tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-85047792024-03-06T21:12:29.388-08:00Abstract InterventionismWhere common sense is tested, found lacking, and completely avoided.Jim Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16810363258669954062noreply@blogger.comBlogger58125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8504779.post-17159671104012615962010-01-29T11:47:00.000-08:002010-06-17T10:42:53.318-07:00Breaking the Law... Godwin's LawForgive me <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godwin%27s_Law">Godwin</a>, but I can't resist passing this on. It seems that not everyone loved the Ipad announcement. Poor, poor Hitler.<br /><br />EDIT (6/17/2010) Link removed. I guess the owner of the hitler clip contested its use on youtube. Too bad, it was funny and probably gave that movie more press than it deserved otherwise. Hope you caught it while it was available. I'm interested in hearing from anyone who has taken the plunge and bought an Ipad.Jim Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16810363258669954062noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8504779.post-33846257391210039452010-01-19T18:51:00.001-08:002010-01-19T23:41:15.644-08:00Impressions on an Interesting Election NightI'm watching the news and it appears that a Republican has won the MA sentate election. A candidate that has the support of the Tea Party movement has taken the seat vacated by the death of the lion of the senate himself. He did it by saying he would vote against health care reform in a state that elected the most passionate proponate for HCR, Ted Kennedy. <br /><br />The AP has called the race for Scott Brown. Martha Coakly is minutes away from giving her concession speech. It's over.<br /><br />It's over. I wonder how much is over.<br /><br />This election wasn't about MA. It's about Obama. Let's do the math:<br /><br />1) He promised "Change we can Believe in." Do you feel the change? Perhaps he meant he would change "business as usual" Republicans with "business as usual" Democrats. We have all watched for the change, what we have gotten is exactly what one would predict in one-party to rule.<br /><br />2) He gave huge bailouts to banks and auto manufacturers.<br /><br />3) Signed a stimulus bill that was full of shameful pork with such alacrity that it was physically impossible for anyone to read. He continues to spin the success of this obvious failure by saying that he has "created or saved" millions of jobs. Does anyone believe this crap? Yes, the Obama administration seems to believe their own propaganda.<br /><br />4) He has put all his eggs into HCR even as the nation shouts louder and louder that we don't want it. He failed to lead and propose legislation, and rather let the congress create the bill for him. The people of the USA have seen the horrendous deal making they need to pass the bill even with their supermajority. <br />5) He has lost virtually every bellwether election since getting elected himself. Dems are looking at huge losses in 2010 and if our congress continues to ignore public opinion I see is possible they could lose on of the houses.<br /><br />6) He made promises about transparency of government. We now see that transparency is reserved for non-controversial subjects only. Give me a friggin' break! Obama has been as closed as the Bush admin, and that is saying something.<br /><br />7) His only popular decisions have been the ones Bush made on foreign policy. With some high-profile exceptions like Gitmo and trying terrorists as criminals, Obama's foreign policy has been Bush-lite. It was a wonderful irony to see him get the Nobel peace price weeks after committing to his second surge into Afghanistan. <br /><br />8) He promised to be a uniter. He has presided over one-party rule and wrote off the Republicans as irrelevant. Perhaps this election has changed his mind.<br /><br />Will he have his "Clinton moment?" I wonder. If he doesn't, he will have passed all his 1st-term laws in 2009, and he will lose big in 2010 and 2012. If he crosses the aisle, slaps the dictatorship that has been congress, and actally works with the other side, he may find something people will support.<br /><br />Every rooky has their moment when they realize the majors are hard. I hope he finds a way to be a uniter and finds a way to govern from the center. He's tried governing from the left, and it has failed him miserably. <br /><br /><br />2)Jim Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16810363258669954062noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8504779.post-55174819268473115552010-01-11T12:20:00.000-08:002010-01-11T12:56:35.046-08:00Shinkendo on NBC<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmUyr91B0jp7xF1K3zjwRcih4bOqpO80d2XgSPSMM3pmuSnx1wUtC7y-2D5ZiW0RYUkwPnrGB2-nNPGbivgfB9FWMl-vM_peCZLsUmXoA74Y__k-9ZwSlTeMrqc_QiaBS5t79FZA/s1600-h/shinkendo.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5425588985360275954" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 150px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 144px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmUyr91B0jp7xF1K3zjwRcih4bOqpO80d2XgSPSMM3pmuSnx1wUtC7y-2D5ZiW0RYUkwPnrGB2-nNPGbivgfB9FWMl-vM_peCZLsUmXoA74Y__k-9ZwSlTeMrqc_QiaBS5t79FZA/s200/shinkendo.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div>Yes, my ugly mug appeared on national TV this weekend. A show that appears on NBC Saturdays showcased our dojo in Little Tokyo. I'm in some of the shots, albiet way in the back. I think their good judgement cut all the shots where I was front-and-center. :)<br /><br />Anways, there is some good footage of Obata Kaiso showing us how tamashigiri is done.<br /><br />Check it out.<br /><br /><br /><object id="flashObj" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=" height="409" width="646" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000"><param name="_cx" value="17092"><param name="_cy" value="10821"><param name="FlashVars" value=""><param name="Movie" value="http://c.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f9/52412734001?isVid=1&publisherID=14356157"><param name="Src" value="http://c.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f9/52412734001?isVid=1&publisherID=14356157"><param name="WMode" value="Window"><param name="Play" value="-1"><param name="Loop" value="-1"><param name="Quality" value="High"><param name="SAlign" value=""><param name="Menu" value="-1"><param name="Base" value="http://admin.brightcove.com"><param name="AllowScriptAccess" value="always"><param name="Scale" value="ShowAll"><param name="DeviceFont" value="0"><param name="EmbedMovie" value="0"><param name="BGColor" value="FFFFFF"><param name="SWRemote" value=""><param name="MovieData" value=""><param name="SeamlessTabbing" value="0"><param name="Profile" value="0"><param name="ProfileAddress" value=""><param name="ProfilePort" value="0"><param name="AllowNetworking" value="all"><param name="AllowFullScreen" value="true"><br /><embed src="http://c.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f9/52412734001?isVid=1&publisherID=14356157" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" flashvars="videoId=60870898001&playerID=52412734001&domain=embed&" base="http://admin.brightcove.com" name="flashObj" width="646" height="409" seamlesstabbing="false" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" swliveconnect="true" allowscriptaccess="always" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/shockwave/download/index.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash"></embed></object></div>Jim Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16810363258669954062noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8504779.post-24930829674109698082010-01-04T08:21:00.000-08:002010-01-04T09:00:33.996-08:00New Years Resolutions1. 100,000 <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">situps</span><br /><br />I'm not kidding either. Since starting <a href="http://www.shinkendo.com/"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Shinkendo</span></a>, I have lost some fat and gained some muscle, but instead of 6-pack abs, I still have a full keg. So I'm going to try this <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">experiment</span>. 300 <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">situps</span> a day for 365 days is 109,500 <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">situps</span>. I can have 26 days off and still make this goal. We'll see if it works. Perhaps I'll post progress, though I'll spare you all the before and after pictures of my amazing disappearing potbelly.<br /><br />2. Fully document my <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Shinkendo</span> notes.