Friday Frivolity

Urban fairies in Ann Arbor Michigan. Who knew?

Great last lines is a collection of movie lines. Fun stuff!

Check out the 'read more' for the weekly quizzes!



Marcia, Marcia, Marcia!

You Are Marcia Brady

Confident yet kind. Popular yet down to earth. You're a total dream girl. You've got the total package - no wonder everyone's a little jealous of you.

What Brady Are You?

I escaped from the Dungeon of Kyrillandra!

I looted the Sword of Trace Adkins, the Armour of Digital Scrapbooking, the Dagger of Rosary Making, the Armour of Medieval History, the Dagger of Cooking, the Wand of Jewelry Making, a Figurine of Elsieaustin and 18 gold pieces.

Score: 68

Explore the Dungeon of Kyrillandra and try to beat this score,
or enter your username to generate and explore your own dungeon...

This one's a LiveJournal thing, so if you know anyone over there, you can put their user name in the box. Or, just go through my dungeon. The sword of Trace Atkins, and the dagger of rosary making must made me laugh!

Tags-Friday Frivolity

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Jim Baen 1943-2006

Sci-fi visionary publisher Jim Baen has died.

Make sure you read David Drake's obituary for Jim.



Tags-Scifi

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This is good

The War in Pictures

Very well done. I, of course, got teary-eyed during it.

And, also of ourse, said 'Hooah' whe I saw the soldier from the 82nd. Can you spot him?


Tags-GWOT

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Finland's Annual Wife-Carrying Contesst

She ain't heavy, she's my wife--and I don't want her to get off my back!


What an...interesting competition!

Make sure you read the whole thing, the stuff on gender equality and gender specific roles is really good. I especially like the end-

They may be expressing--in an admittedly peculiar manner--that they want to live in a world where husbands and wives are equals, but their roles aren't completely interchangeable.

Now the only question I have is, if we were to compete, should I lose more weight to make it easier to win, or gain more weight so he wins more beer? I guess that would depend on what kind of beer they use for the prize! ;)

Tags-Gender Equality

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Now HERE'S a 'Da Vinci' book I'd enjoy!

Rescuing Da Vinci

From Military.com-

Rescuing Da Vinci, a new photographic book about a nearly-forgotten group of American WWII heroes. These individuals, nicknamed "Monuments Men" by American GI's, rescued tens of thousands of Western Civilization's greatest art masterpieces and monuments from the clutches of Hitler and the Nazis, including some of the most famous works of Michelangelo, Rembrandt, Rafael, Vermeer, Picasso, Van Gogh and Da Vinci.


That just sounds cool!

Tags-Da Vinci

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Ok, this is just cool

Recently declassified guncamera footage from Allied aircraft in the European Theater during WWII




Watch in fullscreen mode, very cool, and it even has a soundtrack!

Tags-WWII

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The next generation in Iraq

Starts here

Let's hope that more of this generation of Iraqi think like this young man and not like the terrorists!

Tags-Iraq

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Playing catch-up

Saddam ends hunger strike after missing one meal?

He’s quite a trooper, isn’t he? Gave up one whole meal in his hunger strike!


More important though, is the recently declassified information about the WMDs we HAVE found in Iraq since the beginning of the war. That’s just the tip of the iceberg, I’m sure. Now, I know the Left will say that the timing of the release is politically motivated. My reply to them is, SO WHAT? It doesn’t make it any less true. But they’ll talk around the ‘timing issue’ so as not to have to address the fact that SADDAM lied, and WMDs are still unaccounted for in Iraq.

Click the 'read more', there's LOTS more!



Here’s a round up of bloggers, documents, and transcripts-

RWS

Instapundit

Hewitt pt1

Radioblogger transcript

Hewitt pt2

Hewitt pt3

Hewitt pt4


And while we’re on Iraq at the moment, I’ve been spending a lot of time praying fro the families of our two soldiers that were kidnapped, tortured and murdered by the terrorists. I’ve read quite a bit about this situation, and have to say I agree with comments (I’m trying to find where I read them) that say you can bet that soldiers won’t go down without a fight anymore. Sort of like people in hijacked airplanes won’t just sit back and hope for the best. These people, these TERRORISTS don’t play ‘by the rules’. They will kill you if you give them half a chance, and will do it in the most degrading, torturous, inhumane way possible. Pfc. Menchaca and Pfc. Tucker didn’t deserve to die that way, no matter what some people might think. We aren’t perfect, but we don’t torture and kill our prisoners. Unfortunately, some people will always believe that we do, and that we are no better than the murderous scum in Al-Qaeda. Here’s just the latest “we’re no better than them” attack on our troops Pot to Kettle. Make sure to vote and read some of the sick comments for the 10% who truly believe that we are no better than these butchers and murderers.

