alas, i accomplished almost nothing for the last week...i was hoping to take full advantage of the productive spurt i was on, but once again life decided this was not to be...a combination of severe allergy problems, and needing to grind through the never ending problems caused by spamming fuckwads killed my drive to work for a bit over a week...it is hard to be excited about computer anything, when you can't stop sneezing for more than 5 minutes...yesterday was the first day in over a week that i wasn't sneezing non stop.
add that to thye tedious grinding drudgery of having to research, update, and admin about 40 sites between my g/f and i, and the result was complete apathy...couldn't even summon enthusiasm for reading or tv/dvds...thankfully it has passed, and we are back at it...working on graphics for another web project, and trying to research the best solution to the endless upgrading of web apps, etc.
good thing i work best when multi tasking...it may take a bit longer to complete any one thing, and some do slip through the cracks, but it keeps me from dying of boredom...besides, so many things require me to wait for something beyond my control to advance/complete...so it just seems to make more sense working on 8 or 10 things concurrently...this way, i keep busy, and mostly productive (aside from wasting time here).
all this writing of fortunes got me thinking again about how inane so many common sayings are in one way or another...some of them just make no sense, and others seem to be contradictory...wonder how they came to be...a few that really puzzle me:
Shit Eating Grin - who the fuck would be grinning while eating shit...i would think any gri would more of a grimace, though even that seems a stretch to me...so how is it that this commonly refers to an ear to ear grin of pure joy...was this coined by some sick individual, or perhaps dogs made this one up.
Right As Rain - somehow i never thought that rain was right, or for that matter wrong...it just is...maybe this was something some farmers came up with...still strikes me as odd at best though.
Common Sense - what a crock of shit...obviously sense is not at all common, or we wouldn't have warning labels on everything...it's a shame that sense is not common.
You Will Feel Some Minor Discomfort - compared to what???every time i have heard that phrase it translated to "you will be in excruciating agony"...i supposed this was coined by some masochist, who truly believed it...either that, or by someone who thought lying to you would make it hurt less.
the 5th circuit court has just driven another stake into the 4th amendment...by majority decision, they ruled that the police can enter a residence, and perform a cursory search without a warrant...they said that if an officer conducting police business, may enter, and perform a search, if they feel concerned for their safety, and anything found during said search is admissable as evidence...dissenting justices lamented this as a harbinger of the death of the 4th amendment prtoctions against unreasonable search and seizure.
this is as bad as it can get folks...the 4th amendment has been getting methodically destroyed by the courts for years, but this goes much farther than past rulings...effectively, the cops can now enter your home, search it, and if they find anything, arrest you, even if they are just canvasing a neighborhood, responding to your complaint of noise, or hundreds of other reasons not involving valid reasons to enter your home against you will, such as serving an arrest warrant, in hot pursuit, or your home being on fire...nothing good can possibly come of this, as the police have demonstrated their willingness to abuse probable cause in the past, and now they don't even need that excuse...our only hope is that the supreme court will hear the appeal, and overturn the decision...if you are at all concerned ny this, i stronly urge you to vote against Bush, and urge as many people as you know to do the same, because the next president is most likely going to appoint one or more justices...there are two or three that were expected to step down, but probably did nopt out of concern over who might replace them...after all Bush' selections for higher courts have been very suspect, not to mention his attorney general...just imagine getting another couple of Scalias, Thomas', or a Bork...scary thought.
so i've been reading a nausiating amount of stuff in the paper about the case in front of the supreme court involving the guy in California suing the school district to remove the phrase "under god" from the pledge...he feels that it is a violation of separation of church and state...the school board feels it is not, and that saying the words in not mandatory...everyone from the white house down has their opinions as well, including my favorite, as if, supreme court justice, Scalia, who had to recuse himself, having publicly state that he thought the suit was stupid.
so here is my take on all this:
first off, i can't believe that a supreme court justice, even one as incompetent as Scalia, would shhot his mouth off like that...he just keeps demonstrating what a huge mistake his appointment, and confirmation was.
the phrase definately violates the concept of church and state...it refers to a singualr god, which immediately puts any person who is not a monotheist in a position of being ostracised if they refuse to speak words that go against their beliefs, or must speak them to fit in, and be compromising their principals.
the phrase was not even part of the original pledge.
reciting the pledge is a bunch of nonsense anyway...somehow we seem to have timewarped back to the ugly part of the fifties here...you know that good old McCarthy era loyalty oath bullshit...i, and others like me fought to not be forced to recite the damned thing every day...i realized back in 8th grade, that i could not in good faith, speak words i did not believe...that it's absurd to pledge to a piece of cloth...that the whole concept is kind of fascist, and totally violates the core principals this nation was founded on...like faith, should be expressed through actions, not public mouthing of things you profess to believe, but never follow.
the most offensive thing about all this to me is this attitude that not wanting to participate in the pledge is unpatriotic, or unamerican...dissent is very american...it is what this country was founded on...so shut up.
thank you so much to the fucking clueless judge in Arizona, who proved once again that justice for the priviledged is different than for the rest of us...in a truly classless ruling the scumbag killer bishop received 4 years probation for running a man over, killing him, and then leaving the scene....the judges rationale for this was that he would be suffering enough punishment from the embarrassment of the conviction, therefore did not need to spend time in jail...i'm sure the bishop's embarrassment is equal to the loss suffered by his victim's family...you know that if it had been one of us regular people, we would be rotting in jail for the next several years...i guess we wouldn't be embarrassed enough by just being convicted, and serving probation.
wonder if they would say anything if they were forced to stick to actual facts...seems as if the best way to obscure the facts is to drown them out with rhetoric, failing that the next best thing is to say a lot where it doesn't matter.
why is it that Rice has so much to say to the press, but nothing to say under oath.
why is it that Scalia seems to have no real understanding of why so many people are upset over his refusal to recuse himself.
how come approving 173 judges nominations, and blocking 6, means that the democrats are set against the white houses judicial appointments.
how is it that speaking out in any way against this administrations policies means that the person doing so has a political agenda,even when it is a republican doing the speaking, yet nothing said by the administration has a political agenda.
Neil Bush, the brother of our (cough, cough) intrepid leader, married a woman who was a former volunteer for his mother...he had divorced his wife of 23 years last year in a messy proceding...while the wedding was a small family affair, followed by a reception of about 150 people, there were two notable absences...neither the prez, or Jeb, governor of Florida attended.