<br /><br />I have been working on a project to document each form in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">shinkendo</span>. The idea is that if I have a comprehensive set of notes for each form, when <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">Kaiso</span> says something about it I will be able to add those quotes to the notes, see changes, note the key concepts and ideas for instruction. We at the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">Honbu</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">Dojo</span> have a unique opportunity to see <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">Shinkendo</span> develop, and I feel I have been losing a lot of the lessons because I just don't have time to take notes during or after every class.<br /><br />By the end of 2010 I want to have a complete set of personal notes in a wiki style format. The original concept had videos of each form as well, but that isn't paramount. However, I will complete a comprehensive glossary of terms.<br /><br />3. Spend at least one evening a week entirely on a creative project.<br /><br />Painting, writing, working on a board game idea, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">Sumi</span>-e, inventing something. I have lots of ideas that remain just that. It is time to make something tangible, which leads into my 4<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">th</span> and last resolution:<br /><br />4. Sell one creative product.<br /><br />Get a short story published, or maybe sell a <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">boardgame</span> idea: get paid for doing something creative that isn't work-related.Jim Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16810363258669954062noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8504779.post-10427487263194961322009-11-02T14:07:00.001-08:002009-11-02T14:19:13.827-08:00Cthulhu for Children!If you are a grandparent like me, you have probably wondered how best teach you little ones about the Great Old Ones without scaring them and giving them nasty nightmares. After all, nightmares are just for grown-up cultists!<br /><br />Well, YouTube to the rescue. Now lil'Cthulhu and all his friends can be enjoyed by even the youngest future cultist. Enjoy!<br /><br /><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/FOHJUrcVdJk&hl=en&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/FOHJUrcVdJk&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>Jim Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16810363258669954062noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8504779.post-25638337614655382792009-09-22T12:16:00.000-07:002009-09-22T12:45:00.161-07:00Where do I get my ideas from?This is a question oft asked of fiction writers. We love them because we can express the depth of our souls, the dark places we journey to to find that gem of an idea that at once spins a great yarn and expresses our loathing of some aspect of reality (or society, art, politcs: pick one).<br /><br />Well, actually, this is all crap. We use a chart. This has been a craft secret for many centuries until some jerk over at <a href="http://wondermark.com/">Wondermark</a> spilled the beans and went all Penn and Teller on our artform.<br /><br />Full disclosure: here is how we come up with all our ideas. Yeah, that goes for all of us, even the ones who don't like to call themselves "Sci-fi" (I'm looking at you, Margaret Atwood and Kurt Vonnegut).<br /><br /><p><br /></p><a href="http://wondermark.com/554/"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5384375093477571714" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 302px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKoTzYS69oW-po4SzP_1hED38Ne440c4N706EqLp56JdFjETF-hX1igcKMtoqIccMQBqji7an0RSUb5NYtkAhKfhagAAkTspXkbgS4vkcwY9MSvv7M91F8HkxCNmTIFGt7nCrZgg/s320/2009-09-22-554fiction.gif" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Well, since that ship has sailed, I guess I should start writing literary fiction instead. There has to be a chart about that here somewhere...Jim Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16810363258669954062noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8504779.post-76324026304224458492009-06-22T13:24:00.001-07:002009-09-22T12:33:20.018-07:00To Hold a SwordI think I have found the source of an oft quoted simile in swordsmanship: <em>hold the sword like a bird: not to tight or you will kill it, not too loose or it will get away.</em><br /><br />I have seen this accreditted to Musashi Miamoto online and even from one of my sempai in the dojo. It's a useful idea for beginners who tend to hold onto their bokken with a white knuckled death grip and blow their wrists out by the end of the first week.<br /><br />But did Musashi, the great Japanese swordsman/painter/strategist say it? Apparently, no. There is nothing in The Book of Five Rings about it, for certain, though he does go into detail about how to hold a sword, descibing each finger's pressure. Perhaps there is another text that he has written or in which he has been quoted that says this, but I can't find it.<br /><br />It's a logical step to hear this quote and think Musashi. He took lessons from birds, and one of his most famous Sumi-e paintings is of a shrike (a personaly favorite painting of mine).<br /><br />From what I can tell, those great line actually comes from a master of ::drum roll:: movie swordfights. The master. Errol Flynn.Jim Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16810363258669954062noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8504779.post-63475864427958283502009-05-10T01:25:00.000-07:002009-05-10T01:27:56.908-07:00Eulogy for My MotherMy mother died last Monday after a long illness. Below is the eulogy I wrote for her funeral.<div><br /></div><div>---</div><div><br /></div><div><div>First, I want to thank our Pastor for reading this for me. Mom always asked me to write a eulogy whenever someone in the family died, knowing full well that if I were to present it myself I would end up balling like a baby, which of course would make everyone else cry harder, and we would never get through it. So, thanks Pastor Jim for helping me out, again. Mom didn’t ask for this one directly, but like so many other things about her, I just know it without having to be told. Mom, I’m trying hard to make you proud.</div><div><br /></div><div>I can’t sum up what my mother meant to me, so I won’t try. What I can say is that she was the most influential person in my life, and it has been hard for me to admit that. She is the person I have known longest, has always been there for me when I needed her—even when I didn’t know it or want it—and because of this I am who I am. My wife, my kids, even my grandchildren owe some part of who they are today to the impact my mother had on me.</div><div><br /></div><div>Growing up, I’ll always remember my mother as this stalwart wall of protection, love, and rules. She was the lawgiver in our family, the one with magical powers to see through lies and sense evildoers around corners. She was there at all my baseball games, bike races, swimming meets, boy scout ceremonies and hospital stays. She was at once over-protective and surprising lenient. As a parent, I think I understand how well my parents found the careful balance between keeping us safe and letting us flourish. Bekkie and I weren’t easy to raise, and they did a pretty good job.</div><div><br /></div><div>As a child, I was always amazed that such a tough, iron woman, who saw through all my lies and suffered none of my BS, who managed my constant fights with my sister, who survived by broken bones, concussions, and third-degree burns without flinching (at least where I could see), who always carried herself with such confidence and power…would scream and run at the sight of a harmless little cricket. When I was young this was very confusing for me, and I honestly still don’t get it. She could be so strong at the same time so very fragile.</div><div>There was this time when I was four and decided I wanted to go play at the park. So I went. I just walked out the door and down the street to go play at the local school playground. Don’t think that my mother wasn’t good at keeping me safe, it’s just that I was better at getting into trouble. After a half hour or so of playing I got bored and started walking home, though I had no clue which way that was. I even got to ride in a Sheriff’s car, which for the moment was pretty cool. I don’t have many memories of my early life, but I do remember clear as day my mother standing in the middle of the street waiting for me. I remember the look on her face when I got out of my first cop car. This was maybe the first time I realized that my decisions affected others in a big way. It was a lesson she never let me forget.</div><div><br /></div><div>Mom was a precious work of modern art: delicate and priceless and often completely misunderstood.