.
Monday, January 16, 2012
Friday, January 13, 2012
SONGS THAT CAN JUST GO AWAY, part VIII
"Whataya Want From Me?" by Adam Lambert
I had no idea the singer of this song was on American Idol. This is actually the first time I'm seeing who did this song. It plays at work what feels like once a night every night. There's nothing technically wrong with the song but as soon as I hear those opening chords, I want the next 3½ minutes to disappear and while those 3½ minutes do eventually disappear, it just takes 3½ minutes to do so...unfortunately.
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
LANGUAGE POLICE...
Language evolves. It always has. It's the nature of the beast. Before I get into my rant, enjoy a stark contrast of then and now with the Lord's Prayer. Every iteration is in English by the way.
Circa 11th century -- Fæder ure þu þe eart on heofonum; si þin nama gehalgod to becume þin rice gewurþe ðin willa on eorðan swa swa on heofonum. Urne gedæghwamlican hlaf syle us todæg and forgyf us ure gyltas swa swa we forgyfað urum gyltendum and ne gelæd þu us on costnunge ac alys us of yfele. Soþlice.
A.D. 1258 -- Fadir our in heuene, haleeweide beota thi neume, cuman thi kinderiche, thi wille beoth idon in heune and in erthe. The euerych dawe bried gif ous thilk dawe. And worzif ure dettes as vi vorsifen ure dettoures. And lene ous nought into temptation. Bette delvvor of unval.
A.D. 1300 -- Fadir our in hevene, Halwewyd by thi name, thi kingdom come. Thy wille be done as in hevene in erthe. Oure urche days bred give us today. And forgive us our detes, as we forgive our detoures. And lede us not into temptation. Bote delyvere us of yvel.
A.D. 1582 -- Our Father which art in heaven, sanctified by thy name. Let thy kingdom come. Thy wil be done as in heaven and earth also. Give us this day our super substantial bread. And led us not into temptation. But deliver us from evil.
A.D. 1611 -- Our Father which is in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, in earth as it is in heaven. Biue us this day our dayly bread. And forgive our debtors. And leade us not into temptation, but deliver from evil. For thine is the kingdome, and the power and the glory for ever.
A.D. 1789 -- Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the Kingdom and the Power and the Glory, forever and ever. Amen.
A.D. 1970 -- Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us. Save us from the time of trial, and deliver us from the Evil. For the Kingdom, Power and the Glory, are yours now and forever. Amen.
It is a varied and many-splendored thing as well as a wonderful accidental service of Christian missionaries who so dutifully translated the Bible into its local languages. In some cases, the only written records we have of a language have come from such translations. (see Gothic) Linguists I am sure are eternally grateful for their efforts.
But the point is, things change. Let them change. I don't see why people to this day get up in arms when a kid uses "retarded" as a synonym for "stupid"; "gay" as a synonym for "stupid" or "lame"; and "faggot" as a synonym for a "wuss" or anyone who's making lame (gay?) excuses as to why he will not be a part of a group activity or demand. The opponents say these are "hurtful words" but are they? At one time, sure. But today's generations, while preserving the words as kinds of insults, wish for them to be more generally applied and no longer necessarily referring to their original targets. Should we not be encouraging this trend rather than attempt to preserve the more hateful meanings?
Even the words "dumb", "stupid", "lame", etc. all once meant something far more specific but are now more generally applied insults and have been so for such a long time that to hear the words applied more originally sounds odd to a listener. In some cases, the meanings of words have changed so completely as to be not recognizable.
I encourage this trend. Based on the way it is used today, I can't help but wonder if "nigger" will ever come to mean something benign. Perhaps in the future, and something tells me long after we're gone, the word could mean something as innocuous as "neighbor" or "friend" (especially one who goes back a ways or who has shared critical experiences with you). One can only hope. And for those of you who worry about losing the "fun" words, I can't ever see racism and hatred ever dying...it's just too human. We'll come up with all new words to spread the hate. Human ingenuity cannot be stopped!
Circa 11th century -- Fæder ure þu þe eart on heofonum; si þin nama gehalgod to becume þin rice gewurþe ðin willa on eorðan swa swa on heofonum. Urne gedæghwamlican hlaf syle us todæg and forgyf us ure gyltas swa swa we forgyfað urum gyltendum and ne gelæd þu us on costnunge ac alys us of yfele. Soþlice.
