Get Cynical

I’m really liking Astley’s reaction to the RickRolling:

Back in the ’80s, I was known for being reclusive, often shying away from media attention. It’s perhaps ironic that the Internet phenomenon of Rickrolling should bring my video for “Never Gonna Give You Up” to a new generation. But that’s one of the great things about the Internet. Young people now have easy access to material that they ordinarily wouldn’t have been exposed to.

Before I heard about moot — the mysterious 21-year-old creator of the influential Web message board 4chan.org, who just happened to win TIME.com’s online poll to determine the world’s most influential people — I used to think some young kid had stumbled across my video and thought it would be funny to send it to his mates, and it just kind of caught on. I suppose at first I was a little embarrassed by it. I always liken it to when people look through their photo albums or home videos from 20 years ago and think, Gosh, did I really wear that? The difference is, thankfully on the one hand and perhaps a bit scarily on the other, mine are out there for the public to see whenever they want. I find some Rickrolls really funny. Have you seen the one with President Barack Obama? Someone has cut up his speeches and put them together so that he sings “Never Gonna Give You Up.” It’s totally amazing. I find it bonkers, by the way!

From Boing Boing:

We talked, and I learned her name was K. and asked her about the shelters in town. She rattled off the names of homes that I know are where abused women and children escape to when their lives are in danger.

None of the shelters had rooms for her and her children.

Then it dawned on me that maybe I could do more than give her $30 and hope someone else gives her another $30 so the young family can find a place to sleep tonight. I asked her if we could share her photos and her story so that somewhere, some of you might be able to help.

K’s eyes are perpetually brimming with tears. She’s tiny and her hands are chilled. Baby M is sleeping under a blanket on her chest. The two younger children, D and Little K, are relatively quiet considering their ages. At 7 and 9, they could be tearing up the sidewalks, but they’re not.

When I explain to K about my blog and that I hope that maybe someone out there reading might have a way to help, she thinks it’s a good idea and says it’s okay to take the pictures. “It can’t be any more embarrassing than what I’m doing now,” she says.

I loved this opening.

Sorry that the site was down a bit earlier. Had some problems getting flooded by a rogue bot (Or something of that nature).

Have you ever had to stay overnight in a hospital?

I’ve been lucky so far with that. The closest I came was during the Grammy’s the year Michael Jackson was winning everything for Thriller and I came had an allergic reaction to penicillin that I was taking for a bout of strep throat.

*Facepalm*

Vice president Joe Biden said today he would tell his family members not to use subways in the U.S. and implied schools should be shuttered as the swine flu outbreak spread to 11 states and forced school closures amid confirmation of the first U.S. death.

“I wouldn’t go anywhere in confined places now,” Biden said when asked whether he would advise family members to use public transportation.

Biden made his comments during a brief interview on NBC’s “Today” show during an interview with Matt Lauer.

“I would tell members of my family, and I have, I wouldn’t go anywhere in confined places now. It’s not that it’s going to Mexico, it’s you’re in a confined aircraft when one person sneezes it goes all the way through the aircraft. That’s me. I would not be, at this point, if they had another way of transportation suggesting they ride the subway. ”

The vice president also implied that schools should be closed as the threat of swine flu increases.

(via J-Walk)

From the Smoking Gun.

Another state passes the destruction of straight marriage bill.

The New Hampshire State Senate just passed a bill making same-sex marriage law — by a single vote, 13-11.

The same bill already passed the House, and now goes to the desk of Governor John Lynch, a Democrat who has said he opposes same-sex marraige, but hasn’t said how he’d act on the legislation.

One star Amazon reviews of classic movies, music and literature. Today we take a look at On The Road:

I found my copy of On the Road lying on the side of the rode (irony, I know). At the time I had a female friend that was very enthusiastic about this book, so I decided to give it a try. After reading it I realized that I probably had the luck of finding it where I did because the previous owner had thrown it out the window in anger, frustration and disgust. This book is terrible. The writing is monotonous. It was a struggle for me to keep the pages turning. There is no plot, but rather Kerouac just strings together events. The characters are unlikeable and shallow. The book is entirely undeserving of its reputation. But despite that, I recommend you read it. Why? Because with more voices telling the honest truth about this book (that it stinks), fewer will be pressured into the “Kerouac Cult” by all the wanna-be counter-culture “intellectuals” that fawn over this kind of trash. So read it! It is your duty!

it really sucke

This book gets my nomination for the most overrated book in American Literature. It is trite, saccharine and false. The themes and insights it contains are not even good enough to be third rate. Moreover, as a prose stylist, Kerouac was probably fourth rate. In short, I despise this piece of [garbage] and would advise all of its hipster doofus fans to lose the tie-dye clothes and throw away their bongs. Maybe then they will read something good for a change.

Shave off your goatees all you wannabe beatniks, this book is no bible. It’s 200 dull pages about losers who spend most of their time waiting for something to happen. There’s no plot, no story. Just hipsters who are not all that hip

Grapes of Wrath meets Fear and Loathing (without the drugs). Dated and pointless.

After reading this book twice, I still have no clue as to why it is still being hailed as the “beatnik” generation bible. I mean, puh-leaze….. if I want to read about a bunch of idiotic, hormonal men driving around in a primitive attempt to get laid, I’ll just stop by the fraternity house. This is proof that men who dream of getting laid read about other men who dream about getting laid, and then praise them for being so gosh darn smart. What a waste of money… it does however make good toilet paper.

This is not what I thought it would be. I mean people rave about this book. Maybe it would be a big deal in the 50′s (although I dont see it raising too many eyebrows even back then.) I just dont see it. It’s the same thing over and over. “Lets move on cause I’m restless. Let’s find a ride and get to the other side of the U.S. for awhile. Lets do drugs and get drunk. OK now I’m bored here, lets go back.” There, now you dont have to read it. I’ve just given it all to you.

I read this book in the 80′s, back in the day when I had just discovered reading. I had high expectations. The book was part of a Contemporary Lit class, and I could not believe how boring it was. They would hitchhike, meet interesting characters, tell enough of the story to intrigue, and then they would move on, drinking, riding, and missing the big picture. The repitition, the blandness of what should have been an incredible journey, went on and on. Perhaps at the time it was written there was a little novelty. This book may be one of the most overrated of the 20th century.

all the poetic reviews were a setup. How could you people find this romantic? There are no great stories here. Only boredom. Watch paint dry. Thats as exciting as it gets hear. I hope you dont have to read a dry as dust book like this to tell you that being a drifter is fun. Cause if youre looking for insight, it aint here.

As far as I can tell, this book is about girls, hitchhiking, and partying. After 100 pages and no plot in sight, I put the book down. A total waste of time.

(more…)

The church teaches the existence of the supernatural. It
believes in the divine sleight-of-hand — in the “presto” and “open
sesame” of the Infinite; in some invisible Being who produces
effects without causes and causes without effects; whose caprice
governs the world and who can be persuaded by prayer, softened by
ceremony, and who will, as a reward for faith, save men from the
natural consequences of their actions.

The church denies the eternal, inexorable sequence of events.

Robert Green Ingersoll – “Truth” (1897)