Garbage like this is why I needed a week off from blogging. In the PC game Civilization IV, there is a concept they call ‘war weariness’, where the people in your town become unhappy and quit working if you’ve been at war for a long time. I’m experiencing some of that myself right now. But I’m fighting it. It needs to be fought, on a personal level, and as a country. We MUST see this through, and we WILL be victorious.

Thanks for the words of support during my short sabbatical this week. I’m rested and ready to pick up the fight!


Tags-GWOT

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Friday Frivolity

I was asked if this was going to be a regular thing, and the answer is YES! ;)

I think it's important to take time out from 'fighting the good fight' as it were to just have a litle fun.

But since I know quizzes and the like don't appeal to everyone, you'll have to click the 'Read More' to see today's entry!

What Your Soul Really Looks Like

You are very passionate and quite temperamental. While you can be moody, you always crave comfort. You are a grounded person, but you also leave room for imagination and dreams. You feet may be on the ground, but you're head is in the clouds. You believe that people see you as larger than life and important. While this is true, they also think you're a bit full of yourself. Your near future is in a very different place (both physically and mentally) from where you are right now. For you, love is all about caring and comfort. You couldn't fall in love with someone you didn't trust.

Inside the Room of Your Soul

Two things quiz-

Two Names I Go By: Kyrie, Jenn

Two Parts of My Heritage: English, German

Two Things That Scare Me: Islamofacsists, hate-filled people

Everyday Essentials: my husband, my computer

Two Things I Am Wearing Right Now: Glasses, hair scrunchie

Two of My Favorite Bands or Musical Artists: John Williams, Rich Mullins

Two of My Favorite Songs: Testify to Love, Courtesy of the Red, White, and Blue

Two books that changed my life: Illusions, Chronicles of Narnia

Two Things I Want in a Relationship: love, honesty

Two Physical Things that Appeal to Me: the taste of chocolate chip cookie dough, Aaryk’s smile

Two of My Favorite Hobbies: blogging, crafty stuff

Two Things I Want Really Badly: an ori pei puppy, a second car

Two Things I Want to Do Before I Die: meet the Pope, open a game store

Two other languages I want to learn: Greek, Sign

Two things I hate: intentional ignorance, hot peppers


Two other things that I wanted to add:

Two websites I read daily: Instapundit.com, Wizbangblog.com

Two things I wish I had more time for: Crafting, prayer


Your turn!

Answer the questions and be sure to add two new questions to the mix!


Tags-Friday Frivolity

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Just to let you know...

It'll probably be light blogging for a bit here.

I think I've reached saturation point with news and need a break.

Now, having said that, I'm likely to find something to get all fired up about almost imediately! ;)

Here's links to a couple of other blog pieces I found interesting to keep you going until I return-

Riding with Respect

The New Band of Brothers

Hewitt on Net Neutrality

I'll be cathcing yup on some of these myself over the next couple of days.

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Jim Baen

Science Fiction publisher Jim Baen has had a stroke.

More here.

Prayers going up for a speedy and full recovery!

Here's some info on some of the cool stuff he's been working on lately-

Jim Baen's Universe


Tags-Science Fiction

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YES!!!!!!

He's BACK!

And not with a new essay (which would have been cool too), but with the first chapter of a new book!

Thanks to Hugh Hewitt for the head up.

{doing the happy dance}

More Bill Whittle to read!


Tags-Bill Whittle

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The Camp Pendleton 8

I just finished reading about these men over at Michelle Malkin's site-

The Camp Pendleton 8

I know our service men and women give up some of their constitutional rights when they enlist, and they agree to put themselves under the authority of the UCMJ, but this seems a bit extreme.

Terror suspects at Gitmo have more rights than these guys.

And they certainly get more headlines.

I don't know if this is the standard procedure for this sort of thing or not, but I plan to do some more looking into it and find out.

Tags-Military

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Friday Frivolity

It doesn't get much more frivolous than Cute Overload, but that's where I go for my daily dose of cuteness!