Just goes to show that politics and family make for shitty bedfellows...while no reason was given for the absences, it is unforgivable in my eyes that Georgie would miss his brother's wedding...family should come before politics, and he should have been there to support his bro, even though that would have meant dealing with the press, and his crititcs...of course he will still probably have those two groups to deal with...i guess given his moral stance, the prez didn't want to be seen as supporting something as wrong as being married twice, where the first ended in divorce...it could have been worse, Neil could have married a man
well last night's speech added yet one more reason why Bush should not be in the white house...the man can not even pronounce the word nuclear...4 times in his speech he pronounced it as nucular, a common error, but not one that should be made by our president...wasn't having Quayle as veep bad enough...there is simply no excuse for a man in his position to mispronounce simple words like nulear...i would have to assume that his speech writers spell it correctly, and you would think that a man with an ivy league degree should speak the language correctly...evidently graduating from a prestigious school does not require that you understand how to speak english correctly, even if it is your native language...what a shame
seems the privacy theft elves are hard at work again...the latest assault on our privacy comes via TSa...the now want to do background checks on all air travellers to make us all safe...their idea is to put all your travel inof into a database, and then verify your identity, itinerary and run a background check...once these things have been done, travelers would be sorted into three color coded categories...those who have no criminal record, and whos info matches up would be green, and could travel...those who have a record of any type, or who have paid cash, or other danger signs, would be yellow, and would be questioned, or is that interigated before being allowed to travel...those flagged as known terrorists, high risk, etc, would be detained...as if real terrorists couldn't get past that with no problems...seems the ones who will fall afoul of this plan are those who have made a mistake sometime in the past, paid their dues, and foolishly assumed that their debt to society was paid...oh and those who happen to be unlucky enough to fall victim to some computer glitch...enough already...quit taking our privacy away from us...we don't want or need this kind of protection...or at least those of us who think do not.
the mars rover is sending back some kick ass images...i'm blown away by how cool they are so far and suggest you all go take a look...check out the Mars Rover Mission Site to see the latest images, and to get information on the mission itself...it's always worthwhile to go check out the rest of jpl's site and see what new and cool things they have there.
another site worth visiting for really amazing pictures is the Hubblesite Gallery, which has images collected from the Hubble Telescope...definately worth a visit.
seems that there may be benefits to smoking...contrary to past info, it turns out that nicotine, the reasons us smokers keep smoking, is not all bad...studies show that smokers are less likely to get alzheimers, and parkinsons...seems that nicotine can also lessen the impact of clinical depression...i knew there was a good reason i started smoking...anything that help lessen depression is a good thing in my life, and as my grandmother has severe alzheimers, and getting that scares the shit out of me, lessening the odds of getting it also make me happy...my grandmother never smoked, not that i think that's why she got it, but but i would take dying of cancer anyday over slowly losing my mind...maybe i should start chewing nicotine gum to boost my daily intake more...heh...have to think that one over.
took a few tries, but nasa finally had another successful mars landing...it was so cool that everything worked right, and now we get the chance to do some serious exploration of our neighbor...this is the sort of news that makes my day...as i firmly believe that we need to to be putting more effort and money into space, success like this offers the best chance for more it to happen...the knowledge we will reap from this trip is a bargain at the price, and like so many before, will probably reap side benfits to daily life...after all the space program has advanced medical science, and given us 100s of technological improvements like freeze drying food, and satellite tv.
well the fucking spammer assholes are at it again...i was forced to ban an ip address to stop these fuckheads from using my blog as a platform to advertise the products...this one was sneakier than the last ones, they were posting inane fortune cookie type sayings into the comment, and then using their website url as the advertisement...that ain't gonna fly here...therefore 62.213.67.122 is banned, and if i get further shit in the same vein from the russian isp it belongs to, i will just ban the whole fucking thing, as they have no abuse address...i will also be removing any further comments from krokodilgena1@yahoo.com from any ip...i really hate having to resort to this, but my blog is not free advertisement space for anyone without my express permission, and never for vultures like that.
so i read that Alice Cooper got a star on the walk of fame in Hollywood...i was surprised...not surprised he got a star, but that it just happened this week...i can't believe he didn't get it years ago...the guy has been a star for 25 years or so, and is just now getting his star...kinda hard to believe it took them so long to give it to him...if he was too out there to get one before, what has changed...oh well, probably just the usual politics or something...anyway, i'm glad he finally got one, he deserves it more than most.
well another bad week for those of us just wanting to live in peace...two more suicide bombings in Turkey yesterday, by some nutcases affiliated with Al Queda...if you want to kill yourself for the glory of allah, go for it, just leave the rest of us out of it...why don't these pinheads understand that all they are doing is proving they have no true belief, morals, or convictions....want to make a statement, why no set yourself on fire....that will speak much more clearly your resolve to sacrifice yourself for a JUST cause...killing men, women, and children, indisciminantly will never be just, and is a sin in the eyes of all three western religions...no where in the torah, bible, or koran does it say that suicide bombing is a good thing...while i am sure that these brainless twits are roasting in their hells, and those who preach this behavior will be joining then there, it is no comfort to those they kill...please, please, please stop this idiocy...the only thing holy about this type of war, is the empty spaces in their heads where brains should be.
thanks to the digusting intimidation campaign waged by some dickweed right wing bigshot contrator in San Antonio, the firm contracted to build a new facility for Planned Parenthodd has decided to pull out of their contract due to the problems the campaign had caused in their ability to get subcontractors to do work, and trouble getting critical supplies like concrete...while Planned Parenthood has vowed to find a way to get the facility built, i'm sure it will not be easy, or soon...of course the people waging this misguided intimidation are overjoyed in preventing construction, claiming their success in stopping Planned Parenthood from opening another abortion mill, while ignoring the fact that abortions only comprise a small percentage of the services provided by Planned Parenthood...thank you for once again denying badly needed low cost pre-natal care, education, and the other services provided by Planned Parenthood, in your quest to deny women the right to choice...funny how it is mostly men who are the most vocal, and violent of the pro-lifers...funny how they go on about how sacred life is, yet put no effort towards ensuring those children would be raised in a caring environment...really funny how so many of these men, claim to be uber-patriots, and yet seem to be more in tune with the Taliban than our constitution when it comes to womens rights...in honor of these intrepid tramplers of our freedoms, i have decided that San Antonio shall be known as San Asshatonio (thank you social reject for coining the term asshat) from here forward.
