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October 2nd, 2004

License Plate Seen Today

RIVNDL


I was ashamed at how quickly I got it. Then I wished it had been RIVRDL because Archie Comics rock!

Posted by fad at 1:01pm

I Wanted To Skew It To La Rouche

Dammit! I missed out on a chance to be part of the Gallup Poll last night. I guess they were seeking that all important "home on a Friday night" voting demographic. But, sadly for them, I was out.

Posted by fad at 12:22pm

October 1st, 2004

Out

Yup. Time to call it a week. Enjoy your start to October.

Posted by fad at 5:59pm

Bleah

I didn't even watch the damn thing, but I hereby blame the debate for draining all the potential amusement from any news or anything else today. What a lousy hangover. As opposed to all those fun hangovers that people love so much, they seek out as often as possible. Or so it seems. Damn debates. Jodi Foster has to be really sick of my bitching about them, but sending her my manifestos is the only thing keeping me sane.

Posted by fad at 4:24pm

I Used To Play With The Ash In The Streets

ABC News just broke in with a breathless update about Mount St. Helens. The guy's voice sounded like the apocalypse was crashing in, but he was saying, "Mount St. Helens is having what appears to be a very, very mild steam eruption! There appears to be a cloud!"

UPDATE: Now it sounds like the real deal eruption, small as it is, has started.

Posted by fad at 2:13pm

Random Strange Revelation

Whenever I flip through the pages to find the beginning of the next chapter, scene or act, my mind always pictures the Speed Reader from "The Great Space Coaster". He's reviewing Henry and Ribsy by Beverly Cleary.

I don't know if this ever happened, but I do know that I hated that show and rarely watched it. So why that memory or where it came from, I'll never know.

Posted by fad at 1:13pm

Allegedly A Pat Leahy Provision

And it only took them two whole days.
In a Sept. 29 story about a federal judge's decision to block secret and unchallengeable government searches of Internet and telephone records, The Associated Press described the government's right to conduct such searches as part of the Patriot Act of 2001. The right was originally granted under a 1986 law and expanded under the Patriot Act.
I'd say read the whole thing, but, well, that is the whole thing. Plus, I'm really tired of liturgical blog responses like "read the whole thing".

Posted by fad at 12:28pm

Flaming Maeux

This sounds cool.
Tina Miser [shoots] her husband out of a cannon ... [dousing] him with lighter fluid before she sends him sailing across the arena.
Is it safe?
Brian Miser, whom the circus promotes as a ''human fireball,'' wears two fireproof suits and is doused with fire extinguishers when he lands, so the act probably would pass a city safety inspection, Fire Safety Inspector Ted Jensen said.
Excellent!
[T]he city commission has snuffed out the act
What? Why?!?
Jensen said he was concerned about the children who see the act.
Oh. Of course. It's For The Children™.

Posted by fad at 12:08pm

Things To Do

Or, if you're bored, build your own Garbage Pail Kid.

Posted by fad at 10:32am

Fear Its Wrath

Oh my, what an exciting time to be an archeologist!
A scientific dig has uncovered four pomegranates believed to be 2,500 years old preserved inside a woven basket nestled in a bronze vessel, a Greek archaeologist said Friday.
[...]
Archaeologists would not allow the fruit to be photographed.
Good thing, too. Why? Oh, I think you already know. Ancient pomegranates are famous for being heavily cursed. Klathllam, the flamey god of pomegranate preservation, is well known to protect his own. Those archeologists will soon wish they were never born. Or at least not born with such tasty eyes.

Posted by fad at 10:18am

Server Stuff

Hey, remember the slowness and downtime from Monday? Yeah, well, the problems aren't fixed yet, so things might go flaky today. Everything should hopefully be fixed over the weekend, but, in the meantime, if your browsing experience isn't everything you hoped it would be please feel free to contact our complaints department. Either that, or vote for Ralph Nader. He wouldn't let stuff like this happen.

Posted by fad at 9:00am

Portentous. No, Pretentious

Well, we're 31 days and two rent payments away from the election, now. While I have no interest in watching or covering the debates, I do think I will cover the election results this year. In fact, I do think that strongly enough, I went through the bother to create a new category for it. See? Ah, the work I do for you people.

