Musical Tastes

In the past few weeks I have been very discontent with both the radio and all my music so when in the car I use the remote to flip thru stations relentlessly in search of something good. In all the searching I have found that I prefer male or female voices depending on the genre. For country, rap/hip-hop, rock, metal and big band I prefer male voices. For jazz, opera/classical, celtic(Enya-like) and any ethereal lyrics I prefer female.

Is it just me or do you all have similar tastes? Beyond the exceptions which we all have of course.

Blog Value

Okay, no idea what this is exactly, but according to Blogshares.com my blog's value is $1,999.23 To put things in perspective, it values Vox Popoli at $27,055.67

It states that my outgoing link value is $419.85 But for you all, I will discount that rate. For a limited time only, one link for $350, 2 for $500. Small unmarked bills please.

Competetive Jump Rope

I realize that most of you have never heard of this before and there is good reason for it. It is fairly new and certainly wasnt around when I was a kid. Or not really anyways. I know you are thinking, What is Erik thinking? Jump Rope? yeah. My Niece has been involved since the begining of the last school year and I finally got to see her team perform today. WOW Very impressive. Flips, somersaults, hand stand-kicks and push-up type jumps, and ropes moving so fast ya cant see 'em at all.

This weekend they will be at the Jr. Olympics in Iowa, with their competitions spread over three days. She will be performing in Speed, Doubles Unders, Two Person (two singles, more or less synchronized), Single Double Dutch, and Two Person Double Dutch. Remember those Jelly Ropes and how much they hurt? Yeah, they use a wire cable with only a thin coating on it for speed and double/triple unders. And the Age 15+ dont even get that coating when they have to do triple unders.

If ya ever hear of a competition check it out. These kids work real hard on their routines and seem to have a lot of fun with this. A link to the United States Amateur Jump Rope Federation

Secure Borders

The Lizard Queen, Hillary, is supporting the need for closed borders with her statement and the DNC "We need to secure our borders." Sounds great, cuz we do need to close the holes up. Our borders are lawless, dangerous and hole-ier than swiss cheese. But as always, the Lizard Queen has a gov 'solution' that wont help matters and only increase the size of the fedgov. We need to reorganize our federal government to meet the new threats of these times. We need to make sure that homeland security is properly funded..."

Here is a thought. Lets pull out of some of the countries that we are in. We have military in IIRC 140 countries, not counting our embassies which we need to continue to protect. How about we close 70, send half of those soldiers to the remaining 70 countries thereby making those places (potentially) safer and bringing the other half home to secure the borders here. We could then sell the bases and fund the transfers as well as reduce overhead and allow for more important things, like bullets, so our soldiers can train. Shortages for bullets go back before 9/11 as evidenced by this article on NewsMax dated Feb 8th 2001.

I have been accused of being anti-military by some for this stance, but their idiocy doesnt change facts. Our military is the best in the world because our respect for life (oddly enough) and our superior training. Anything that stands in the way of either of those two harms us.

US War Making Powers

In a conversation with a colleague the subject of US War Making Powers was brought up. He insisted that the President is allowed to wage war for 90 days without congressional approval (because of what he heard in a movie) while I insisted it was Congress' authority alone. Well, I did some research and here is what I found. 50 USC §§ 1541-1548 is the "War Powers Resolution" adopted in 1973 over Nixon's veto. It provides a requirement upon the President to provide a report to Congress within 48 hours after deploying US Forces. Congress may immediately vote to cease the deployment, and it may not continue after 60 days without express approval.

The more pressing issue in my mind is what the Constitution actually says. Article 1 § 8 line 11 gives Congress alone the authority to declare war. Lines 12-13 allow for a temporary army, and a permanent Navy. Article 2 states the authority of the President and nowhere do you find the word 'war.'

In a society based upon a constitution there can be no laws that circumvent that document. Either the constitution is of no effect, or the new law is. I see no room for middle ground. Obviously no Congress or President in living memory has chosen to abide by the Constitution, sadly not even the Gipper changed that much.