well i saw in this morning's paper that the anti-evolution whackos are still trying to fuck up Texas' 2004 science textbooks...the Discovery Institute, a group opposed to the teaching of evolution in public schools, is claiming a minor victory, because they manged to harass the book publisher to make changes in the sections dealing with the theory of evolution...they of course are not satisfied, and if they had their way all mention of evolution would be remove entirely...the changes were part of a list of inacuracies found through their Center For Science And Culture, which is based in Seattle...while i am all for factual errors being corrected, i wonder why the Texas board of education considers input from people in Seattle...last time i checked Seattle was in Washington, not in Texas, so where it concerns textbooks used in Texas, who the fuck cares what they think...i am amazed at how many people in this country insist on ignoring science in favor of blind faith and ignorance...mind you i am not saying people of religious faith are ignorant, but the ones who insist on trying to drag us all badck into the dark ages sure the fuck are...my sincere hope is that someone invents a time machine, so we can send you all back to the dark ages where you belong.
read today that Courtney Love is being chrged with felony possession of prescription pain killers...while i am no fan of hers in any way, this really pissed me off...first is why she is being charged and Rush (i'm a hypocritical bastard) Limbaugh is not...then i got annoyed that while she rated only a couple of paragraphs on an inside page, fatboy was front page for days...then the thing that really did it was the fact that he gets sympathy, both from the public and the media, she is getting only scorn...they are both assholes who talk too much, and bask in public attention, good or bad, so why is one treated differently than the other...seems we have different standards of justice, legality and sympathy, based on social standing, and wealth...no surprise there really, but it bothers me a lot...we are supposed to be equal under the law in this country...more importantly the media needs to stop treating people having the same problem the same, instead of acting as if it is different based on social standing, income, or political views...addiction to pain killers is addiction to pain killers, whether you are Rush, Courtney, or the thousands of others who rate no mention, because they aren't famous....it's a sad thing in every instance and every person suffering from it, or similar problems is equally deserving of our pity/sympathy/help/contempt/indifference...personally i feel that help and understanding will do more to solve addiction, than incarceration and scorn, but that's me...whatever it is gonna be then it should be the same for everyone, not help for some and jail for others.
i am totally annoyed with the Dallas Morning News...somewhere about a year ago their editors decided that every single peson would be addressed using honerifics in their articles...what sort of idiocy is this...now i can understand referring to people who have earned the right to be addressed as mr. or mrs...others by title, such as our president, but everyone????it's bad enough that athletes have gone from being addressed by their nicknames, to be addressed as mr. so and so, but criminals, terrorists and pedophiles...they go to far...i'm sorry but people like Osama (cowardly fucking weasel...no that's unfair to weasels) Bin Laden, are now referred to as Mr. Bin Laden, as if he were deserving of respect in any fucking way...same goes for women who kill their kids, psychos who gun down strangers, suicide bombers, child rapists, and other lower forms of life...let's go back to at least just calling them by their name, better yet address them by their earned title, you know, something like nutcase yates, pussy bin laden, boy loving priest, etc....enough is enough, save respect for those who deserve it.
i have learned the following truths from commercials:
1) Domino's sell Pavlovs pizza now...if you are young, male, and you eat one of their philly cheessteak pizzas, you will from then on, pant while running mindlessly to the door when the bell rings...this will be accompanied by uncontrolable salivating...the pizza will be delivered by a smarmy, condescending delivery guy, who will insult you...the up side is you don't have to pay for the pizza or tip the delivery guy.
2) Dell intern is the best job in the world...your training takes months, you only work a few hours a day, you get to take road trips in a custom motor home, and you dictate marketing strategy for the company...SIGN ME UP FOR THAT JOB!
3) Women will dress to the nines, and then hang with their friends, dancing and singing, when it that time of the month...all your women friends will have their periods when you do.
4) All cars come equipped with a professional driver and can only driven by the professional on a closed course....why buy a car you can never drive.
5) KFC nuggets can defy the laws of physics, and can be safely caught on your mouth when dropped from great heights.
6) We all suffer from depression, genital herpes, acid reflux, high blood pressure, and more, but it's ok, because we only need to visit the doctor once, so he can write a stack of prescriptions to treat us...no more wasted time being diagnosed...don't sweat those adverse side effets, you will be smiling and having fun while suffering them.
7) Drinking cheap light beer will make you very attractive to supermodels.
8) If you like to be tormented by guys playing mind games on you with a vending machine, or enjoy your soda shaken, because it is delivered by a truck with a bone crunching sound system and hydraulics, which bounces down the road, then Vanilla Pepsi is your drink.
9) Women talk about gas at the salad bar, and then share Beano with their friends.
10) All Suvs can drive anywhere, under any conditions, and stay totally clean...4 wheel drive is not required to perform these feats.
11) You need a hardware expert to show you the difference between a lawn, and a rock filled road.
12) Verizon has tested their entire system with two uber-nerd optimization engineers and a chimpanzee...all this accomplished, with nothing more than a phone, except for the chimp who can do it with a banana...to think i wasted all those years learning rf engineering, and then cart around hundreds of pounds worth of insanely expensive test equipment for nothing.
13) Momma seems to be on vast amounts of traquilizers while using her clorox wipes.
14) Cleaning is glamorous, or at least mopping is, if you have the right mop.
15) If you are an aussie, and get written off of JAG, you are doomed to vaccuum up after kangaroos, which seem to like hopping about in clean kitchens.
16) Sears employees, at least the male ones, will strip to their underwear to sell a washer.
17) Everything is done to a techno soundtrack.
18) Penny's has one day only sales every other day...these sales are solely visited by wives who have married men who don't speak to them, and parent by reading the newspaper while ignoring their child.
19) Energizers batteries are filled with drunm playing rabbits.
20) You can get rich by owning a pay internet station...you will have to dress badly while servicing it, and collectiing your cash....and while the machine can only generate $15 and hour, this will make you wealthy???
there are so many more truths i have muddled up, forgot or not yet discovered, but i will watch some more tv, so i can absorb more of advertising wisdom, and then share it with you all...share yours with us.
i was slapped in the face again today with the harsh reality of how badly so many people in this country parent their children...while standing in line at Walmart, i told the woman in front of me what a beautiful child she had, to which she replied she wished he acted as beautifully as he looked....that he was spoiled, and more along those lines...i just stood there speechless, my heart breaking for this poor child, thinking he deserves better, and wanting to sit this foolish woman down and straighten her out...alas, this is not an acceptable act, and wishing to avoid uneccessary conflict, wisely kept my mouth shut...i know how difficult raising children is, i have a daughter, and i know i made many mistakes along the way, because kids don't come with an instruction manual (not that most people would bother reading it if they did), and while everyone, and anyone wants to give you (mostly bad) advice, there seems to be a lack of simple basic rules spelled out on proper (in my opinion) parenting.
while my only qualifications for doing so are that my daughter turned out quite well (not just in my eyes), so i thought i would provide my version of some basic rules of parenting...here they are:
1) Always do what you say you are going to do - i can not stress this enough...you must follow through with what you have told them, both good and bad...if you say you will punish them for doing something and they do it, then you must go through with said punishment...if you promise to take them somewhere, do it, even if you are not feeling up to it, and at least pretend you are enjoying it...this means, don't threaten your child with unrealistic punishment, such as slapping them silly, or grounding them for life...this is one of the key foundations of trust, respect and discipline.