A bunch of people did this for the 2002 elections, and, quite frankly, it was a blast. I know half a bajillion others will be doing the same again this year, but that's their problem. I'm here to serve as the entertainment/trainwreck for the six of you.

Posted by fad at 8:53am

September 30th, 2004

It Had To Be A Mobile Home Too

Some people are magical.
According to authorities, [a man] accused his wife of fooling around. When he confronted her about the alleged tryst, police say he burned the pants his wife was supposedly wearing during the affair.

Authorities say [he] dropped the flaming pants when he burned his fingers, and his mobile home went up in flames.
At least he made his point.

Posted by fad at 5:34pm

Father Of The Year

You know, I don't think this qualifies as a designated driver.
A man faces a drunken driving charge after another motorist says he saw him let his six-year-old son steer as they drove up to 70 miles per hour on a freeway.
[...]
The criminal complaint says a preliminary breath test indicated Boland had a blood alcohol concentration of point-one-eight
Which makes me wonder where he was dragging his six year old around to in order to get that drunk. Of course they could have just left home, but that seems somewhat unlikely.

Posted by fad at 5:29pm

Inspiration Records With Inspired

Cool! Tom Waits has collaborated on a track for the new Eels album coming next year.

Posted by fad at 3:27pm

Stay Off The Furniture

Oh goodie!
Italian actor and director Roberto Benigni is to make a film about the Iraq war.
[...]
Benigni plays the part of a poet who is in Iraq by chance and is caught up in the events.
Later on, Benigni gives us this gem.
In a further interview on Italian Rai TV, Benigni criticised the West's role in the Iraq violence.

"Westerners are running the show, all of those doing these things have studied in the West, it is not the Easterners. We know how many dreams the East gives, and how grateful we are to the East and love all its beautiful things," he said.
Uh huh...

Posted by fad at 2:42pm

Murder Burgers

More trouble it White Castle's kingdom.
[A Chicago man] filed suit on Wednesday against the burger company, alleging he suffered "great pain and anguish in mind and body" when he bit into an onion ring two years ago and "scalding hot grease splattered out and onto" his arm, "scalding and severely burning him."

[He] wants more than $50,000 for the "severe and permanent injuries" he suffered after ordering White Castle "onion rings that were in an unreasonably dangerous and defective condition."
And that's on top of the anguish in mind and body one feels after slamming down a case of those sliders.

Posted by fad at 1:51pm

You Have The Right To Chamois

You know, if I'm going to go through the bother of impersonating a cop, I'm going to want a lot more for my efforts.
A Chicago building inspector allegedly posing as a cop to get free car washes didn't get away clean Wednesday.
[...]
With the vehicle lathered up inside the automated wash tunnel, the manager called police and hit the stop button. When Foster District officers arrived at 11:30 a.m., the manager restarted the conveyor.
All that just for free car washes? But I have to say, that was a clever move by the manager to make sure he stayed around for the real cops.

Posted by fad at 1:41pm

Damn FISH And FIBs

I did my time working in a grocery store. The worst I ever had to deal with were parents who let their children run wild, or would take a box of cookies off the shelf, let their kid eat from it, then try to hide the half-empty box in the shelves. Oh yeah, and assholes from Chicago who would flood the town and be all pissed that they couldn't buy liquor after 9pm. Never once had something like this, though.
A woman put a Lower Paxton Township supermarket employee in a headlock after the employee refused to leave her post to fetch iced tea and lemonade, police said.
[...]
A second woman entered the store and told her friend to hurry up. When the first woman explained the clerk wouldn't help her, the second woman jabbed her finger into the clerk's head, struck her in the shoulder and placed her in a headlock, police said.
Um, "jabbed her finger into the clerk's head"?

Posted by fad at 1:08pm

Debate Prep

Just because I'm not watching the debate is no excuse for me to leave you unprepared for it. I wouldn't dare let you enter such a situation deprived of some of my genius. Most important to understand is that there is no such thing as an objective viewpoint. You must see everything in the context of our times and what we've learned things really mean over the last few years.
There, now you are prepared. Go forth and....um...do stuff.