</div><div><br /></div><div>She was quirky, weird, and eccentric, and in our family that was high praise. Ask anyone who knew her. Have them tell you the story of “the pink nighty and the bear,” or ask about my mother’s most famous creation: turkey soup. There are thousands of little ways we will remember her.</div><div><br /></div><div>I’ll remember her teaching my dog to say “please” while she fed him Smarties from the giant bag she always had hidden near her chair. She always had candy hidden somewhere, especially when she wasn’t supposed to have it at all. This kids and animals knew it. We knew it and there was nothing we could do. And my dog is still fat.</div><div><br /></div><div>I’ll remember the long conversations with her, and let’s be honest, most conversations with her were long. Often a conversation that started with “I know you are in a hurry” would last an hour. She could talk to anyone about anything, as long as you didn’t feel the need to stay on subject. My mother liked a two-way conversation, but that was never a necessity. She had an interest in everything and wanted to hear about your day, your life, your thoughts on something she had seen on TV or read about. I think she felt the need to be engaged on a close and personal level with us, and talking was her favorite way to express this. </div><div><br /></div><div>Even the last couple of years, when she was getting weak and her illness was a burden, she never lost her enthusiasm. She was always full of life, which is why we are still in shock that she is gone.</div><div><br /></div><div>You can’t understand my mother without grasping the depth of her love for my father. My parent’s marriage is a model for my own and their love should be a goal for us all. In a world where most marriages end in divorce, they stayed madly in love with each other for over forty years. Their example has been a subtle lesson for me all these years, and I hope my marriage can do theirs honor. Dad, this is a gift I only recently began to appreciate, and I thank you both for it. My wife thanks you for it. What better way to teach children to love than to have parents like my Mom and Dad, leading by example every day of our lives.</div><div><br /></div><div>My children got to see their love up close and I hope they were paying attention. Think of what my parents created, what they endured, how they survived and adapted and thrived. It’s a rare, special thing. It inspires hope just to know such things are still possible.</div><div><br /></div><div>Mom, thanks for bearing me and bearing with me. Thanks for letting me grow up, for being there the countless times I needed you, and even for all those times I didn’t think I needed you. Thanks for being there for my children and my grandchildren. I hope they remember all of who you are and pass that on to their children and grandchildren as I will try to do. Happy Mother’s day. We’ll miss you forever.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>The life that I have is all that I have</div><div>the life that I have is yours</div><div>The love that I have for the life that I have</div><div>is yours and yours and yours.</div><div>A sleep I shall have, a rest I shall have</div><div>Yet death will be but a pause</div><div>for the peace of my years</div><div>in the long green grass</div><div>Will be yours and yours and yours</div><div><br /></div><div>(Leo Marks)</div><div><br /></div></div>Jim Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16810363258669954062noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8504779.post-79984469668164790392009-04-14T13:25:00.000-07:002009-04-14T13:52:41.128-07:00Yet Another Sword Style<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge795wOOVgDRd-Thh14KZQNqjHXiar66S2iimrQrR0LViyghY8LwXijPxGqzElH8Q9iQvQeXlbIw1b96TYU7tl5S6lo-2cWJQ46hiXvOmReGeukHrLzQHRRUeHpKI2XUyZ7wIlLw/s1600-h/AoA_logo.gif"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5324652768305880466" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 150px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 130px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge795wOOVgDRd-Thh14KZQNqjHXiar66S2iimrQrR0LViyghY8LwXijPxGqzElH8Q9iQvQeXlbIw1b96TYU7tl5S6lo-2cWJQ46hiXvOmReGeukHrLzQHRRUeHpKI2XUyZ7wIlLw/s320/AoA_logo.gif" border="0" /></a> For the past couple of months I have added another weapon to my arsenal: the Longsword.<br /><br />My main martial art remains Shinkendo, but for a while I have been looking for another style to act as my "minor" art, something I could use to counterpoint and put into perspective the skills I learn in the Japanese sword style.<br /><br />I tried Iaido with my son under Michael Kazmer Sensei, and he has an excellent group here in Lancaster who take their art very seriously, but there is something about kneeling on a hardwood floor for four hours on a weekend that just didn't work for me. My knees just didn't handle it all that well. My "old" is beginning to show more these days.<br /><br />Quite by chance I found Shay Roberts and his <a href="http://academyofarms.com/index.html">German Longsword class </a>being taught in Van Nuys. I figured that learning a western style would be a good choice, and I'm very happy with how it has gone so far.<br /><br />It has been something of a culture shock for me. I have been going to Shinkendo three days a week on average (seven days a week if you count home practice), so my body has learned to swing a sword in that style. In western longsword those moves just don't work, at least not the way I'm doing them. I swing a beautiful kasumi block and find a German sword pointing at my nose.<br /><br />While Shinkendo is a comprehensive sword style, it doesn't include free play sparring. German Longsword does. We have to get protective gear (similar to fencing, but heavier) and eventually will be facing an opponent in an unscripted battle. I won't likely be qualified for free play for another couple years, but the idea of it makes me work harder. I can't wait.<br /><br />This sword geek is moving upward.Jim Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16810363258669954062noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8504779.post-34677747327666910692009-04-14T12:29:00.000-07:002009-04-14T13:50:32.626-07:00An Inspiration to Me<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcrMc-0tRt0t6IL3MBf7VOSbdJPtUOrk2AWoiVVYrLwWqNLCn2NnXPfIY6vKm9AHa7SUbH1cMoriAy4nd3NdxwGvrxwJGDVl2rfdkD0eqzT7hqIbmPiOQ9adtRFvyOi2GPDagguQ/s1600-h/0413092spector1a.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5324632352331205970" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 234px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcrMc-0tRt0t6IL3MBf7VOSbdJPtUOrk2AWoiVVYrLwWqNLCn2NnXPfIY6vKm9AHa7SUbH1cMoriAy4nd3NdxwGvrxwJGDVl2rfdkD0eqzT7hqIbmPiOQ9adtRFvyOi2GPDagguQ/s320/0413092spector1a.jpg" border="0" /></a> This mugshot of Phil <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Spector</span>, famous music producer, <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">creator</span> of the wall of sound effect, and psycho gun-waving murderer is fast <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">becoming</span> an inspiration to me.<br /><br />No, not in that way. My wife is safe. (Who am I kidding, if I threatened her she'd kick my ass down the street.)<br /><br />However, this mugshot is <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">awesome</span>. You just know he was being a <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">smart ass during his processing</span>, trying to hold onto the last vestiges of his atrophying ego, and the guard just said "fuck it, you want it you got it." ::SNAP::<br /><br />I have been mulling over a few horror story ideas and this mug has my juices flowing. If you willingly forget the context and just look at this photo as if he were some guy coming up to you on the streets of LA, what would you think or do? This pic is a dissonant note, hanging in air like a scream. Add the name "Spector" to it and it gets better. Phil the Spector. Damn, this guy looks like <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Characters_of_Watchmen">Rorschach</a> unmasked.<br /><br />I hope he carves something into his forehead while in prison. Manson needs the competition.Jim Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16810363258669954062noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8504779.post-52111499641422593702009-01-30T03:11:00.000-08:002009-01-30T03:58:12.313-08:00Shinkendo Update<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMECcO_o4W1LzuF6S5DITU45n2KODbOyh8jQXzrEoTcl37yDcOQAyTyJPDLZoVQHiztC3bai4UjD1OwhFW-VnEMUFGLxYPqafoLGmx6xUdXA_ZOo68gx356PFNouCnhO8kJzqy7g/s1600-h/shinkendo.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5297048846764966082" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 150px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 144px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMECcO_o4W1LzuF6S5DITU45n2KODbOyh8jQXzrEoTcl37yDcOQAyTyJPDLZoVQHiztC3bai4UjD1OwhFW-VnEMUFGLxYPqafoLGmx6xUdXA_ZOo68gx356PFNouCnhO8kJzqy7g/s320/shinkendo.