:: Archipelapogo ::

:: 31.7.02 ::

I've just about wrapped up making an Excel file that has a list of all the CD's I currently own. I've still got some more to dig out of the depths of my mind, but it'll wind up around the 250-300 mark, I think. If you're interested, shoot me an e-mail (ssecrest48@hotmail.com) and I'll send you a copy. Feel free to drop me a personal note in there too, eh?
:: Scott [+] ::
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You're the (8th) Greatest, Charlie Brown!

Who doesn't love a great, debatable list? TV Guide, those incorrigable sultans of all things swanky, have created a list of the 50 greatest cartoon characters of all time. Number 1? Bugs Bunny. Homer Simpson rings in as an impressive #2, and I bet in about 30 years, he'd be number one. But that's cool. I can dig Bugs and all the spin-off characters. I'm truly upset by the high-ranking of beavis and butt-head, angelica pickles (from rugrats), and gumby (not to knock him, but he was claymation, dammit!). An interesting view none the less. Notable omissions for me included the Pink Panther, G.I. Joe, and the Smurfs. But especially the Pink Panther. My top five, in no particular order, would be the simpsons (i'll throw them all in one batch), Snoopy, Bugs Bunny, Pink Panther, and Scoobie Doo. What about you?
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Congrats to jonmc who successfully changed over from blogger to movable type. I'm sure it was quite a pain, but he pulled it off right well. And this post with the SweatHog's Dream Machine is one hell of a find.
:: Scott [+] ::
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Deep in the crotch of Texas

Spent about 24 hours in Houston this weekend attending a party to celebrate the recent marriage of my friends Eric and Maca. They were married in Santiago, Chile in early June, and seeing as how i was unemployed for the year preceding it, i wasn't able to foot the plane ticket to South America, dammit. Neither was the majority of Eric's family who are state-side, so they had a party celebrating their new lives together for all to come and enjoy upon their return from a disease-infested honeymoon in Thailand. Turns out she got typhoid as well. Happy matrimony indeed.

The party was nice, lots of bbq, swimming, pictures, etc. I ate way too much. It'll be a long time before I eat any red meat again, as I'm sure by blood pressure has probably doubled since this time on Friday. Fortunately, Eric's parents live out in the suburb Sugarland, so I got to miss out on most of the nappiness that is H-town. If LA is the armpit of the US, which is a theory i subscribe to (no offense, kaf) then Houston is the sweaty crotch. Recently being named the smoggiest town of the US doesn't help much either. As a result, they've made the speed limit on all of the highways 55, which is a wonderfully rich joke since most of the time you're doing about 40 anyways. So much traffic.

On the way back to Dallas yesterday, I had a migraine the likes of which I hadn't had in years. The kind where it feels like your brain is trying to dig out of your skull and the pain goes all the way down to your upper back. I blame this statue of Sam Houston (scroll down a bit), which is no competition for the Tulsa Golden Driller, dammit. But I slept it off pretty well, and am back to feeling 'normal'.
:: Scott [+] ::
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I'm NOT growing up, dammit!

Wow. I'm pretty happy. They're releasing a series of Muppet figurines to celebrate the start of the show 25 years ago. Wonderful! You can see the line-up here. They've already released the first series, which contains Piggy, Kermit, Dr. Teeth, Dr. Bunsen, and a playset with Beaker. I'm more psyched about the release of the playset featuring Animal complete with drum kit in September of this year. (scroll down a bit). And I'd also like to have Zoot (the sax player) and Sgt. Floyd Pepper. Damn, this was a cool find.

Special thanks to toughpigs.com, a great source for all things Muppet-y.
:: Scott [+] ::
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I finally got around to signing up at BlogSnob. It's free, and there are now small textads for other members on my blog, and hopefully mine will be on other peoples. So, if you're bored and wanna check out something new, feel free to click on the ad and you'll be magically transported elsewhere.
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By far, the funniest thing I've seen on the web in a long, long time....

Pictures of bands pulled off the web and given pants-wettingly funny captions. I have tears in my eyes trying to suppress laughter right now. Ohhhhh...

