Apple = Lemon

A year and a half ago I placed high in a bowling tournament and got enough cash to buy an Ipod. What I bought was an Ipod 40gig clickwheel. Since the day it arrived it has been a complete problem child, and knowing what I know now I would be very hisitant to buy another one in the future.

I am a PC user, though according to the Apple propaganda this should not be an issue. I use my ipod heavily--when it is working--listening to very large audiobooks and leaving it running for hours at at time. Still, this should not matter. I keep it well protected, the battery well charged, and it gets better care than my laptop. Still, I have sent it to Apple 2 times now and just ordered the box for time number 3. All for the same problem: hard drive failure. In fact the Ipod I have now that just crashed on me is one that I got as a replacement only a couple weeks ago.

Apple touts itself as a crash-proof manufacturer. Don't believe it. They have a lemon in the 40gig clickwheel, they have to know it, and even their tech support aren't allowed to admit that it is a design failure. According to this study the 40gig clickwheel has almost a 30% fail rate, with some reported problems being repitious. Notice that they no longer put out a 40gig version.

I paid the extra $60 for the Applecare plan, which is going to buy me another year of replacement Ipods, but I fully expect them to fail one after another until Apple gives me the finger and refuses to replace it anymore (this Feb).

...and when that day comes the odds of me buying another Apple product are slim to none.

Politics: The State of Bias

The nation is polarized.

You hear this so much these days. Democrats will blame Bush for this, or Fox News, or some conservative bombthrowers that appear on AM radio. Republicans blamed Clinton for the same thing a few years ago, the media, special interest groups like Moveon.org. Democrats blame the war and Bush's unwillingness to get international approval before acting on foreign policy (read: Iraq). Republicans point to ... hell it doesn't really matter. It's all the same bullshit.

Here is the scoop, so listen good. The nation is polarized because YOU make it that way. Polarization goes both ways, by definition. Saying the other side is polarizing the debate is like blaming your children for not calling you that often: the phone lines go both ways.

The hard and true fact is that politics in America is polarized because people LIKE IT THAT WAY. Politics is the new fan-based sports entertainment. Who would want to go to a football game and agree. That is not the american way. We fight. We boo the bad calls the ump makes against our team and cheer the bad calls the ump makes in our favor. If there happens to be a bench-clearing brawl, we stand up and cheer and then blame the other team for starting it. Same thing with politics, we just put on fake aires and pretend to be thoughtfull about it all.

If you are on the left, you think that the right are dim-witted foggy-eyed corrupt jerks who think that waving an american flag and a cross is all the thinking necessary. You read the papers, especially LA and NY times op ed, you think that Air America is a great idea, agree that Cindy Sheehan is the only one qualified to have an opinon on the Iraq war, and you probably paid to see Farehneit 9/11 in the theatres. You have lots of opinions about Fox News, but you have never really watched it, and you can quote lots of bad things about the Oreily Factor, another show you have never seen. The only AM radio you can stomach is Air America, if you can get it. You get the Moveon.org newletter, and your mailbox is filled with campaign fundraising mail from liberal causes.

If you are on the right, you think that the left is trying to take God out of the nation and replace it with a loose set of athiestic morals. You blame the Media for a lot of this, even though the only media you really get consists of Fox News and various AM Radio programs. You have lots of opinions about the NY times, something you have never read, hate that guy Michael Moore and his pet Cindy Sheehan, though you didn't see Farenheit 9/11 except the clips they showed on the Oreily Factor.

If you are a moderate you feel like a lonely person at a football game with two teams you dislike equally.

I really hope you don't fit either of my stereotypes above. But look into your behaviors and see the facts. When was the last time you spent the time to thoroughly read through something that you disagreed with? Even if you don't claim to be a liberal or conservative, where do you get your news, and do you think that "your" choices are unbiased? I sumbit that all the news out there is biased, and if that you think you are getting both sides from one organization you are fooling yourself.

I have tried hard to break out of this mold. I try to have political discussions with people that disagree with me about religion and politics. Because of this I have few of these discussions; people don't like to talk about stuff like that and think its rude. People that do talk about it tend to be convinced believers, and are as fun to talk to as missionaries that knock on your door at 9am Saturday mornings. But I try, and some of my friends, even the extremist believers, tend to at least try to talk. They all (both the right and the left) think I am whatever they are not. That is the way it goes when you are a professional contrarian like me. But at the end of each discussion I have learned something, and so have they, even if it is only more ammunition for their cause.