Posted by fad at 12:20pm

Cold And Posable

"California Bans Foie-Gras Force-Feeding"

Dammit. First they ban necrophilia, now this. Really, those were the only two reasons I -- and I have to assume everyone else -- ever had to go to California. They can kiss my tourist dollars good-bye if I can't engage in my favorite hobbies while there.

Posted by fad at 11:11am

At Least The Ribs Are Supposed To Be Good

There's just something about bullets, baseball and Kansas City.
A Cleveland Indians pitcher was shot in the right calf when a bullet pierced the team's bus and grazed another player late Wednesday night.
[...]
Swain said the shot was fired into the side of one of the Indians' two buses while it was on a ramp between Interstate 435 and I-70, grazing outfielder Ryan Ludwick.
Unfortunately I can't find a link to the story, but something like 4 years ago a woman was shot sitting in her seat watching a Royals game. Police suspected that someone driving on I-70 just decided to wing a few shots towards the stadium as they passed by.

Posted by fad at 11:01am

As I Learned In College

But women aren't supposed to be competitive! That's a male trait, and the primary one that leads to all inequality and conflict in the world.
Democratic and Republican women are facing off in 11 House races this year, including contests for three open seats in Pennsylvania, Florida and Georgia.
That's it. In order to preserve society, all the Republican women need to drop out now. It's obvious they have abandoned the nuturing and caring nature which makes women more pure than men. Gaia is not pleased.

Posted by fad at 9:55am

3 Phrases I Once Wanted To Use But Realized Later Aren't Funny

  1. Geez, you'd think I fucked his mom with the Pope's hat.
  2. I have to piss like a Penthouse viking.
  3. I'd like to put the lotion in her basket.

Posted by fad at 9:41am

I Like The Baby Joke

I bet all those whiners bitching about Bush adding all that arsenic to the water supply will feel bad now.
Arsenic may be a suitable first-line treatment for a rare form of leukemia called acute promyeloctytic leukemia (APL), an Iranian study claims.
He was just trying to heal everyone. And he was way ahead of those axis of evil doctors, which again proves he is good and true. He's known the positives of arsenic for years because, as it turns out, that's the primary byproduct from Dick Cheney after he eats a baby (that's why we had so much excess that had to go back into the environment).

Posted by fad at 9:26am

Another Obvious Joke

I managed to sit by and not let the various viruses and trojans released to this here intarweb get to me. In most cases, since I was rarely charged with cleaning up afterwards, it just meant what we used to call a "technological snow day". But now they've gone too far.
The first images crafted to contain a malicious program that can take control of a PC have been found on the net.
[...]
The poisoned images were posted to a porn newsgroup at the weekend and were found by Usenet provider Easynews.
You fuck with my porn; you fuck with me.

Posted by fad at 9:10am

Spraying Kids Like Pesticide

Ladies, step up here to get your blond, blue-eyed, Nordic offspring.
If, suddenly, children in some pockets of the world look blonder and taller, if they feel oddly at ease on a bicycle or juggling three languages, there may be an explanation: Arhus and its university men.
[...]
One man, a Cryos client whose sperm was donated to several countries, has sired 101 children, a fact not even he is aware of, Mr. Schou said.
And I thought one of my friends was a fertile son of a bitch.

Posted by fad at 9:05am

You Get Used To The Smell

Yet more evidence that my patriotic dissent from hygiene is full of truth and justice.
A government study found that about 2,500 people a year are treated in hospital emergency rooms for injuries incurred while using a toothbrush.
[...]
The total number of toothbrush-related injuries is probably much higher, "but we aren't able to account for them all because they are not reported,"
Live free and natural, I say. It's safer and more convenient.

Posted by fad at 6:07am

Sound Bite-a-thon Meaning Nothing

Looking towards tonight's debate, one question stands out above all others. What movie should I rent to watch instead? And, if I may be permitted a followup, am I willing to pay the late fees I still owe in order to rent said movie?