Here are my five (if i have to narrow it down) favorites....

"Oh sure, I may be a sallow, anemic, Hagstrom-strumming anglophile with bisexual tendencies and a ridiculous hairdo, but I...what was I saying?"

"We are the knights who say NASCAR!"

"We dun kapcherd us a grewpee! Ga-hilk!"

Somewhere in SmallTown U.S.A., four separate girlfriends reassured these guys that they looked "cool" prior to this "shoot". Cruel bitches.

and finally:

Appearing this Saturday: Beer GoggleZ

There are plenty more great ones, so enjoy yourself, and try to get some work done, ok?

Thanks again, Mefi
:: Scott [+] ::
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Apologies to jonmc, but I've got to shout out a big old "w00t!" I've now got a new(er) computer at my desk here at work. I inherited a pentium II from an abandoned cubicle that is being emptied before some new tech guy that needs a 'good' computer moves in. Hey, it's about 20 times better than the pentium I i was working on. Much. Plus, since i'm on a LAN, everything seems to be great, and it's actually going better than my computer at home. Once again, w00t!!
:: Scott [+] ::
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I've a new hero.

Her name is Erica Pratt. She's 3' 5" and weighs 70 lbs. She was kidnapped monday in Philadelphia, and left in a basebent with duct tape binding her. She chewed through the duct tape, kicked out a panel in the basement door, and then screamed for help. Fortunately, three kids heard her and went for police. She is now safe. Someone needs to make an action figure of Erica.
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Evil, thy name is Mary Kay

The people in dallas must be incurring the wrath of God. This plague takes the form of thousands of chatty, plum dress-suited, ribbon wearing Mary Kay salespeople. The annual convention is taking place right now, bringing reps from all 50 states and twenty some-odd countries. This makes a horrible mess of the trains downtown. I don't mind standing on the train, and often opt to do so. It's the noise like 50,000 mockingbirds on a wire before a rainstorm and the cloud of powdery-stank that bothers me. Let's hope the next week and a half go by quickly.

Every time I see them though, I can't help but think of the lady in "Roger and Me" that starts selling Mary Kay products to make money after Flint, MI goes down the tubes. She does that "color scheme" thing with the piece of cloth that's orange on one side, and purple on the other. In doing a demonstration, she convinces a room full of ladies and Michael Moore that a certain lady is a fall, i think the season was. Then, about 10 minutes later, they show her on another day and she said that she was wrong, and admitted that she didn't know jack about that which she was talking. Kind of makes me chuckle to myself when i see these leeches taking themselves so damn seriously.
:: Scott [+] ::
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A very happy 3rd birthday to Sean's twins, Elizabeth and Wil. The twinlog hasn't been updated in a long time, but that's not the kids' fault. I know the Meades have been busy with the move and all, but keep the little ones in mind today, eh?
:: Scott [+] ::
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I'm not going to get all fanboy like Sean, but i downloaded and installed google's new toolbar feature and I'm quite excited about it. Perform a google search from anywhere, either on google site, or on the site you're looking at, which should be great for weblogs and such. I'm pretty psyched about it. I believe it's only for IE right now, but I bet they'll change that in the near future.
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Speaking of being ultra-sensitive, as i was listening to some Ani DiFranco mp3's, and thinking about how I'd like to go buy a CD soon, I thought about how I only own and listen to one CD that's by a "Female Artist" any more. In H.S. i had the Breeders CD, and maybe a Cranberries one, or Julian Hatfield or something, but not anymore (they may be up in my old room at home somewhere, lost in the rubble, but finding them wouldn't be worth the effort). Yet, just a single one out of however many hundreds of CD's I own these days is by a Female artist (L7's "Bricks are Heavy"....still bust it out every three months or so). No Ella Fitzgerald. No Donnas. No Ani. No Joan Baez or Joni Mitchell. What the hell's wrong with me?
So, my challenge to the masses (albeit small masses) that read the 'pogo. Recommend me some female artists' CD's, and maybe I'll go out and pick up some stuff.
:: Scott [+] ::
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Tribute to Check Your Head (4/20) Gratitude (lyrics)

