CBW

  

I Need a Gallon of Brain Wash

Ok, so last night I watched Who Wants To Be A Superhero on Sci Fi. It's a so-called reality show hosted by Stan Lee that has people dressing up like superheroes and completing challenges with the prize being an actual Marvel comic based on their hero.

help me.


Mrs. Marius has a much higher tolerance for lower quality entertainment than I do, I mean she's actually seen Bio-Dome all the way through, and she got up about a quarter of the way into the show to go read. I wanted to stop watching. I wanted to go read, or imagine next year's taxes, or wax my back, or anything else, but I couldn't. It was like watching a rhino fuck a volkswagen. You know you should just turn around and walk away, but you're riveted with disbelief and repulsion. And at the end, I was actually curious about next week's show.

I think it's time for an intervention. Are you allowed to ask for one of those?

Yours with plummeting cool points,
Marius

But Seriously Folks

Ok, there is a 9/11 movie coming out soon, and that had me thinking about what I was thinking at the time. On September 12 I remember thinking that despite all the hub-bub about it being a 'whole new world' I was predicting that ultimately nothing would really change in our day-to-day lives. And I think I was right. Yeah, it is more of a hassle to fly, but unless you do so on a regular basis that's no big deal. Gas is more expensive, but the blood-sucking petro-overlords would have figured out an excuse to do that anyway. The only real difference is that the idiot in the Whitehouse has managed to redefine war so that whatever he wants to call a war is one. So I want you all to tell me if I'm full of shit or not. Is the every day life of John and Jane Q. Public here in the good old U S of A any different than it was five years ago? And are we really any safer now than we were on September 10, 2001?

Being unusually serious,
Marius

All Your Clerks Are Belong To Us

So we just got back from seeing Kevin Smith's latest work, Clerks II. And let me make a bit of a disclaimer right off the bat: I am not saying that anyone should run right out and see this movie. I liked it...a lot. I enjoyed 95% of the film. As in every other Kevin Smith movie there are tons of 'did he really just say that?' moments, vulgarity that would make a one-eyed carpenter blush, Jason Mews being, well, Jason Mews, and tons of clever dialogues and monologues. There were also the requisite inside jokes and Kevin Smith film alumni cameos, not to mention a rather nice, and sometimes sweet plot. But the reason I can't give it total props is, unfortunately, the main reason for the film. Jeff Anderson, who plays the eternal slacker Randall, and Brian O'Halloran, who is the constantly put-upon everyman, Dante, just aren't very good actors. In the original Clerks it could be forgiven because it was a very cheaply made movie, and Smith couldn't afford to hire professionals, so he used his friends. Anderson and O'Halloran have made cameos in other Smith films, but haven't really done anything else. I will give credit that apparently Brian took some lessons or something because he is much better than he has ever been in the past, but these two community theatre level thespians really drag the movie down. And just like Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, you really can't have your weak link be the lead, or in this case leads. However, having said that, if you can agree to allow that these guys had to be in the movie, and had to be the leads, and cut them some slack for not really being the best actors, the film is a lot of fun. And, might I add, Rosario Dawson has just moved to second place on my 'list'. (she doesn't quite top Kiera Knightly, but she just nudges out Angelina Jolie...sorry Angie)

So, if you are a Kevin Smith fan, you will truly enjoy this film. I want to see it again just to catch all the little stuff going on in the background that I missed. If you are not a Kevin Smith fan, or haven't seen Clerks, then this one is probably not for you. Especially if the idea of a Mexican Donkey Show offends you.

37?!

Marius

Superman F**khead

Many years ago, there was a great, but flawed man who was in charge of the lighting at the Lake Worth Playhouse named Bob Foster. Bob taught me the fundamentals of what it is to be a theatre technician: how to focus lights; how to use a crescent wrench; how to climb a ladder well past the 'do not stand on or above this rung' level; and how to swear like a sailor. I was an impressionable 16 year old who had never said anything stronger than hell in front of an adult, and one day while hanging by my ankles twenty feet over the house of the Playhouse trying to focus a recalcitrant leko I uttered the dreaded word 'shit'. Mortified, I immediately apologized to Foster. His response, the exact wording is lost to the fog of memory, was something along the line of 'stop worrying about language and get that fucking light focussed.' Thus began my indoctrination into the world of swearing. Foster taught me well, and I have honed the practice to an art.