FAD. Where the real hard questions are asked.

Posted by fad at 6:02am

September 29th, 2004

And They Were Never Heard From Again

Again, I ask, what the hell kind of police state are we living in here?
The newspaper in President Bush's adopted hometown of Crawford threw its support behind Bush's Democratic rival, Sen. John Kerry.

The weekly Lone Star Iconoclast on Tuesday criticized Bush's handling of the war in Iraq and for turning budget surpluses into record deficits.
And they are still being allowed to publish? They should have been "disappeared" even before this un-patriotic disloyalty was published, their children launched into space, and their property converted into walled parks at which rare, endangered animals are hunted with AK-47s by bigtime GOP donors.

Posted by fad at 6:36pm

Beisbol

So baseball is returning to Washington D.C.. That link includes the sweet financials that MLB had to offer Peter Angelos, the owner of the Baltimore Orioles.
Baseball is willing to guarantee that the Orioles will earn a still-to-be-negotiated minimum in annual revenues. If their revenues fall below that figure, MLB would make up the difference.

Baseball also is willing to guarantee a minimum franchise value for the Orioles. So if Angelos attempts to sell the team and can't find a buyer willing to pay that amount, MLB also would make up that difference.
No word on whether or not Angelos also required that, just like with his franchise, no Cuban defector is allowed to play for the now Washington team.

Posted by fad at 4:49pm

Nope

For all of you awaiting word on whether or not I am going to live-blog tomorrow's debate, here is the news you've been wanting: Hell. No. I hate debates, whether political or forensical. They are an incredibly boring and useless. While it is true that I deeply hate myself, it does not extend so far that I would put myself through actually watching one of these things.

You may all unbate your breath and resume breathing.

Posted by fad at 3:40pm

End of Stunt

Well, that was fun. At least for me, but I'm already bored and done with it. At least this way I didn't have to actually have to find any stories to post about.

If you're just showing up and wondering what the hell is going on, you can go here and start reading upwise.

Posted by fad at 3:23pm

Last Major Blogger Post

And now that my major blogger status has finally been achieved (just as soon as you people get around to your fawning links, dammit!), it is important that we remember that in all things, we must ask ourselves: How does this affect Howard Stern?

Posted by fad at 2:49pm

(In order to try to prop up some centrist credibility, time for another Major Blogger style post from the left)

I'm working on a bombshell, here, folks. Huge. Massive. Just wait a few days. This will bring down the Bush campaign. You can't imagine how big this is going to be. Vast (*wink* *wink*), even. I can't believe how massive this is. And secret. At least for now. But just you wait.

Posted by fad at 2:26pm

NOW THAT I'M a major blogger, it's time I gave you advice on how to become one too. As you well know, bloggers are the only hope for humanity, so it is very important that we all succeed. Since just one slip off the toed line means you want the terrorists to win or the entire nation to be nationalized, I'm going to give you some -- not all, as I can't let you get too close to my exaltedness -- of my tips on how to become a major blogger so that you don't slip up.

First, be sure to write about what everyone else is writing about. If that's all anyone is writing about, that must mean it is all that's interesting. You don't distinguish yourself by being unique; you do so by writing the same things in the best way.

Second, let others do your work for you. Your job is to enlighten, not dig stuff up. If you need something wacky or humorous, just go to Fark. They've already found all the wacky and even provided a starter joke for you. If you need something topical or serious, go to Drudge. Many a blogger has made a success by just going to those sites and posting everything they see.

Third, and this is key, suck up like crazy to us major bloggers. Mention us as much as possible, with links. Then click on those links in hopes we might just spy your site in our logs. Email us, and trackback like a motherfucker, whenever you can to let us know that you just wrote a post that says the exact same thing ours did, but with just the slightest twist. Flatter us as much as possible by using our catch phrases in your posts (always, of course, giving credit "As suchnsuch would say, it's all fritatas from here.")

Finally, some minor things that can help you get just that much more attention. If you are a woman, post a cute picture of yourself and/or talk about sex a lot. This will always get you more attention and will encourage those married guys in their 40s who are already hitting on you in your comments to keep coming back. If you're a guy, well, you don't have such luck. But, thanks to the general misogyny of the internet, you will be less likely to attract as many trolls.