2) Pick your battles - children will continuously push the boundaries, and unless you want your, and their life to be a constant battleground, save making stands for the really important issues...this doesn't mean let them run wild, just let the small stuff slide from time to time (let kids be kids), and be a rock on the important key things.
3) Teach by example - this is another of the key foundations...you must act consistently with what you are saying...telling them that they should behave a certain way, and then doing the opposite teaches them hypocracy is ok, and they won't respect what you say...if you want them to be polite, be polite....if you have to break your own rules, explain why you did so to them.
4) Tell them, and show them, that you love them unconditionally. Do this every day, as often as possible - i can't stress this one enough...make sure they know, that no matter what happens, that you will always love them, just because they are your child...let them know that what you want for them more than anything else is for them to be happy...let them know that you know they will make mistakes, and that it is ok, you won't love them any less for it...let them know that they can always tell you anything, that they can come to you for help and advice with out fearing you will no longer love them.
5) Talk to, and with, not at your child - another biggie here...treat them with respect when you talk...let them know that what they have to say matters...explain in reasonable terms why you are saying what you are saying...answer their questions seriously...don't be condescending or patronising.
6) Don't punsih out of anger.
7) Praise and reward them for good behaviour - the carrot works much better than the stick...if you show your child that they can easily get your positive attention, they will want to.
8) Spend quality time with them every day - find activities to do with them, and let them know how much you enjoy doing things with them...be a kid with them sometimes...build mud pies, stomp in puddles, whatever, it's fun.
9) The TV, video games, computer is not a babysitter.
10) Don't tell your child they are stupid, ugly, etc.
there are many many more important things i have no listed here, but this is a good start...maybe you disagree with what i listed, if so i'm curious to know why...as i said, this is incomplete, so feel free to add to this list as you see fit...i may add more at a later time...i hope i haven't offended you all, by stating the obvious, or think i'm implying none of you are doing a great job on your own, with out my two cents...most of you are doing a great job already.
way to go, Conroe Texas' Caney Creek High School...seems a 15 year old student comitted the unforgivable sin of loaning his athsmatic girlfriend his inhaler. She had forgotten hers, and was having an attack so he let her use his Albuterol inhaler to help her after she visited the school nurse....according to the state health and safety code he is guilty of delivering a DANGEROUS drug, and according to the school code is slated for expulsion...to add insult to injury, the school may press felony charges...nice to know that no good deed goes unpunished in our schools.
no one is ever safe from the stroke of irony...Tony Suazo, a founder of a New Mexico hunters association and long time hunters' advocate was shot and killed by his friend and long time hunting partner while (yes, you got it) hunting.
fucking spammer scum are everywhere...i found this shit posted as a comment to one of my archived entries (all URLs stripped from this post, as i refuse to provide them with help finding customers):
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If you find this entry inappropriate please remove it from your database!
Posted By: Penis Enlargement
Email Addy: daviddravinsky27@hotmail.com
Posting IP Addy: 66.111.50.170
i don't know if this hotmail account is real, let alone responsible, but am providing the info in case it is...this pisses me off so badly, i can't find words to properly decribe it...i have of course deleted this so called comment, i never thought i would actually feel the need to remove a comment, but this was it...is this happening to anyone else...do we need to band together to stomp this out in its infancy, before even our own webspace becomes the latest spamming hell.
now let's disect this vile shit....as i mentioned above, i stripped all the links out of this...it was all links of course...i can't believe they had the nerve to include the last sentance...who wouldn't find this inappropriate, and unacceptable...my blog is not a platform for advertisement, aside from promoting my and/or my girlfriends ventures...what sort of cretin assumes that anyone is going to be ok with being used as a platform to advertise some strangers products with out being asked first, or offered any compensation...not that there is enough money to persuade me to allow this sleazy shit at all....my other question is what fucking cretins buy this stuff...i know viagra is a legit drug (in some cases), but the rest is the worst sort of psuedomedicines sold to the terminally stupid...i could almost feel sorry for the fools who buy this shit, if it weren't so totally pathtic.
i can't believe that i am now going to have to waste time ensuring that any future spam is gone as quickly as i find it....at least MT makes this a fairly simple task, just a tedious one, and time consuming, if i am forced to start building ban lists....the worst part is having to delete anything from my blog, as i intended to never do that....fucking spammers, poison everything...i hope every one of them gets some incurable disease, preferably a painful, disabling one, and then lives in misery for at least 50 years....still not punishment enough for their crime...oh well
well it seems that johns hopkins screwed the pooch in a major way and has retracted their findings, that supposedly proved ecstacy would fry your brain in as little as one night....this study published last year, had stirred up shitloads of controversy, as it allegedly validated all of the worst government and media scare tactic b/s hype...the study said 3 moderate doses, which in their view was a typical night's usage at a rave, could cause permanent damage to dopamine receptors and in 10 percent of the cases cause death....reputable researchers had been disagreeing, but as the government is firmly anti-drug, even where it may have clinical use, reason was drowned in the screams to puit an end to this drug.
turns out, that the supplier had mislabled the vials, and they did not contain MDMA, but Methamphetamine, and pure at that...also studies were done on baboons, not people, though you would think they might have noticed a difference in the expected behavior, but then baboons aren't people...also came out the doses were considerably larger than a typical dose of x, and much larger than of speed of course, so no wonder they got the results they did....upside is that the door is opened back up for clinical testing of MDMA in treatment of PTSD and other mental conditions, which many scientists believe will prove to be a valuable drug for treating these disorders...it was also pointed out, that had the hopkins study been valid there should be thousands of people suffering symptoms requiring treatment, and many deaths....point of fact, there have been no deaths directly atributed to MDMA, though one or two people did allow themselves to die by overheating or dehydration, which happens more regularly without using ecstacy....when will they stop trying to shove stupid lies down the public's throat concerning drugs, and be honest....if you want to have kids listen, you can't keep lying so obviously...maybe more of these anti-drug fuckheads need to experience real life, because then they might change their views.
