May 06, 2008
Those Recently Busted SDSU Students had Curious Futures Planned
Those arrested included a student who was about to receive a criminal justice degree and another who was to receive a master's degree in homeland security. Some defendants were scheduled to appear in state court to face charges Tuesday.
The rest is just the same old song in 21st century trappings.
(via AP)
Posted by Groonk at 05:15 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of USA
April 18, 2008
The Internet's Getting Interesting Again
I take a few days away and an artist named Aliza Shvarts shakes up a few people.
Art major Aliza Shvarts '08 wants to make a statement.Beginning next Tuesday, Shvarts will be displaying her senior art project, a documentation of a nine-month process during which she artificially inseminated herself "as often as possible" while periodically taking abortifacient drugs to induce miscarriages. Her exhibition will feature video recordings of these forced miscarriages as well as preserved collections of the blood from the process.
This turned out to be as Mr Ellis predicted: "the first "great" conceptual artist of the internet age."
I'm not one for performance art, but this little stunt generated some curious reactions. And, it seems to have some actual thought behind it. Unlike other performances I've seen.
Statement by Helaine S. Klasky - Yale University, SpokespersonNew Haven, Conn. - April 17, 2008
Ms. Shvarts is engaged in performance art. Her art project includes visual representations, a press release and other narrative materials. She stated to three senior Yale University officials today, including two deans, that she did not impregnate herself and that she did not induce any miscarriages. The entire project is an art piece, a creative fiction designed to draw attention to the ambiguity surrounding form and function of a woman's body.
She is an artist and has the right to express herself through performance art.
Had these acts been real, they would have violated basic ethical standards and raised serious mental and physical health concerns.
(Via warren ellis: 1, 2, 3, 4)
Posted by Groonk at 02:21 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Art, Intertube Madness, USA
February 22, 2008
Huntsville Reopened Nuclear Fallout Shelters, Raises My Eyebrow a Smidge
Some old news brought to my attention just now.
"If Huntsville is in the blast zone, there's not much we can do. But if it's just fallout ... shelters would absorb 90 percent of the radiation," said longtime emergency management planner Kirk Paradise, whose Cold War expertise with fallout shelters led local leaders to renew Huntsville's program.
Huntsville's project, developed using $70,000 from a Homeland Security grant, goes against the grain because the United States essentially scrapped its national plan for fallout shelters after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Congress cut off funding and the government published its last list of approved shelters at the end of 1992.
After Sept. 11, Homeland Security created a metropolitan protection program that includes nuclear-attack preparation and mass shelters. But no other city has taken the idea as far as Huntsville has, officials said.
[...]
Plans call for staying inside for as long as two weeks after a bomb blast, though shelters might be needed for only a few hours in a less dire emergency.
Unlike the fallout shelters set up during the Cold War, the new ones will not be stocked with water, food or other supplies. For survivors of a nuclear attack, it would be strictly "BYOE" bring your own everything. Just throw down a sleeping bag on the courthouse floor or move some of the rocks on the mine floor and make yourself at home.
"We do not guarantee them comfort, just protection," said Paradise, who is coordinating the shelter plans for the local emergency management agency.
(via abc news, ponzu)
Posted by Groonk at 09:05 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Alabama, USA, War
February 21, 2008
Burmese Pythons are Coming for Our Alligators, Me
"Global Warming Will Make Southern States More Habitable," is the article's official title. I guess *something* would find The South bearable eventually.
(via the daily green, ponzu)
Posted by Groonk at 11:24 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Animals, USA, Versus
February 16, 2008
One Day, Your Jacket will Power your iPod / Pacemaker / Pocket Vibrator
Scientists in the US have developed novel brush-like fibres that generate electrical energy from movement.
Writing in the journal Nature, the team say that the materials could also be used in tents or other structures to harness wind energy.
"Our goal is to make self-powered nanotechnology," Professor Zhong Lin Wang of the Georgia Institute of Technology and one of the authors of the paper told BBC News.
(via bbc news)
Posted by Groonk at 08:23 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Technology, The Future, USA
February 05, 2008
Porn Stars are talking about Politics
View Porn Star words on who they're voting for this Super Tuesday. Oh shit, that's today.
See some hilarity after the jump.
(via digg)
Posted by Groonk at 02:59 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Politics, Sex, USA
January 29, 2008
Man Sells North American History to Pay Bills
There is a special hell for you, sir.
A state archivist was charged Monday with stealing hundreds of artifacts — documents representing "the heritage of all Americans," according to the history buff who found some of them on eBay — to pay his household bills.Daniel Lorello, 54, is accused of taking the rare items from the New York State Library, including Davy Crockett Almanacs, Currier and Ives lithographs and the 1865 railroad timetable for Abraham Lincoln's funeral train. Authorities believe he hawked them for tens of thousands of dollars, using much of that to pay off his daughter's credit card debt.
"This crime is especially repugnant, because it's dealing with historic documents," state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo said. "It's literally stealing the legacy of the state of New York page by page."
[...]
In a handwritten statement released by Cuomo's office, Lorello said he took "more than 300 or 400 items in 2007 alone."
He said he "particularly liked" artifacts associated with the Revolutionary, Civil and Mexican wars, World War I, black Americana and "anything related to the Roosevelts and Jewish items."
Officials found hundreds of documents and artifacts in Lorello's home over the weekend. Authorities believe the theft goes back to 2002, although it accelerated in 2007.
"I took things on an as-needed basis to pay family bills, such as house renovations, car bills, tuition and my daughter's credit card problem," Lorello wrote.
He said he took many items last year because his daughter "unexpectedly ran up a $10,000 credit card bill."
Incompetence runs in the family. Surprise.
(via yahoo news)
Posted by Groonk at 08:03 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of History, USA
January 24, 2008
Tesla Roadster: USA Street Legal, Ready to Sell
Damn. I was looking forward to buying the thing on the auto black market. I'll become a rebel to ween myself of that Black Gold giving teat.
Tesla Motors announced that it has received all regulatory approvals to import the first production Tesla roadster, code-named P1, for sale. While P1 will immediately be given to company chairman Elon Musk, an estimated 600 customers who have signed pre-orders for the car will have to patient for several more months: Series production of the car is scheduled to begin on March 17 of this year.
(via engadget, tesla motors blog, tg daily)
Posted by Groonk at 11:22 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Tesla, USA
Alaska: Last Speaker of the Eyak Language has Died
A woman believed to be the last native speaker of the Eyak language in the north-western US state of Alaska has died at the age of 89.Marie Smith Jones was a champion of indigenous rights and conservation. She died at her home in Anchorage.