Also, for everyone, here, post and mention your credentials, degrees and skills with other languages often. Remember, as a major blogger, it is your burden to be at the forefront of society. This will require all your fancy learning and abilities. Once you have established your cred, you will be ready for a post like this which explains to everyone exactly how they should use their site and exactly what is acceptable to post and say. Once you're a major blogger, you know best how blogs are to be used. It is your duty to tell everyone so that they do not drag you down with them in their insolence.

I really hope all these tips help you on your road to success.

Posted by fad at 2:13pm

VICTOR DAVIS HANSON echoes me in this piece when he writes:
smug, huffy, self-righteous
Those are all words that I've used at one time or another around here to write about things. Well, maybe not "huffy", but I thought about it. Clearly major minds work alike. Oh, I know that in order to be "echoed" one has to be heard in the first place, but I'm a major blogger now! So, of course he has heard of me and is influenced by my thoughts and words. We major bloggers and writers are one against the MSM.

Posted by fad at 12:59pm

[post moved to the extended entry to save on everyone having to download the couple pictures]

Posted by fad at 12:15pm

WALKING AROUND today, I saw a "John Kerry for President...of France!" bumpersticker. Now, does this mean anything? I don't know. But I am seeing more of them, considering as of yesterday I'd seen none, and now I've seen one. The poles are inconclusive. I'm sure, though, that meaning will be found if meaning is meant. I wonder what Kaus thinks about all this?

Posted by fad at 11:51am

THIS REMINDS ME of the conflict between the pajamasphere and the MSM.
A family meal erupted into a gun battle after a father and son clashed over how to cook chicken.
[...]
"It started out as a physical confrontation, but it escalated until both of them were shooting at each other,"
Read the whole thing.

Posted by fad at 11:17am

I'M SCHEDULED to be on the Hugh Hewitt show this afternoon to discuss why blogs rule and the MSM drools. Well, just as soon as I can get through. Goddamn screeners.

Posted by fad at 10:38am

Notice

That 3,000 word piece I was working on turned into 10,000 words about Jodi Foster and the Freemasons. Again. Blogging will be lite for a bit as I go to mail her a couple dozen copies.

Posted by fad at 10:25am

(Since I want to be a super, major blogger, I want to include some emulation of those with a leftward drift. Hence these two quick interlude posts)

George Bush is stupid. If you don't think so, then Karl Rove must have paid you. For those who can't stand the power of my truth here, I say screw 'em.

Posted by fad at 10:12am

Butt-sex

Posted by fad at 10:08am

COULD NANOTECHNOLOGY have prevented this? We may never know if the administration continues to drag its feet.
In a Sept. 28 story about Seneca Foods Corp.'s recall of canned beets, The Associated Press reported erroneously that beets with the code 5539D were included in the recall. The correct code is 5339D.
Indeed.

Posted by fad at 9:44am

Notice

Sometime in the last two days a mosquito or two or three must have gotten stuck inside my shirt. I itch.

Posted by fad at 9:41am

MORE FRAUD in academia.
School officials in a Washington, D.C., suburb have a lot of questions about a phony test given to some high school students.

Prince George's County school officials are apologizing to parents for the test that included questions about drugs, crime and weapons.

Officials say a tenth-grade geometry teacher at Oxon Hill High School administered what is being called a "fake math proficiency test." It contained math word problems beginning with phrases like "Jose has two ounces of cocaine," "Willie gets $200 for a stolen BMW," and "Raul gets six years for murder."

One parent says she's appalled.

The school board says it will take what it calls "appropriate administrative action" and apologize to parents in writing.
Read the whole thing.

Posted by fad at 8:51am

Notice

I'm working on a 3,000 word piece for you explaining how John Kerry could win the election, create peace in Iraq, and cause George Bush's arms to fall off just by looking at him cross-eyed. It involves George Will, a monkey and some original 86 proof Jack Daniels. Think he'll take my advice? We'll have to wait and see.