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div>This week I have been thinking a lot about my very brief trek into swordsmanship. I've only been at this for about a year and a half, and in a couple weeks I take my test for yet another Shinkendo level, along with Toyama Ryu and Aikido. Slowly I have been kneeling more to the right of the dojo when we bow in and out of classes, and the more junior shinkendoka have begun calling me Sempai (title given to the advanced students in the dojo).<br /><br />Sempai. I don't feel like one. Sempai. That is real pressure. That means people are watching me and doing what I do. I shiver to think of all those bad habits being learned behind my back as we practice. Those poor unwitting naive fools thinking they can advance by watching me!<br /><br />Well, I guess it's not that bad. This Fall I tested for and received my first teaching certification which essentially allows me to train the first three levels in Shinkendo (Shinkendo doesn't use the dan ranking system that other martial arts use; i.e. no "black belt"; teaching certs are a seperate ranking path). Althought this hasn't happened yet, if I am asked to teach a class, when bowing in and out I will be referred to as Sensei.<br /><br />Sensei. Okay, Sempai is enough pressure, but Sensei? This is going a little fast. But I have earned it and I really do enjoy teaching. I have a ways to go before I feel I truly deserve that title, even if I am only the lowest ranking Sensei possible. Sensei literally means licensed instructor.<br /><br />This December I was told that it was time for me to purchase a shinken (a real "sharp" katana). This is something of an honor. If all goes well, I should have one next month. They are very expensive as we aren't allowed to do Tamashigiri (test cutting of soaked tatami-omote mats) with cheap blades; cheap blades have been known to break and send the razor-sharp shards flying. We do a lot of demonstrations (and we pride ourselves on not killing our audience), so Kaiso tests all the swords and we use only the best. By best this means a very good quality sword that is in the price range of mere working-class mortals like us.<br /><br />A sempai described the swords we use as "Ford Trucks" not "Ferraris." A good metaphor as some hand-made swords in Japan can sell for hundreds of thousands of dollars. My shinken will have "Shinkendo" on the tang and will have been tested by Kaiso personally. I can't wait to use my own shinken for Tamashigiri. Maybe this year I'll be asked to do real cutting at one of our demonstrations. Wow, that will take some time to sink in.<br /><br />So Shinkendo is working out well for me, as is Aikido. We have even started studying the bo staff, though I am only a few lessons into that path. And to top it all off, next month I am sitting in on a class in Van Nuys that studies western martial arts: German Longsword. If all goes well I'll start there soon. I think I have found my art form. A long sharp shard of metal is my medium, and I look forward to every session.</div>Jim Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16810363258669954062noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8504779.post-12228416260857369942008-12-14T11:57:00.000-08:002008-12-14T12:48:58.744-08:00Fallout 3: My Review<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAcZADoNpirJpMR4_YaEP6u6pSlaa_U7oi6vbIN4WLXDUw_teoy85qzdV71AOjx_Bpl08vcggfrhXZ6t8pcYiycNXDc7MOcTHfxcMB6iLQcJdXlyy6uIaWEOTYnu0mCvOxvNUEDw/s1600-h/game_fallout3.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5279748682612749154" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 175px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 100px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAcZADoNpirJpMR4_YaEP6u6pSlaa_U7oi6vbIN4WLXDUw_teoy85qzdV71AOjx_Bpl08vcggfrhXZ6t8pcYiycNXDc7MOcTHfxcMB6iLQcJdXlyy6uIaWEOTYnu0mCvOxvNUEDw/s320/game_fallout3.jpg" border="0" /></a>I have been a huge fan of the open world style of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">RPG</span> that <a href="http://www.bethsoft.com/eng/index.php">Bethesda Software </a>has been putting out for a while now. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Morrowind</span> was huge, almost scary big, on a scale with established <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">MMOs</span>, which made it unique in the world of single player games. You could run off in any direction and find an adventure. You could create another character and always find new experiences by just taking a different path. Unlike most <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">RPGs</span>, where you essentially cover all the content on you path to winning the game, Bethesda has created a niche for themselves as producing "choose your path" <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">RPGs</span>.<br /><br />Because of this I was excited at the prospect of <a href="http://fallout.bethsoft.com/">Fallout 3</a>. This was supposed to be Elder Scrolls in a the Fallout world: a post nuclear war wasteland with mutant monsters and guns. Those that I know who played Fallout and Fallout 2 were all excited (I never played those).<br /><br />When I loaded the game, the opening sequence got me very excited. You pan out of a 50s style radio playing "I don't want to set the world fire" to see the DC mall, now called the Capitol Wasteland. The ironic theme of clean cut very pure 50s "Leave It to Beaver" white culture contrasting with the very disturbing evil world you roam in where <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">cannibalism</span> is the norm and normalcy has taken some very sickening turns made the game even more intriguing to me.<br /><br />But that didn't last very long. First, the game just didn't work on my system (and I have a pretty good system for games like this; made for <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">MMOs</span>). The wonderful music can be played all the time on a radio system, but when I did I crashed horribly. My game locked up, frame rate would drop to less then 1 FPS, would skip, save games would be corrupted, even NPCs would wander the world and die so I couldn't complete the quests. Bethesda has been silent on these problems, leaning on the user community to fix its own problems while we wait (still waiting as I write this almost two months after release). These user-made fixes include everything from deleting codec</span> files to editing your registry. The game is pretty much unplayable. I have since learned that this is the norm for Bethesda: their games have major issues after release and they are slow to respond. As an example, they have already released an editor for the game (G.A.C.K) but the game still crashes in many strange ways. Why in the world would they not have every person on the project who could write code working on making their game playable? <br /><br />Still, I have been playing it, saving often, and in the month or so I have had it I have already completed the game three times. I said "complete" deliberately. When you finish the finale of this game it is game over, with credits and back to the main menu; there is no way to finish the main quest and keep playing, which is silly in a world that is supposed to be huge so you can explore.<br /><br />There is the rub. Fallout 3 is not huge. It's not even big. While there are many map locations (maybe about half as many as Oblivion, and many of those are not dungeons but just areas with a few monsters roaming around) it is completely <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">plausible</span> to see most of the content very quickly. You level up fast, which is very disappointing as there is a level 20 cap, so most players will see most of the content of the game at level 20, assuming they hold off finishing the main quest.<br /><br />There are some pros. First, while there is less content, the content is much more developed. In Oblivion, when you randomly found a dungeon you would quickly find yourself running through one of a few maps with one of a few themes (e.g. caves with trolls, dungeon with bandits), with random treasure in chests. It made the game a little tedious. This is not the case in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">FO</span>3. When you find a new POI you are going to be surprised.<br /><br />Second, some of the quests are very well narrated and acted. All the quests that appear on your quest log include voice actors. There are tapes thrown around the world that include tidbits of history from the game world. I especially liked those that recorded what it was like immediately after the bombs fell. Many of the dialog options when talking to the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">NPCs</span> in the universe also bring you into the horrific universe. This form of information is much better than the dozens of books that were in Oblivion, which I doubt anyone ever read.