[...]
Ms Jones is described by her family as a tiny chain smoking woman who was fiercely independent, says the BBC's Peter Bowes in Los Angeles.
"To the best of our knowledge, she was the last full-blooded Eyak alive," her daughter Bernice Galloway told the Associated Press news agency.
"She was a woman who faced incredible adversity in her life and overcame it. She was about as tenacious as you can get."
(via warrenellis, bbcnews)
Posted by Groonk at 11:12 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Grammar, People Who Died, USA
Cheney wants to Tap Your Phone, Forever
But Vice President Cheney said in a speech yesterday that Congress "must act now" to renew the expiring surveillance law and provide telecommunications companies with protection from lawsuits alleging they violated personal privacy rights while helping the government after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.[...]
The temporary surveillance law -- approved under heavy White House pressure -- gives the government broad powers to eavesdrop on the communications of terrorism suspects without warrants. It effectively legalized many of the practices employed by the National Security Agency as part of a secret program approved by Bush in late 2001.
The White House and Republican lawmakers are pushing to make the law permanent while also adding legal protections for telecommunications companies, which face dozens of lawsuits. Most House Democrats and civil liberties groups strongly oppose immunity for the communications firms, but other Democrats -- including John D. Rockefeller IV (D-W.Va.), chairman of the Senate intelligence committee -- have backed the GOP position.
(via washington post)
UPDATE: Well, hell.
On a vote of 60-36, the Senate rejected an alternative proposal, which would bolster protection of privacy rights of U.S. citizens without shielding phone companies from lawsuits.Nearly 40 lawsuits have been filed accusing AT&T Inc, Verizon Communications Inc and Sprint Nextel Corp of violating Americans' privacy rights in helping the government's warrantless domestic spying program.
Posted by Groonk at 06:12 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Politics, USA
Ring Gun: Small. Stylish. Old. Deadly?
Also, it won't pass through Airport Security.
Duh.
Also of interest:
Watch Gun
Crucifix Gun
a fucking Hand Canon!
(via curio&antik, gizmodo)
Posted by Groonk at 02:02 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of History, Religion, Research, Technology, USA
December 12, 2007
TIME Online Talks to US Military Deserters
WATCH: An exploration as to why some soldiers decide to leave active duty
(via digg)
Posted by Groonk at 10:40 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of USA, War
December 07, 2007
Corner of the World on a Square
Ponzu shares a bit of Portland with me from time to time. It gives me something to shoot for, it does.
Pioneer Square
(via ponzu)
Posted by Groonk at 05:56 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of USA
December 03, 2007
Tesla's Missing Papers. About 6 of them.
One of the more controversial topics involving Nikola Tesla is what became of many of his technical and scientific papers after he died in 1943. Just before his death at the height of World War II, he claimed that he had perfected his so-called "death beam." So it was natural that the FBI and other U.S. Government agencies would be interested in any scientific ideas involving weaponry. Some were concerned that Tesla's papers might fall into the hands of the Axis powers or the Soviets.The morning after the inventor's death, his nephew Sava Kosanovic´ hurried to his uncle's room at the Hotel New Yorker. He was an up-and-coming Yugoslav official with suspected connections to the communist party in his country. By the time he arrived, Tesla's body had already been removed, and Kosanovic´ suspected that someone had already gone through his uncle's effects. Technical papers were missing as well as a black notebook he knew Tesla kept—a notebook with several hundred pages, some of which were marked "Government."
There are samples of the papers on the PBS site. Six documents in all.
Lovely mental steak for newly indoctrined Tesla geeks like myself.
Posted by Groonk at 06:04 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of History, Science, Tesla, USA
November 16, 2007
That's Stephen Colbert, Saving Your Public Schools
By your public schools I mean South Carolina.
When Colbert announced last month that he was running for president, the Charleston native and host of Comedy Central's "The Colbert Report" also asked viewers to give to DonorsChoose.org, which helps fulfill teacher wish lists for books, globes or other classroom materials in schools in the United States.
"So I encourage everyone, go on, make donations to teachers in South Carolina, let's make a difference," Colbert said.
The brief comment by the 43-year-old talk-show host who has since dropped his bid for the White House raised $59,000 in 10 days and reached 13,000 public school students in South Carolina, said Peter Bloom, the group's national chairman.
Colbert being on strike isn't one of them. The Suits need to get off thir butts and pay people what they're owed. I'm missing my Daily Show/Colbert Report one-two punch.
(via ontd, yahoo omg!beta)
Posted by Groonk at 11:47 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Just Freaking Neat, Politics, USA
November 14, 2007
XKCD Influences People, Life, Ninjas
Wired finally figured out where the cool part of the web is and talked about the lovely comic, XKCD.
And then Munroe's fans read the installment in which a mysterious dream girl leaves the hero with a set of coordinates for a place and time in the near future.
In the comic, nothing happens. "It turns out that wanting something doesn't make it real," the comic's narrator says mournfully.
But in real life, those coordinates pointed to a real time and place: Sept. 23, 2:38 p.m., in Reverend Thomas J. Williams Park in North Cambridge, Massachusetts. On that day, nearly a thousand xkcd fans from as far away as England and Canada converged on the park, bearing tape measures and Rubik's cubes. At the assigned minute, Munroe emerged and spoke.
"Maybe wanting something does make it real," he said as his fans cheered and fought duels with foam swords. The comic that spurred the gathering was enlarged and hung from a fence, and fans took turns contributing to a new last panel, where dreams can come true.
You lost me with the foam sword duels. I'm not sayin' I'm too cool for school. I'm just sayin' I'm entirely too cynical.
Every sword I wield in public will have a razor's edge. Every battle I fight will be to the pain.
(via wired, xkcd meetup pool, xkcd, hober's flickr)
Posted by Groonk at 04:57 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Comics, Culture, Flickrlicious, USA
November 12, 2007
Doonesbury Remembered the "Proper Days" of Frat Hazing at Yale
Did you know that the Current President (yes, that one) once defended a fraternity's practice of branding its pledges with a red-hot coat hanger?
I didn't. Mind you, I'm not at all surprised by the idea of it.
Trudeau's cartoon "Doonesbury" featured fictional character Mark Slackmeyer explaining the President's position against current anti-torture legislation by revisiting a series of 1967 Yale Daily News articles that exposed DKE's rush activities, which at the time included brandings and alleged beatings. Soon after these stories were published, the University's Inter-Fraternity Council fined the fraternity for performing "physically and mentally degrading acts," and the Times published an article in which Bush defended the brandings, comparing them to cigarette burns."At the time, it caused quite a stir on campus, even generating some national attention," Trudeau said.