Click the 'Read More' for the weekly quiz-



You Are Esmerelda!

Mysterious and passionate. You are a survivor. Even though life has swung you some difficult situations you have a strong intuition that gets you through. Also, you have the capacity to sympathize and relate to a variety of different people.

Which Disney Princess Are You?





Tags-Friday Frivolity

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Yesterday I was lazy

There's no other excuse for it.

Yesterday was both Flag Day AND the 231'st birthday of the US ARMY!

I read this-

Digital Fortress

and it covers it.

I won't let important things like this slip by again.

(Oh, and by the way, Google didn't celebrate Flag Day either!)

Tags- Flag Day, Army Birthday

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Animal lovers can support the troops!

According to Military.com-

Operation Noble Foster has provided more than 3,000 deployed servicemembers with individual foster homes for their cats until they return. Using a private, interactive database that military personnel can search online, the group coordinates foster care for military people's cats with volunteers. The organization does not screen the volunteers, but it does provide advice regarding screening and other services such as spaying and neutering, which make it easier for interested military personnel to locate homes for their cats. More than 5,000 people have volunteered to foster cats.

Check them out!

Operation Noble Foster



Tags- Military, Pets

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One more reason...

I won't ever buy the Arizona Repugnant...er...Republic-

Take a took at the recent editorial cartoon over at BLACKFIVE (click on the pic to see what the fuss is about)

I don't care if you write them a letter or not, I just hope none of my AZ friends actually buy this rag still. It's one step up from New Times IMHO, and not always that.

Tags-Military

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No Virginia, UPDATED

There's no such thing as a Fitzmas.

Karl Rove will not be indicted in CIA leak case

I'm with Wizbang on this. I'm betting it won't be long until the 'Left' starts going on about how Fitzgerald was bought off.

This has GOT to be driving them nuts! ;)

UPDATE- Wow, that didn't take long! Nominees for Best Fever Swamp Reaction to Rove Non-Indictment

Tags-Karl Rove

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Wow, this is good!

A reminder


Especialy with all the extra stuff my sweetie is going through at work right now, and knowing he's NOT going to get back to learning to be a mechanic.

Tags-Military

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Ben Roethlisberger

The Steelers' Big Ben was in a motorcycle accident earlier today.

Prayers going up for a speedy and full recovery.

He wasn't wearing a helmet.

The car probably didn't see him.

He may have just ended his football career.

If you haven't read it yet (or even if you have, read it again), go read- I Saw You

Tags- Steelers, Motorcycling

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Stolen Picture NOT resolved!

Read Michael Yon's latest post about the ONGOING debacle with HFM over the ILLEGAL use of his intellectual property.

I'm asking you to join with me and DO something about this. Michael has suggestions here-Make Yourself Heard

I'm starting at the top of his list of things to do and working my way through them. I'll be stopping by the PX tonight, and I hope they don't have copies of this rag on the shelf. If they do, they'll likely get an earful from me! ;)

Here's a list of magazines teh HFM publishes-

American Photo
Boating
Car & Driver
Cycle World
ELLE
ELLE Décor
ELLEgirl
Flying
Home
Metropolitan Home
Mobile Entertainment
Popular Photography & Imaging
Premiere
Road & Track
Sound & Vision
Woman’s Day
Woman’s Day Special Interest Publications

If you subscribe to any of these, and feel stongly about this issue, please consider cancelling your subscription. Or, at the very least, email the magazine and tell them about your feelings on this. I'll be emailing WD and Pop Photo in particular today.

Thanks for not letting this go unanswered!


Previous posts on this saga are here-

Stolen Picture RESOLVED
Stolen Picture Update
If you're goigng to steal a pic

Tags-Michael Yon

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We need more parents like this

A line in the sand

I am hopeful and perhaps overly optimistic that the majority of parents would agree with with this. Looking back on my own parenting, it's the times when I let the creeping incrementalism go unanswered that I now regret. The 'line in the sand' moved more than it should. I can't fix it for my son, but I can encourage other parents to set appropriate boundries and limits for their children.


Tags-Parenting

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"George Bush forced me to have an abortion"

No, he didn’t get her pregnant. But, well, read it for yourself-



What happens if there’s no Plan B?

See, she can’t be expected to be responsible for controlling her own fertility, it has to be Bush’s fault that she couldn’t get her Plan B pill. Heaven forbid that a married Virginia lawyer take responsibility for her OWN body and her own actions.

