Tuesday, June 21, 2005

Disturbing Separation at Birth Alert - 6-21-2005

For those that have been watching the news, you will see that recently, an 80-year-old former Mississippi Klansman, has been found guilty of the murder of three civil rights workers 41 years ago to the day of their killing. Strangely his name is Edgar Ray Killen. How droll.



The second person, who is also approximately 80-years-old, has made many enemies as well over the years, but has never committed any heinous acts like his Klansmen look-alike -- other than the freakish dancing and horrifying, gaping maw when he gyrates. His name is the Old Six Flags Guy.



One wonders if Six Flags will rethink their marketing tack...

(Weird Twilight Zone Music begins...)

Miracles Do Happen to Combat the Many Arrivals of the 4th Horsemen...

In a day that started just like any other day, it's clear that there are many rays of home that often plague a somtimes Horseman-ridden planet.

Two things caught my eye today via the online venues. First up, a brave, and resourceful boy who surely has earned a variety of badges in one fell swoop.

Brennan Hawkins, an 11-year-old boy who has been missing for four days in the rugged mountain terrain of Utah, was found today by two volunteers, ironically, on horseback.

The second true and undoubtedly more remarkable miracle comes from the Land of Lincoln, in the form of an apology from a very appropriately named Dick Durbin. This last week, Durbin, a prolific leader in the Democratic vein of the Senate, compared the hot and cold room, booming rap music filled room treatment of the detainees in Guantanimo Bay, Cuba, to those that suffered in the Gulags and concentration camps of Nazi Germany and more.

While it's true that everyone says stupid things and has every opportunity to apologize for being a dumbass, the speed at which it took him to come to this realization is mind-boggling. I think that the only thing more astonishing was the length of time that it took for not only Republicans, but OTHER DEMOCRATS to get on the horse of an understandably required apology. Were the tables turned, and any Republican would have compared anything left-leaning to something Nazi-esque, there would have been instant hell to day and lawsuits-a-plenty.

Thank you to those that stepped up to the plate of common sense and in honor of Dick's apology,the article announcing it appears here courtesy of CNN.

Monday, June 20, 2005

4th Horseman Alert - 4 Time Loser...

You know when you read headlines about a teenager's charges "being upgraded after Dog He Raped Dies" that the 4th Horseman can't be quite too far down the path.

But wait, it gets even better: The 17 year-old Dog Rapist is also awaiting trial for the statutory rape of a 13-year-old girl, who also is awaiting the trial for his molestation of a 3-year-old.

Call me crazy, but it's time to put a fork in this one. He's done.

Tuesday, June 07, 2005

4th Horseman Alert - Just Add a Bloody Chainsaw and a Border Crossing...

As I prepare to collect my wife from work, I checked my mail and to my surprise - a news story sent by one of may readers.

Because truth is stranger than fiction, I shall let the first paragraph speak for themselves:

"Man With Bloody Chain Saw Let in to U.S.

By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN, Associated Press Writer

BOSTON - On April 25, Gregory Despres arrived at the U.S.-Canadian border crossing at Calais, Maine, carrying a homemade sword, a hatchet, a knife, brass knuckles and a chain saw stained with what appeared to be blood. U.S. customs agents confiscated the weapons and fingerprinted Despres. Then they let him into the United States. "

Check the horizon folks, because the 4th horseman is apparently carrying all of the apparatus listed above, and a giant "OK" US Customs stamp on his ass. For those that care to read on, I've included this link to the article. A note to the interested: The picture of the guy truly does tell a thousand tales.

A Feat of 501 Proportions & More...

Those of you that attended STAR WARS: Celebration III with me in Indianapolis know what a remarkable effort that was put forth by the 501st Legion - "THE WORLD'S DEFINITIVE IMPERIAL COSTUMING ORGANIZATION" who had over 500 members in costume in attendance at SWCIII.

When I look at the acomplishments of the organized fandom that I've been a part of for more than 10 years, and then compare what these folks have done, man -- it's just hands down one of the all time kickass'inest efforts I've ever seen.

STARWARS.Com's recent RSS feed noted that there are some new and last videos available at their "Celebration III Theater" and I thought I'd toodle on over and I thought I had seen it all. You'll have to make sure that you check out the videos there, but also one of the most impressive event photo galleries via various links I've ever seen showing pictures from that weekends show. It really is something impressive to behold.

Also be sure to visit the links below for more pictures and information - you won't be sorry you did.

-- The 501st Legion: A definitive presense in organized fandom the likes of which are rarely seen or experienced.

-- RebelScum.Com's Celebration III Theater: The official take on what happened the weekend of Celebration III in Indianapolis, IN, April 2005

-- Bobafett's Multimedia Celebration III Picture Gallery (WOW!): There are galleries, and then there's THIS gallery. Wonder what people were wearing at SWCIII? You don't need any other site than this one.

-- Coverage from ALL of the STAR WARS CELEBREATIONS from 1999-2005: An impressive retrospect on what's gone on and where the franchise will be going. Don't miss out on it.

-- The ATLAS: A St. Louis-based Science Fiction Fan Association welcoming any and all active participants into the realm of entertainment and friendship.

Cross-show Appearances...

Those of you that are friends from The ATLAS, a science-fiction fan organization in the St. Louis area (that I am the President of) will know how many times actors are reused in shows. It's become almost a kind of game with many of the crew and is quite fun.

I had the first season of "24" on in the background while working this evening and I heard a strange voice that I was sure I heard. After realizing that it was someone that I'd clearly heard previously, I went back and looked at it and low an behold!

Those of you that watch "NCIS" over on CBS will recognize the name Pauly Perrette, the girl that portrays "Abbey" on NCIS. She made her way into a pre-NCIS episode of "24" as the lady that picks up Jack's wife, Terry on the when she is stricken with emotionally trauma-induced amnesia.

Super cool and great to see Pauly again!

Monday, June 06, 2005

An Excellent Blog for Every Reader...

I've been getting Email versions of "Housecalls" for the last several years. Housecalls, is a series of medical-based stories, tips and goings-on that just makes for a fine read.

I've added in Housecalls to my listing of Blogs on my website and I hope you will to.

If you have any interest in learning more about staying healthy, the way things work around you, or what people around you do about their medical care, both negative and positive, you will enjoy the input from Dr. Dave Miller compiled in the regularly-occuring "Housecalls."

Enjoy!

Thunderous Applause and Questions...

I am, and have been a user of "Thunderbird", an Email program that provides me with something other than outlook or a web-based Email interface and I really do love it. Something else that it offers that I'm supremely happy that a friend of mine, Brian, told me about was the ability to "subscribe" to Blogs online that offer a "feed" - which Thunderbird can then "monitor" and call down newly provided content.

What does that mean for you? It means that rather than having to go through the rigamarole of remembering where, needing to log on, and go read the variety and ever-growing lists of Blogs or newsfeeds that I monitor -- I can now just open up my Email software and read to my hearts content.

I have 11 feeds being monitored currently (from movie news sites, to friends sites to digital camera blogs, to world news, etc) and they make reading the content I want much easier, time-effective and makes me love Thunderbird all the more.

If you're interested in learning more, check out the details of this feature inside of Thunderbird, and also remember that you can download Thunderbird here.

There are many more reasons to use it and I hope you choose to.

Cheers!