So why am I telling you this? Excellent question. A couple of years later we, my friends and I, were at a cast party at Foster's house. He had one of the earliest personal computers, one of the kind that probably used either cassete tapes or 10" floppies, and on it was a very basic(by today's standards) space battle game. The game asked for a player's name, and there were no profanity filters on these games, so I chose the name Superman Fuckhead. I giggled stupidly every time the game said something like, "You have entered hyperspace, Superman Fuckhead."

So why am I telling you this? Excellent question. My wife and I are about to play a video game where we can both play together...something we have not been able to do as of yet. And I was pondering what to name my character. It is nearly impossible for me to give a game character a 'straight' name. There is almost always some inside joke, or vulgar reference, and I was pondering where that started, and the name Superman Fuckhead leaped into my brain. There is, actually, one other person who will read this and remember that night, and Foster, fondly. Foster was far more troubled than any of us 'kids' knew, and he took his own life a few years later, but I'll never forget the things he taught me, or Superman Fuckhead.

Any comments, D?

Adios.
Marius

The Ninja Explains Net Neutrality

Thanks, PIKARESQUE, for reminding me to post something on Net Neutrality. There is a big push to try to allow companies to pay for 'premium' internet services, effectively squeezing out websites that don't pay for the service. It could mean the end to the freedom of the internet, but watch, the Ninja explains it better.

Captain's Log: Supplemental

Well, the boss was really cool about me leaving. I think maybe he's not surprised, given what they were paying me, and we may find a way for me to still do this gig part time, which would be fine with me. So I now officially declare that the 'worst of times' is in the past, and am ready to move forward into a, hopefully, glorious future. Yay, me!

hee hee

Just kidding on that last part.

Kisses,
Marius

Show Me Your T.....attoo!

PIKARESQUE posted pics of her, and her hubby's tattoos on her blog the other day, and requested that others share their art. Well, I tried to do so in her comments, but it wouldn't work. So, being the raging narcissist that I am, you all get to see my dragon. Ok, I've shown you mine...you show me yours. :-)









  

Boy, Dickens Sure Knew His Stuff

It is the best of times, it is the worst of times. The USS Marius has taken a few direct hits to her forward shields lately, and while we are making repairs a wonderful thing has happened. I was informed by a collegue that the local magnet high school for the fine and performing arts was in need of a new Technical Director. I did a little digging through the school board's web site and found that the lowest pay rate for someone with a masters is $4K more than I'm making now, so of course I called them. Resumes were requested, and this afternoon I had an interview. Tonight, they hired me. And when all is said and done I'll be making at least $8K more, and quite possibly more than that!! This couldn't come at a better time, as this morning we were contemplating selling our PS2 to make next month's rent. Yeah, it's high school, a place I swore I would never go, but it's a magnet school, so most of the kids really want to learn. And I'll be very busy, but maybe, just maybe we can actually start paying off stuff, and {{gasp!}} save up for a house of our own!

The downside is that tomorrow I have to go into my boss and tell him that I'm leaving in just under two weeks. But, since I am staff and not really faculty(another sore spot) I don't have a contract, so I can pretty much up and go if I wished. I won't, of course, and I will do everything I can to make things easier for whomever follows me, but it's still going to be a tense morning manana. And then I have to tell the kids. Most of them will understand, but it will still suck not working with them anymore. But then again it is the nature of being a teacher that you say goodbye to people just when you have become fond of them. But it still sucks.

And so, soon Marius the college adjunct and downhill poop catcher will become Mr. Marius, the high school teacher. Actually I don't feel it to be a drop in stature, and the extra green will certainly make life better. If I can just channel the best parts of Teri Lenahan and Frank Leahey, plus a lot of Norm Miller and Art Musto and Bobby Clark, and Deb Veres and Pam Mara and Kathleen Withall, and all the other wonderful professionals I have had the great fortune to work with over the years I should do ok.