Posted by fad at 6:50am

YES, BUT what does this have to do with moderately attractive chicks talking about sex on their blogs?
A passenger on a small commuter plane in northern Norway attacked both pilots and at least one passenger with an ax as the aircraft was landing Wednesday, police said.
[...]
Despite their injuries, the pilots managed to land the plane safely," said Wala.
Heh.

Posted by fad at 6:45am

I'M SURPRISED Mickey Kaus hasn't written on this yet.
About eight minutes later they're ready for the next five. By 6:37 a.m., it's finally light outside as Duchess, Bug Bug, Wendy, Ivy and Crumpet file in. "Crumpet's an Irish step dancer," Lora Lea says, as the goat tap taps in place.

By 6:52 a.m., they're almost finished. Rick has to call Natalie out of the barn to join the last group. He says that on cold winter days, most of the herd has to be cajoled out, through the corral and into the milking parlor.

Smart goats.
Indeed.

Posted by fad at 6:35am

Notice

Had a gathering over to enjoy my, uh, recently aquired Swedish art work. A few too many of the '96 Château Lafite Rothschild Pauillac were enjoyed. Blogging will be light as I recover. Plus I have to get those shelves up in the newly tiled den for the Hummel and Sanrio collections. Once I've finished supervising that, we'll be back up to speed around here.

Posted by fad at 6:12am

Movin' On Up

I have decided it is about time that I become one of the major bloggers. This site is just too full of pure gold to be ignored. No longer is it sufficient for just you enlightened few to enjoy the daily genius I drip onto the internet. It is time that the masses get to enjoy the enlightenment to be found here.

But how does one become a major blogger? Why, that's simple! Just emulate those major bloggers that already exist. So from now on, things will be different around here. Sit back and enjoy the ride as I take this site to the heights it has always deserved.

Posted by fad at 5:09am

September 28th, 2004

Neat-O

The Mars Global Surveyor took pictures from orbit of the Spirit Rover and its tracks.

Posted by fad at 2:52pm

But I Had To Read On

"Kerry using humor as political tool"

Originally I was just going to point out how really pathetic that headline is. "Look! He can be funny, too! Ha-ha! Watch our over reach as we try to make him not dour!" Then I read the article anyway and saw this.
Sarcasm is a change for a man whose political career has been dominated by nearly 20 years in the Senate [A record which appears to be off limits for discussion --fad] [...] with stern rules and mores for speaking that can make the people who work there unintelligible in heartland America.
Holygeedurn, we's stooped out here in the mid country. I know when he uses one of them words with more than 2 of them, you know, them...them..., watchucall....see-lab-ulls, all I can do is suck down another Milwaukee's Best and remember that that feller up there knows better than me cuz, thank the LORD HIGH ABOVE, he know more than me cuzzof whar he come from. And if he feels the need to drop the name of Tom Harkin (D - Not Wisconsin) in Wisconsin then, the LORD HIGH ABOVE knows that there's a good reason for it beyond my comprehension.

Lucky for the media, these national campaigns only show up every 4 years so that they don't have wade out amongst those that many probably worked so hard to escape in the first place because we refused to honor their obvious genius and supply them with a tithe of our finest meats and cheeses.

Posted by fad at 1:26pm

LP

You have to love the Libertarian Party.
The Libertarian candidate for lieutenant governor says he plans to vote for Republican Matt Blunt for governor rather than his party's nominee.
Well, what does the LP candidate for governor have to say about this?
Swenson has no listed phone number, and the party had no contact information, so he could not be reached for comment.
"I may be your nominee for governor, but I'll be damned if I give you one of those stateID numbers like a phone number or 'address'! Zip codes are really camp IDs for when they come get us!"*

*Note: These probably don't reflect the beliefs of Mr. Swenson, but with the LP, you never know.

Posted by fad at 11:49am

For The 30th Year In A Row

"Foundation awards annual 'genius grants'"

Once again, I have shamefully been overlooked.