(via yale daily news at the fraternity in question's site)
Posted by Groonk at 04:24 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Comics, Politics, USA
Captain America Returns! (sort of) for Veterans Day
Captain America may not be back from the dead, but he's back — sort of. After Marvel Comics unexpectedly killed off the champion of liberty and the American way earlier this year, he appears in a comic made exclusively for U.S. soldiers. He is seen on a videotape made before his death.[...]
Captain America is not being resurrected in "Spirit of America," said Bob Sabouni, Marvel's vice president of business development.
But when AAFES asked Marvel officials to include the hero in the latest military issue to be released before Veterans Day, they agreed because no other character better symbolizes the heroism and patriotism of the American soldier, Sabouni said.
(via yahoo news)
Posted by Groonk at 04:07 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Comics, Culture, USA, War
November 10, 2007
The Office Writers Talk about "Promotions"
Ms Fischer breaks down the situation with hard numbers. This is something I've been wondering about for a while.
Let's say you write a movie script and you sell it for $100,000...that's GREAT money! Your movie gets made and yada yada. You start churning away writing more scripts. But it takes you 4 years before you sell your next script. That $100,000 windfall is now stretched to $25,000 a year for 4 years. (And, I'm not even counting the 30% that goes to taxes and 25% to your agent/manager.) If during that 4 years they sell your movie on DVD or run it on Pay-per-view you get little residual checks for $1,000 here or $2,500 there. That money is essential for getting by. This scenerio is what the majority of writers, actors and directors in Hollywood face. You have a few flush years and then a big drought.The future of media is the internet. In a few years it is more likely that you will download a movie or television show than buy it on DVD. But as it currently stands, those downloads produce no residuals for the creative types that made them. All the profit goes to the studio.
(via pam/jenna's myspace, the writely youtube)
Posted by Groonk at 08:03 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Artist, USA, Video, Writer's strike
November 06, 2007
Political Ghost Whispering
This is President Eisenhower's complete (audio only) 1961 farewell speech:
part 2
Everyone please note how this statesman - this Leader - addresses his people. Notice his clear diction. Notice how he talks "to you" and not "at you?" Soak that in for a minute.
Prof. Emanuel Pastreich of George Washington University compares the current state of affairs to Japan's occupation of Manchuria rather than Vietnam. He also mentions Eisenhower coined the term, "Military-Industrial Complex."
huh.
Posted by Groonk at 08:20 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Grammar, Politics, USA, Video
October 26, 2007
The Real News turns into a Punchline from The Onion
These are real headlines with proper articles and everything. I don't feel the need to post an extract cause the headlines do all the work. They are linked if you feel the need for more details.
and...
(via Panel & Pixel )
Posted by Groonk at 05:05 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of USA
October 22, 2007
Unique Hitler Items Found in SLC
The hell?
(via msnbc)
Posted by Groonk at 10:23 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Art, History, USA, WorldWarII
Stephen Fry Tours the USA in a Black Cab
This strange new obesession with Stephen Fry baffles me. He seems to have a mind to drive around all 50 states in the black cab seen below.
"A jaunt around every state of America may seem rather trivial or self-indulgent, but I hope that won’t be how it comes across. America is important. We have seen perhaps a little too much of British people going over to sneer at rednecks, laugh at freaks and wring their hands at nutters. The America I’ve visited (and I’ve crossed it before in traditional fashion; shiny red Mustang convertible, diner to diner, motel to motel. Very Bruce Dern) have always seemed to me to be more than ordinarily kind, friendly, hospitable, polite, thoughtful and honourable. Well, I’m visiting with an open mind but that has been my experience thus far. Maine for four nights, then New Hampshire, Vermont, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York... you get the idea."
Hullo, Mr Fry?
I'll keep my eye out for your cab.
Oh, and will you be needing an alarum for your mornings, sir?
(via ontd, stephen fry's blog)
Posted by Groonk at 10:11 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Blogged, USA
October 19, 2007
The Honesty, I Admire. The Tenacity, Gives Me Pause
Retired General James "Spider" Marks, who has just been named a new national security adviser to Mitt Romney's campaign, asserted in a 2005 interview that he would readily torture prisoners to save a soldier's life or stop a terror bomb, saying: "I'd stick a knife in somebody's thigh in a heartbeat."
Granted, when I'm trapped in a dark alley surrounded by enemies ready
to pounce, I'd want this guy standing next to me.
But in the end, we should be better than that. Hell, at least we could try harder.
CNN Analyst TOM FOREMAN (voice-over): Polls have shown that more than 60 percent of Americans think torture can sometimes be justified. But here is the catch. Experts, including General Marks, are convinced with the vast majority of prisoners, it just doesn't work.
(via ontd p)
Posted by Groonk at 07:24 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Politics, Quotables, USA, War
October 17, 2007
Let Colbert be Colbert and Possibly President
Stephen Colbert's running for president in his home state as a "favorite son" and on the Democrat and Republican ticket.
Exactly how far the mock conservative pundit planned to stretch his impression of a presidential candidate wasn't clear. Colbert rarely breaks character on camera, including at his memorable speech at the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner last year.The Comedy Central host has often mobilized his fans ("Colbert Nation"), encouraging them to vote to have a Hungarian bridge named after him, for example, or to vandalize Web site Wikipedia.com with his version of "truthiness" and "wikiality."
[...]
In a guest column for Maureen Dowd in Sunday's New York Times, Colbert wrote: "I am not ready to announce yet — even though it's clear that the voters are desperate for a white, male, middle-aged, Jesus-trumpeting alternative."
I can't figure if the man is brilliant in that Rain Man kind of way, or if he's insane in that Easy Rider Dennis Hopper kind of way.
(via pretty much every damn where)
Update: A row of videos on the matter and ONTD declares that Colbert is their official favorite son.
Posted by Groonk at 09:46 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Funny, Just Freaking Neat, Politics, USA
October 16, 2007
Al Gore Now a Nobel Laureate: Peace Out, Bitches!
Funny how a peace initiative is stirring up so much noise. And by funny I mean, slightly sad.
When Al Gore became a Nobel laureate on Friday, it was the second time in four years that the prize for peace had gone green. In 2004, its recipient was Wangari Maathai, a Kenyan politician responsible for planting millions of trees to combat soil erosion. The day after she was recognized, I asked Maathai what reforestation had to do with ending conflict. "What the Nobel committee is doing is going beyond war and looking at what humanity can do to prevent war," she answered. "Sustainable management of our natural resources will promote peace."