What's Gonna Set You Free Look Inside
And You'll See When You've Got So Much To Say It's Called Gratitude

I don't know if this can be considered a "spiritual" song per se, but it sure seems to be calling to a higher being or power of some sort. A nice, short, crunchy guitar-driven piece of work that is probably one of my five favorites on this album. Pefect in its simplicity. There's a live version of it on the Sabotage home video that's awfully nice too. When I saw them live, this is one of the songs that I beamed at when they started. Aaaah. Did you go buy this album yet?


:: Scott [+] ::
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Went Friday night and saw the new movie "Pumpkin" with denise at the Angelika. It's the new Christina Ricci movie where she plays a sorority girl in SoCal who falls in love with a "challenged athlete" that she meets while doing a service project. All the reviews have said that it's refreshing for it's lack of political correctness, and i think that's kind of what the point of the movie was. It was very satirical, but there was a lot of stupid humor in it too. There's sections that are extremely funny, and parts where you feel uncomfortable about the subject matter of the humor. I think that's the point. It's a fairly independent movie, and most of the people that see it will probably be fairly PC. Yet, i think it's supposed to make you rethink your PC-ness and lighten up a little. As someone who tries to be sensitive, probably to the point of super-PC-ness, it was kind of odd to be put in the seat of an independent movie being irreverant just to make you question yourself. From a big movie, say if it were Reese Witherspoon or something like that, it would make people cringe a lot more. But indie-cred can be a powerful thing, and make you take it more seriously. Now, we just need someone to make a movie questioning that, eh?
:: Scott [+] ::
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Is it ethically wrong to feed turkey to a pigeon? Just curious...
:: Scott [+] ::
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I found this quite interesting, and you may too. Here is a preview of some of the major cases that the Supreme Court will be handling when they re-enter session this October. Here are a couple that I'd like to keep an eye on when they come up:

Bill Lockyer v. Leandro Andrade, No. 01-1127, and Gary Ewing v. California, No. 01-6978. Nearly eight years after California's "three strikes" law was enacted, the Supreme Court agreed to take up two cases testing whether the law amounts to cruel and unusual punishment. Andrade's 50-year sentence was triggered by a third offense of stealing videotapes, while Ewing is serving 25 years for a third offense of stealing golf clubs.

Joseph Scheidler v. National Organization for Women, No. 01-1118, and Operation Rescue v. National Organization for Women, No. 01-1119. The Court revisits the issue of aggressive protests surrounding abortion clinics -- but this time not in the context of the First Amendment. The cases assess the validity of using federal racketeering and extortion laws to pursue protest groups in court.

Virginia v. Barry Black, Richard Elliott, and Jonathan O'Mara, No. 01-1107. A Virginia statute that bans cross burning with the intent to intimidate will be the occasion for a new look by the Court at how hate crimes can be punished without violating free speech rights. Virginia Attorney General Jerry Kilgore calls cross burning a form of "domestic terrorism."

(thanks, hobbsblog)
:: Scott [+] ::
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I finished reading "The Body Artist" by Don DeLillo on the train yesterday after work, and was left with a mixed taste in my mouth. The story is of a woman who is a performance artist in rural New England. Her husband commits suicide at the beginning of this short novel, and she goes through a series of delusions and realities, and often has a hard time telling which is which. The book, as DeLillo often does, narrates much of what goes on in her mind, her thought processes, self-doubts, etc. Yet, it seems to end rather abrubtly. I'm not sure if I just didn't understand a lot of the point of the book, or if there really was one, but I didn't feel all that different after finishing it than I did when I started.

There are some great metaphors and symoblic plot points in the novel though. The most poignant in my mind was the fact that the body artist would often watch the webcam of a traffic stop in rural scandanavia late at night, waiting and waiting until a car finally passed. Beautiful symbol for how alone and isolated she felt. She used footage from the camera as the background for her performance piece near the end of the book.