Now I just have to get back in the habit of not swearing at work. ;-)

Musing on the Stars

Hello, friends. It's quiet here at Castle Marius, save for the sound of the two Kitties-O-The Apocalypse wrestling in the living room, and my codeine-soaked mind is drifting gently through a misty haze, helping me forget the pain in my knees that I must get looked at soon. And as I drift, I find myself wondering about something that has been much on my mind of late. Specifically celebrity. There are many types of celebrity. There is the hard earned celebrity enjoyed by master craftsmen and entrepreneurs, the unwanted celebrity thrust upon those involved in disasters and 'big news' stories, the unwelcome celebrity heaped upon the backs of the grotesquely evil. But through it all there is one common thread...people want to know the Celebrity. Autographs, pictures, trading cards, even clothing or personal effects are all coveted and purchased. I once heard that Marina Sirtis, Star Trek's councilor Troi, would often, while before an audience at Star Trek conventions, take a fresh glass of iced tea with a slice of lemon, bite the lemon and drink a bit of the tea leaving her lipstick upon both, then hand it over to the organizers of the event who would promptly wrap it in plastic and then auction it off, usually for a rather high amount. What is it about celebrities that makes us lose our minds?

I like to say that I am unimpressed by celebrities, but to be honest to both myself, and to you dear readers, I get all stupid and tongue tied when I have a brush with the rich and famous too. I can't say as I have met all that many stars, but the ones I have met, usually while working, have all been memorable. I can't say that about everyone else I've worked with. So why do we do it? What is it about our mental make-up that makes us want to idolize our fellow humans? I can understand being fearful of someone who has power over us, such as the CEO of the company we work for, or the President of the country, but the one time I met Burt Reynolds I was terrified, and the man could do absolutely nothing to me. And I often wonder about the friends of the stars. At what point does someone realize that little Bobby, who they used to give wedgies to and play cops and robbers with, is now Robert DeNiro, and must be treated like royalty? Is it the money? Is it the hope that if we have a brush with the famous then we are somehow more valid as a person? I went to a Star Trek convention once, and George Takei was the guest. We listened to him, laughed with him, he's a very entertaining speaker, and then had the chance to stand in line with hundreds of others to get him to sign something. This I did, for a while. After standing in line for about ten minutes I realized that getting his autograph would mean nothing more than that I spent thirty seconds standing in front of a man who would no more remember me than he would any of the blades of grass passing his car as he drove away. So I left the line. I have very fond memories of my first celebrity encounter, Joyce DeWitt, and even though I don't have her autograph I do have a card she gave to everyone in the cast and crew of the show we were working on together. That means something to me because even though I think I might have had the courage to say all of three 'hellos' to her, we did share an experience. Yet people will actually buy autographed items that they weren't even there to see signed. I just don't get it.

I've been thinking about this a lot lately because, as I have mentioned here before, I enjoy several video blogs, and at first I posted comments feverishly on each of them, praying that eventually the people on these vlogs would acknowledge me. It took me a while to realize what I was doing, and once I did I stopped commenting just to comment, and only did so when I had something to say. Then Rocketboom imploded, and Amanda Congdon began posting on her own text-only blog. I made a couple of posts there, but I just realized that I was doing it again. Now, I'm not going off the deep end, nor am I going to begin stalking Ms. Congdon, but I do respect her work, and enjoy her perspective on the world, and I keep thinking of her as a friend, though we have never met. And that mindset keeps manifesting itself as a need for acknowledgement. Again, now that I realize this I have pulled back, but it sparked this line of thought.

Ok, that's quite the ramble. I welcome your thoughts on this, especially those of you in The Biz. I know at least one of you has worked with some really big names. How did you deal with that? And let me take the onus away from any comments and say I would love for you to name drop here. Tell me of any encounters you may have had with those luminaries we can't seem to live without.

Good night, my friends.

Marius

Another Vader Video

Hey Folks,
This one was just too funny to not share. Enjoy.

Darth Bitch

Hey Dubya, WTF?

Am I the only one who sees the inherant contradiction in George W. Bush's recent statement that embryonic stem cell research is morally wrong becuase it uses "federal taxpayer dollars to support and encourage the destruction of human life for research." So destroying 'life' in the form of non-sentient cell clusters for the sake of saving possibly millions of lives is morally reprehensible, but sending thousands of conscious, aware, pain-feeling young men and women to get blown apart thousands of miles from home in a war that has done nothing to better the world is good leadership? Shine, Jesus, shine.