(via Slate)
Posted by Groonk at 03:45 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of USA
September 19, 2007
Seattle Rides a SLUT to Work
I admit it. I just wanted to be a 12 year old and talk about SLUTs without being slapped.
SEATTLE - Officially, it's the South Lake Union Streetcar. But in the neighborhood where the new line runs, it's called the South Lake Union Trolley — or, the SLUT. At Kapow! Coffee, a shop in the old Cascade neighborhood, 100 T-shirts bearing the words "Ride the SLUT" sold out in days, and another 100 are on order."We're welcoming the SLUT into the neighborhood," said Jerry Johnson, 29, a part-time barista.
(heads-up via Dunc)
Posted by Groonk at 02:41 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of USA
September 14, 2007
Southwest Fascist Patrol: Women Deemed too Hot to Fly
I get that a company can draw the line at who it wants to serve. What I don't get is why they get to lecture their bullshit afterwards.
BTW Southwest, suffrage happened for many reasons in the USA 1920. And one of those reasons was not so you can preach "family values" on your flying tin cans.
Setara Qassim says it was not her idea that 100 degree day she flew back from Las Vegas on Southwest Airlines.
Ebbert, a Mesa College student and Hooters waitress, was allowed to stay on the plane, but only after she put up a fight and, she says, was lectured on how to dress properly.[...]
(via diesel sweeties and other news places)
Posted by Groonk at 02:14 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Culture, USA
September 10, 2007
Mos Def Continues to Amuse Me
I still don't much like Bill Maher though.
Def lost me on his OJ opinions. Otherwise...good show.
(via ontd)
Posted by Groonk at 03:08 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Politics, USA, Video
August 09, 2007
A Tornado Hit New York City
It was the first one to hit brooklyn since record keeping began in 1950.
Aug. 9 (Bloomberg) -- Meteorologists confirmed that yesterday's storms in the New York area included a tornado that cut a 9-mile path through Staten Island and Brooklyn.The twister, estimated to have winds of between 111-135 miles (179-217 kilometers) an hour, damaged the roofs of 11 homes in the Bay Ridge area of Brooklyn, and later tore off the roof of a car dealership at the corner of 66th Street and Fifth Avenue, the U.S. Weather Service said in a report on its Web site.
The tornado, which touched down in Staten Island at about 6:22 a.m. local time, caused extensive damage to trees, the service said. The tornado was a Category 2 on the 0-5 classification scale used by the weather service, in which 5 is the most powerful.
(via bloomberg and my parents)
Posted by Groonk at 09:12 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of USA
May 03, 2007
Fresh Wounds Breed the Most Fear
Three Panel Soul is a webcomic I've quietly followed for 2 months now. Nice, funny, and simple stories. Imagine my surprise when I discover the latest story is actual truth. And that "terroristic" mysteriously became a word overnight. I'll let Diesel Sweeties' RStevens fully explain.
I've been meaning to post about Three Panel Soul, the new comic by Ian and Matt of MacHall fame- unfortunately I've got to do so under less-than-wonderful circumstances. I love this new strip because I’m finding it a lot more minimalist and relatable… also ridiculously funny.Matt was working as a contractor for a branch of the government. He made the mistake of being interested in the hobby of paper target shooting at about the same time as the VA Tech shootings and talking to someone about this hobby at work. Keep in mind he wasn’t even talking about those shootings, in fact he was discussing how he wanted a gun which would make it difficult to kill someone.
He was promptly fired and not allowed back to work because people were scared of him.
To top it all off, he was later visited by police detectives for making a comic about his experience, because it was a "borderline terroristic threat." (Is "terroristic" even a word? Did they get that from the Colbert report?)
I’m not a lawyer or a reporter or anything, but I would recommend anyone who was one of those things to contact Matt. ( machallboyd ATZORS gmail.com ) If you’re a cartoonist or a webcomics fan, spread his story around. The more people who know about this, the better. He’s a good dude who deserves your support.
(via diesel sweeties and three panel soul)
Posted by Groonk at 01:27 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Comics, Digital Share, USA
April 25, 2007
In the Bush an Ancient Evil Lurks
Last hit before a final.
(Stephen Crowley/ New York Times)
Titles that could have been:
"In a bush, watching a Bush, be a bush."
"Shubbery cannot mask hell's shadow."
"It lurks behind the sun in shade.
It writes the plays that will be played."
(via kung fu monkey)
Posted by Groonk at 12:48 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Funny, Photos2, Politics, USA, Weird
April 24, 2007
CNN Finally Talks About the Heroes of VA Tech
I had to wait a full week before the press did a proper write-up on this man. I suppose they were too busy tripping over themselves giving the VA Tech gunman a soapbox for his psychotic rantings.
In nearby Room 204 of Norris Hall, Liviu Librescu was doing a slide show for his engineering students when gunshots rang out a couple of classrooms away.Librescu's students say their 76-year-old professor moved quickly, blocking the door to give his class time to escape. Two were wounded, but all survived -- all except Professor Librescu.
Librescu's son, in Israel, said he is not surprised that his father, who survived the Holocaust, would act with such bravery.
"I knew that he ... he's going to take action ... he's going to do something not normal, definitely not something cowardice, something ... he wouldn't have taken cover, for sure," said Joe Librescu.
The man survived the Holocaust only to be brought down while teaching his class at University. That's just...that's just completely fucked.
(via cnn.com)
Posted by Groonk at 09:41 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of USA
April 19, 2007
VT Student Survived Columbine and VT Shootings
Holy damn.
[Regina]Rohde knows. Eight years ago, she was a freshman at Columbine High School in Colorado when two classmates, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, came in armed to the teeth and bent on murder.She was in the cafeteria, the epicenter of the attack, but was one of the lucky ones who managed to escape the building even before the first calls went out to police. Twelve students died in that assault.
It took a long time, she said, to stop wondering whether every person she saw was going to attack her. But she finally got to the stage where "you can go about your daily life not constantly looking around you. It’s taken years to get to that point. [But] you never get back to that complete sense of security."
And now, on Monday morning, it was happening again. Rohde wasn’t in the direct line of fire, but she knew that a gunman was on the prowl, and she found herself experiencing the same emotions as she had in 1999.
"It was a lot of the same reactions. ‘What’s going on? Who’s hurt? Where do we go?’ — the same kind of questions that we asked ourselves" at Columbine, she said.