The Body Artist was not my favorite DeLillo read, having read White Noise and Mao II previously. It's also probably a really bad first DeLillo book for someone to read. Being short makes it worth reading, but there are so many other great books out there that I really wouldn't recommend this one unless you really really feel like reading it.

I started Breakfast of Champions by Kurt Vonnegut today on the train. Already enjoying it after the intro and most of the first chapter, and there are little, simple illustrations that are really funny. Let you know more about it as I finish it.
:: Scott [+] ::
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Designers have come up with six different concepts for WTC replacements. You can view them from all sorts of angles, including the new skyline, here. Site may be a little slow, due to the fact that it's getting hammered right now. (thanks, mefi).
:: Scott [+] ::
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Check Your Head Tribute (3/20) Pass the Mic (lyrics)

Goodness Gracious!!

The first few lines of this song to me represent the boys, and most prominently MCA, starting to get a little bit deeper with the lyrics:
If You Can Feel What I'm Feeling Then It's A Musical Masterpiece
But If You Can Hear What I'm Dealing With Then That's Cool At Least
What's Running Through My Mind Comes Through In My Walk True
Feelings Are Shown From The Way That I Talk
Okay, so it's no Thoureau or anything, but a major improvement over binge drinking, wild parties, chasing girls, etc. Plus they give shout-outs to Jimmie Walker and Stevie Wonder (i assume). Still don't know who Clyde is though. Damn. The video, while i'm sure cool at the time, now just seems cheesy, but that's cool. I do dig the camera shot in the hubcap that rolling. Nice footage. We're getting closer to songs I love, though....heh.


:: Scott [+] ::
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Check Your Head Tribute (2/20) Funky Boss (lyrics)

Not much to be said about this. I'm sure most everyone has a had a boss that they hated at some point in time. Maybe even a "bald-ass" boss. I've been fairly lucky when it comes to bosses, thank god. This song does bring about the first "jammy" b-boys session. Even if the lyrics are pretty worthless, they pick the insturments up and make some beautiful Music. One of the reasons that CYH is my favorite album.
:: Scott [+] ::
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Odd. Looks like Adampsyche has the same plates as denise.
:: Scott [+] ::
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Denise and I went to the new Central Market today to check out what was going on there. It's not officially open yet, but the parking lot was jammed, and the produce section was nearly impossible to navigate a cart in. I was surpirsed to see that their prices are comparable to most other grocery stores around here, so i may wind up doing most of my shopping there. Their produce looks so fresh that it seems "plastic" in Denise's words. They also have a wide variety of sauces, breads, meats, organic food, beer, and wine. They even had a beer called "Buffalo Butt" which piqued my interest, though I didn't buy it.* I did score a half pound of French Vanilla and Almond Granola for a dollar though, so I was pretty pleased with that.

*I did finally find a six pack of the Shiner Summer Stock, which is phenomenol, and I'd had a pretty hard time tracking down. Found it at World Market. I was happy. It was pretty cheap too ($4.99). I had one last night, and it was wonderful. Light but tasty with a little twinge of sour. Not bitter, not sweet, but sour. Almost citrus-y. Yum.
:: Scott [+] ::
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Trust you all had a good weekend. Hopefully. Sorry about backing out on my promise already on the Check Your Head tribute, but I'll do two tomorrow after work. I'm not real sure what can be said about "Funky Boss" anyways.

Yesterday, Denise and I went to "Taste of Dallas", a nice little festival in the West End where about 20 or so restaurants and eateries had set up booths so you could sample and purchase their edibles. I folded and went, once again, for the "Khan's Spicy Beef" stir-fry from Genghis Grill, which was excellent as always. I was also reassured by the guys at the booth that the restaurant 3 miles from me, which had some damage after the bar next door to it burned down, would re-open later this week. And, the franchise that's being put in at the shopping center behind my complex should be open in Sept. or Oct., which is wonderful news.