A.D. 1258 -- Fadir our in heuene, haleeweide beota thi neume, cuman thi kinderiche, thi wille beoth idon in heune and in erthe. The euerych dawe bried gif ous thilk dawe. And worzif ure dettes as vi vorsifen ure dettoures. And lene ous nought into temptation. Bette delvvor of unval.
A.D. 1300 -- Fadir our in hevene, Halwewyd by thi name, thi kingdom come. Thy wille be done as in hevene in erthe. Oure urche days bred give us today. And forgive us our detes, as we forgive our detoures. And lede us not into temptation. Bote delyvere us of yvel.
A.D. 1582 -- Our Father which art in heaven, sanctified by thy name. Let thy kingdom come. Thy wil be done as in heaven and earth also. Give us this day our super substantial bread. And led us not into temptation. But deliver us from evil.
A.D. 1611 -- Our Father which is in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, in earth as it is in heaven. Biue us this day our dayly bread. And forgive our debtors. And leade us not into temptation, but deliver from evil. For thine is the kingdome, and the power and the glory for ever.
A.D. 1789 -- Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the Kingdom and the Power and the Glory, forever and ever. Amen.
A.D. 1970 -- Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us. Save us from the time of trial, and deliver us from the Evil. For the Kingdom, Power and the Glory, are yours now and forever. Amen.
It is a varied and many-splendored thing as well as a wonderful accidental service of Christian missionaries who so dutifully translated the Bible into its local languages. In some cases, the only written records we have of a language have come from such translations. (see Gothic) Linguists I am sure are eternally grateful for their efforts.
But the point is, things change. Let them change. I don't see why people to this day get up in arms when a kid uses "retarded" as a synonym for "stupid"; "gay" as a synonym for "stupid" or "lame"; and "faggot" as a synonym for a "wuss" or anyone who's making lame (gay?) excuses as to why he will not be a part of a group activity or demand. The opponents say these are "hurtful words" but are they? At one time, sure. But today's generations, while preserving the words as kinds of insults, wish for them to be more generally applied and no longer necessarily referring to their original targets. Should we not be encouraging this trend rather than attempt to preserve the more hateful meanings?
Even the words "dumb", "stupid", "lame", etc. all once meant something far more specific but are now more generally applied insults and have been so for such a long time that to hear the words applied more originally sounds odd to a listener. In some cases, the meanings of words have changed so completely as to be not recognizable.
I encourage this trend. Based on the way it is used today, I can't help but wonder if "nigger" will ever come to mean something benign. Perhaps in the future, and something tells me long after we're gone, the word could mean something as innocuous as "neighbor" or "friend" (especially one who goes back a ways or who has shared critical experiences with you). One can only hope. And for those of you who worry about losing the "fun" words, I can't ever see racism and hatred ever dying...it's just too human. We'll come up with all new words to spread the hate. Human ingenuity cannot be stopped!
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
WHAT AM I PAYING YOU FOR?
It was never a formal New Year's Resolution, more my usual organization of data being applied to a new area. I finally got around to organizing my Roth-IRA statements of the past several years and put them on a single 4-column ledger page to see the changes in valuations. What struck me was not so much the precipitous fall in the IRA's value from the Lehman Bros. collapse in Septmember 2008 to about March 2009 and another good-sized dip which occurred over a several month period last year but the fact that my IRA's financial adviser, a man who actually draws a fee for keeping this account in my name did nothing to preserve its value during this time...nothing at all. What the fuck?
I'm not saying he should be a dictator and buy/sell the IRA's shares without telling me (though in this instance it would have made him a financial hero) but he could have called or sent an e-mail advising me (after all, he is an adviser) the benefits of moving my holdings into cash for a while, but I got nothing. And before anyone tells me that I was supposed to call my adviser to suggest this myself, might I remind you that I am paying him an annual fee to be the account's financial adviser. If I am supposed to be doing all the research and calling in to have shares sold/purchased myself...what do I need him for?
Now, I'm not expecting miraculous timing on his part, but even some off timing would mean my Roth-IRA would have considerably more value today than it actually does.