(via Dirt and msnbc)
Posted by Groonk at 07:43 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of USA
April 18, 2007
More on the Virginia Tech Shootings
NYTimes Puts Faces to the victims' names
Students account of what happened in Room 207
http://www.virginiatechtragedy.com/: A space to reflect on the Virginia Tech tragedy.
update:
VA Tech: Jamie Bishop, son of sf writer Michael Bishop, among victims
Posted by Groonk at 08:29 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of USA
They're Sharing the Plays of the Virginia Tech Gunman
AOL employee Ian McFarlane was a former classmate:
When I first heard about the multiple shootings at Virginia Tech yesterday, my first thought was about my friends, and my second thought was "I bet it was Seung Cho."Cho was in my playwriting class last fall, and nobody seemed to think much of him at first. He would sit by himself whenever possible, and didn't like talking to anyone. I don't think I've ever actually heard his voice before. He was just so quiet and kept to himself. Looking back, he fit the exact stereotype of what one would typically think of as a "school shooter" – a loner, obsessed with violence, and serious personal problems. Some of us in class tried to talk to him to be nice and get him out of his shell, but he refused talking to anyone. It was like he didn't want to be friends with anybody. One friend of mine tried to offer him some Halloween candy that she still had, but he slowly shook his head, refusing it. He just came to class every day and submitted his work on time, as I understand it.
[...]
When we read Cho's plays, it was like something out of a nightmare. The plays had really twisted, macabre violence that used weapons I wouldn't have even thought of. Before Cho got to class that day, we students were talking to each other with serious worry about whether he could be a school shooter. I was even thinking of scenarios of what I would do in case he did come in with a gun, I was that freaked out about him. When the students gave reviews of his play in class, we were very careful with our words in case he decided to snap. Even the professor didn't pressure him to give closing comments.
There are links to the plays and the rest of McFarlane's post.
(via aol news, boingboing)
Posted by Groonk at 05:47 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of USA
April 04, 2007
Louis Theroux Chats with the most Hateful Family in America
This family pickets funerals of soldiers that have died in the current Iraq War. They picket the mourners and say that all the bad things that are happening is because it is God's revenge on the US for tolerating homosexuality.
...
If I ever find them picketing a funeral of anybody I'm familiar with, my wrath would strike without prejudice. They would write songs about what I do to each and every one of those hateful bastards.
What else do you tackle in the film?What we're trying to do in the documentary is look at an activity that is so antisocial, so strange, so futile and at its worst, so cruel, and we're saying "Why? Why do that?", especially when you seem to be, for the most part, kind and sensitive people. We're exploring what is cruelty, trying to explain how something that really does very often just amount to cruelty could be perpetuated and passed down in a family. Why would nice people do such horrible things?
Do you think you've come to an answer?
Yes, I think we do. I think that the pastor is not a very nice person. I think he's an angry person who's twisted the Bible and picked and chosen verses that support his anger, that sort of justify his anger, and he's instilled that in his children and they've passed it on to their children. Although the second and third generation are by and large quite nice people from what I saw, they still live under the influence of their Gramps.
(via bbc news)
Posted by Groonk at 10:25 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Interviews, Religion, USA, War
March 13, 2007
Americans are Getting Paid to Watch TV
In the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) plan, each household can claim two $40 coupons that they then can use toward the purchase of a set-top box that can translate digital signals so television shows can be viewed on analog TVs."The transition from analog to digital television is a historic change and brings with it considerable benefits for the American consumer," Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez said. "The coupon program is designed to help ease the transition to digital TV. Not only will the transition help expand consumer choices, but more importantly, the digital transition will enable more efficient use of the nation's airwaves, providing new advanced wireless services and increased public safety services for all Americans."
Call me when you're ready to buy my widescreen plasma(or LCD) television.
(via yahoo news)
Posted by Groonk at 04:19 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Technology, USA
March 11, 2007
The Patriot Act Might have Looked at Your Mail...Illegally
You know that main fear that every reasonable body had about the Patriot Act? The one where people said it would be used to illegally, wantonly, look through everybody's personables?
Well it might have happened by "mistake".
Oops.
The FBI is guilty of "serious misuse" of the power to secretly obtain private information under the Patriot Act, a government audit said Friday.The Justice Department's inspector general looked at the FBI's use of national security letters, in which agents demand personal and business information about individuals -- such as financial, phone, and Internet records -- without court orders.
The audit found the letters were issued without proper authority, cited incorrect statutes or obtained information they weren't supposed to.
As many as 22 percent of national security letters were not recorded, the audit said.
"We concluded that many of the problems we identified constituted serious misuse of the FBI's national security letter authorities," Inspector General Glenn A. Fine said in the report.
There are times when an, "I told you so," just doesn't measure up.
Posted by Groonk at 11:18 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Politics, USA
Jon Stewart vs Tucker Carlson Revisited. Because I Fucking Can.
Just remembering a few things. Funny things. Wildly amusing things.
Awesome things.
(via not gonna be your monkey YouTube)
Posted by Groonk at 01:49 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Politics, USA, Video
March 09, 2007
Disney's FROG PRINCESS to Break a Few Barriers
Actually one barrier. After 60 fucking years, give or take, they're starting work on their first animated black princess fairy tale. Set in New Orleans, the story will be based on THE FROG PRINCESS.
A musical set in the legendary birthplace of jazz – New Orleans -- "The Frog Princess" will introduce the newest Disney princess, Maddy, a young African-American girl living amid the charming elegance and grandeur of the fabled French Quarter. From the heart of Louisiana's mystical bayous and the banks of the mighty Mississippi comes an unforgettable tale of love, enchantment and discovery with a soulful singing crocodile, voodoo spells and Cajun charm at every turn."The Frog Princess" is based on an original story written by Disney's acclaimed filmmaking duo John Musker & Ron Clements ("The Little Mermaid," "Aladdin," "Hercules"), who will also direct.
Stealing other people's stories, however, has been going on since day one.
(link via 7d, animated news, disney press release)
Posted by Groonk at 01:16 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Culture, USA
February 22, 2007
Al Gore will Rock Your Face Green
I'm not knocking the goodness of his intentions but I hope the irony of big, smelly, car-driving-to concerts for global warming is not lost on people.
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Al Gore announced on Thursday a series of worldwide concerts to focus on the threat of climate change, with a powerhouse lineup from the Red Hot Chili Peppers to Snoop Dogg to Bon Jovi.The 24-hour event on July 7 is part of a campaign, Save Our Selves _ The Campaign for a Climate in Crisis, that promoters hope will trigger a broad movement to address what the former vice president calls a global climate crisis.
"In order to solve the climate crisis, we have to reach billions of people," the environmental activist, filmmaker and 2000 Democratic presidential nominee said in a statement. "The climate crisis will only be stopped by an unprecedented and sustained global movement."
In other news, Al Gore has inspired Tiffany Randol to throw a "Global Warming Bikini Beach Party."