Posted by fad at 11:35am

Guthrie Really Meant Property Is Theft

This will be interesting.
The Supreme Court agreed Tuesday to decide when governments may seize people's homes and businesses for economic development projects, a key question as cash-strapped cities seek ways to generate tax revenue.
But I'm still pretty sure the practice will be upheld. Probably won't even be that close.

Posted by fad at 11:33am

This Rambles And Makes No Sense

I think I may have to create a new category that tracks the [scarequote]apologies[/scarequote] of academics, administrations, bureaucrats and media members when they get caught cheating, whether with forgeries, or sloppy plagiarism. These statements always claim it was just a big ole "oopsie!" that isn't important. Of course Dan Rather was the last one, with the help of the major media, with the exception of the Washington Post, who made sure the documents were just "questionable", not obvious, lazy forgeries. Today we see that, because of this coverage, a poll says people see it as just an honest mistake. Hell, Peter King, a good NFL writer, who always makes an ass of himself when he adds politics to his column, laughably praised Rather, saying:
I applaud Dan Rather for standing up and saying something we in the media don't say nearly enough: I screwed up. Blame me. This is my show, and I put on a flawed story, and the buck stops with me.
This is clearly the honest words of someone who believes the story he caught through casual paying attention. It is not the real story, but it is the story that the media managed to salvage out of this idiocy. I guess they should be proud.

Today's guest star is Laurence Tribe.
In a statement released Monday, constitutional scholar Laurence Tribe acknowledged that his 1985 book, "God Save This Honorable Court," borrows liberally from Henry Abraham's 1974 book, "Justices and Presidents," including one exact 19-word passage.
Oh, but it's not so bad.
He did note that his book had praised Abraham's, calling it the "leading political history of Supreme Court appointments."
Well, okie dokie, then! Now for the meat of his statement. I will be taking this a clause at a time.
"My well-meaning effort
See? We shouldn't be mad. He meant well, which is supposed to cue us that all should already be forgiven. Anyone who doesn't is just being mean! Let's try an example. "Robert 'Hunger Is Purifying' Mugabe released a statement today which said, 'My well-meaning efforts to control population and resource usage through mass starvations may have gone awry.'" Well, that's ok then. He meant well.
to write a book accessible to a lay audience through the omission of footnotes or endnotes
Poor fellow! He needed to write a book for all us stupid folk out here. So, you see, it's really our fault. He had to lower himself to the level of the masses, so no wonder, in his haste to re-ascend, some errors were made.
- in contrast to the practice I have always followed in my scholarly writing -
"But this is really, really, really honest and for true the only time I've ever, ever, everest done this!"
came at an unacceptable cost: my failure to attribute some of the material
So, since it was an "unacceptable cost", I assume he will be returning all money he got from sales of this book. Better yet, maybe he'll turn them over to the real author.

Citation and avoidance of plagiarism are at the foundation of scholarship. Plagiarism is less important to me -- though more offensive because of the laziness -- than lack of citation. It is the honesty and decency of acknowledging the efforts and work of others. Also, it is the only way others can see your work and your arguments and trace them through your sources to see if the hold up, or if they were taken out of context and mutilated.

But facts, honesty and decency long ago took a backseat to "truth".

Posted by fad at 11:25am

In Lieu of Thinking

While server issues are being fixed, how about a little Geek test: Which of these bothered you the most?

1) Greedo Shoots First
2) Elves Show Up At Helms Deep
3) No Quidditch Cup in the Prisoner of Azkaban movie
4) The news that Sean Connery badly wants to voice Aslan in the upcoming The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe film
5) That almost no one else remembers that Smurfs' episode when they all bit each other's asses, turned purple, then hopped around saying "g'nap!"

(Those who try to out-hep everyone with a "none of the above" or "stupid posts like this" will win a healthy, bored eyeroll from me. Oh, and an entry card to next year's Better Than Everyone Else pageant.)

Posted by fad at 6:29am

September 27th, 2004

Hello, I'm FAD

Hey, lookee! It's back! Well, at least for me. One of the servers went on strike and has refused all subsequent contract offers. This left us down until, well, nowish.

Things may be screwy for the next few days as they get settled and fixed

Posted by fad at 6:15pm