There’s some good reading on this here, here, and here.

One has to wonder, if the Plan B pill weren’t available AT ALL, would she have ‘remembered’ her diaphragm? Or would she have just gone on and had the abortion? Would it still have been George Bush's fault?




Tags-Abortion

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Frivolous Friday Fun

Click the 'Read More' if you re interested!

You scored as Nightcrawler. Nightcrawler is a very symbolic X-Man. He is persecuted by society because of his devilish looks, but it is his faith in God that gives him strength. He is a very gentle x-man but he does know how to fight and he enjoys fencing. Powers: Teleportation Nightcrawler 70% Jean Grey 60% Cyclops 60% Storm 55% Rogue 55% Colossus 55% Gambit 55% Iceman 50% Wolverine 45% Emma Frost 45% Beast 30% Most Comprehensive X-Men Personality Quiz 2.0 created with QuizFarm.com

You Are 4% Obsessive

You're less prone to obsessive thoughts than the rest of the world... While you do get hung up from time to time, you're excellent at clearing your mind.

How Obsessive Are You?

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Eden Restored

Scientific American talkes about how the marshlands in Iraq are being reflooded over the last couple of years (it leaves out the fact that Saddam drained them as a means to 'deal' with the people of the region) and how the flora and fauna are returning to the area.

Very cool stuff!


Tags-Good news from Iraq

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Another hurdle passed-UPDATED

Zarqawi is DEAD!

That's got to be my good news of the morning.

I wonder how long until the Left starts in about how this changes nothing, and is actually bad for Iraq? ;)

UPDATE-Want to see how the Left can take a good thing and make us look bad? http://wyllowbelle.livejournal.com/100650.html?mode=reply



Tags-GWOT

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Stolen Picture RESOLVED!

BLACKFIVE has the info on the resolution of Michael Yon and HFM over his picture in Shock.

I'm glad the were able to settle this.

Tags-Tags- Michael Yon, Milbloggers

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More on the Culture War

Justice Kennedy's Culture War

Talking about the current debate over a federal marriage amendment.

The key paragraphs-

So here we go again with another values issue about to become an endlessly polarizing national debate. Beltway politicians can posture knowing nothing much will change. This is the history of abortion since Roe v. Wade, with both sides at the same barricades 30 years on. The Founders left such thorny social issues to the states precisely to allow the democratic give and take that can reach a rough consensus, as well as adjust as social mores change.

(emphasis mine)

Unfortunately, it has become increasingly obvious (as he goes on to point out) that judges at the state level aren't honoring what the voters in their states do when it comes to referendums and even constitutional amendments!

As for liberals, they might consider that their best chance to change minds is through open state debate, not coercive courts. Polls show Americans are becoming more comfortable with civil unions and other gay rights. In fact, the best thing gay activists could do for themselves at the federal level would be to support repeal of the death tax, since under current law gay couples often lack inheritance rights. That would accomplish more than anything that will emerge from this week's political spectacle over amending the Constitution.

Hear, hear. I still maintain that one of the few benefits to allowing gay marriage is that their activists and lobbyists could get more done to repeal things like the death tax and the other inequities in the tax code for married couples.


Tags- Marriage Amendment, Culture War

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62 years ago

D-Day

The 82nd Airborne was there too-

While the 82nd was in England, a decision was made to add a parachute regiment to the airborne divisions for the upcoming invasion of Normandy. With the 504th still in Italy, two regiments were needed. The 2nd Airborne Brigade, containing the 507th and 508th Parachute Infantry Regiments, was sent from Fort Bragg to join the Division. Early in the morning of 6 June 1944, the 505th, 507th, and 508th, along with artillery and engineers, parachuted into Normandy to being Operation NEPTUNE, the assault phase of OVERLORD. The mission of the Division was to seize the town of St. Mere Eglise and crossings over the Merderet River. By dawn, the 505th had secured St. Mere Eglise and a bridge over the Merderet at La Fiere. Gliders carrying the 325th and antitank guns began to arrive and join the fighting. Some of the heaviest fighting occurred on 9 June as the Division seized the causeway at La Fiere. During the action, PFC Charles DeGlopper of C Company, 325th GIR, earned the Medal of Honor. The 82nd continued fighting in Normandy for 33 days, leading the Allied advance west across the base of the Cotentin Peninsula. The Division earned the Presidential Unit Citation, two French Croix de Guerre, and the French Fourragere of the Croix de Guerre. The 82nd was relieved in Normany on 8 July and returned to England to prepare for future airborne operations.
from-82nd Airborne Division History

as was the 407th BSB-

When the Division went into Normandy, the 407th arrived there with the glider forces and the seaborne forces. The 407th also participated in the glider assault into Holland. For these two operations, the 407th is credited with two arrowheads (initial assault) on its battle streamers.
from 407th BSB History