Check out the cool ass poster for it:
(via ontd, The Alliance for Climate Protection, ONTD2)
Posted by Groonk at 03:33 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Culture, Music, Science, USA, World
February 06, 2007
Lisa Nowak: Astronaut in Trouble
You don't know how long I've wanted to type that.
A Nasa astronaut has been charged with attempted kidnapping after driving 900 miles to confront a woman she believed was a rival for the affections of a space shuttle pilot, according to police documents.Navy Captain Lisa Nowak, 43, who flew last July on a shuttle mission to the international space station, drove 12 hours from her home in Texas to Orlando International Airport so she could intercept Air Force Captain Colleen Shipman, who had just flown in, it is said.
She allegedly told officers that she wore a nappy, as astronauts do during launch and re-entry, so she would not have to stop on the journey.
Mrs Nowak, a married mother of three, was friendly with Navy Commander William Oefelein, a pilot on space shuttle Discovery’s trip to the space station last December, and believed Ms Shipman was having a relationship with him, it is said.
In the early hours of Monday morning, wearing a trench coat and the wig, she waited for Ms Shipman to arrive and then followed her to her car, saying she wanted to talk.
But Ms Shipman, an engineer assigned to the 45th Launch Support Squadron at Patrick Air Force base near the Kennedy Space Centre, became scared and locked herself in the vehicle. After pretending that she was stranded, Mrs Nowak persuaded Ms Shipman to lower her window a couple of inches and then allegedly squirted pepper spray into her eyes.
Ms Shipman managed to drive away and the police were called.
[...]
“Mrs Novak stated that she was not trying to cause any bodily harm to Ms Shipman and that she only wanted to scare her into talking with her.
“I asked Mrs Nowak about the steel mallet and the BB gun. Mrs Nowak stated that the BB gun was going to be used to entice Ms Shipman to talk with her.”
Mrs Nowak was charged with attempted kidnapping, attempted vehicle burglary with battery, destruction of evidence and battery. She was denied bail.
That Nowak is hardcore.
(via yahoo news)
Posted by Groonk at 08:10 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Science, USA
February 01, 2007
Scooter Libby LIVE! Thanks to Firedoglake.
But by "LIVE" I mean "blog written." Which is not as exciting as one might think.
One should pay attention to the justice system in progress, yes yes?
(via rocketboom and firedoglake)
Posted by Groonk at 01:14 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Blogged, Politics, USA
January 24, 2007
Andy Griffith is More Patriotic Than You
And by "you" I mean the Patriot Act.
(via patriotic youtube, boingboing)
Posted by Groonk at 01:42 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Culture, USA, Video
January 23, 2007
Amateur archaeologist Uncovers Earliest Evidence of New World Heavy Industry
RICHMOND, Va. - The ruins of a 17th century iron blast furnace found in Chesterfield County is believed to be the first ironworks in English North America and the earliest known evidence of heavy industry in the New World, county officials said Friday. County public utilities employee Ralph Lovern, an amateur archaeologist who often searches the area for Indian artifacts, uncovered the furnace along the banks of Falling Creek.Historians say the furnace was built around 1619 by the Virginia Company of England.
Archaeologists and historians have known for years that an ironworks operated in the area. Heavy rains late last year caused flooding that cut a new channel along the creek's banks that exposed the ruins.
(via yahoo news, timesdispatch.com)
Posted by Groonk at 10:48 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of History, USA
Barack Obama, John Edwards, and Hilary Clinton Working on their PECs*
The political world looks to take advantage of viral marketing. Rocketboom Exploratory Committee analyzes several of the vids presentation techniques. I chose the three I was most familiar with.
Feel it:
Clinton's(Hilary, that is): full of video tricks.
Edwards had no edits to speak of. Also, RB didn't analyze his video that closely. Hmmm.
Obama's: full of video artistic style but generally natural in delivery.
(PECs = Presidential Exploratory Committees.)
(via rocketboom and other news places like andy plesser on election video)
Posted by Groonk at 10:26 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Politics, USA, Video
January 15, 2007
Kung Fu Monkey Learns You about the TV Biz
John Rogers of the Kung Fu Monkey blog, and directing the most famous none aired pilot ever(Global Frequency), talks a bit about the business of TV, the troubles with the 22 episode season, why some of your shows get cancelled and supposition on where TV may go in the future.
This is actually a good moment to break down how television actually works, as Dan's completely understandable misconception is quite common. Networks don't make shows. Networks buy shows. And they don't even buy the whole goddam thing. Studios make shows. They usually, as I've noted before, deficit finance a show, where they pay the bulk of the production costs and the network pays a fraction of the per-episode expense. It is a symbiotic relationship -- the studio retains ownership, and so can reap the benefits of a popular show through (not so much now) syndication and (the only thing keeping Hollywood alive) DVD sales. The network got the advertising revenue, and could jack up those prices if a show was popular.[...]
When your nominal buyer becomes your employee, things gets weird. We've already seen situations where a network's continued a doomed show up through 13 episodes so that the box set will recoup some expenses for the studio. Whedon's Angel very much died because the WB realized they were just advertising for 20th Century Fox's box sets. Although the network in theory has final say on what shows they pick up, there are stories in recent years about one network where the network execs weren't even allowed in the room while the studio suits did the fall schedule.
(read full article: "Nobody gets Rich, Everybody Gets Paid ")
Posted by Groonk at 11:36 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Culture, Tutorials, USA
December 28, 2006
Former US President Gerald Ford 1913 - 2006
Just a few days ago, Gerald Ford died and the news media coudln't wait to run their various profiles on the man's accomplishments and faults.
I acknowledge his accomplishments but I can't help but recall that time he guested on The Simpsons.
PALM DESERT, California (CNN) -- Preparations were under way Thursday for ceremonies to say farewell to former President Gerald R. Ford in California, Michigan and the nation's capital.Ford, 93, "died peacefully" Tuesday evening at his home in Rancho Mirage, California, his widow, Betty Ford, said in a statement. An official cause of death was not announced.
"His life was filled with love of God, his family and his country," she said.
[...]
In Ford's honor, Bush ordered U.S. flags at all federal government buildings to fly at half-staff for 30 days.
Former President Carter, who defeated Ford in the 1976 presidential race, said Ford "frequently rose above politics by emphasizing the need for bipartisanship and seeking common ground on issues critical to our nation."
For more Ford video that borders on the surreal watch an old SNL skit from 10 years ago via Cynical C Blog.
Posted by Groonk at 03:46 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Culture, People Who Died, USA, Video
December 14, 2006
Open Leave Policy the Holiday of Holidays
This sounds positively wonderful.