While at the festival, we watched a local band called Spoonfed Tribe play. This being the first local band i've seen since i moved here in march, i was pretty excited. They have a funk, heavy guitar, jam, hippie thing going on that I felt the vibe of in the hot sun. Lots of energy and charisma, and a small but cool section of groupies. Not my usual style of music, but they fail to fall into the boring twelve minute long instrumentals and lean more towards the fishbone side of things versus country (ahem, sorry ryan, bluegrass!). They even have a couple of flutes that are used during some songs, but in a rocking way, if ever you could rock a flute. They finished up their set with a very tribal drum session banging on a variety of drums, pans, an industrial metal oil drum, and even a chair for a while. It was pretty damn cool. I'd be interested to see them in a club atmosphere.
:: Scott [+] ::
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Check Your Head Tribute (1/20) Jimmy James (lyrics)

This next one is the first song on our new album

< cue "Purple Haze">
The Beastie tribute to Jimi Hendrix. Why the spelling? I have no idea. Great first song for the album, though. Shows the immediate and obvious change from Paul's Boutique. Good lyrical switching with each beastie taking one line at a time. Added bonuses: The phrase "ear goggles", one of my all-time beastie favs. The alternate version from the Jimmy James single (which appears on "the Sounds of Science") shows a lot longer cut of Purple Haze. I think that's the version in the video too, which is on "Sabotage" home video. Kind of a cheesy video with the silouhetted girl dancing, but some cool Hendrix clips. No obscure references in this song, but there will be in many of the others on this album. I'll have to google some of them to find out info. Not my favorite song on this cd (or even in the top 5) but I really like it regardless.
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Reunited, and it feels so good.

My sister rocks! Two years ago (probably close to the day, actually) she moved to Ft. Walton Beach, Florida to be with her fiancee. They got married the ensuing October. Only problem was, I left my favorite CD of all time at her apartment before she moved and she took it with her. I've been there to visit her twice since then (wedding, and spring break last year), and she's come up to see me at least 3 times since. Yet, I'd never retrieved it or had it brought back to me. Imagine going two years without your favorite CD. Well, today I went to check my mail, and what should i behold but said CD. I was elated. In tribute to reuniting with my prodigal album, starting tomorrow evening, every weekday, i'm going to do a post about each song, in order. No, it's not all i'm going to be doing on here, so if you don't like it, you can still come visit. But for the next 20 weekdays, a breakdown of what I love of each song. Aaaaah. I'm looking forward to it already. Needless to say, if you don't own this album, kick yourself really hard, then kick yourself again, then go buy it and listen to it over and over and over, and then kick yourself again for missing out on it for ten years.
:: Scott [+] ::
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I always wondered if you could take pictures of fireworks. This guy got some great ones from Baltimore on the 4th. Guess if you have a digital camera, you can. Now, i'm just 6 days late and a camera short. Sigh. Story of my life.
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If you're observant, you may have noticed I added some other blogs to my links section. The suburban limbo is one that I've linked to several times, and enjoy quite a bit. My Life as an American Gladiator is MeFi's Kafkaesque's blog. He's a damn funny guy. Check out his post on the bees in his apartment for starters. Great stuff. Plus, he reciprocated the link, so that's always a bonus.
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A follow-up to the stellar man that purchased the lot behind my parents house and built a big, towering, ugly piece of crap that sits about 5 feet from the fence. My mom told me today that he's a "professional hunter". He goes out and bags animals, makes trophies out of them, and sells them. What a pud.
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Sometimes at work, you're brain just goes on cruise control. Have you ever been followed by a woman down the hall on your way to the men's room only to find yourself holding the door open for her? Wow. Kind of embarassing. D'oh!
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Oy vey! Scary stuff from the Guardian UK about the world running out of resources by 2050. Not sure how much of this is Chicken Little-esque, but there's at least one interesting point:

Attention is now focused on next month's Earth Summit in Johannesburg, the most important environmental negotiations for a decade.

However, the talks remain bedevilled with claims that no agreements will be reached and that US President George W. Bush will fail to attend.

What do ya think?


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Take me away from the ballgame...