UPDATE- I love when new people comment and I get to see their blogs. Check out the D-Day entry on Cop the Truth. Also, here's BLACKFIVE's roundup of D-Day posts.

Tags-D-Day

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Has it really been two years already?

Wizbang has a piece about Ronald Reagan in honor of the second anniversary of his death.

I wish I'd been more appreciative of him while he was in office.

Tags-Ronald Reagan

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Let the Hysteria begin!

Board says drugstores can refuse to sell 'morning-after' pill

Sounds ominous, doesn't it.

Except that it's NOT what the Board of Pharmacy in Washington state is doing. It's not about a pharmacy's right to not sell something (which is a different issue). Here's what the Board's rule would do-

The rule, endorsed by the board in a 5-0 vote, says pharmacists must provide timely alternatives if they "cannot dispense" a prescription.

This is about balancing the rights of patients with the rights of pharmacists who have a moral issue with dispensing a particular medication, namely the so-called 'emergency contraception'.

But if you listen to some on the Left, this is one step shy of 'forced pregnancy'. Take a look at {link removed at Riverheart's request} Somehow the point of 'timely alternatives' escapes them in their hysteria to decry this as somehow the government PROHIBITING the sale of certain medications.

(rant continues, click 'Read More')

Pharmacists should have the right to decline work that conflicts with their beliefs as long as they respect the patient, Rod Shafer, executive director of the Washington State Pharmacy Association, said earlier this year.

"We are not dispensing machines," Shafer said. "We are professionals who have as many rights as anybody else."

C.J. Kahler, past president of the association, said the rule endorsed Thursday properly respects the rights of both patients and drug providers.

"The patient needs to get the medication they need; the pharmacist needs to be able to practice within their conscience limits. This allows both," he said.

The Washington Alliance for Reproductive Choice said it was "stunned" by the board's endorsement.

"We were shocked that the Pharmacy Board is ignoring their responsibility to protect patients," said Lauren Trent, chairwoman of the organization.

"Patients have the right to expect that when they go to their pharmacy with a valid, medically appropriate prescription, they will walk out of that pharmacy with the medication they need, and they won't be lectured about it."

No one is talking about 'being lectured' in these instances, and I certainly don't support that. There's a difference between saying, "I'm sorry, I'm not able to fill this prescription, let me find you a pharmacy that can" and being lectured on the 'wrongness' of needing/wanting such a medication.

On a similar note, just WHY is it the governments business to tell a pharmacy which medications it MUST carry? That's the case in Illinois and Maryland at the moment. Or for that matter, why should they being telling insurance companies which medications they MUSt cover for their clients?

I think like anything else, the free market will take care of these things. It could become a selling point for a pharmacy to say that ALL prescriptions will be filled on the spot, or that they DO sell 'Plan B'. It would allow for people that want to support a particular business ethic to do so, on either side of the issue.

But, we'll never be able to discuss the real issues so long as the hysteria of 'banning' birth control and 'forced pregnancy' are the rallying cry of the Left.



Tags- Paranoid Left, Emergency Contraception, Pharmacist's Rights

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Stolen Picture Update

First off, if you haven't read my original bit on this, go here.

Make sure you read the stuff in the first link from BLACKFIVE. That'll give you the background for this update.

Now, I just read Michael Yon's post about what's happened so far here- Dishonor

It seems that HFM is going to play hardball with this. Apparently they also didn't like folks calling them to complain last month and have threatened a defamation law suit. I'm curious as to WHO they plan to sue on that count.

BLACKFIVE has more that he posted yesterday, and it's here- Part II

He says the Michael will have more information on Monday, and I'm hoping that the lawyers invovled can ccome to terms on this. If not, I'll be putting together a list of distributors (especially ones who have pulled magazines for things like the Mohammed cartoons) to call and ask them to pull this magazine. I'll certainly be checking at the PX and Shopette to make sure THEY aren't stocking it. I'll also be putting together a list of magazines that HFM publishes and asking folks to consider canceling their subscriptions.