Compared with other developed countries, Americans receive the fewest vacation days per year on average -- 14 days, as opposed to 17 in Australia, 19 in Canada, 24 in Great Britain, 27 in Germany and 39 in France, according to the Expedia survey. So not only do we earn less vacation time, but we also take less than we're provided. (Could this be the root of road rage?)At least one company, however, has put the vacation dilemma into the laps of its own employees. UCG, a Rockville publisher of business newsletters, electronic magazines and directories, has had an open leave policy since 1994. That means none of its 1,000 employees has a set amount of sick leave or vacation time.
The enlightened plan stemmed from a realization that no matter the policy any employer puts in place, someone will ask to change or bend the rules. Because many employers have to go through all sorts of machinations when it comes to vacation time anyway, UCG decided to let its employees judge how much vacation they need and when. "We have a lot of respect for our employees, and they know what they need to get the job done," said Jerry Purcell, director of human resources at UCG. The employees need to work through their managers when they determine which days they need off. But there is no limit.
(via 7d and washingtonpost.com)
Posted by Groonk at 09:01 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of USA
December 09, 2006
Buy a Bit of a Celebrity's Soul to Help Fight Breast Cancer
Project Teddy Bears, that is. There's an auction to support the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer wherein famous lads and lasses take pictures with little bears and the kind folks at the charity sell said pics and autographs in an auction.
Some of the photos are dreadfully amusing. While one of them(I'm looking at you Rue McClanahan) scares the crap out of me. I put a very small sampling of photos in the below graphic.
If you want to own a bit of a famous person's soul, go to the auction and bid away breast cancer.
(via neil gaiman)
Posted by Groonk at 07:52 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Blogged, Culture, USA
December 07, 2006
James Kim 1971 - 2006
I've been so wrapped up in my own stuff, I just didn't know about this. I watched his segments on Tech TV when Tech TV was good.
Again, I didn't know him personally. And again, I am saddened by the tragedy.
James Kim was a respected expert on cutting-edge digital devices, an owner of a trendy clothing store and a lover of the futuristic-sounding music known as electronica.
The body of the 35-year-old Kim was discovered Wednesday in a rugged wilderness area in southern Oregon. He had set out across snow and ice with only tennis shoes to protect his feet. He had eaten little in the seven days since his car got stuck.
"Anyone that knows James will tell you that he would do anything to protect his family," said Jason Zemlicka, a friend of 10 years and former co-worker. "I know him, and he must have believed he was going to get somewhere."
The path James Kim took has been mapped on Google Earth.
(via ponzu and cnet's tribute site)
Posted by Groonk at 09:01 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Culture, People Who Died, Technology, USA
November 11, 2006
BEHOLD: First Photo of Earth from Space...
...or To See the World through a Grainy Lens.
On October 24, 1946, not long after the end of World War II and years before the Sputnik satellite opened the space age, a group of soldiers and scientists in the New Mexico desert saw something new and wonderful—the first pictures of Earth as seen from space.
The grainy, black-and-white photos were taken from an altitude of 65 miles by a 35-millimeter motion picture camera riding on a V-2 missile launched from the White Sands Missile Range. Snapping a new frame every second and a half, the rocket-borne camera climbed straight up, then fell back to Earth minutes later, slamming into the ground at 500 feet per second. The camera itself was smashed, but the film, protected in a steel cassette, was unharmed.
Fred Rulli was a 19-year-old enlisted man assigned to the recovery team that drove into the desert to retrieve film from those early V-2 shots. When the scientists found the cassette in good shape, he recalls, "They were ecstatic, they were jumping up and down like kids." Later, back at the launch site, "when they first projected [the photos] onto the screen, the scientists just went nuts."
Credit given to:
White Sands Missile Range/Applied Physics Laboratory
View of Earth from a camera on V-2 #13, launched October 24, 1946.
(via digg and Air and Space mag)
Posted by Groonk at 10:12 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Photos2, Science, USA
November 09, 2006
Rumsfeld is the Hell Outta Here
File under: I blinked and missed it.
No more news flubs.
No more crooks.
No more Rumsfeld dirty looks.
The Aussies wrote an epic four pager on the deal.
Rumsfeld finally undone by his inability to adapt
No one seemed to mind that his outsourcing of the chase for bin Laden and much of the Taliban leadership to Afghan warlords allowed them to escape. Or that his lunge for Baghdad left the US forces in Afghanistan without enough men and machines to stabilise that still-blighted country.The sleight-of-hand trick was to move on to bigger, bolder projects - like Iraq after Afghanistan - hoping that not many would be rude enough to look back into his wake.
He browbeat the generals until they fell into line with his view that Iraq could be invaded with a fraction of the troop numbers they believed necessary for the task. And he seemed slightly unhinged in his response to the locust-like looting of Baghdad: "Stuff happens."
While Iraqis simply danced in the streets(I'm using hyperbole here):
Many Iraqis blamed Rumsfeld for spurring the emergence of Sunni insurgents and Shiite militias by disbanding the former Iraqi army following the April 2003 toppling of the former government of Saddam Hussein.Although that order was actually issued by former top U.S. administrator in Iraq, L. Paul Bremer, such sentiments show how widely Rumsfeld is identified with failed policies in Iraq.
"I am happy with Rumsfeld's resignation because he played a major role in disbanding the former Iraqi army. He participated in building the new army on a sectarian basis," said Louai Abdel-Hussein, 48, a Shiite who owns a small grocery in Baghdad.
Ahmed, the civil servant, said Rumsfeld should also be held responsible for crimes by American forces in Iraq, particularly the abuse of Iraqis at Abu Ghraib prison that became known in 2004.
"Rumsfeld's resignation is not enough," Ahmed said. "He should be put under investigation for his responsibility in the crimes committed in Abu Ghraib and the killings and rapes carried out by U.S. soldiers against Iraqi citizens, he said.
Rumsfeld had twice previously offered his resignation to Bush — once during the Abu Ghraib scandal and again shortly after that. Both times the president refused to let him leave.
(via sydney news and yahoo news)
Posted by Groonk at 10:21 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Politics, USA
November 07, 2006
VOTING: It's Midtaculacious!
From Bad Signal:
For my American readers: go to the top of warrenellis.com, and you'll find a number to dial if you spot voting irregularities at your polling station.
Or just cut the middleman:
1-866-OUR-VOTE. That's the number to dial. It goes to Election Protection, a nationwide legal team working today to keep your election fair and protect your rights as voters. If you see or experience something at a voting station that should not be happening, dial 1-866-OUR-VOTE.