Back to Blogging

I'm back. I think.

Catching up on the news a bit I ran across a recent PETA demonstraion. The Live Make-Out Tour is intended to show that vegetarians make better lovers. I didnt find a schedule on the PETA site and that is just as well. I cant decide if it would be more fun to ruin their demonstraion or simply gawk.

Manly Poetry part 3

The Rising in 1776
Thomas Buchanan Read

Out of the North the wild news came,
Far flashing on its wings of flame,
Swift as the boreal light which flies
At midnight through the startled skies.
And there was tumult in the air,
The fife's shrill note, the drum's loud beat,
And through the land everywhere
The answering tread of hurrying feet;
While the first oath of Freedom's gun
Came on the blast from Lexington;
And Concord, roused, no longer tame,
Forgot her old baptismal name,
Made bare her patriot arm of power,
And swelled the discord of the hour.

Within its shade of elm and oak
The church of Berkely Manor stood;
There Sunday found the rural folk,
And some esteemed of gentle blood.
In vain their feet with loitering tread
Passed 'mid the graves where rank is naught;
All could not read the lesson taught
In that republic of the dead.

How sweet the hour of Sabbath talk,
The vale with peace and sunshine full
Where all the happy people walk,
Decked in their homespun flax and wool!
Where youth's gay hats with blossoms bloom;
And every maid with simple art,
Wears on her breast, like her own heart,
A bud whose depths are all perfume;
While every garment's gentle stir
Is breathing rose and lavender.

The pastor came; his snowy locks
Hallowed his brow of thought and care;
And calmly, as shepherds lead their flocks,
He led into the house of prayer.
The pastor rose; the prayer was strong;
The psalm was warrior David's song;
The text, a few short words of might,-
"The Lord of hosts shall arm the right!"

He spoke of wrongs too long endured,
Of sacred rights to be secured;
Then from his patriot tongue of flame
The startling words for Freedom came.
The stirring sentences he spake
Compelled the heart to glow or quake,
And, rising on his theme's broad wing,
And grasping in his nervous hand
The imaginary battle brand,
In face of death he dared to fling
Defiance to a tyrant king.

Even as he spoke, his frame, renewed
In eloquence of attitude,
Rose, as it seemed, a shoulder higher;
Then swept his kindling glance of fire
From startled pew to breathless choir;
When suddenly his mantle wide
His hands impatient flung aside,
And, Lo! he met their wondering eyes
Complete in all a warrior's guise.

A moment there was awful pause,---
When Berkeley cried, "Cease, traitor! cease!
G-d's temple is the house of peace!"
The other shouted, "Nay, not so,
When G-d is with our righteous cause;
His holiest places then are ours,
His temples are our forts and towers,
That frown upon the tyrant foe;
In this, the dawn of Freedom's say,
There is a time to fight and pray!"

And now before the open door-
The warrior priest had ordered so-
The enlisting trumpet's sudden roar
Rang through the chapel, o'er and o'er,
Its long reverberating blow
So loud and clear, it seemed the ear
Of dusty death must wake and hear.

And there the startling drum and fife
Fired the living with fiercer life;
While overhead, with wild increase,
Forgetting its ancient toll of peace,
The great bell swung as ne'er before;
It seemed as it would never cease;
And every word its ardor flung
From off its jubilant iron tongue
Was, "War! War! War!"

"Who dares?" - this was the patriot's cry,
As striding from the desk he came,-
"Come out with me, in Freedom's name,
For her to live, for her to die?"
A hundred hands flung up reply,
A hundred voices answered, "I!"

History of poem as told by Professor Waitman Barbre
"The pastor of the Lutheran Church at Woodstock, ... was John Peter Gabriel Muhlenberg, who had settled there in 1772. On the Sunday following the receipt of the news of the battle of Lexington and Concord he went into his pulpit wearing the full uniform of a colonel, completely covered by his clerical gown. The sermon was a stirring one, in which he said there was a time to preach and a time to fight, and that the time to fight had come." Asking for volunteers to join him in arms "Many of them did so and joined his regiment, the Eighth Virginia, afterward noted for its courage and good discipline. ... Muhlenberg was made a brigadier-general, and major-general at the close of the war."