<br /><br />Lastly, some of the dungeons are downright terrifying. There is a homage to Lovecraft (Bethesda has done a Call of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">Cthulhu</span> game too) which should have been more scary but had me interested. The graphic representation of the world is <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">awesome</span>, and I felt a cold chill many times while exploring. The quests are equally disturbing (in a good way). This is no "find the crown to save the princess" game. You can rescue hookers, <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">assassinate</span> innocents, capture and sell slaves, give drugs to addicts, and even explode a nuke on the main town in the game (I highly recommend even the most <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">heroically</span> good player create an evil <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15">toon</span> to do this).<br /><br />There is one last huge problem which overshadows most of the games good points. The game is <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_16">embarrassingly</span> easy. There is a level 20 cap, you experience up very fast, and skills are maxed at 100. The last character I played was on the highest difficulty level and never once died (though I did have to get creative at lower levels to afford healing). Even at max settings, I was able to have a character with the best gear in the game, the best weapons in the game, all my important skills at max (which is very easy to <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_17">achieve</span>, as the limit is 100 and you have multiple ways to raise a skill), and all the main quests completed. This final character took me only about 10 hours of playtime.<br /><br />If you are interested, I strongly suggest waiting for about six months for Bethesda to fix this game. They <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_18">apparently</span> have a bad record on quickly fixing problems. I played Oblivion only after it came out packaged with both expansions and never had a problem even at max settings. If you are expecting <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_19">Morrowind</span> (or even Oblivion) size, forget it. This game won't keep you interested for very long.<br /><br /><strong>My recommendation: don't pay full price. Wait until this game hits the $20 rack, or borrow it from a friend who "won" the game the first weekend they owned it.<br /><br />And never buy a Bethesda game when it comes out; wait a good six months so they can fix what should have been fixed prior to release.</strong>Jim Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16810363258669954062noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8504779.post-63832014392712095252008-11-17T15:13:00.000-08:002008-11-17T15:15:33.218-08:00My Thoughts on the Republican DefeatA doctor in Denver has a great editorial that resonates with me. <a href="http://www.denverpost.com/opinion/ci_10976789" target="_blank">Give it a read.</a> I think Paul Hsieh's views mirror my own in many ways, though I didn't vote for Obama like he did.<br /><br /><blockquote>In his October 24, 2008 radio broadcast, Rush Limbaugh told pro-choice secular<br />supporters of limited government such as myself that we should leave the<br />Republican Party. Many of us have already taken his advice and changed our<br />affiliation to "independent."</blockquote><br />The news narrative for last week was the Republican Party in turmoil, with no leader, second guessing its mission. This is a good thing.<br /><br />When I first voted I registered as a Republican and I stayed that way through the Bush 41 and Clinton years. But ever since I began voting I have been an agnostic, and this has been in conflict with the major force of the Republican party. For the past 25 years the Republicans have increasingly relied on the religious right to make up their base, a group with whom I disagree on almost every issue important to them: gay rights, religion in schools, right to choose, birth control. Bush won the 2004 election largely on the gay rights issue getting his "base" of strong Christian voters to the polls.<br /><br />The power of this group over our national agenda has reached its zenith in the Bush administration, and the fall of the Republicans from power may be a reason for hope for conservatives like myself. There are a large number of younger conservatives that don't buy the social platform of the Republicans but don't want government being the dominant entity in our lives. Some have gone to the Libertarian extreme, but I linger in the limbo between parties still. If the GOP were to reform itself in the image of Barry Goldwater, perhaps I could rejoin.<br /><br />I don't have high hopes.Jim Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16810363258669954062noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8504779.post-966093972951931352008-11-05T16:36:00.000-08:002008-11-05T16:40:16.343-08:00The One is The ManCongratulations Barack Obama for becoming the first black President of the United States. I <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">didn't</span> vote for you, but I'm not at all ashamed to call you "my president."<br /><br />No matter who you voted for or what your politics are, you have to admit that the USA feels like it grew up a little yesterday. Race is still an issue, but this event is a milestone of our progress, and we should look back to see just how far we have come, then look forward again to realize how far we still have to go.<br /><br />Now, Mr. President, try and win my vote for 2012.Jim Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16810363258669954062noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8504779.post-64961252863616448432008-10-31T22:29:00.000-07:002008-10-31T22:39:37.199-07:00Just Shut Up and Write<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsM2EboT-mzcU3dRehYfWCwmvM3dKLdh6JLYv7CghQfVyfMC8KAphp_pgST5gnwFaWOY1dHG068mFdyeueLS4n8K4ciRITBg4YMdoWHq0E0q4BuYLoJ1nWgW1ZVkdoHe8VyE2-aQ/s1600-h/nanowrimo_participant_icon_122x244.gif"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5263557628683064466" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 120px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 238px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsM2EboT-mzcU3dRehYfWCwmvM3dKLdh6JLYv7CghQfVyfMC8KAphp_pgST5gnwFaWOY1dHG068mFdyeueLS4n8K4ciRITBg4YMdoWHq0E0q4BuYLoJ1nWgW1ZVkdoHe8VyE2-aQ/s320/nanowrimo_participant_icon_122x244.gif" border="0" /></a> The month of November is just ninety minutes away, and somehow I am going to write my Great American Novel before December. Progress, whining, feelings, tips for cafeinated drinks, and maybe even some excerpts will all be posted on my <a href="http://sea-of-souls.blogspot.com/">NaNoWriMo blog</a>.<br /><br />This blog will be restricted to all my other rambling thoughts that don't relate to this insane project called NaNoWriMo. As none of the words I post here count toward my 50,000, I will likely be kind of absent here for the month. Also, as I am going cold turkey from writing pundit political crap starting after the election, the flavor of this blog will change a little.<br /><br />Wish me luck. If you are interested in reading more of my novel, you can drop me an email and maybe you can be a proofreader for me. I doubt I'll have much worth proofreading until early next year; it will take me until then just to get a significant part of my manuscript revised. The main rule of NaNoWriMo: no revision until December.Jim Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16810363258669954062noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8504779.post-91001196529550469312008-10-31T14:52:00.000-07:002008-10-31T14:53:32.603-07:00The Last Four DaysAs we enter the last few days of this election year, we find McCain in Defiance, OH. Looking toward the last days of this campaign, here are the cities we will find the candidates and their surrogates in:<br /><br /><strong>Barack Obama</strong><br />Bird In Hand, PA<br />Smoketown, PA<br />Neversink, NY<br />Red Bank, NJ<br />Red Hook NY<br />Red Lick, MS<br />Apex, NC<br />Santa Claus, IN<br /><br />Election Night: Satan's Kingdom, VT<br /><br /><strong>McCain</strong><br />Flushing, NY<br />Gap, PA<br />Little Hope, PA<br />Dumfries, VA<br />Needmore, AL<br />Hope, AK<br />Wiener, AK<br />Slaughter, FL<br />Zigzag, OR<br />Drain, OR<br />Fossil, OR<br />Hell, MI<br /><br />Election Night: Tombstone, AR<br /><br /><strong>Palin</strong><br />Mooselookmeguntic, ME<br />Lost Creek, PA<br />Munday, WV<br />Cut-n-Shoot, TX<br />Ding Dong, TX<br />Half.com, OR<br /><br /><strong>Biden</strong><br />They are keeping him gagged and locked in the room under the stairs in Santa Clause, IN until election night. However, Bill Clinton will be covering many events in his stead.