(via Bad Signal)
Posted by Groonk at 09:57 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Politics, USA
Hilary Swank: See How She Runs
This was found over the weekend during one of my "I'm bored as hell let's see what the kids are posting about" trips to ONTD. Where did she get the mini sized ghetto booty? Has that always been there? She's come a long way since THE NEXT KARATE KID.
She looks kinda like a gazelle. I'm not sure whether to shoot her or fuck her.
(via ONTD)
(EDITOR'S NOTE: Please excuse the half-assedness of the above graphic. I'm currently pressed for time and trying to commit to a new style at the same time. I know. I suck.)
Posted by Groonk at 09:41 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Marketing, USA
November 06, 2006
HOW TO: Gain Godlike Acting or Writing Skills
The husband wife team of James Gunn(SLiTHER, DAWN OF THE DEAD) and Jenna Fischer(THE OFFICE,LOLLILOVE) shared some advice on their respective professions. Let's have a look, shall we?
Remember, these are 8 TRICKS, not 8 RULES. I believe each of these gives a person a greater chance at becoming a successful screenwriter. But NONE of them are NECESSARY to becoming a screenwriter (although the last one comes pretty close.) Here goes:1) Write at least 3 hours a day 6 days a week.
2) Move to Los Angeles. Of if you can't do L.A., move to New York.
3) Spell check, of course, but also make a pass checking for "its" and "it's", "their" and "there," "your" and "you're", and so on.
4) Don't even think about trying to get an agent until you have completed your best possible work.
5) Don't blame others for your failures as a screenwriter. By assessing your own responsibilities, and learning from your failures, you supercharge yourself and become unstoppable!! (NOTE: it's good to read this trick out loud and pump your fist up in the air while doing so).
6) Got friends who like to cut you down and tell you "this isn't possible" and "that can't be done"? Lose 'em.
7) On the flipside, have 3 good objective readers, who are very honest, even harsh, and who have your best interests at heart. (Mary Harron agreed with this trick, but added that you should make sure the objective readers at least somewhat share your tastes -- that is, they have the same goals you do).
8) FINISH WHAT YOU START. Are you doubting what you write? Are you starting to think it's crap? Good! That's a part of being a writer! We are doubting, tortured, angst-filled souls, and all it takes to be a writer is to write in the face of that!!
So those are the tricks.
(via myspace james gunn)
Fischer actually went into great detail in her blog about her experiences in the world of professional Hollywood. The entire entry is worth the read if you have any aspirations for working in the entertainment biz, whether you want to be an actor or a writer.
I know how hard it can be when you first get out here. Go out and meet as many people as you can. Create a family for yourself of creative, supportive people. AND, don't stop your personal life for your career. I know a lot of people that wait to do things - visit family, friends, have relationships, get married - because they are waiting until they "make it". Or, they don't go to a friend's wedding because they might "miss something". Life is too short and it's not worth it in the end. I always took off and did that stuff and it turned out fine. I was often anxious and worried in the process but I did it. I believe that in order for my professional life to move forward, I have to keep my personal life moving forward as well.I wouldn't be where I am today if not for my husband James. He is the one who convinced me to quit my job as a secretary (ironically) and focus full time on acting. I didn't totally believe I could make it but he did. He supported us financially and supported me emotionally. He ran lines with me and coached me before countless auditions. He put up with my highs and lows. He was, and still is, my biggest cheerleader. And, you need that out here.
(via myspace jenna fischer)
UPDATE: Gunn has decided to do a series of posts on how to break into the film biz.
Posted by Groonk at 04:27 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Blogged, Interviews, Tutorials, USA
November 03, 2006
Letters to God Found, Unanswered, on Jersey Shore
Should they be advertising what those folks wrote in the letters? I mean...really.
Some of the letters are comical (a man asking God to let him win the lottery, twice), others are heartbreaking (a distraught teen asking forgiveness for an abortion, an unwed mother pleading with God to make the baby's father marry her). The letters — about 300 in all, sent to a New Jersey minister — ended up dumped in the ocean, most of them unopened.The minister died two years ago at 79. How the letters, some dating to 1973, wound up bobbing in the surf is a mystery.
"There are hundreds of lives here, a lot of struggle, washed up on the beach," said Bill Lacovara, a Ventnor insurance adjuster who was fishing last month with his son when he spotted a flowered plastic shopping bag and waded out to retrieve it. "This is just a hint of what really happens. How many letters like this all over the world aren't being opened or answered?"
Many of the letters were addressed to the Rev. Grady Cooper, though many more simply said "Altar." According to the text of several of them, they were intended to be placed on a church's altar and prayed over by the minister, the congregation or both.
(via yahoo news)
Posted by Groonk at 07:26 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Religion, USA
November 02, 2006
Oregon's Ocean Dead Zone is Disappearing
GRANTS PASS, Ore. - An ocean dead zone off Oregon that killed fish, crabs and sea worms in an area bigger than Rhode Island last summer lasted nearly three times longer than any of its predecessors before dissipating with autumn's change in the weather, scientists said Monday.This year's dead zone off Oregon ran for 17 weeks, compared to the previous high of six weeks in 2004, and saw oxygen readings near zero that left the ocean bottom littered with dead crabs, sea stars and sea anemones. This is the fifth straight year the dead zone returned. It covered 70 miles of the central Oregon Coast and there are indications a dead zone also formed off southern Washington.
(via yahoo news)
Posted by Groonk at 01:20 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Science, USA
October 30, 2006
The Dog Who "Did Kermit"
Best quote in the audio interview(and there are many), "...winter was gonna come and we were gonna have a dog who didn't have toad:"
"We noticed Lady spending an awful lot of time down by the pond in our backyard," Laura Mirsch recalls.
Lady would wander the area, disoriented and withdrawn, soporific and glassy-eyed.
"Then, late one night after I'd put the dogs out, Lady wouldn't come in," Laura Mirsch says. "She finally staggered over to me from the cattails. She looked up at me, leaned her head over and opened her mouth like she was going to throw up, and out plopped this disgusting toad."
It turned out the toads were toxic -- and, if licked, the fluids on their skin provided a hallucinogenic effect.
(via NPR)
Posted by Groonk at 12:18 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Animals, USA, Weird
October 18, 2006
Florrie Fisher is a Stranger with Motivational Candy
It's no secret that the 70s ex-drug addict/prostitute turned motivational speaker Florrie Fisher was the inspiration to Comedy Central's now cult classic Strangers with Candy(also in movie form).
But I never knew how marvelously off-putting Fisher was until I watched her vid "The Trip Back" in glorious You Tube.