ahhh, how satisfying to read that one of those bastard pedophile catholic ex-priests was killed in prison....while i do agree with the attorney for the victims that he should have suffered years in prisong, i can't say i feel this was unsatisfactory at all....maybe i am petty, but i hope it was a slow death, and am glad he is dead.....hope the rest meet equally fitting ends....doesn't make up in any way for what he did, but at least we can be sure he will never do it again, and that is the really important part
i consider myself lucky, because i grew up at a time and in places where education was still focused more on teaching children how to think, that basic concepts must be grasped to understand application of them, and that how to find information was a basci necessity...in the fifth grade we were introduced to a game called "The Prpaganda Game" in class to help us develop skills in logical thinking and debate. I have a great teacher that year, she believed learning should be fun, and interesting, which would encourage us to want to learn, rather than hating it....she was right....the game was very challenging, and while the rules were fairly siimple, learning and understanding the techniques and concepts were not, but it was fun, and it changed my entire way of looking at things...like most good games it is still available, though hard to find.
the game is designed to teach you how to recognize techniques of persuasion, otherwise known as propaganda...the techniques are brken into six sections, and each section had 8 to 10 techniques tied by the general method of the section.
Section A
Techniques of Self-Deception
1. Prejudice
2. Academic Detachment
3. Drawing the Line
4. Not Drawing the Line
5. Conservatism, Radicalism, Moderatism
6. Rationalization
7. Wishful Thinking
8. Tabloid Thinking
9. Causal Oversimplication
10. Inconceivability
Section B
Techniques of Language
1. Emotional Terms
2. Metaphor and Simile
3. Emphasis
4. Quotation Out of Context
5. Abstract Terms
6. Vagueness
7. Ambiguity
8. Shift of Meaning
Section C
Techniques of Irrelevance
1. Appearance
2. Manner
3. Degrees and Titles
4. Numbers
5. Status
6. Repetition
7. Slogans
8. Technical Jargon
9. Sophistical Formula
Section D
Techniques of Exploitation
1. Appeal to Pity
2. Appeal to Flattery
3. Appeal to Ridicule
4. Appeal to Prestige
5. Appeal to Prejudice
6. Bargain Appeal
7. Folksy Appeal
8. Join the Bandwagon Appeal
9. Appeal to Practical Consequences
10. Passing from the Acceptable to the Dubious
Section E
Techniques of Form
1. Concurrency
2. Post Hoc
3. Selected Instances
4. Hasty Generalization
5. Faulty Analogy
6. Composition
7. Division
8. Non Sequitur
Section F
Techniques of Maneuver
1. Diversion
2. Disproving a Minor Point
3. Ad Hominem
4. Appeal to Ignorance
5. Leading Question
6. Complex Question
7. Inconsequent Argument
8. Attacking a Straw Man
9. Victory by Definition
10. Begging the Question
a good basic description of the techniques, and an introduction decribing the rational for the game can be found here , and you can order the game directly from WFF 'N PROOF if this has you curious to play....the more you play the easier it becomes to recognize when the techniques are being used, and they are used everywhere, especially in politics and advertising...what the game really teaches is the basics of applied psychology and mass psychology, which are the core tools used by governments and advertisers to sway, bend or shape perception, occlude truth or say nothing at all while appearing to say a lot...it got my interest, and i ended up reading quite a bit over the years on the subject, even took a couple of classes, and it definately taught me to really pay attention to how things are phrased, and to what was not mentioned as much as what was said, to determine what is actually being said....politicians speeches are especially fun...good ones can spend an hour saying nothing at all of substance while appearing to say exactly what their target audience wants to hear....they also frequently seem to be promising much while in reality never providing a clear message....check it out, it won't hurt you, though you may not like what you see...or just dismiss me as a conspiracy theory nutcase, sit back in fromt of your tv, and let them tell you what to think, buy, and value
while i enjoy a good (as opposed to endless), i am getting bored with how so many of the self proclaimed conservatives mangling the english language, assuming that my unwillingness to waste my time (due to my admittedly poor typing skills) to correctly capitalize, and format my comments using proper grammar, proves that i am incapable of clear thought, and unable to formulate a coherent point...that because i disagree with the status quo, i am smoking crack, a nutcase, illiterate, and uneducated...while this is probably a futile waste of time, i thought i would attempt to provide you all with the reasons i use various words to label myself, and am puzzled why so many of you think they are an insult, and use much less accurate or unflattering words to label yourselves.
why do i use the name angstman...i am a man, and here is the definition (from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000.) of angst: A feeling of anxiety or apprehension often accompanied by depression.
angst is a common state of mind for me, it provides much of the motivation that drives me to write this journal, and i am not, no see any reason to feel embarassed or ashamed of labeling myself as Angstman...i prefer to go by usernames that accurately reflect or decribe me or my views, are not profane, childish or pedantic...it fits all those criteria, and as good usernames should, protects my privacy, is easy for me to remember, and is unique.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition defines liberal as:
1a. Not limited to or by established, traditional, orthodox, or authoritarian attitudes, views, or dogmas; free from bigotry. b. Favoring proposals for reform, open to new ideas for progress, and tolerant of the ideas and behavior of others; broad-minded.
and
2a. Tending to give freely; generous
and also
1. A person with liberal ideas or opinions.
when i call myself liberal, it is with these definitions in mind...to me these are desirable characteristics for a person to have, reflect many of the ideals the us was founded upon, are why i believe that i can learn something from every person i meet, and that i will never quit learning until the day i die (and maybe not even then)...maybe those who use the word liberal as if it were an insult, simply don't know the definition, or fear the unknown, or are too lazy to think for themselves.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition defines conservative as:
1. Favoring traditional views and values; tending to oppose change. 2. Traditional or restrained in style: a conservative dark suit. 3. Moderate; cautious: a conservative estimate.
strangely enough, i really don't find these to be diagreeable things in general, although i feel that while many traditional views and values are good, having restraint in style is also good, and being moderate and cautious are necessary survival traits, opposing change is futile, as things will always change, because not changing leads to stagnation...the problem for me is that these values are too inflexible to be desirable as ones entire outlook, unless a person is trying to live firmly in the past...some of my views are quite conservative, i believe that moderation is more saner than excess most of the time, and totally lacking caution is foolish at best, but life often demand that you accept change, forgo moderation once in a while, and be bold or be left behind...you may not agree, it is your right, but i think that adopting a totally conservative outlook is only going to make a person unhappy.