<br /><br /><strong>Bill Clinton</strong><br />Blue Ball, PA<br />Intercourse, PA<br />Hornytown, NC<br />Hookertown, NC<br />Sugar Tit, SC<br />Hard Up, UT<br />Virgin, UT<br />Packwood, WA<br />Tokeland, WA<br /><br />Election Night: back in Hookertown, NC<br /><br />Get out there and see your candidates!Jim Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16810363258669954062noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8504779.post-50399105211916271382008-10-20T02:07:00.000-07:002008-10-22T12:49:36.965-07:00A new blog for a new novel<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCYWS3BbdxqvsjTyFxJdA0Kv0jD4cPEBgK0QdGu_W16x6i8rPGSkpOSbbx41v2yRbfTvJJf1BbgYzwhFXGncF9ArHHZvr1bnfYBvMiNQvEPvPZpu-hVUxl3tf7RB16YhO38UU7rw/s1600-h/nanowrimo_participant_icon_122x244.gif"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5259164821489887234" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCYWS3BbdxqvsjTyFxJdA0Kv0jD4cPEBgK0QdGu_W16x6i8rPGSkpOSbbx41v2yRbfTvJJf1BbgYzwhFXGncF9ArHHZvr1bnfYBvMiNQvEPvPZpu-hVUxl3tf7RB16YhO38UU7rw/s320/nanowrimo_participant_icon_122x244.gif" border="0" /></a><br /><div>Starting November first I am going to write a novel as part of <a href="http://www.nanowrimo.org/">NaNoWriMo 2008</a>. Writing about my troubles with the novel, issues I have with the characters and such will go here. The novel itself will go in a new blog:</div><div></div><br /><div><a href="http://sea-of-souls.blogspot.com/">sea-of-souls.blogspot.com</a></div><br /><div></div><div>If you are interested in reading a novel hastily written as part of an attempt to complete a first draft of a 200 page novel (50,000 words) entirely in the month of Novemer, please do so. If not, I don't blame you. The work will be rough as I won't be doing any major revision before December, so other than a very basic spell check, I'm not going to worry about details much.</div><div></div><br /><div>The novel I intend to write is a fantasy that I have been working on for years without any serious attempts at writing the narrative. I have the history, the magic system, and many of the major characters already created--all in my head. There are some deepish subjects I want to address, so it won't be an <em>elves with bows and dwarves with axes</em> kind of story.</div><div></div><br /><div>Why fantasy? First, it's easier to write, and I have a lot of the background already created. I doubt I could write a science fiction novel in the same time: the world building and science background would make for too harsh a revision from the first draft. Given that I intend to write at least ten pages a day until I reach 200, easy is a good plan I think.</div>Jim Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16810363258669954062noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8504779.post-2860793414114511472008-10-20T01:30:00.001-07:002008-10-20T01:52:10.810-07:00A PoliticalAs the election approaches and all the hopes and promise yet again evaporate into the standard political kabuki theatre, I'm beginning to wonder why I write about it at all. Everyone has opinions, and I have more than most I think, but in the end political writing without an activist edge to it is pretty much just mental masterbation.<br /><br />When I take a hard look at myself and go back to read the writings I have made on this blog and on the various forums I participate in, it all sounds like wannabe pundit crap. Predictions, general outrage, but never anything that will change anything. And what is politics if you aren't changing things?<br /><br />The things I am really passionate about don't reflect my politics. To be honest, politics is so shallow and my attitudes toward most people with strong opinions so cynical that it just isn't more than BS. This blog is supposed to be a tool to keep me writing, even though I am the only frequent reader I know about for sure.<br /><br />Political writing is easy, and like most easy things, really not that worth while. So, I'm going to stop. For one year, starting the day after the election, I'm not going to make a single political post here or on other blogs regarding politics. Cold turkey.<br /><br />I have some ideas about what the content here will be next year. Some real blog stuff: what is happening in my life, my daily thoughts, my hope dreams and aspirations--at least the ones I am willing to share with the internet. Maybe I'll post some pics of my oil paintings, Sumi-e, photography. I may also start up a seperate blog where I will post fiction, maybe a novel as part of <a href="http://www.nanowrimo.org/">NaNoWriMo</a>, which starts November first. Philosophy, science, links to stuff that is interesting.<br /><br />But no politics. Call it a year committment. After I vote I will go clean. Maybe a year without expressing these opinions will focus my politics into a passion that will translate into some real activism, by which I mean I will speak with actions and not just words. Maybe in a year I'll have something to say that is worth saying to the world, but only if there is action behind it.<br /><br />So, a political will be apolitical. For a year.Jim Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16810363258669954062noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8504779.post-81267215429461530462008-10-18T09:30:00.000-07:002008-10-18T09:56:24.842-07:00I am Joe<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk3G25FR8CIixynxPEGVpB1lHg_sZPWuLhCYqt3S3KTrsZGgiB-MdASShZQmk98p1D-2NcI9LsEBXsYsaTsBGXLT14MYEPQsKw_4_vlEVOVOjm_VHHT_W3KcPQev7lZDLBcwZeIg/s1600-h/2951062466_2e713d8c45_o.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5258532382997727634" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk3G25FR8CIixynxPEGVpB1lHg_sZPWuLhCYqt3S3KTrsZGgiB-MdASShZQmk98p1D-2NcI9LsEBXsYsaTsBGXLT14MYEPQsKw_4_vlEVOVOjm_VHHT_W3KcPQev7lZDLBcwZeIg/s320/2951062466_2e713d8c45_o.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />It's entertaining how the overconfident left is so sure they will win the election this year in a big way, yet when anything comes up that may challenge this they go mean fast. This week, Joe the Plumber became the narrative, much to the chagrin of the Obama campaign. Joe is an ordinary person, with ordinary troubles and a down-to-earth work ethic. He is also a conservative that made The One look bad. Because of this, we are watching the entire <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">MSMedia</span> apparatus digging up all the dirt they can find. Similar to the way they overreacted to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Palin</span> last month, they can't help themselves. Any datum that doesn't fit their apparently tenuous grip on their opinions is cause for a vicious backlash.<br /><br />Does anyone believe that Obama is a normal American? He is an elitist. If you like that kind of thing, by all means vote for him. But one this is apparent to me. After you tear down all the "post-racial" "post-<span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">partisan</span>" "post-political" BS, the Obama campaign is just John Kerry with bigger ears. Hope you can believe it? Hope is right. Hope is what you need if you want to vote for a political upstart who leads by emotion not policy.<br /><br />Here are some things I won't take from the left anymore:<br /><br />- <strong>Bush stole the election.</strong> One acronym means you can never say that again: ACORN. We have known for years that voter fraud was an unspoken grassroots effort of the left, and ACORN is proof of this. You aren't mad that Bush stole the election, you are mad because you think he stole your stolen election. Look in the mirror moonbats.<br /><br />- <strong>The Republicans can't win unless they Swiftboat</strong>. Right. The word for this tactic is ad hominum, and almost every attack on the republicans this cycle has been ad hominum. Look at Palin. Look at Joe the Plumber. Look at Bush. Look at all those opiners on the vitriolic left you can't trust McCain because of his "fighter pilot mentality." How about the lies about Palin's daughter really giving birth to Trig? I wasn't a big fan of the "Swiftboat veretans for Truth" but the left has lost all credibility on this issue. You are like pacifists with guns. You can't use this as a weapon, then say you are doing it because they are. Give me a break. Your mother taught you better than that.<br /><br />- <strong>Democrats are more in touch with the regular joe. </strong>Ask Joe the Plumber about that. Which Obama do you want to believe in: the one that says higher taxes will make the US more fair, or the one that says you cling to your religion and guns. He is an elitist. If you want to vote for someone who thinks they are better than you, Obama is your man.