Denise and I went to the Texas Rangers vs. Baltimor Orioles game on Saturday night with her lab. Fortunately, it was free, and we had box seats, which also gave us free hotdogs and sody-pop. Unfortunately, there's probably no other sport on earth that I would dislike to watch more than baseball. Add to the fact that the Rangers blow this year, and, well, it was a long three and a half hours.

There were some cool parts, though. About half of the people that came are non-US'ns, so that made for some interesting questions and reactions to certain things. Yet, by about the fifth inning, I think most of them had had enough. As most rational people do after two hours of baseball.

Also, Juan Gonzalez got thrown out of the game for disputing a call. Then, he went to the dugout and threw out a container of something. Newspaper yesterday said it was gum and sunflower seeds. All in good fun, you know.

Plus, the Ballpark at Arlington is awfully nice. I hadn't been there since they opened it (95 or so?). Much better than the old stadium they had. And, we were in the box that was named after Rod Carew, which is wonderful. Found out he's from Panama. Who knew? But, in addition to being a Hall of Famer, he's also immortalized in a Beastie Boys song (I got more action than my man John Woo/ And I got mad hits like I was Rod Carew -- Sure Shot).

Denise wants to go to an event for all five of the pro teams in dallas. Glad we got the worst out of the way first. Can't say I'm looking forward to a Cowboys game, but the other three should be fun.
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Hmmm, looks like Stubbs BBQ in Austin (where i saw jon spencer last year, and am going to see sonic youth in early August) and the Gypsy Tea Room in Dallas (where I saw jon spencer in April of this year) are owned by the same folks. Interesting.
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If you've had a bad day, don't worry, things could be worse. Case in point...

My friends from Baylor, Eric and Maca(rena) got married in Chile last month. She's from Chile, and he lived there for a while in high school, where they met, and you know the rest. Anyways, they went to Thailand for their honeymoon for three or four weeks. Eric also lived in Thailand for a while. He was born in Saudi Arabia, then Thailand, then Chile, then Houston, and he's the whitest guy you'll ever meet. They were supposed to come back to the states this week, i think, and stay in Houston w/ his parents for a while, then return to Lubbock, where he's in Med. School. Turns out, he got dengue. Not sure if it's the bad, hemmoraging kind or not, yet, so far as I know. But he went to the hospital in Bangkok, and his mom flew out there yesterday, i think.

I don't know anything about dengue, so here's what I learned for those of you too lazy to click on the CDC link above:
Dengue is primarily a disease of the tropics, and the viruses that cause it are maintained in a cycle that involves humans and Aedes aegypti, a domestic, day-biting mosquito that prefers to feed on humans. Infection with dengue viruses produces a spectrum of clinical illness ranging from a nonspecific viral syndrome to severe and fatal hemorrhagic disease. Important risk factors for DHF include the strain and serotype of the infecting virus, as well as the age, immune status, and genetic predisposition of the patient.
Sudden onset of fever, severe headache, myalgias and arthralgias, leukopenia, thrombocytopenia and hemorrhagic manifestations
Occasionally produces shock and hemorrhage, leading to death.
Here's the fact sheet and Q & A.

As you can tell, the odds are slim, but there's a chance it could get bad. Send a prayer his way if you think about it, please.
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Kickin' round thoughts like El Pibe on the pitch...

Thanks to this MeFi thread, I really started thinking about mandatory voting, good and bad. My position on it hasn't changed, but I fell it's worth discussing. Apparently, it's not an option to not vote in Australia (without a fine), and also takes place in countries such as Belguim, Luxembourg, Argentina, Brazil, Costa Rica, Ecuador, and Honduras (though it's unsurprisingly unenforced) (source). End goal being, I suppose, that in a democracy, you have the right to vote, so you should. Let's take it back a notch though first, ok? The question that needs to be both asked and answered is, just because you have the right to vote, is it your Civic Duty to do so. And if the answer is "yes", then to what lengths do we go in order to ensure that everyone performs their civic duties? And, what are considered other "civic duties"? The only other civic duties that I can think of are serving on jurys (another mefi thread on that topic here), and i suppose registering for the draft, if you're a boy aged 18-26. I've done both of these, but I've never voted in a public election for office (i have voted on issues, though). Does this make me a bad citizen? Let's find out.