man i saw this one coming for quite a while...sometimes being right sucks, and this was one of those times for sure...as if the unfortunate military souls our asshole president stranded didn't already have enough to deal with, as of yesterday suicide bombers are now added to the top of their worry list...i wonder how many will die before our fearless (well at least when it is others at risk) leader admits he screwed the pooch again, and either starts doing something to really help the iraqis, or gives up and brings our people home, not that home is safe anymore either...alas, i am pretty sure that we will be enjoying suicide bombers soon too.
bush either has no foresight, or just ignores it completely, either way we are now well and truly fucked...i can't believe that somewhere in either the white house or the pentagon was a voice of reason saying, let's have a plan for constructive action after the war was won...after all that we would win was a sure bet, so why not spend an extra week or so and plan how we help to make life better for them, so they become our friends, instead of of just having everyone stand around with their thumbs up their asses while lotters destroy whatever they want, except for the oil of course...by pretty much proving through our actions that we didnt give a fuck about anything but getting the oil, we now have millions more people who hate us...and just like our wimp leader, they have plenty of old cowards who twist their religion, or beliefs into the old saw, where our way is the only true way, so if you aren't aboard this bus, you aren't really a person, so it just peachy to kill them, cause the word of god as interpreted by my twisted view says you are not commiting a sin...you are a warrior of the light...of course our versions of bin laden run around here painting all muslims as evil, thus creating another endless cycle of death and atrocity.
and to think people are surprised, shocked and often apalled, before judging me as doomed, because i want nothing to do with organized religion...i respect a person right to believe as they will, but don't people learn history, or does it just pass in one side and out the other...most of the worst acts and behavior of humans, at least in the western world were done in the name of god...the truly stupid part being that muslims and jews, and christians have been killing each other for about 2,000 years now, in the name of god, which is the same god for them all...funny how inane points of interpretation cause god's people to blow off his first rule at the drop of a hat....then it really isn't a shock because most people seem to pay little more than lip service to their religion anyway...some of the core values are ok, but i think god was on drugs or is a raving psychopath...the old testament is a pretty grim piece of work...and this doesn't even account for the fact that no sane god allows children to be molested....don't even try and pass that off as anything but sick and fucking wrong, because if you are omnipotent, and good in any way you stop that shit, hard, period...maybe i'm gonna go to hell for believing this, but hey i will gladly burn for eternity before condoning that in any way, and understand this, if you accept it, for any reason, you condone it, and are no better than the person who does it, god, or sick fuck, or parental sick fuck.
One more thing...i decided if i must be something, and thusly tarred by the actions of nimrods who don't even understand what the word they use to define their politics, i am renouncing my liberal status and going back to being an anarchist...if i am gonna be called crazy for keeping an open mind, might as well get called crazy for rejecting the entire concept of being governed at all...i don't need their, or your guidance and rules to tell right from wrong, and i actually understand that i am responsible for my behavior, and the consequences of it...no doubt this will draw the wrath or the ignorant, as most people seem to no longer understand the words they use...after all those of you incapable of grasping simple concept that pagans can not possibly satanist, won't be able to understand that anarchists are people who believe that resonsible adults should need to be governed and regulated by rules and conventions that have nothing to do with right or justice.
about a month ago i posted this Stating The Stupidly Obvious , and last week while still sick recieved the comment from Brian Bunch...i'm not sure if this is a troll or just some weird ass twist of fate, but as you see i was unable to decide what response was appropriate...so i ask you, my loyal readers to help me resolve this crisis....what is the right response here?????
lucky california voters....as my girlfriend's dad told me, only you can actually vote for small government...elect gary coleman...can't get much smaller than that
i suggest you go follow the links provided in this postSocial Reject-Bloggy Rudeness by jane...as noted in the comments there, they seem to be focusing on Kazaa users so far...of course, i checked, and you should too, to see if you are now on the hit list or have still dodged the bullet...in a bizarre side note to this whole issue, it seems that maybe jacko isn't totally whacko, as he released a statement saying that while he does not condone piracy, he thinks jailing people for peer sharing music is just wrong...whoop whoop...thank you jacko for being a voice of reason(boy, sure feels weird saying that)...he is still strange as they come, but seems to have touched down briefly here.
after two hours of deliberation the jury came back with a sentance of 30 years for covicted clueless murder sarah foust...once more she was surprised by the fact that her request for probation was passed on by the jury in favor of the prosecution's request for jail time...she, of course burst into tears at the unfairness of it all, and confused as to why they placed more weight on what she said on tape immediately after the incident, than her self serving courtroom utterings.
if i seem to be hard on her, i am....she deserves it in my eyes...her utter lack of willingness to accept responsibility for what she did bothers me a lot...i hope she learns better, for her own sake and ours...i wonder if fate will provide an ironic, or perhaps comic twist and have her sharing a cell with mallard...wouldn't that be funny, or sad, or both...that would certainly afford the possibility for some enlightening conversations...they could always trade notes on how not to commit vehicular murder and get away with it...i would imagine that they will be sharing some sort of mandated group counseling(AA , NA or the like), which could provide an opportunity to wager which of them has less of a clue...maybe if nothing else both will truly learn that denial is not a river in africa....assuming either even knew where the nile was to begin with
meant to write this yesterday, but hey, better late than spaced....a jury took 5 hours to find a pathetic, self-absorbed, clueless, sarah foust guilt of murder for backing into and then while driving away, swerve throwing the waitress her and her lamer, worthless friends had just stiffed for a bit over $100 headfirst into the ground and killing her...mind you this in front of witnesses, and the brilliant escape lasted 2 miles before the cops pulled her over...where they discover that in addition to being a heartless bitch, she had no license, and was drunk...turns out she was dumber than a post too, as she drunkenly ranted to her friend while in the cop car, on tape, how it was that stupid bitches fault for trying to get the plate number, and avoid being stiffed, and that when asked by her friend if maybe she should have stopped once the waitress was forced onto the trunk from being backed into, she said no...strangely the jury found the tape more credible than her weepy lying testimony, and our genius seemed stunned they found her guilty...i feel for the family of the waitress, who was only 20, as this is pale comfort, not even remotely close to balancing things, but then you can't balance the loss of a child....if foust had anything closely resembling a clue, she would be both remorseful and embarassed for pulling such a boneheaded act, but she hasn't, and seems only to feel sorry for herself...her parents ought to find a high mountain to hide on in shame, but won't i'm sure...will 20 years in jail smarten her up, my money is on no