I have this feeling that if I were to complain, the conversation would go exactly like this one from the Simpsons when Bart employed Milhouse to be the night watchman for a run-down factory he had purchased in a police auction for a dollar. Bart leaves for the night and returns to a collapsed factory in the morning. He then exclaims to his friend:
Bart: Milhouse, I thought you were the night watchman!
Milhouse: I was watching. First it started falling, then it fell down.
Grrr......
I'm not saying he should be a dictator and buy/sell the IRA's shares without telling me (though in this instance it would have made him a financial hero) but he could have called or sent an e-mail advising me (after all, he is an adviser) the benefits of moving my holdings into cash for a while, but I got nothing. And before anyone tells me that I was supposed to call my adviser to suggest this myself, might I remind you that I am paying him an annual fee to be the account's financial adviser. If I am supposed to be doing all the research and calling in to have shares sold/purchased myself...what do I need him for?
Now, I'm not expecting miraculous timing on his part, but even some off timing would mean my Roth-IRA would have considerably more value today than it actually does.
I have this feeling that if I were to complain, the conversation would go exactly like this one from the Simpsons when Bart employed Milhouse to be the night watchman for a run-down factory he had purchased in a police auction for a dollar. Bart leaves for the night and returns to a collapsed factory in the morning. He then exclaims to his friend:
Bart: Milhouse, I thought you were the night watchman!
Milhouse: I was watching. First it started falling, then it fell down.
Grrr......
Monday, January 9, 2012
I ACTUALLY LIKE THIS SHIT, part XXXI
"1000 Ships" by Rachel Platten
I'm actually glad to be posting this video now rather than when I first thought of it. I could have sworn the video I had first seen was different from this one. Watch it, it actually tells an engrossing tale without the use of any dialog whatsoever. Feel-good song with a feel-good ending. Bop, bop, bop, bop, bop... :-)
Sunday, January 8, 2012
THOUGHTS I NORMALLY KEEP IN MY HEAD, part IX
I deal with setbacks like anyone else in this world...through fantasy, and one thing I've noticed is that as my initial anger cools, the fantasies themselves get dealt with in increasingly cruel manners until I've finally tired of the whole exercise. Whereas, at the beginning of the setback, when the anger is still fiery and passionate, the fantasies can be quite physically violent, impulsive, and ill-concerned with the consequences of such actions. But while the fire dies out, its cause remains and festers allowing the second-tier fantasies to explore more "creative" solutions to my frustrations. They are oftentimes psychologically terrifying in nature, complex, well-thought out, and teeming with poetic justice.
For those of you who actually worry about me, I am not actually dangerous because my fantasies are always supernaturally based...even the initial passionate ones. Reality is what I'm trying to escape so reality-based themes are not fun for me. Fuck guns and knives and poison. How lame. I want truly awesome and terrifying forms of self-expression and because that is and will always be impossible, I remain a harmless, cowardly bug...that is, unless necromancy and/or alchemy à la Full Metal Alchemist turns out to be both real and exploitable. And if that's the case, opt to be a victim of my impulsive magic anger...it'll be over quicker ;-)
For those of you who actually worry about me, I am not actually dangerous because my fantasies are always supernaturally based...even the initial passionate ones. Reality is what I'm trying to escape so reality-based themes are not fun for me. Fuck guns and knives and poison. How lame. I want truly awesome and terrifying forms of self-expression and because that is and will always be impossible, I remain a harmless, cowardly bug...that is, unless necromancy and/or alchemy à la Full Metal Alchemist turns out to be both real and exploitable. And if that's the case, opt to be a victim of my impulsive magic anger...it'll be over quicker ;-)
Friday, January 6, 2012
I'M READY FOR DOLLAR COINS
Recently the Obama administration announced that the production of the Presidential Dollar Coin series would be halted, limiting its production solely to proofs and business strikes for collectors only (READ: you will now be able to buy a dollar for more than a dollar). This is being done ostensibly to save the Federal Government $50 million a year. Yes, you read that right...fifty million dollars from a government whose budget is over one trillion dollars per year. That's chump change and the rationale is that all these dollar coins being produced are just sitting in warehouses at cost to taxpayers because they are not being used (except in major transit hubs where they are dispensed by machines as change). Currently over 1.4 billion dollar coins are being warehoused and it is estimated that at current rates of consumption, that it would take about ten years to exhaust the supply.