NYTimes Idiocy

I am constantly amazed by the idiocy and outright bias on so many media outlets these days. Today that honor goes to the New York Times in this article titled "The Right To Bare Arms"

the Catch-22 in Virginia's enfeebled gun control laws has kicked in.

Sure there's a state law against carrying loaded firearms in public. But the lethal fine print defines "firearm" as a 20-round-plus assault rifle. So smaller weapons, like the .22-caliber and 9-millimeter pistols the students flaunted in their holsters, are legal and no permit is required. The pistols were returned, thereby contributing to a celebratory mood among the state's gun enthusiasts. Now they're strutting their Second Amendment stuff among Main Street shoppers and restaurant diners in Washington's booming Virginia suburbs.

The flaunting ritual is a tribute to "open carry" gun laws on the books in a score of states. Outcries from the unarmed public usually go unheeded.

Strutting our stuff? Damn right, I'll strut my stuff. My pistol never leaves my side, nor will it. And it isnt a matter of 'flaunting' it. It is a matter of safety for my family and friends and innocents. The state of Colorado recognizes my G-d given Right to carry. Colorado Constitution Article II § 13 states The right of no person to keep and bear arms in defense of his home, person and property, or in aid of the civil power when thereto legally summoned, shall be called in question; ..."

Manly Poetry Part II

The Loss of the Birkenhead

Right on our flank the crimson sun went down;
The deep sea rolled around in dark repose;
When, like the wild shriek from some capured town,
A cry of women rose.

The stout ship Birkenhead lay hard and fast,
Caught without hope upon a hidden rock;
Her timbers thrilled as nerves, when through them passed
The spirit of that shock.

And ever like base cowards, who leave their ranks
In danger's hour, before the rush of steel,
Drifted away disorderly the planks
From underneath her keel.

Then amidst oath, and prayer, and rush, and wreck,
Faint scream, faint questions waiting no reply,
Our colonel gave the word, and on the deck
Formed us in line to die.

To die! 'Twas hard, whilst the sleek ocean glowed
Beneath a sky as fair as summer flowers;
All to the boats! cried one; he was, thank G-d,
No officer of ours.

Our English hearts beat true; we would not stir;
That base appeal we heard, but heeded not;
On land, on sea, we had our colors, sir,
To keep without a spot.

They shall not say in England, that we fought
With shameful strength, unhonored life to seek;
Into mean safety, mean deserters brought
By trampling down the weak.

So we made women with their children go;
The oars ply back again, and yet again;
Whilst inch by inch, the drowning ship sank low,
Still under steadfast men.

What follows, why recall? The brave who died,
Died without flinching in the bloody surf,
They sleep as well, beneath that purple tide,
As others under turf.

If that day's work no clasp or medal mark;
If each proud heart no cross of bronze may press,
Nor cannon thunder loud from Tower or Park;
This feel we none the less:-

That those whom G-d's high grace there saved from ill,
Those also left His martyrs in the bay,
Though not by seige, though not in battle, still
Full well had earned their pay.

~~Sir F.H. Doyle

In 1852 a steamer, the Birkenhead, struck on a hidden rock during one of her voyages. She sank soon after carrying some 400 soldiers with her.

Homosexual Marriage

I found a link on Rock's site (bottom of the article) talking about the first gay divorce happening after a short 5 months. The linked article is speaking of the dangers of the homosexual lifestyle (focuses on the men) and it mentions a study done in Sweden in May of this year. This study "compared married gay couples to married heterosexual couples. Results showed that gay male couples were 50 percent more likely to divorce and lesbian couples were 167 percent more likely to divorce than heterosexual couples."

First marriages end in divorce %50 of the time, it goes up to %75 for second marriages. That would work out to be a %75 divorce rate for males and %83.5 for females and a statistical guarantee that any further 'marriages' will end in divorce. Were I a lawyer who dealt with divorce or prenups I would be all for homosexual marriage.