Marius

Welcome Home, Discovery

At 9:14am today the shuttle Discovery made a flawless touchdown at the Kennedy Space Center, ending a successful mission. After an incident free launch the crew of the Discovery docked with the International Space Station where they conducted three spacewalks and resupplied the station. Two of the astronauts who went up with Discovery stayed aboard the ISS, and will remain there for the next six months. If all goes well, Atlantis is slated to launch as early as August 27, and will carry a new piece of the ISS, hopefully getting the construction of the station back on line so that it can be completed before the fleet of shuttles is retired in 2010. It is a good day in the space exploration community.

To infinity, and beyond!

Marius

Worst Date

Hey, Folks, I'm stealing this wonderful idea from The Naughty Monkey, although I cannot compete with her entry, herein shall I relate my worst date. In the dark ages before the internet, a friend who lived in England met a young lady with whom she thought I would get along. The young brit, Annie, and I became pen-pals, and romance blossomed. Eventually, after huge phone bills and a couple of trans-Atlantic video tapes, she came to visit. Knowing that Feyetteville, North Carolina doesn't offer much for a sophisticated lady, I arranged to take leave from the Air Force and go to Florida. Unfortunately just before she left Heathrow my leave was cancelled. She gamely agreed to make a go of it anyway. After an icy drive to the airport, I got her back to my palacial single-wide trailer only to find that the pipes had frozen. So we spent her first night in a hotel. It only got worse from there. I tried to find some theatre for her, and we went to a dinner theatre production of Godspell...only what they didn't say in the ad was that it was a local high school's production. Plus she was a vegetarian, and even though I called to find out if they had vegetarian fare, and was assured they did, they didn't. The last straw was when we went to a party at a friend's house, and I had too much to drink, and apparantly I said something to anger her, and she packed her bags and left. To this day I don't know what I said, but it was the end of our relationship.

Ok, your turn.
Marius

Eureka!!

I finally figured out what I was doing wrong, damn that pesky HTML code, and now I have a links section. If you would like me to put your link there just let me know. Conversely, if I have linked to you, and you wish it taken down, again just say the word.

I'm so proud of my nerdy little self. :-)

Marius

Zzzzzzzz...thud! Snort! Huh?

Damn! I just hit my head on my desk. I'M FUCKING BORED!!!! It's Friday, and I am one of three people in the building here at work. I hate being bored at work. And I can't leave, 'cause I'm waiting for a call from a guy I'm going to buy a used lawnmower from today. Yawn.

Ok, well, I guess I'll tell you what's happening with yours truly here in lovely Tampa. No, there is too much. Let me sum up. No, as much as I love that line from Inigo I really don't have too much to esplain. Kinda sad, actually. Anyway, if we shadows have offended and all that. Onward.

So we packed up our laundry, and the felines, and went home for a few days earlier this week. Please forgive that I did not do my usual 'try to see as many people as I can' thing this time. Mrs. Marius and I really needed some recharge time, so I took it easy. While it's nice to have a no-hassle place to crash whenever we come to town, Wellington is way the hell away from everyone else, and sometimes it feels like it's an uphill drive both ways. Depending on gas prices, car behavior, and funds I might be down again soon, and will be staying closer to the rest of the world, at which time I promise to see all y'all.

Now, if any of you have cats, and they aren't used to riding in the car, let me advise you to find a kitty sitter if you have to leave town for a few days. We got tranks from the vet, and each critter had their own carrier, but guess what...the downers didn't work. And the babies were hurting themselves trying to claw their way out of the carriers, so we had to release them. They were only slightly happier roaming the car. Both of them were in my lap at one point, then I had one in my lap and one on my shoulder, then they switched places, then Starbuck decided that if Artemis could be on my lap, then he could be on Artemis, and then she wandered into the back seat. So for the majority of the journey (3.5 hours or so) I had a nervous, panting, drooling cat on my lap. And let me tell you, a nervous cat generates a lot of heat. Not to mention that it's rather difficult to steer when you have a cat on your arm looking out the window. But we all made it intact, and then the cats proceeded to hide for three days in the In-Law's house.