Is that going overboard? Maybe, but it's something that's important to me on many levels. So, there you have it. Updates as I get them.

Tags- Michael Yon,Milbloggers

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I Saw You

I don't know who wrote this, but May was Motorcycle Awareness Month and I wanted to share this with you-

(Click 'Read More')



I saw you,
hug your purse closer to you in the grocery store line.
But, you didn't see me,
put an extra $10.00 in the collection plate last Sunday.

I saw you,
pull your child closer when we passed each other on the sidewalk.
But, you didn't see me,
playing Santa at the local mall.

I saw you,
change your mind about going into the restaurant.
But, you didn't see me,
attending a meeting to raise more money for the hurricane relief.

I saw you,
roll up your window and shake your head when I drove by.
But, you didn't see me,
driving behind you when you flicked your cigarette butt out the car window.

I saw you,
frown at me when I smiled at your children.
But, you didn't see me,
when I took time off from work to run toys to the homeless.

I saw you,
stare at my long hair.
But, you didn't see me,
and my friends cut ten inches off for Locks of Love.

I saw you,
roll your eyes at our leather coats and gloves.
But, you didn't see me,
and my brothers donate our old coats and gloves to those that had none.

I saw you,
look in fright at my tattoos.
But, you didn't see me,
cry as my children where born and have their name written over and in my heart.

I saw you,
change lanes while rushing off to go somewhere.
But, you didn't see me,
going home to be with my family.

I saw you,
complain about how loud and noisy our bikes can be.
But, you didn't see me,
when you were changing the CD and drifted into my lane.

I saw you,
yelling at your kids in the car.
But, you didn't see me,
pat my child's hands, knowing he was safe behind me.

I saw you,
reading the newspaper or map as you drove down the road.
But, you didn't see me,
squeeze my wife's leg when she told me to take the next turn.

I saw you,
race down the road in the rain.
But, you didn't see me,
get soaked to the skin so my son could have the car to go on his date.

I saw you,
run the yellow light just to save a few minutes of time.
But, you didn't see me,
trying to turn right.

I saw you,
cut me off because you needed to be in the lane I was in.
But, you didn't see me,
leave the road.

I saw you,
waiting impatiently for my friends to pass.
But, you didn't see me.
I wasn't there.

I saw you,
go home to your family.
But, you didn't see me.
Because, I died that day you cut me off.

I was just a biker,.....
A person with friends and a family. But, you didn't see me.

----

These are the types of folks I grew up around. I could not imagine a better bunch of folks to have as friends and mentors.

Be conscious, be aware, when driving of motorcyclists (and bicyclists). They'll fit in the smallest blindspots. Remember, in the VAST majority of car-motorcycle collisions, the driver of the car won't have seen the bike. There's only so much a motorcyclist can do to make himself visible. PLEASE, BE AWARE.

Man, I miss riding.



Tags-Motorcycling

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For my Mystery reading friends

Murder, They Wrote

I haven't read any of them, but am passing this along for my friends who DO! ;)

Tags-Mystery Novels

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Ugh, then there's THIS video game...

I first read about it at RIGHTWINGSPARLKE, and followed one of her commenters to JunkYardBlog.

Apparently there's a video game coming out from Left Behind Games (that'll tell you something right there) based on the books. According to the Left, it's all about Christians killing infidels (basically everyone NOT them) who refuse to convert.

But from what JunkYardBlog read, it's more-

Basically, after looking through the Left Behind Games website, I don’t see any support for the scenario that Hutson describes—killing off Jews, Catholics, and gays. This looks like a pitched battle against some sort of U.N. force run by the Antichrist. ( Wait, was that redundant?) Unless there is some description of the game I missed, Hutson merely extrapolates from his understanding of Warren’s theology that the opposing troops or targets will be drawn from those groups. But that’s a far cry from the picture he paints of a paramilitary force burning down synagogues or Catholic Churches.

and

And anyway, regardless of what happens when you shoot somebody in this game, the object of the game is to avoid doing so. Check this out, from an LA Times article that Hutson links:

-soldiers lose some of their spirituality every time they kill an opponent and must be bolstered through prayer.