3rd Party Heresies Continued

I guess I was rather lax on that previous post so here is my next attempt at getting my blog right...


Bush on the Gay Agenda

Early in 2000, President Bush attempted to purge the Republican
platform of planks against homosexual marriage and homosexuals in the military.

Bush signed a District of Columbia appropriations bill that
funded benefits for unmarried domestic partners.

He has increased funding for homosexual propaganda campaigns under the guise of health education programs.

President Bush publicly praised the Metropolitan Community Church of Los Angeles on occasion of its 35th anniversary, a church that performs 6,000 “gay marriages” annually.

Bush on Abortion

He does not believe that Roe v. Wade should be overturned.

companies such as Planned Parenthood, ... Under Bush, ... received more tax-funds than under Clinton!

During the presidential debates of 2000, Mr. Bush admitted abortion played no part in choosing judicial nominees were he to become president. As governor of Texas, Mr. Bush did appoint pro-choice judges to the bench.

Also note the post by Vox Day titled Why Bush is a poor pro-life vote for more, or just follow the link to Mr. Peroutka's site.

Third Party Heresies

Being a bit of a political junkie, politics tends to come up in conversations, that and it is an election year. One thing seems to run thru all the conversations. Fear. Fear that someone worse will be elected because they dont vote for the 'lesser' evil.

Thanks to the research of Nikki, who is currently trying to convince her mother she isnt insane for becoming a third party heretic, I bring you an article on the Constitution party's website. I imagine most of ya'll have similar problems convincing people, especially Christians, to even think of abandoning the Repugnican Party. Or perhaps you are one who hasnt looked at some of the other options available to us. Where ever you stand on the issue be sure to look at the previous article and perhaps wade thru some of the info on the BushRevealed.com website

Blog Schedule

Absense makes the heart grow fonder
Or as one wit said "Absinthe makes the tart grow fonder"
between being sick and spending time in that great big green room I havent had time to blog. We now return to the regular blogging schedule...

Digital photography

I spent the night doing none of the things that I should have, like cleaning reading or studying. Nope. I spent my time looking at pictures. Jan K. France has some excellent work here in Colorado. Her picture of the Red Mountain area is simple gorgeous.

Right To Petition Lawsuit Pushes Forward

We The People's class action lawsuit is to be filed on the 19th. This will be done after a meeting in D.C. at the National Press Club where the FedGov has yet another chance to answer the questions of The People. President Bush, Senator Kerry, Treasury Secretary Snow, Attorney General Ashcroft and IRS Commissioner Everson have been invited to send representatives to answer these questions regarding our Petition for Redress of Grievance (1st Amendment) After this meeting WTP will go to the Supreme Court "where we will file a motion against the United States, IRS and the DOJ, to enjoin and prohibit them from taking any further enforcement or tax collection actions against you and every other American who has decided NOT to turn over any of their salaries and wages to the government, pending the government's response to the Petition"


The time is running out if you want to sign up with us. To read and sign the Petition(s) click here. To formally join the class action lawsuit click here A notarized copy must be mailed to them in time for the July 19th deadline (be there on the 18th)

What About BOB?

A post on VoxDay and a conversation I had today has me thinking about BOBs. Bug Out Bags that is. (Nate posted on this a while ago) Simply put, a BOB is everything you would need if you needed to get out of town in a hurry. The reason why is irrelevant. It could be (to qoute Nate) a "Bomb, Meteor, Hillary Clinton book signing, you know, real wrath of God type stuff." Add to that wildfire, crazed boyfriend, hurricane, etc.

Check out Nates list of items. Add to that list some good rope, fishing line & hooks, a cast iron pan (in trunk?) and some salt for cooking and preserving. Others have also suggested a copy of a passport.

Seat Belts

Screw "Click-it-or-Ticket"

I'm refering to plain common sense wearing your seat belt. Last week an accident in the small town I work killed a 16 year old girl when she and another (who survived) were thrown from their truck. These young ladies were well known to several of my co-workers and obviously there is a lot of heartache to go around.