While at home we saw Pirates of the Carribean 2. Loved it! I also had something of an epiphany while watching it. I was reflecting on pirate movies of the past, usually Errol Flynn films, and realized that it is ok for a movie to be 'just' entertainment, and not some great revolution in movie making, or social commentary. And that's what Dead Man's Chest is, entertaining. It's a fun movie, but with one caveat...it's not a kids film. It's rather graphically violent and scary at times, so leave the widdle ones at home, and enjoy a fun flick. And might I add, Monday matinees are the bomb!! Oh, by the way, there will definitely be a third movie, so be ready for a bit of a cliffhanger. ;-)

I also got back to the old place of employment, which was a bitter-sweet afternoon. I know that I had to leave, and it would make no sense for me to still be there as second-fiddle, but it was also the best gig I've ever had, and I got quite wistful visiting. At one point I mentioned to my old boss that he should be considering retirement soon, and was likened to a buzzard circling overhead. We laughed, but the simile is not untoward. I would love his job, but as he rightfully pointed out, he's got at least another decade in him there...dammit!

The drive back was much more calm as I arranged the car a bit differently so the beasties could go back into the trunk and hide should they desire, which Artemis did, plus the tranquilizers worked this time. So instead of a sweaty, panting, panicking Starbuck on my lap most of the way, I had a sleeping Starbuck on my lap. And even doped up a cat can be very bitchy when you have to work a clutch while they snooze on your thighs.

So we're home. Me wifey's brother accompanied us home, since he lived many years in this town, but he leaves this afternoon. Yesterday was our 4th anniversary, and we gave each other nice presents, and then went to the Roadhouse for dinner. Unfortunately the real celebrating needs to wait for another week while she heals some more. So it was a rather quiet anniversary. C'est la vie.

And that's it from sunny Tampa. I'm not particularly bothered by much right now, although I kinda think we need to pull all of our people, both military and civilian, out of the Middle East, pull down the shades, put our fingers in our ears and sing la la la la la for about 5 years until the smoke settles, and then we can deal with the survivors. It's getting bat-shit crazy over there.

Ok, back to desktop snoozing.

Kisses,
Marius

Another Cinematic Bummer

On the same night that I rented Ultraviolet(shudder) I also rented the latest adaptation of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. It stars Kiera Knightly, Matthew Macfadyen, Donald Sutherland, and many more, and I was really looking forward to it since I have greatly enjoyed the various other movies made from Ms. Austen's books. Unfortunately this film was not to live up to its pedigree. Miss Knightly and the others put forth magnificent performances, and there are truly wonderful moments in the movie, but the director, Joe Wright, seems to be unsure about who his audience is, and consequently lets all audiences down. What I love about these period pieces is the rigidly controlled, yet wittily biting conversations and sparring between characters who dare not step beyond the very clear boundaries of civility and propriety, which is why I am such a fan of Oscar Wilde. Unfortunately the MTv generation has little tolerance for such exchanges, and so in apparent attempt to pander to the younger crowd much of the witty banter is missing, replaced with rapid fire cuts, and short soundbytes. Finally, nearly two thirds of the way into the film they allow the main characters to have some actual screen time, but then the movie lurches to a halt, and the last twenty minutes seem longer than the previous one-hundred. Director Wright takes a script that should be light as a feather, and wields it like a leaden cudgel. It isn't unwatchable, and as I said before the actors have much to be proud of, but this movie is, ultimately, destined for the 2 for $11 bin at Wal-Mart.

The Mrs. and I will be heading South for a few days of much needed R&R, so I don't imagine I'll be posting much til we get back. Y'all be good til then. ;-)

Your doting Marius.