Why didn't I vote? Was I apathetic? Far from it. Unfortunately, the man that I wanted to vote for didn't make the ballot in Oklahoma. I know voting for third parties seems like throwing your vote away to many people, but I see it as using it to its best ability. Oklahoma was one of three or four states that Ralph didn't make the ballot on. Yet he was the only candidate of the big three to visit OK on the campaign trail. In fact, he was the only one to visit all 50 states. Why? Electoral College. I'll save my thoughts on the abolition of the electoral college for a different essay, which will hopefully be coming soon, but let's just say i feel that it's pointless, and detrimental to many voters, much less the 'democratic process'. I did, however, campaign for Ralph in Texas. I went to his rally in Austin, and convinced a handfull of friends and co-students to toss their vote his way. Apathy is not my middle name. To whit, I garnered more votes than mine was worth, so am I uber-citizen?

Nah. To get back to the back to the beat y'all, and down with the sound so sweet y'all, should mandatory voting be enacted? I say a vehement "NO!". Yes, it is our right to vote. However, I don't see it as being on par with serving in a jury (the draft, well, that's a whole different ballgame). Let's look at it pragmatically: I posit that there are two (basic) types of non-voters. First, you have the apathetic, lazy, and "can't be bothered by all that crap" non-voter. They have little to no knowledge of the issues, and their basic understanding of the candidates is the branded, slick, copywritten, and marketed party platform spokesman. They're basic understanding is what is given to them to swallow by over-produced and usually deceptive commercials during "Survivor". And often times, they're in the bathroom during these anyways. Are we better with their votes? Of course not. An ignorant vote is a vote that is anti-democratic and damning to the process. Does that mean that they shouldn't have the right to vote? Of course not. I'm not asking for Jim Crow-esque quizzes and tests before you can enter the booth. But for me to make them vote against their will and to make at best a 50/50 decision on party lines, beauty, or whatever other random means, is just laughable.

The second type of non-voter, i posit, is that of the protest voter. Say what you will about this person, and I won't say whether it's good or bad to be this way, they feel like no matter who they vote for, nothing will change, system is corrupt, etc. etc. etc. There are valid points and pitfalls to this line of thought, but explaining to these individuals probably will not change much. At best, maybe they would at least be happy with a "None of the Above" choice on the ballot. Me, I'm not satisfied by either of the non-voting factions. Most of why I didn't vote in the last election was due to not being able to vote for who I wanted to (as mentioned above) and the hassle of getting an absentee ballot, as I was at school in Waco at the time. Had I been forced to make a decision between the two, I know what I would have done. I'd have voted for the guy that won. (hint: it's not the one in office).

Sorry this has been kind of spastic, but i'm writing it in segments, and I don't really feel like going back to edit it (God bless self-publishing). Anways. In conclusion, no madatory voting is not the answer. You want answers. Here are two with little or no explanation. 1) Abolish the electoral college. Make it a dirct popular vote. Make every single vote count in every single state. Make my non-republican vote in ultra-republican land count just as much as the republican vote in ultra republican land. Make the republican vote in ultra-democrat land (say, Mass.) count just as much as the democratic vote in ultra democrat land. Make them all equal. 2) Educate those that are apathetic and lazy. Quit talking in tired, confusing, politic-speak and talk in normal terms. Terms I and my friends can understand without a dictionary. Too many folks are too lazy or don't know how to use one anyways. That sir, is how to get the vote out. Thoughts? Disagree? Comment right down there. And pointing out my (I'm sure numerous) typos doesn't count.
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I know money can't buy happines, and I firmly believe it. But getting your first paycheck in 14 months and paying your own rent can sure put you in a good mood.
:: Scott [+] ::
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Happy in-----dependence day. At least we all (or at least most of us) get the day off. More stuff soon, I'm sure, as I get to surf around un-paranoid-edly. P.S. Go watch something pretty, colorful, and loud.
:: Scott [+] ::
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I haven't encountered too many crazies on the trains as of yet. Most of the people I ride with are mild-mannered commuters doing the same as me, who rarely speak to anyone. There is also quite a few tourists, children, etc. who are enjoying the summer and the thrills of riding the big system. They can be chatty, but the only people that have really annoyed me so far was a youth group of about 12-15 freshman/sophomores from Austin. Not that they really did anything bad. They were just super loud, as most youth groups are when they are away from home. Not my cuppa tea.