If you don't buckle up for yourself, then do it for those who love you.

Tougher Rules On Cattle

The FDA just banned brains, skulls, and spinal cord from being used in cosmetics and dietary supplements. However they decided to delay banning those things from cattle feed for another two years. The article goes on to state "Also the FDA hopes to adopt a ban on cattle blood and poultry litter in cattle feed later this year."

As of right now it is okay, indeed standard practice, to feed blood from cattle, pig parts, and chicken manure to cattle. Such wonderful practices are why I eat organic meats.

Cannabis

More reasearch on pot. Not only is it a great treatment for glaucoma, eating disoders, cancer and AIDS, as well as increasing concentration in intelligent people and calming down type A drivers (less road rage) it is now found to increase the ability to see at night.

Two blondes and a prophetess...

Walk into a bar... okay, a funny story, but not so cheesy. I was reminded of this story due to a conversation at Sarah's blog about her being Messianic.

About 5 years ago I was in a Village Inn enjoying such a fine dining establishment and studying my Bible before the Wednesday Night youth group, in which I was a leader at that time. Perhaps it was chance, perhaps it was fate, but a Gorgeous Blonde (GB) sat down at the table one booth over. She was partaking of the world renowned cuisine at VI when she pulled out a book. I sneaked a peek and noticed it was titled The Feasts of Israel. ROCK ON. I found my in.

I walked up to her and started a conversation and asked her if she was Jewish and she replied 'Messianic.' She was a religious intelligent GB !YES! (I am the other blonde in the story) We talked for a while and she invited me to the Synagogue she was in town to see (there was some special speaker) Being curious and not being stupid I agreed. When she knew the sermon was ending she excused herself as she had more than an hour to drive home.

I found the teaching to be awesome. Seamless teaching from OT to NT without pausing for breath which fits in well with my belief that the Bible is really one book, with only one author (tho penned by different men) Over the next month I was filling out a notebook as fast as I could write. There was so much to learn. My fourth or fifth time attending the Rabbi's wife approached me and said "You are Erik, right?" Me, (suspiciously) "Yeah." She then proceeds to tell me about all sorts of things, things that there is NO way on G-d's green earth she could have known unless the good LORD told her. Up to this point I had done no talking with anyone beyond pleasantries.

Needless to say, I was freaked out and got out of the conversation quicker than I should have due to it. As I left I repented and asked G-d's forgiveness because I had been in the wrong place all this time. Let me tell you, the fear of G-d was in me. I was determined to make every single session and perhaps even start learning Hebrew and I continued for another month and started talking to others of the congregation. It was in one of these conversations that I learned that GB just so happened to be the Rabbi's daughter.

More Iraqi Insurgents than 'thought'

It turns out that it is a much larger force. Previous estimates placed them at 5,000. Now it is believed to be at 20,000 and that is after having killed 4000 in April alone. More disturbing is that the article goes on to state "Every public opinion poll in Iraq ... supports the nationalist character of what is happening."

Ya'll may not know how difficult it is to remove guerrillas/insurgents but the military knows and dreads it. Check out Russia's struggle with Chechnya. According to military men it takes a force that is bare minimum 10 times larger than the insurgents force, with a realistic number being 15-20 times the size. 20,000 insurgents = 200,000 to 400,000 troops to quell the uprisings. According to information found at CDI (Center for Defense Information) there are approx 200,000 soldiers from various nations currently in Iraq.

We handed over 'sovereignty' will we hand over their quagmire too?