Worst Movie Ever

This is a public service announcement:

Imagine if you will, a 14-year-old boy, whose parents have more money than child rearing skills, who has just finished a marathon movie and Mountain Dew session in which he watched all three Matrix movies, both Underworld movies, whacked off to several episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and La Femme Nakita, and drank 5 two liter bottles of Code Red. He then believes he has a great idea and staggers to his computer where, in about two hours, he cranks out the script for a Science Fiction/Vampire/Not-even-softcore-Porn film he titles Ultraviolet. Chuckling madly to himself, and heaping abuse on the help, he tiptoes up to his father's study where he procedes to badger said dad into pitching the film to some hapless studio who only sees dad's cash cow status and agrees to make the movie. The result: a celluloid turd so unwatchable that Kull the Conquerer seems like Henry V by comparison. This is how I envision the genesis of this cinematic crapfest. Even the presence of Milla Jovovich wearing as little as possible can't make this waste of a DVD watchable. Mrs. Marius had heard that the fight scenes were at least cool, but whoever told her that needs to stay away from the crack pipe and stick to weed so at least they'll forget what they watched. This fetid excuse for a movie almost supplants Manos: The Hands of Fate as the worst movie ever made. The only saving grace is that Milla Jovovich's tummy is more pleasant than Torgo's knees, otherwise it would be a dead heat.

If you haven't seen it, stay clear. If you have seen it, I feel your pain. If you want to see it, think again. This movie sucks far beyond all things that suck. It is a bigger suck than all the Earnest movies combined with Alien3 & 4 all piled on top of The Phantom Menace. I would rather listen to an entire Britney Spears retrospective then ever see any of that movie again. This flick could suck the chrome off of a trailer hitch, and then make the trailer hitch cry. This flick would actually have been improved if Jar Jar was in it. It's like a shit sandwich, with a liquefied haggis chaser. This movie is so bad.......I'd rather sit through Ever After and Kate and Leopold while getting my bikini area waxed with hot tar rather than watch it again. It blows more than hurricane Katrina. It blows more than Barney, and The Power Rangers. It's worse than waking up after a drunken blind date naked in bed next to your grandmother. When I yanked it from my DVD player after an agonizing 45 minutes I wanted to flush the machine out with alcohol just to make sure that it didn't taint any other disc I put in there in the future. And the scariest part...there are deleted scenes on the disc. I can't even imagine the unfathomable depths of shititude they must contain.

In other words, don't watch Ultraviolet.

You have been warned.

No More Rocketboom

 

 


Unbelievably, Rocketboom has imploded. Amanda Congdon, who has been the voice and face of the incredibly popular website for nearly two years, has been fired by Andrew Baron, who is the producer and holder of 51% of the company. Apparantly Andrew wanted Amanda to be just the face of Rockteboom, but it sounds to me more like he couldn't deal with Amanda's popularity. While I will grant you that this is a huge he said/she said situation, and I don't know either personally, from what they have published on line it sounds like Amanda has tried to keep to the moral high ground, while Andrew is warping the truth to allow him to sleep at night. Of course, I am taking sides, and making assumptions about Amanda's integrity that may or may not be justifiable, but I don't particularly care about that. Amanda has put herself in the public spotlight for nearly two years, and has contributed greatly to the success of the show, far more than 49%, and if he thinks he can just throw another pretty face in front of the camera he's got another thing coming. I am a huge fan of Ms. Congdon, and will support her no matter where she goes, but without her in front of the map Rocketboom is dead to me. Here's hoping we see her on our computers again very soon. Good luck, Amanda. I'll miss you.

With love,
Marius

Discovery is Go!

A beautiful, flawless launch of STS-121, Space Shuttle Discovery is airbonre and a few seconds from main engine cutoff, and external fule tank separation. Engine is cut, tank is free, and Discovery is in orbit! What a wonderful birthday present for this great country of ours. Alas, I am watching it on tv like everyone else, but my thanks anyway to Micheal, as they say it's the thought that counts, even if we couldn't be there in person. I share in your joy this moment.

Now let there be beer, hot dogs, and fireworks!!

We The People...

