8.28.2005

Surreal

I have a feeling that one day in the future I'll be able to tell my unborn children that I watched the destruction of New Orleans on TV. From NOAA's site:

MOST OF THE AREA WILL BE UNINHABITABLE FOR WEEKS...PERHAPS LONGER. AT LEAST ONE HALF OF WELL CONSTRUCTED HOMES WILL HAVE ROOF AND WALL FAILURE. ALL GABLED ROOFS WILL FAIL...LEAVING THOSE HOMES SEVERELY DAMAGED OR DESTROYED.

THE MAJORITY OF INDUSTRIAL BUILDINGS WILL BECOME NON FUNCTIONAL. PARTIAL TO COMPLETE WALL AND ROOF FAILURE IS EXPECTED. ALL WOOD FRAMED LOW RISING APARTMENT BUILDINGS WILL BE DESTROYED. CONCRETE BLOCK LOW RISE APARTMENTS WILL SUSTAIN MAJOR DAMAGE...INCLUDING SOME WALL AND ROOF FAILURE.

HIGH RISE OFFICE AND APARTMENT BUILDINGS WILL SWAY DANGEROUSLY...A FEW TO THE POINT OF TOTAL COLLAPSE. ALL WINDOWS WILL BLOW OUT.

AIRBORNE DEBRIS WILL BE WIDESPREAD...AND MAY INCLUDE HEAVY ITEMS SUCH AS HOUSEHOLD APPLIANCES AND EVEN LIGHT VEHICLES. SPORT UTILITY VEHICLES AND LIGHT TRUCKS WILL BE MOVED. THE BLOWN DEBRIS WILL CREATE ADDITIONAL DESTRUCTION. PERSONS...PETS...AND LIVESTOCK EXPOSED TO THE WINDS WILL FACE CERTAIN DEATH IF STRUCK.

POWER OUTAGES WILL LAST FOR WEEKS...AS MOST POWER POLES WILL BE DOWN AND TRANSFORMERS DESTROYED. WATER SHORTAGES WILL MAKE HUMAN SUFFERING INCREDIBLE BY MODERN STANDARDS.

THE VAST MAJORITY OF NATIVE TREES WILL BE SNAPPED OR UPROOTED. ONLY THE HEARTIEST WILL REMAIN STANDING...BUT BE TOTALLY DEFOLIATED. FEW CROPS WILL REMAIN. LIVESTOCK LEFT EXPOSED TO THE WINDS WILL BE KILLED.

This is going to be bad.

8.26.2005

FSM News


New button linking to the FSM home page in the left side. Lots of other FSM in the news, including a guest spot in the Family Circus. Plus, don't forget about that holiest of holy days, September 19: Talk Like a Pirate Day.

8.23.2005

I didn't want this either.

Ted Rall is sometimes hilarious, sometimes maddening. But he hits more often than he misses, and this time he's hit it out of the park (excuse my baseballisms, we're in the home stretch of the season).

Northwestern University professor Charles Moskos says: "The political leaders are afraid to ask the public for any real sacrifice, which doesn't speak too highly of the citizenry."

To which I say: Screw that. It's not my duty to suffer for this pointless war. I've been against it all along, and you can stick your victory garden where the desert sun can't penetrate.


Go read it all.

Thanks to Spontaneous Arising for the link.

8.15.2005

the The? Sweet!

I was just listening to Armageddon Days (Are Here Again) by the The and realized the opening was a riff on the old Sweet song Ballroom Blitz (featured in Wayne's World). Here's the comparison:

Armageddon Days:
Are you ready, Jesus? Uh huh.
Buddha? Yeah!
Muhammed? OK.
Well alright, fellas, let's go!

Ballroom Blitz:
Are you ready, Steve? Aha.
Andy? Yeah!
Mick? OK.
Alright, fellas, let's go!


The drum lick is pretty damn close, too. I've seen on most of the lyrics sites that I found had the first line of Armaggedon Days as "Are you ready for Jesus?" but I don't hear it. Anyway, I like the idea that the narrator is asking the three big guys if they're ready to go rather than asking some other unnamed person if they're ready for Jesus/Muhammed/Buddha.

8.11.2005

Happy Birthday, Mrs P!

Today's the wife's birthday. Happy Birthday, baby!

8.02.2005

Bush: Intelligent Design Should Be Taught

Bush: Intelligent Design Should Be Taught. Whee!! At least this opens the door for the Flying Spaghetti Monster!

In the same article it notes that he told interviewers that "he did not ask Supreme Court nominee John Roberts about his views on Roe v. Wade." Because, you know, that would be dangerously close to learnin'.

Doofus.

EDIT: Whoops. Hot-linking to the FSM site is appararently a blasphemous act.