So…the object of the game is to convert your opponents without killing them? So…Hutson’s picture of this game as a training simulator for a Christian “Dominionist” jihad is laughably overblown?

Not that it will stop those on the Left who live in fear of Christian 'Dominionists' taking over the country from using support'suppport' their position.

It's going to be a poor quality (compared to most games today), badly designed, UNINTERESTING game. It'll have a slick marketing campaign within the Evangelical community, and that will be all.

While I think the game is stupid, what I find most telling is the reactions on the Left to Christians generally.

Check out the article that started this today, and the comments-Talk to Action




Tags-video games Looney Left

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Everything old is new again

Another WSJ Online editorial today, this time on video games-

The Brain Workout

It talks about the increasingly noisy chorus of critics charge that the video-game industry--whose receipts now top the Hollywood box office--threatens to transform American kids into drooling zombies or out-and-out sociopaths. "We're trying to keep children away from R-rated violent movies that last 90 minutes," grumbles conservative media critic Brent Bozell, "but in too many basements and kids' bedrooms in America, children are role-playing murderers for hours on end, ad infinitum."

First off, wow. Video games outsell movies?

Second, We've been hearing this about video games for years. Before that it was RPGs, TV, Movies, and pool halls. I have a bigger problem with the sedentary nature of video games than anything else. Of course, when my son was younger we certainly monitored what games he was playing and for how long. That's MY job, not the government's.

Which, of course, is what this is all about. More government regulation.

Raunchy, blood-soaked video games, unleashing "a silent epidemic of media desensitization," are "stealing the innocence of our children," agrees Hillary Clinton. That's why she and fellow senators Joe Lieberman and Evan Bayh have introduced legislation to regulate the video-game industry, codifying its voluntary rating system and making it a federal crime for retailers to sell or rent inappropriate games to minors.

Even IF that's true, WHERE ARE THEIR PARENTS??? With games costing upwards of $50 EACH, I can't believe that the majority of parents don't know what kind of games their kids are playing.

Note to my liberal friends. While conservatives are certainly talking about this issue, once again it's the DEMOCRATS who are wanting to put limits and restrictions on what people buy. They tried it with music in the 80's and they're doing it again now.

But wait-

Most video games aren't violent or racy. A recent survey from the Progress and Freedom Foundation, a free-market think tank, found that more than 80% of the top-selling titles for the past five years came with the video-game industry's "Everyone" or "Teen" ratings, meaning that parents can assume reasonably inoffensive game content. About 15% of 2005's games received "Mature" or "Adults Only" ratings--surprisingly few, given that 65% of gamers are 18- to 34-year-olds.

So, it's games like Grand Theft Auto that get these people all up in arms, but they are really a minority in the realm of video games. Hmmm...again, just like the 'music problem' in the 80's.

Nonviolent games like The Sims franchise, an open-ended computer simulation of suburban life likened by visionary creator Will Wright to a "digital dollhouse," teach players bourgeois virtues. Blogger Glenn Reynolds, who devotes a chapter to gaming in his recent book on technology and society, "An Army of Davids," overheard his young daughter chatting with a friend about The Sims (a favorite among female gamers). "You have to have a job to buy food and things, and if you don't go to work, you get fired," she said matter-of-factly. "And if you spend all your money buying stuff, you have to make more." Thanks to The Sims, Mr. Reynolds says, his daughter now knows how to budget and how to read an income statement. In SimWorld, he notes, "narcissism, hedonism and impulsiveness are punished" and "traditional middle-class virtues, like thrift and planning, generally pay off."

Heh. Just....heh. ;)

(Reminder to self- go get Army of Davids)

The article goes on to point out some of the benefits of video games, much of which people have been saying for years. I like some of the new things that games are being used for too, like pain management for children undergoing surgery. How cool is that?!


Of course, when these kids grow up you get this---







Tags-video games

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The will to carry on

In the WSJ Online today, this editorial got me thinking-
Haditha

(yes, there really IS more to read, go on, click the link below)

Here's a couple of key graphs-

Opinion polls put support for the war below 40%. Still, it has become obligatory now as a nod across the political spectrum to the corrosive Vietnam Syndrome, to reassure that one's opposition is only to the war, not to the men fighting it.

Really? How does that work?