There is, however, a man that i've seen at least three times that hangs out at the station where i get off/board at work. He likes to espout incoherent ramblings about Jesus, etc. I say incoherent in the rawest sense of the word, b/c just about the only words he says that I can understand are "Jesus", "God", "You", and "I". He doesn't appear to be a lout, or even mentally ill. Maybe he is, i don't know. Fortunately, he's always on the other side of the tracks, and he's non-confrontational with the people around him. He never has singled anyone out to be the subject of his hellfire and brimstone. Sometimes you'll see groups of urban teens looking at him confusedly and laughing to themselves. Most of the working folks tend to completely put him out of their minds and continue their conversations or reading their papers. But don't get me wrong, he's very loud, and seems angry, and I don't think anyone could completely ignore him.
The last time I saw him was Monday, and it was kind odd. He's always very well dressed, with a three-piece suit and fedora on. Monday was no exception. But he was holding a bag of plums. As if he ran to the store and then just thought "hey, let's go yell about Jesus at West End Station for a while". I really wanted to know the story about the plums, if someone gave them to him, or why he had them. Commuting tends to make one focus on random things like that, I suppose. He will now be known as Jesus-Plum guy on the weblog though, so keep it in mind.


:: Scott [+] ::
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The museum parking lot geography study is going well. I'm up to 13 states now I think, including three that I thought would be difficult, Oregon, Mass., and New Jersey. I know most of the NorthEast will be slow coming. I figure once I'm up to about 43 or so, weeks will go by before I add a new one. So goes life, I guess.

:: Scott [+] ::
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From Kurt Vonnegut's Galapagos:

When I was a little boy in Cohoes, and could detect nothing in the life of our little family about which I could be proud, my mother told me that I had the blood of French noblemen flowing in my veins. I would probably be living in a chateau on a vast estate over there, she said, if it hadn't been for the French Revolution. That was on her side of the family. I was also somehow related through her, she went on, to Carter Braxton, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. i should hold my head up high, she said, because of the blood flowing in my veins.

I thought this was pretty good. So then I disturbed my father at his typewriter, and asked him what my heritage was from his side of the family. I didn't know then what sperm was, and so wouldn't understand his answer for several years. "My boy," he said, "you are descended from a long line of determined, resourceful, microscopic tadpoles -- champions every one."

That made me smile on my train ride home today.
:: Scott [+] ::
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Damn, i hadn't realised that it had been so long since i posted. Whoops. Brief life update:
Work's going well. I have business cards now (!?!) Let me know if you want one, and i'll give it to you next time i see you, or if that won't be for a while, i'll mail it to you. They gave me 500. What the hell am I going to do with all of those? Oh well

I'm going to start playing a new game by seeing if I can't find a license plate from all 48 continental states in the parking lot of the museum. Today i found texas (duh), Arizona, Missouri, Indiana, and North Carolina. I think that's all, but that was only scanning once. Some states will be hard to find (maine, rhode island, etc.) but i think i can get it done by summer's end.

Denise has been bugging me to post her new favorite website, jigzone. Online jigsaw puzzles. She plays a lot at work, apparently. It's a pretty cool little place though (watch out for the pop-ups).

Oh, and jonmc's "better half" started her own weblog too. They just got back together (awwwwww!) and now they'll be fighting over who gets to use the computer. Not sure that was a great move. But chicks that blog rule.
:: Scott [+] ::
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