Or So I Would Have You Believe...

HowManyOfMe.com

There are: 0 people with my name in the U.S.A. How many have your name?

Your Ass

I concur wholeheartedly.

Moore

On Star Trek:

Kirk, for me, embodied an American idea: His mission was to explore the final frontier, not to conquer it. He was moral without moralizing. Week after week, he confronted the specters of intolerance and injustice, and week after week found a way to defeat them without ever becoming them. Jim Kirk may have beat up his share of bad guys, but you could never imagine him torturing them.

A favorite quote: “We’re human beings, with the blood of a million savage years on our hands. But we can stop it. We can admit that we’re killers, but we won’t kill today.” Kirk clearly understood humanity’s many flaws, yet never lost faith in our ability to rise above the muck and reach for the stars.

The Third Man

I will always admire Harry Lime...

The King is Dead

The world's largest monarch, King Tupou IV, has died at the age of 88. Although his final weight is unknown, he once tipped the scales at 462 pounds.

Rest in peace, giant king.

Sumo wrestling scene from Sonatine

Why Debate?

Ahmadinejad is requesting a debate with George W. Bush. Given the likelihood that'll happen, and given how boring it would be even if it did, I wonder if it wouldn't be better if Ahmadinejad offered to box Bush.

Ahmadinejad is ten years younger, but I can't seem to find any height or weight data. In pictures, he looks kind of willowy. Bush is supposed to be in pretty good shape for his age. I think that it would be a pretty good matchup, and damnit, I'd pay good money to watch. Proceeds could go to bombing victims in Lebanon, or whatever.

Time to Get Cracking

Sadly, all ten members of my death list remain alive. This could get embarrassing.

Professional Risks

Teaching is dangerous business.

I'm still talking and writing on the board of course while all this is going on and I get blood all over this piece of chalk, which is of course really gross and I end up looking at all the pieces of chalk after class to find it so that I throw it away because nothing would be more disgusting than being the next instructor in that room, picking up the piece of chalk, and finding it covered with blood.

Punkass Marc Hates Capitalism

Of course we need hot dogs and buns packaged together. And the idea of prepackaged cereal and milk... yes, that starts the wheels turning. Heh. Ha. Heh heh. Bwah ha ha ha hah!!!

The Lord Vega Disapproves of Eastern Europe

First, Poland elects an identical Prime Minister and President. Now, Ukraine follows through by electing a President and Prime Minister with virtually identical names. His Lordship is not amused.

Sully Asks the Right Question

Not even Raoul Vega can abide the evil that is Ann Coulter.

Who's worse? They both deploy bigotry. Coulter has condemned all Muslims and all gays in ways that pander to the basest prejudices against them. She used the term "fag" on cable television recently. She has publicly argued for killing Muslims in the Middle East indiscriminately. She does all this stone-cold sober and means not a word of it. Gibson, on the other hand, clearly deep down believes that the Jews are evil, that they are responsible for all the wars in the world, and his hatred for gay men is well-documented. Both Coulter and Gibson have made a fortune catering to bigotry. But one is sincere; and one is completely cynical. In some ways, perhaps, an argument could be made that Gibson is preferable. So why is Coulter still on television? And where is her apology?

If You Were Pulled Over, at 2:30am, in Malibu, with a .12 Blood Alcohol, Who Would You Blame the World's Ill's On?

The Belgians, for obvious reasons.

The Slow Life

Ugh. While I have long been an advocate for not doing anything useful, this does seem a sad picture of late middle age...

The missing men are also more likely to live alone. Nearly 60 percent are divorced, separated, widowed or never married, up from 50 percent a decade earlier, the Census Bureau reports. Sometimes women who are working throw out men who are not, says Kathryn Edin, a sociologist at the University of Pennsylvania. In any case, without a household to support, there is less pressure to work, and for men who fall behind on support payments, an incentive exists to work off the books — hiding employment — so that wages cannot be garnisheed.

"What happens to a lot of guys who become unmoored from family life, they become unmoored from everything," Ms. Edin said. "They are just living without attachments and by the time they are 40 or 50 years old, the things that kept these men from falling away — family and community life — are gone."

But, then, perhaps this is one of the few vestiges of Protestant work ethic that I've yet to purge; the idea that working, just to work, is better than hanging out at home and doing something that you want to do.

I think that the specter of social disconnect bothers me the most...

... the young Klein has more substantive commentary.

Chronicler of the Hyborian Age

The Wizard has passed.

Man Law

When men instant message one another, they shall begin with the word "Yo."

Fantasy Dictator?

This is an awful, socially reprehensible game. I highly recommend it.

Soccer Blows

Let's be frank: Soccer, or "football" sucks and blows.

I know that the world loves it. I watched the final, just because a billion other people were watching it (let no one tell you that peer pressure is a bad thing). But it's one hell of a crappy sport. I really, really don't understand why all those foreigners run back and forth across the field for no apparent reason. It's not like they ever score any goals.

This is why Lord Vega has chosen the United States as the foundation for his new Empire. Say what you will about Americans, they don't care for soccer.

Thursday Deposed Monarch Blogging: Savoy

The House of Savoy is one of the oldest royal families in Europe. First rising to power in the 11th century, the family ruled an area covering parts of modern France, Switzerland, and Italy for nearly a thousand years. In 1730 they became Kings of Sardinia, and in 1861 the rule of all of Italy fell to the House of Savoy.

The penultimate King of Italy was Vittorio Emanuele III. He was a bit overfond of Mussolini, and was driven from the throne after World War II. Power briefly passed to his brother, Umberto II, before the monarchy was abolished and the royal family exiled. After the death of Umberto II in 1983, leadership of the House passed to Vittorio Emanuele, who would become Vittorio Emanuele IV if he ever manages to regain the throne.

Sadly, the latest Vittorio Emanuele is no prize. In 1978 he killed a guy. In 2002 he formally renounced the crown of Italy, which led monarchists to start favoring the Duke of Aosta. Apparently irritated by this turn of events, Vittorio Emanuel punched the Duke in the face at the wedding of King Juan Carlos' son. Since his return to Italy, Vittorio Emanuel has apparently spent his time recruiting prostitutes and making friends in the Mafia. This has not, strangely, endeared him to the Italian public.

When Does Vacation Start?

Tired now, and looking forward to a week of calm sobriety and consistent, mindless work. Good to have a vacation from one's vacation.