Arnold Fisher said the troops were forgotten, but they are very much on the minds of the news cycle just now. This Memorial Day week the news is preoccupied with stories of the Marine squad that allegedly killed civilians at Haditha, a town in Iraq. The narrative of this story has pretty much set in already: It's another My Lai, we all know they did it, the brass covered it up, and prison sentences for homicide are merely a formality.

No matter the result of the investigation, these Marines have already been tried an convicted by the American Media and the Anti-War Left. To say that they sound gleeful about it may be an overstatement, but there is an undercurrent of smug self-righteousness I've seen in some of the blogs I've read. An attitude of "see, we TOLD you that our military (whom we absolutely support, don't question my patriotism) was actively targeting and murdering civilian in cold blood!"

Stories of apparently malfeasant U.S. troop behavior are arriving daily now. A military truck whose brakes failed from overheating crashed and killed Afghan civilians. Press reports are now fly-specking whether the troops shot over or at the rock-throwing mob of more than 300 that surrounded them. Every one of these troops surely knows the story of Mogadishu. Been there, never again. But there will be investigations of their behavior.

Investigations, absolutely. Should the driver of the truck be turned over to Afghan authorities to be tried for murder? I don't think so.

Thankfully, our soldiers in Afghanistan and Iraq are ALLOWED to arm themselves, so there won't BE another Mogadishu. With that does come the responsibility to use their weapons appropriately. An investigation will determine if that's what's happened.

Not that it matters to some here at home.

The Vietnam Syndrome, a loss of confidence in the efficacy of American military engagement, was mainly a failure of U.S. elites. But it's different this time. This presidency has been steadfast in war. No matter. In a piece this week on the White House's efforts to rally the nation to the idea of defeating terrorism abroad to thwart another attack on the U.S., the AP's Nedra Pickler wrote: "But that hasn't kept the violence and unrest out of the headlines every day." This time the despondency looks to be penetrating the general population. And the issue isn't just body counts; it's more than that.

The missions in Iraq and Afghanistan grew from the moral outrage of September 11. U.S. troops, the best this country has yet produced, went overseas to defend us against repeating that day. Now it isn't just that the war on terror has proven hard; the men and women fighting for us, the magnificent 99%, are being soiled in a repetitive, public way that is unbearable.

The greatest danger at this moment is that the American public will decide it wants to pull back because it has concluded that when the U.S. goes in, it always gets hung out to dry.

I fight the 'war weariness' too. But I can't allow myself to fall into that despondency. I WILL stand up for the 99+% of our troops who are doing an excellent job, and I WILL keep countering calls to bring our troops home now, and I WILL support my husband and all the men and women who are fighting the good fight on my behalf.

Two major military reports will come out soon on the Haditha incident, and no one will gainsay justice if that is required. But the atmosphere around this event is going to get uncontrollably manic, and that will feed the dark, inward-turning sentiments already poisoning the country's mood over issues like the immigration debate.

Good for Democrats? Don't count on it. After this, the public appetite for a Democratic president's "humanitarian" military intervention in a Darfur or East Timor will be close to zero.

To my anti-war friends, reread that last bit and keep in mind that when you want OUR troops to be 'Peacekeepers' in another Somalia or Bosnia of Haiti that what YOU are doing today will make that next to impossible.

We are doing what's right, even when it's hard, even when it's not appreciated. Same as we've always done, and hopefully will always be able to do.

And yes, I'm very weary of having to fight the media fight day in and out. But I'm not nearly as weary as my husband is in being a soldier, and so I WILL carry on.


Tags-War on Terror

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Friday Frivolity

Caramel Frappuccino

Creative and expressive, you tend to match your Frappuccino flavor to your mood. And a flavored syrup is always a must!

What Flavor Frappuccino Are You?

YUM! ;)

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Another reason why I like Indy

The race, not the Jones (although I like him very much too!)

Troops Find Gratitude, Entertainment at 500

Sirois' company [Checker's/Rally's] is an "America Supports You" corporate team member and an "Operation Gratitude" corporate sponsor. America Supports You is a Defense Department program that highlights grassroots and corporate support of the nation's servicemembers. Indianapolis Motor Speedway joined the organization last year. Operation Gratitude is a California-based grassroots troop-support organization that has sent more than 125,000 packages since its creation in March 2003.


I've been a bit burned out of late, I couldn't even work up enough interest to post the rest of the Jesse MacBeth story (I will get to that soon though). It was nice to find some fun news this morning!


Tags-Military, Indianapolis 500

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