<br /><br />I guess this is as good a time as any to come out for McCain. I won't be voting with the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Obamatons</span> this election. To be honest, like Joe, I can't afford Obama.<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2zw7aVzAWidNo2gQot04S6TjIYPs9oc5120FOP1yQ8HjwjBTTfKGGZNRSfIH3WUVa9pP9qGSKrTWqKufT4RWk_ivJMC3TBTO9dmLTnJ3AdW2CmX7dzcvZg4eHAyqdVt2XB8ez-w/s1600-h/shutterstock_304958.jpg"></a><br /><br /><div></div>Jim Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16810363258669954062noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8504779.post-48467125053479808662008-10-10T14:36:00.000-07:002008-10-12T20:35:14.452-07:00Why I am Optmistic about AmericaThere is a storm outside, that is for sure. The markets are a rollercoaster without a working lapbar, and everyone is scared. Banks are closing, the dow had its worst year ever, and debate about if a recession is coming seems part of the good-ole-days (i.e. three weeks ago).<br /><br />In the world, we are facing our impotence: Iran will have a bomb it seems, which will likely start a slow arms race toward a completely nuclear Persian Gulf. Isreal will attach someone in response, maybe soon. Russia seems unimpressed by NATO: we are back to paper tiger status with them. They are sending arms to Huga Chavez, including long range bombers and nuclear warships.<br /><br />The election has turned nasty (as usual), and whether Obama wins or loses, it is obvious that racism will be a factor. Neither candidate has a grasp on what to do about our economy. Anti-Americanism seems to be in style again, especially inside America.<br /><br />And this makes me feel optimistic.<br /><br />First, we are having problems right now. For a brief period of time we see the situation as it is, we see reality. The bubble has popped, or is popping. We will fall, get hurt, cry a little, then get back up and keep going, maybe a little wiser. At least we will have a chance to prevent these problems from happening again in this way. In this time of rollercoaster markets and turmoil, I see opportunity and hope.<br /><br />Second, the fact that no one in America ever seems happy is a good thing. I personally don't have much time for those that seem to blame the US for our problems. A great example is all those 911 toofers out there that can't accept that someone outside the US could actually want to harm us here; it's so much easier to say the REAL enemy did it: the US Government. But the fact is that we in the US are never happy, which is exactly why we lead the world. I personally don't care if the USA is the leader of the free world. I DO care that the USA remains free.<br /><br />Think about this. We have a history of racial relations in this country that ranks near the bottom. You have to go to Hitler's Germany or Stalin's USSR to find a more repressive society than the USA in the first two hundred years of our country. Because of that we have made the most progress. BECAUSE of RACIAL TENSION we are in fact leading the world in racial relations. I live in LA. If we had the problems you see in Europe here in LA we would have riots: so many races living so close together.<br /><br />We see it as horrible, but I would rather have our problems than just about any other country in the world. And we are improving exactly because we think things are so horrible. If we thought things were fine, nothing would change. So the next time you talk to someone who smugly says how great things are elsewhere, think how static they must be, and what is under their rug.<br /><br />Fat and happy means fat and lazy. Comfort is the best way to stop working you can find. We in the US see ourselves as the worst in the world--most often when we are actually near the top--and because of this we are constantly striving to improve.<br /><br />I believe:<br /><br />- We will lead the world in green technology<br />- We will be the most significant reason the world will avoid another world war<br />- We will invent the next technology that will be followed by the word "revolution"<br />- Our standard of living will remain one of the best in the world<br />- We will be the most significant reason the the standard of living in the rest of the world will rise<br />- We will suffer another terrorist attack, and we will rise to that challenge<br />- We will be find the balance between safety and freedom<br /><br />Our inherent pessimism is a major reason we are on top. We are always striving to improve, even when it seems that we are going backwards. WE KNOW WE ARE GOING BACKWARDS. That is my point. It's all those wingnuts and moonbats that keep us that way. The MSM is always looking at what is wrong, not what is right. And though it would be nice for some kudos every-so-often, it is not required and likely just emotional drag anyways.<br /><br />Even when times are high and everyone is happy, we will too busy complaining about how much better if could have been if we had done things differently. So, to everyone who thinks the USA is going down the toilet: Thanks for keeping us number one!Jim Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16810363258669954062noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8504779.post-42800504797613560662008-10-04T03:23:00.001-07:002008-10-04T03:50:54.791-07:00Which Celebrity will You Vote For?Take a minute and think about this. Do you know how each of the four players in the presidential election stand on the issues? In the past few weeks, has your understanding of their standing been increased or not?<br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8blGUxntLerUZtAuIfe7eb0Zvwf5O0p8JZ-igUJzDbWQUulFgEHVYYxVrcARxD8hqHcPJPe33hTbjtBUAsP8NOob-RxAYTavP2HqXyQWH86R69PjU4dKpKKz_cLS63Yav49JxfA/s1600-h/capt_b9bd8c072fdd4d8da8a10d013c9fe226_aptopix_france_fashion_meu110.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5253242521334930722" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8blGUxntLerUZtAuIfe7eb0Zvwf5O0p8JZ-igUJzDbWQUulFgEHVYYxVrcARxD8hqHcPJPe33hTbjtBUAsP8NOob-RxAYTavP2HqXyQWH86R69PjU4dKpKKz_cLS63Yav49JxfA/s320/capt_b9bd8c072fdd4d8da8a10d013c9fe226_aptopix_france_fashion_meu110.jpg" border="0" /></a></div><br />I know for me I have learned next to nothing in all the speeches and debates. The candidates know that being specific can cause them to lose voters. Obama especially has been playing fast and light with the issues, saying just enough to make me think he thinks like I do. When I look at his record, I see a die-hard liberal who votes the party line almost always. When I hear him talk, he is mister mainstream.<br /><br />But this election is not about issues. In fact, there has been precious little about issues in the media coverage. Whether its Chris Matthews getting a thrill up his leg for Obama, or Sean Hannity throwing softball pitches at Palin, this election is turing into the People's Choice awards.<br /><br />As a diehard moderate, I always feel like an outsider to both parties. But this year it is extreme. The campaign--the longest ever in history I believe--has given us nothing but play-by-play pundits, gotcha questioners, and dances with Ellen. Each candidate has figured out that issues don't matter, even as they say that what we really want to know is the issues.<br /><br />This is the Entertainment Tonight Election, and I have no clue what either ticket will do or not do for the country. Will Obama push forward with half a trillion dollars of health care reform after we just gave 700B to the financial bailout? Will McCain do anything different than Bush on the war? What will either candidate do to stop global warming? When you parse the speeches, there is little there. No specifics, no plans deeper than bullet points. If I am wrong and there are specifics, please respond with the links.<br /><br />The media has not done their job. Coverage has been almost entirely about the "phenomenon" of Obama, and more recently Palin. The mainstream media falls over itself to make Obama look good. Foxnews (and to a lesser extent than normal, talk radio) have given McCain the same treatement. No one has really given a rundown of the issues, nor have they challenged the candidates into giving specifics. It has been all about the horse race. Who is up today. Will x get a bounce from the convention? What is the Palin factor? What about the elderly white woman vote? Will there be race riots if Obama loses this fall?<br /><br />Crap. It is all crap. We are in a war. Our air is poisoned and our planet is warming. Banks are folding hours after we find out they are in trouble. Russia is selling their nuclear bomber to Chavez, and Iran is laughing at the IAEA. Talk is no longer "if" we will have a recession, but how bad it will be.