Castlewood Canyon

SpunkyGurl and I went hiking in Castlewood Canyon today. The area was at one time a 400 acre lake before the dam burst, killing two people in the resultant flooding. Quite a pretty area, easy hiking (which is good considering my foot), a marmot skeleton and a crazy swimming bat. The bat fell from a rock over the creek and was rather miserable, esp. when I went over to photograph him. As always, the best places are a titch off the trail. Some excellent large rock formations with one in particular that was like going thru a cave (bat guano, yum)

After that we went to the 16th Street mall and did some people watching. There are at LEAST four Starbucks there. (anti-starbucks apparel here) A pretty good day today. (o=

Insecurity and Interest

JamieR writes "you will have to play on a woman's insecurities at times to maintain her initial interest." He is referencing some writings by Vox Day about attracting women. Perhaps 'getting' women might be the better way to put it. I tried to look up the original conversations but you all know how big Vox's archive is. Simply put it works this way. Ignore the woman. Pay more attention to her friend or to something else and a woman who is very used to a lot of attention (Spacebunny being a case in point) will have her interest piqued because of the man's lack of interest. This, according to Vox, is a good way to get women.

Well I have news for you ladies, it is true. It works. I've even done it myself altho I certainly didn't have a strategy in mind when doing it. The problem is that I don't feel that it is fair to do so. A simple understanding of the human mind and then playing on it? Nah. But on the flip side, women do that all the time too. I little bit of flirting, a nice smile, a pretty face and we men are ready to do most anything for her. And that is perfectly acceptable for women to do that. So then why isn't it okay for a man to do similarly?

My problem with dating is that I (largely) don't even try. I am fairly content with my little life and when I am not then I am certainly not in the right frame to be looking for a mate. Looking at those times will lead to some serious compromise and that simply isn't acceptable.

The Dating Game

Ever look around at all the couples and wonder what it is they did to catch/deserve that other person? I work at a grocery store so I see them all the time. What I cannot understand is how some of these people got the attention of anyone. I know a woman who is 1) not attractive 2) more than a little off on her theology 3) is often called 'evil' by those around her and yet she tells me that she has a couple guys who wont leave her alone because they want to go out with her. I see ladies doing similar things. The whole hes-a-jerk-and-abuses-me-but-I-love-him thing annoys me to no end.

I dont really have a point to this post, but I'll dig up a quote and pretend that I did... "You should keep your eyes wide open before marriage and half closed after"

Judges

I just finished the book of Judges and wanted to pass along what stuck out for me.

Two separate assassinations freed the Israelites from their oppressors.

Bastard children are BAD. Don't have them.

It is okay to get a wife by abducting her while she is dancing. (Note to self: May have to try this)

Don't marry outside the faith (even if you abduct her)

Perform your vows to G-d

Questions

Does the 70 children of Gideon (can you say polygamy?) have anything to do with the 70 weeks of Daniel (69 children slain, 69 weeks, 1 surviving with his curse to come later, 1 week with its curse yet to come?)

What significance of the Levite taking a concubine who later died in a Soddom type incident (crowd demanding the guest) Is this tied to the Soddom & Gommorah episode? The Levite, a priest, being a type of Christ and the concubine us, martyrdom (being 'given' to the enemy or perhaps just the ravage of our own sin) with vengeance yet to come (The martyrs under the altar who yet cry for vengeance in Rev.6)?

Declaration of Independence

I am much too lazy to confirm this but I have seen it around the net a time or three so you know it must be true. Either way, reread the Declaration of Independence

Have you ever wondered what happened to the 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence?

Five signers were captured by the British as traitors, and tortured before they died. Twelve had their homes ransacked and burned. Two lost their sons serving in the Revolutionary Army, another had two sons captured.

Nine of the 56 fought and died from wounds or hardships of the Revolutionary War.

They signed and they pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor. What kind of men were they?

Twenty-four were lawyers and jurists. Eleven were merchants, nine were farmers and large plantation owners; men of means, well educated.

But they signed the Declaration of Independence knowing full well that the penalty would be death if they were captured.

Carter Braxton of Virginia, a wealthy planter and trader, saw his ships swept from the seas by the British Navy. He sold his home and properties to pay his debts, and died in rags.

Thomas McKeam was so hounded by the British that he was forced to move his family almost constantly. He served in the Congress without pay, and his family was kept in hiding. His possessions were taken from him, and poverty was his reward.

Vandals or soldiers looted the properties of Dillery, Hall, Clymer, Walton, Gwinnett, Heyward, Ruttledge, and Middleton.