On this day we celebrate the founding of this nation. And I have no doubt that there will be numerous speeches and photo ops with the President, and I also have no doubt that he will constantly remind us, even if not in so many words, that to oppose his actions is unpatriotic. Well, especially today, remember that this nation was founded on the principal that no leader should be followed blindly, and that when we, as a people, can no longer tolerate the decisions of a corrupt and misguided government, we must rise up and make it plain that we will not follow...we will lead. And while our weapons are no longer muskets and declarations, our voices are infinitely more powerful. We must be vigilant! We must be steadfast! We must be sure enough in our nation's innate goodness that we will not tolerate the abuses of power that have killed thousands, and alienated millions. The United States of America used to be respected, revered, and emulated the world over. Now we are despised, reviled, and even feared. Is that the legacy of patriotism that this administration wishes to leave? Is that the legacy we wish to leave for our children, and grandchildren? To those who call these words anti-American I say what is more American than holding our leaders to a higher standard, and crying out in anger against tyranny and corruption? The greatest threats to this nation are not two men marrying, or terrorists, or someone burning a flag. The greatest threats to this nation live in Washington, D.C., and believe that this country was founded not by the people and for the people, but by the politicians and for the special interests. I say to you, my fellow Americans, stand up and be heard this Independence Day. Let your leaders know that you will not
be ignored. Let the fireworks that remind us of the many that died for our freedom punctuate our cries of anger. In November, when it is time to take action, go to the polls and wash the face of this great nation clean again. Support our troops by bringing them home alive, and whole, and with their heads held high. Support our government by electing honorable men and women who will lead with integrity. Support our nation by taking the power away from those who would abuse it for their own gain, and put it back where it belongs...in our hands.

God bless our troops.
God bless our people.
God bless the United States of America.

And thank God for red, white, and blue cupcakes.

Marius

A Very Scary Blast From The Past

I'm sure I watched this in rapt awe, but then, mercifully repressed the memory. Enjoy.

Madness Takes Its Toll

Well, it's been a while since anything original has found it's way into The Corner, and most of you know why. The pregnancy we've been celebrating has borne no fruit. We had what is called a blighted ovum, charming term, no? It acts like a regular fertilized ovum, implants, causes all the symptoms of pregnancy, but doesn't develop into a fetus. Yipee. And the best part is that, unlike a miscarriage, it doesn't seem to want to leave on its own, so next week we have to go have it taken out surgically. It's not a great time in the Marius household right now. So, several things that were to occur in the next couple of weeks are not going to happen. I will not be going to New York, and since the weather decided to grab Cape Canaveral by the sack, no shuttle launch either. And to top it all off, I just had to cut our lawn, about 100' X 50', with a weed eater, since we cannot yet afford a lawnmower. As my old drinking buddy Paul Sargeant used to say, yippety fuck!

So this seems an optimal time to put forth something that has been brewing in my tiny little mind for many years now, but just finally crystallized yesterday. It has to do with the Israeli threat to invade Gaza and escalate things between them and the Palestinians. I can't help but hope that they do. The best thing that could happen over there would be an all out war. 'What the screaming, tap-dancing fuck?' you might be asking. We all know that kindly Uncle Marius abhors violence, unless it involves medieval armor and rattan swords, but hear me out. For more years than I can remember the Palestinians have been slaughtering Israeli civilians in suicide bombings, and the Israelis have been assassinating Palestinian terrorists, usually with heavy civilian casualties. If hostilities are officially declared, and actual war breaks out, then military will kill military, and maybe the civilian carnage will decrease. I know that 'collateral damage' as the heartless bastards like to classify dead civilians is a fact of war(just count how many military personnel were killed at Hiroshima and Nagasaki) but if the Palestinians and Israelis finally go to war, maybe this ridiculous 'nickel and dime' bloodshed will finally be brought to an end. I have never understood this willingness to kill thousands over a patch of fucking desert, and I never will, but maybe if a real war breaks out over there something will finally get solved. Despite it horrible aspect, the atomic attacks on Japan probably saved thousands of lives in the long run, and that sort of thinking seems to apply to the Middle East now. It ain't pretty. It ain't enlightened, but it might just be apt.

Humans suck. Let's just be glad that The Day The Earth Stood Still is just a movie, or our short-sighted, aggressive, warlike, 'kill 'em first, let God sort 'em out' tendencies might just have bought this planet a one-way ticket Sunward decades ago.

Yeah, I'm not in a good mood right now, and the Jack Daniels ain't helping.

But I love each and every one of you. :-)

Marius