a couple of quick clarifications before getting into it...first, i'm a smoker...second, while i don't subscribe to any organized religion, i respect everyone's right to follow their(or Jim Jones' for that matter) beliefs, i will not mock or deride unless forced into it...so, that said let's procede
What is it with non-smokers and religious fanatics...why lump them together you say...well, because both groups seem to be not just certain of the rightness of their cause, but so completely intent on spreading the faith that they trample anything, and everything in sight to do so...the worst (to me), being basic rules of common courtesy, assuming any disagreement is a sign of mental incapacity, and treating us like we are mannerless children...the word no seems to have no meaning at all, they ask if you want to hear the list of reason you will die, or go straight to hell...they will spout out their entire litany, despite pleas, vacant stares, interruption or flight...run and they follow like a twisted shadow...shutting the door only makes them increase volume, or knock loudly until your will is overwhelmed and you open it again....and they will back every assertion with "facts" which could at best truly be called theory, and in some cases wishful thinking of some demented sort
some specific occurances which piss me off to no end:
religious fanatics have at various times in my life done the following; while living in san diego, had this group of 7th day adventists that came door to door through my neighborhood 4 days a week...group composed of little(and not so little) old black ladies and their(i assume) grandchildren...refuse to stop knocking until door opened (always arrived at daybreak), and then would not leave until you accepted literature and promised to consider their words....tried closing/slamming door, and found feet, umbrella, or other impediment blocking closure with amazing spped and dexterity for women in their 60s and older...nerves frayed after this has now continued into a third week, i think, i will scare them off...next morning answer the door wearing long black robe, candles burning everywhere, and tell them i am busy preparing for black mass and actually get the door shut....big mistake, as they now convene en mass in my front yard and start praying loudly for my soul alternated with loudly(and poorly) sung gospel...i am forced to flee over the back fence, through neighbors yard, and slink a mile to nearest phone, call a friend and sleep on his couch for the next two days, until they give up...two days later they are back...in a stroke of genius fed by desparation i answer the door stark naked, screams of horror, dogea swipe of umbrella, shut door, peace at last...yes, i am surely going to hell, or would if i believed in it...i knew this years before because while enjoying the dubious pleasure of 45 days of correctional custody (kind of a cross between prison and boot camp the navy uses to fuck with people), i become the unwilling focus of the local incarnation of the spanish inquisition, after foolishly asking for something other than a bible to read...foot in mouth, i stuff the other in also by offhandedly comment (retorting to the remark that fiction is written by the devil to lead the unwary astray) that maybe the devil wrote the bible to lead the faithful to damnation...after witnessing for the first time a person turn purple in fury and seeing his veins pop to amazing hight and clarity, he screams nonstop that i am the antichrist(flattering, no) accompanied by much saliva, rendering me speechless in sunned amazement...which he misinterprets as???so he hits me a few times...i, of course feel obligated to push both legs further down my throat, and mutter how this a perfect example of the typical method used through history in spreading the faith...if you can't reason, why just beat it into them...then procede to point out that i (having no real options anyway) will act as a true christian and turn the other cheek, i do so, ensuring myslf daily beatings for the next 37 days until released.
now while i have to admit that no antismoking nazis have exactly matched either of those, they have: forced me to subject myself to stand in the far extremes of weather providing not shelter, and then have the nerve to deny any complicity in the inevitable bouts of illness caused by exposure...left reams of unsoliceted and unwelcome literature outlining my certain doom via a slew of nasty diseases...badgered me(for my own good) with predictions of my certain death by cancer...i attempted to debate this, was quoted "fact' back by research, my refutal based on atempting to explain that the data was flawed scientifically, due to the inability of true controlled studies meeting the absolute defined criterea of scientific method feel on deaf ears...i get annoyed, ask if this certainty of my death is due to their inbenting a time machine while puttering in the garage, traveling to the future and visting the hospital where i was lying on my cancerous deathbed...they were insulted and condemned me to my doom, as thankfully left me in peace...have had more of these individuals invite me to their home or offered me a lift, then lectured me that i can not smoke in their house, or car....now this chaps my ass big time...i was raised properly, and have manners...it would never occur to me to light up in another person's house or car, unless given carte blanche in advance, or asking first, and if i know you don't smoke, i would assume that i should not smoke in your house/car and wait till i leave or step outside...even if you do smoke, i will always ask first, it is the polite thing to do
so, maybe these two groups are not exactly the same, but they share so many patterns of behavior they belong together in my lsit of those in serious need of, a clue, a swift kick, or at least need to read miss manners
Those who read my previous post concerning where the money will come from so our congressmen could play an extra month in austin, well found it in today's paper....they are increasing traffic ticket fines by $30...bastards...not that i collect tickets, or anything...it's just the principal....just one damn time i want to see a legislative body vote to take the money out of their own pockets...greedy scum never fails to vote raises for them selves, never heard where they said, oh, we're short budget, well lets cut our salary 10 percent...just once would be cool, but i'm not holding my breath
ahhh, texas politics....you got to love them....where else will you find the governor calling a special session of legislature, solely for the purpose of redistricting, when redistricting was killed during regular session...this would be stupid by itself, but when you add in the massive cuts forced by deficit in everything except their fucking salaries, and the fact that other than the house majority leader and the governor, no one seems unhappy with the lines as they are....but wait, it gets better...a few foolish congressmen thought they would try and use the time to take care of some silly things like school funding, pollution control and such, and were slapped silly for thinking of anything other than redwrawing the district map....with about a week left in the session, it looks as if things are deadlocked....what does our governor say to this...i'll call another special session if i have to...at a couple of million dollars per session, got to wonder who takes it up the ass this time...they already screwed the elderly, children, and mentally ill...hrmmm, i'm sure there is some deserving group to screw, perhaps child protective services, or veterans will be the victim....i say if the hard line republicans want it so bad, then let them pay for it....maybe they can fund it with out of bushes reelection war chest...after all we sure a hell don't want, or need him getting 4 more years to ruin the world(but that is a whole rant by itself)...the only sure thing i see coming from all this, is that these morons are pissing off their own constituents in addition to the rest of us
another wise voice from the wilderness speaks out here A good question is never answered . . . in an attempt to clarify , what should be so obvious to all, but alas seems to be so to those who: A) understand the meaning of the words comprising the laguage they use B) Use their brain tho think with, instead of as a substitute for the vacuum which would otherwise fill the space between their ears causing their head to implode(cool mental picture here) C) Understands their own worth is not defined by meaningless, arbitrary standards.