At the battle of Yorktown, Thomas Nelson, Jr., noted that the British General Cornwallis had taken over the Nelson home for his headquarters. He quietly urged General George Washington to open fire. The home was destroyed, and Nelson died bankrupt.

Francis Lewis had his home and properties destroyed. The enemy jailed his wife, and she died within a few months.

John Hart was driven from his wife's bedside as she was dying. Their 13 children fled for their lives. His fields and his gristmill were laid to waste. For more than a year he lived in forests and caves, returning home to find his wife dead and his children vanished. A few weeks later he died from exhaustion and a broken heart.

Norris and Livingston suffered similar fates.

Such were the stories and sacrifices of the American Revolution.

These were not wild eyed, rabble-rousing ruffians. They were soft-spoken men of means and education. They had security, but they valued liberty more. Standing tall, straight, and unwavering, they pledged: "For the support of this declaration, with firm reliance on the protection of the divine providence, we mutually pledge to each other, our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor."

They gave you and me a free and independent America. The history books never told you a lot of what happened in the Revolutionary War. We didn't just fight the British. We were British subjects at that time and we fought our own government!

Marco Polo

I heard that when Marco Polo first opened the trade routes to China, he was quite impressed with their rockets. Now, these weren't quite the fireworks we now know, but they did shoot into the air, explode and make some pretty patterns.

Strangely, no matter where he went, there were people who made fireworks, but he had trouble finding someone to demonstrate them for him.

"Not here!" they said... very confusing. Until ol' Marco came upon an ancient military fortification at the community of Chu'Lai. Here, fireworks were launched every night, and Marc was very impressed!

But still he wondered, "Why here?" At the end of every week, people came from great distances, bringing their own fireworks to launch. So Marco Polo asked his guide why everyone came here to launch their fireworks.

Marco's guide replied: "Why honored Sir, ... We always set off fireworks on the Forts of Chu'Lai"

Have a safe and happy 4th ya'll

My favorite music

Here are some of my favorites by genre

Techno: Paradigm Shift, Deitiphobia and Prophecy of Panic
Electronica: The Echoing Green & Symbiotica (cant find that CD anywhere)
Rap: King Shon and the SSMOB (a Christian group voted better than Snoop Dogg by the audience) and of course the Gospel Gangstaz.
Opera: Dont run screaming! some of it really is good. Sumi Jo for instance.
Pop: I guess Clear and Plumb fall under this heading. Plumb ROCKS and she and her crew happen to be really nice peeps. I got to meet them at a non-music event where they were just being themselves and I didnt even know who they were at the time.

Any list of my favs would be incomplete without Sixpence None The Richer. I have followed them since forever (long long before "Kiss Me" ya'll) and let me tell you, no band should ever have to go through that much crap. Their new album is fantastic, but I think my fav is still "This Beautiful Mess"

Fave Music?

I love music and I ALWAYS have something playing.

I'm looking for new music so what are your fave groups? Even if they are kinda obscure.

Two sides to every story

Saddam Hussein is a destestable man. A man who committed ruthless acts against his own country. A man willing to have people tortured maimed and killed to keep power. Having said that, I found a quote in an AP article that shows there may have been more to the Kuwait war than we have been told.

"How could Saddam be tried over Kuwait, that said it will reduce Iraqi women to 10-dinar prostitutes?" Saddam asked, referring to himself in the third person. "He defended Iraq's honor and revived its historical rights over those dogs."

Is it possible that Kuwait was threatening Iraq? That Kuwait wasn't the total innocent? It seems likely in an area with continuously warring factions. Certainly not justification for the atrocities committed in Kuwait, but certainly an interesting context. (if true)

Confessions

Everyone, I have a confession to make.

I like female attention.

I know, you are thinking "what guy doesnt like female attention?" and I am thinking "there isnt any guy that doesnt like female attention." But this was pointed out to me today by Nikki To clarify, I only like the attention of women who are attractive in Spirit, Mind or Body. Preferably all three.

I hope this clears things up.