<br /><br />And we don't know anything significant about how McCain or Obama will deal with the issues. Both are worthless in economics. The only reason Obama is leading on this issue is because people don't think: dems are better at economy, reps are better at foreign policy. The old stereotype.<br /><br />I will vote. Though I voted for Bush twice and really like McCain in 2000, I am having a hard time this year. Obama is a rock star, and I don't vote for rock stars (and I live in CA, we had that opportunity not too long ago). McCAin is a war hero and moderate, or was. Now I can't tell. Both are pretending to be something they aren't, to get elected, and I'm not sure who they are.<br /><br />Given what I have seen of politics lately, there is only one thing I think we can be sure of:<br /><br />We're Screwed.Jim Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16810363258669954062noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8504779.post-18141105633079985442008-09-26T12:03:00.000-07:002008-09-26T12:25:32.238-07:00The Coming Disasteror Why You Should Stop Worrying and Learn to Love the Bailout.<br /><br />I was listening to an old recording of Frederich Pohl and Isaac Asimov, and Pohl said something that I think applies to this discussion. He said (paraphrasing) that the world of the future, as seen by us today, will be a disaster. The transformation to the disaster will be slow and the changes will be accommodated, such that those living in the future will not see it as a disaster. Their main concern was overpopulation but I think this is true of any gradual change.<br /><br />I will plead ignorance to the financial problems whose solutions are way over my pay grade (pun intended). I have a sharp pain in the place where I keep my fiscal conservatism right now. On one had, the pols are saying that a bailout is required to stop a crash leading to a long recession. On the other hand, bu-bye free market controls if bad decisions by the market can be fixed by Mommy (gov) and a can of Bactine (bailout).<br /><br />All I know is that Warren Buffett, the one capitalist with enough street cred for me to believe right now, says the bailout is needed. So I guess I'll take some pain meds and wait and hope. The whole situation really pisses me off, though. I hate having solutions forced down my throat because the options are worse, especially when the problem could have been avoided.<br /><br />Maybe what we need, once all the pieces are put back together, is a more heavily regulated financial environment, with ALL the regulation geared at making the playing field even and transparent. The reason I have been against regulation in the past is that they become tools for the pols in power, pushing the ideology of the time, with regulations fluctuating with the political winds. That kind of regulation is all drag.<br /><br />Regulation should be like the referee in a basketball game (well, the non-corrupt referee, if they still exist).<br /><br /><a href="http://www.the-brights.net/forums/forum/index.php?showtopic=8921&st=15">I first posted this on the Brights Forums.</a>Jim Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16810363258669954062noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8504779.post-90514774770702550852008-09-18T14:18:00.000-07:002008-09-18T14:25:31.449-07:00Palin Needs Some New Cue CardsIf I hear Governer Palin say "We said thanks but no thanks for the Bridge to Nowhere..." I'm going to vote libertarian this November.<br /><br />I have complained all year about Obama's empty rhetoric. Now we have Palin taking the Obama style one further. Not only is her rhetoric empty, it is the same speech over and over. Not just talking points (which both sides love to push incessantly) but the <strong>same damn speech</strong>.<br /><br />It was a great speech. But the minute she gave the speech again, it lost all its lustre. If she can't be trusted to say more than one speech in a month, then how is she going to be able to handle the presidency.<br /><br />I don't know enough about here to vote against McCain because of her, but whoever is planning Palins events should be tarred and feathered, then run out on a rail.<br /><br />I want a press conference. I want to see her handle the full blunt attack of the press that is almost unanimous against her. I want to see her admit to what she doesn't know, intelligently and humbly, and expound upon her strengths. Because every attack on her experience after such a show would be an attack on Obama, whose only real experience is that he has campaigned for 2 of his 3 years as Senator.<br /><br />Oh, and everyone with an IQ over 10 knows that Obama didn't call Palin a pig. If they think we are buying that, they need to smoke better stuff.Jim Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16810363258669954062noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8504779.post-56874788311378004082008-09-10T15:11:00.000-07:002008-09-10T15:29:26.775-07:00Some Advice for the McCain-Palin Campaign...because you know they want my opinion.<br /><br />First, let me state my current political position: I am leaning toward McCain but am not decided. Obama hasn't won me over, and unless he starts getting specific will go the way of Kerry and Gore (I didn't want to vote for Bush twice, but I did because of their empty rhetoric). But the McCain that I voted for in the CA primary in 2000 is not the McCain of today, and I am not going ga-ga over Palin they way the Nutroots is over Obama.<br /><br />I am an independant waiting to be won.<br /><br />So, back to my advice for McCain. <br /><br />I listened to the Palin's speech live on NPR and wow, it was great. It beat Biden's speech by miles and IMO beat even Obama's. Still, it was a speech. She passed test #1: she didn't fold in her coming out party. Still, what I have seen since then is depressing.<br /><br />Like when someone tells a good joke and gets a great laugh, then goes on to tell the same joke for the next week expecting everyone to laugh just as hard, Palin has been doing almost nothing but her convention speech. What is up with that? Maybe that RNC speechwriter took a vacation. <br /><br />Speeches don't win elections. Debates do, and real interviews. Palin is scheduled to go on ABC this week, but she should be lined up after that. I want to see her on Face the Nation, Meet the Press, The O'Reily Factor, Larry King (well, not Larry; we need hard interviews). She needs to suprise everyone and hold a press conference, then let the questions go for an hour. In short, she needs to prove to us that she can handle the media. <br /><br />So far the only qualification that Obama has that Palin doesn't is that he has proved to be a good campaigner. In fact that seems to be the Obama-Biden talking point answer to the comparison between his and Palin's experience. And it has some merit. He has run an excellent campaign, beating the heavyweight tagteam Clintons in their best event (campaigning of course). His fund raising and primary skill show a level of tactics worthy of Karl Rove. But other than that, he is a lightweight whose main claim to fame is that he was against the war in Iraq back when he had no real say in the matter (unlike McCain, Biden, Kerry, and both Clintons).<br /><br />Yet in their overconfidence the progressives are going full tilt at smearing Palin. If she is the lipsticked Pitbull conservatives are making her out to be, where is she? Why are her speeches so obviously retreads. Why haven't we seen any unscripted moments? The answer may be that she isn't ready. And if she isn't able to handle the campaign/media/press conferences, she should not be one heartbeat away from the president.<br /><br />From the little I've seen, I think she can handle herself. They should take off the muzzle and let her go. That is what a VP candidate is for: attack dog.<br /><br />With lipsick.Jim Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16810363258669954062noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8504779.post-50181353398410932372008-08-14T13:17:00.000-07:002008-08-14T13:20:20.633-07:00Happy Blue-Footed Booby Day!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlFcqcAknLbKI7kzPXLrIyrrhTYtARD6b8BqZFtjXmXCnX1hfOsM9anLR70QSxUgJD09Tyt-WAwSRxUxaKI343GKdUHRXPMYY4Jn6w68sSCRqEuqWHAd-b0u0yVykeUyAbzYI3Dw/s1600-h/shutterstock_304958.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5234470507396024338" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlFcqcAknLbKI7kzPXLrIyrrhTYtARD6b8BqZFtjXmXCnX1hfOsM9anLR70QSxUgJD09Tyt-WAwSRxUxaKI343GKdUHRXPMYY4Jn6w68sSCRqEuqWHAd-b0u0yVykeUyAbzYI3Dw/s320/shutterstock_304958.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div>Sunday, August 17 is <strong>Blue-Footed Booby Day</strong>.</div><div> </div><div>If I don't hear at least one person come up to me and say, "Happy Blue-footed Booby day" I will be upset.</div>Jim Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16810363258669954062noreply@blogger.com0