while, i am probably wasting my time (then it is my time to waste), because i am aready preaching to the choir, or beating my head against the great wall of ignorance let's visit the definitions of average and normal
for average, as most pertinent (in my opinion) to this discussion meriam-webster defines average as 2a) an estimation of or approximation to an arithmatic mean b)a level (as of intelligence) typical of a group class or series....this clearly tells us (at least those who understand) that most members of any group will not be average, although probably coser to it than not...some members must, however, represent the extremes for an average to exist, and could not be average...strangely, i see no inferrence that defines good or bad, just the fact that it is impossible for everyone to be average
normal is defined as 2a) according with, constituting, or not deviating from a norm, rule, or principle b) conforming to a type, standard, or regular pattern 4a) of, relating to, or characterized by average intelligence or development b) free from mental disorder (SANE)...the first parts do imply that deviation may be bad, but this assumes that one accepts that these rules,standards, types or patterns are things worth holding to...the second set returns us to that concept of average, which most of us can not be through no device or desire of our own making...the last definition requires understanding what constitutes sane, so
sane is defined as 2) mentally sound; especially : able to anticipate and appraise the effect of one's actions...this is the only thing that most of us have control over, and to myself is truly a label or definition i desire to be applied to me
i am not, and never will be by definition average...i had no choice in that, but also feel no shame for being above average...i also do not in any way feel superior to those who are average, or below average, as they also had no choice in the matter...it is not good or bad, just is, and all carry equal amounts of benefit and burden...and except as defined by 4b above, not normal, nor interested in being normal, because it would require me being less than i am capable of being, and i believe in striving to be the best i can be...i will proudly and fully embrace that i am normal or sane as defined, because it is a great compliment (to me), and goal to be aware of the effect of my actions and therefore consider before acting...i guess that makes me a normal deviant
damn i hate fucking spammers, and their complete disregard for the hassles their rampant greed causes the rest of us...forcing us to abandon, or render completely useless mail accounts (i had to stop using my hotmail and yahoo accounts), when their built in filters can not be fine tuned easily...or waste hours in tuning filters to eliminate the deluge of shit, while still being able to receive wanted mail from new people and/or commercial senders...my isp, and i live in a rural area so these guys maybe have a couple hundred customers, was forced by them into installing a server filter, which forces me to log into it via web page every day or so, to fish the one or two emails i want from the hundreds i don't, or at least until i am confident that my whitelist is complete, which may take years...fuck, fuck, fuck...it really pisses me off that i am suffering this shit, especially since i am able to build useful rulesets to filter mail, in fact have a very nice set i run in outlook which has been 99 percent effective in sending unwanted crap to the trash bin, and sorts incoming mail from 20 odd accounts and then sneds it to the correct incoming folder...it wasn't really hard to do, just time consuming...i will never understand why so few people are willing to spend any time in learning to use their computers...i foolishly did software support for a while a few years back, and was appalled by the refusal to make any effort to learn....there is nothing wrong with ignorance, we all started out knowing nothing, but being unwilling to at least try and learn is just plain dumb...i may not be able to code, write software and such, but i put enough time and effort into trying to learn it to realize my brain doesn't want to work that particular way...and while i can't do it, i grasp the concepts well enough to appreciate those who can, and not be frustrated due to unrealistic expectations.
learning is good, it expands your horizons...there is no useless knowledge, and you are never too old to learn new tricks
this Dog Snot Diaries: He speaks! states so eloquently yet again,that reason lives, and hunts , not fears ingnorance...you may hate us, you may fear us, but you will never silence us
big story in this morning's paper about the "growing" drug problem in Mexico (which i am not gonna talk about), which had a smaller followup focused on the growing Mexican rave scene (yup this is it)...i'm pretty sure that i will now shock some of you, piss a lot of you off, telling many others what you already know, and hopefully convincing at least one person to discard their preconceptions...while i am focusing on misperceptions of the rave scene, the real subject here is that lack of knowledge/understanding/experience often leads to fear, which frequently becomes condemnation and hate, and that is root cause of the worst problems in our world.
back to the focus....once again the bonehead media, missed what was right in front of them (i know this, because they mentioned it), and in focusing almost completely on the fact that drugs are consumed by some, add more fuel to feed the fires of fear, hate and refusal to accept we don't all look/think/want the same things, except to be who you are.
i will say this as plainly as can be, THE RAVE SCENE IS NOT AND NEVER HAS BEEN ABOUT DRUGS...yes, many people do drugs there...ummmm, if you haven't figured it out yet, many people do drugs just about everywhere people congregate...you know, bars, restraunts, sporting events, movies, parks, plays, concerts, school, church, work, and on and on....you can believe this or not, but it is true, nothing will change this fact, and you are just fooling yourself if you think otherwise...discussion on rightness and wrongness of drugs another time, please.
the rave scene is about music, and a belief often stated using the acronym PLUR...Peace...Love...Unity...Respect...any of you who truly think this is wrong need to take a serious look at who you are and what you believe in, then find a way to change, because you are fucked up, and unless you're living in a cave (in which case, i doubt you're reading this), you inflict your fuck upness on the rest of us...btw, if you haven't read the pointless facts, or better yet "First Words", i am 44, eductated, help employment considered socially acceptable, and my judgement trustworthy enough to have the responsibility of making decisions affecting hundreds of millions of dollars, even people's lives...so please, consider that what i'm saying may have some validity...obviously i'm not your "average" adult, although i'm not so atypical either...there are many other like me out there.
there is not and never will be anything wrong with ravers, their beliefs, or their music...you will never know if you don't give it an honest assesment...i'm not saying you have to start going to parties, but you might try really listening to your children's, friends, neighbors, stranger's music, before deciding it is not "real" music, evil, and should be wiped from the face of the earth...more importantly, try embracing the belief that that the world, your life can and should be a better, happier, nicer place, and if enough of us believe it, it will be...ravers are not bad people, they just strive to create a place where they can have that better world, if only for hours at a time...there is an excellent documentry on the early days of the techno scene, raves and the culture called "Better Living Through Circuitry", check it out.
no doubt, many of you are now thinking i am nuts, the antichrist, or a hypocrate...i'm not, i honestly believe everyone is worthy of respect (until they prove otherwise) reguardless of age, race, religion, culture, sex...that everyone has something of value to teach me...that peace is better than not...love is a key to happiness...that unity based on, respect, love and peace will provide a more satisfying existance than the solitude of fear, distrust, hate, and misunderstanding....those of you who believers, or claiming to be so, of Christianity, Judeism, and Islam, should already agree, as this forms the core of your religion...btw, don't waste your time, or mine proclaiming what a good "place religion here" you are, if you truly are , it shows in your actions, in how you live your life.
PLUR