Politics is trench warfare in America because we have made it that way. It is unpolite to talk about religion or politics because we are all fans, and the only polite way to deal with a fan is to be a fan too.

• We get all our information from sources that have a bias we agree with
• We consider our point of view fundementally more intellectual or morally superior than the opposing side
• We carry strong opinions of the other side with little or no accurate information about what they really believe
• We are comfortable

Next time you hear someone say that so-and-so is a polarizing figure, think about it and try to work out who is really being the polarizer.

It goes both ways.

My First Time

Well, after about 25 years of writing, I have finally had the guts to make an offical submission of one of my stories to a literary magazine. I know this may sound silly, but for some reason I have never had the balls to take this step with any of my stories or poems. Well, when it comes to my poems there is good reason: they suck hard. But some of my writing is not all that bad.

My goal is to be an author and not just a writer. Writing is something you are, like being white or being straight--you can't do anything about it. I write because not writing is harder. But attempting to write well has taken something that I have very little of: discipline. I am one lazy bastard when it comes to the hard work of getting my stories polished up enough to let them out of the house.

The story I am currently trying to sell is "Cowboy Up," which some of you may have read in a previous version. I have more projects in the works and am trying hard to start getting paid for writing so I don't have to get a real job. This way I can be lazy and successful at the same time.

Wish me luck!

Update from the Duncan Clan

Here is some news from our house. Like most of my thoughts, it is a hodpodge of random tidbits of trivia that I find extremely important, and you probably won't. But you are the one reading it, so get a life.

I am now a Grandfather

Well, technically I won't be one for a few more months, but James is pregnant. He is currently engaged to a woman named Deanna and is helping to raise her 3yo boy named Donovan (I am sure I mispelled both of those names). We went up to see them in San Jose earlier this month, and they came down last week to visit.

It was a little sureal. So there I was with a little three-year-old on my lap, trying to figure out what my name was. Am I Grandpa or Papa or Nano, or just plain Jim? It was something of a crisis for me. I settled on Nano, which carries on a "Susan's family" tradition, since my family really has few traditions to speak of. Deanna is due in February of next year with James' progeny, which will make the whole Nano thing official for me.

Sticking with the strange qwerkiness of my family, everyone has chosen a strange name to be called. There will be precious few "Aunts" and "Uncles." Don't ask me who is who--I honestly have no clue and have to ask them constantly--but there is a Lala, a Nini, and I think a Tia or Shala thrown in for good measure. Susan is of course Nani, which made it an easier choice for me to be Nano. The murder of the Italian language goes on unabated in our family it seems.

James is doing well. He got his HS diploma (not GED), has enrolled in a local SJ community college, is on the football team as a defensive lineman, has his driver's license and a job. After achieving all of that in the space of a few months, hearing "oh, and we are having a baby" seemed to be anticlimactic. He has a tatoo on his ankle that says "Sobriety" and a date. I think this is the turnaround we have been waiting for as he seems to have decided to grow up all at once. Donovan and the new baby will finish that job for certain; it sure worked for me.

He and Deanna are engaged and plan to get married this September in a very small ceremony, with the big wedding ceremony planned next year when they can afford it.

Susan Quits her job

Finally tiring of her status as wipping-girl for the Case Management team, Susan gave her bosses the bird and handed in her resignation letter. It took her a lot of effort and guts to do it, but she was finally out from under the fat thumb of The Man (who in this case happens to be a woman, go figger).

... at least for a few days.

The Man didn't want her to leave, so he made her an offer she couldn't refuse. She is still working at the same place but under vastly different working arrangements, making her a lot like Michael Corleone: she tries to get out but they pull her back in. She is officially The Woman, now.

The Simpons in the Castle Club?

There is an episode of the Simpons where Marge says "...that night we joined the Castle Club." What I want to know is this: who let them in? I thought that required a point-of-order vote from the permanent members! Anyways, it was the episode where she and Homer get down and sloppy in a miniature golf course castle. Still, our club seems to be growing.

I was going to say that I saw a scene inspired by the Castle in a movie, but for the life of me I can't remember which movie it was. There is a mountain road with a long tunnel and a bridge that is the Castle bridge, except it is right in front of a large waterfall. Anyways, all of you Castle Club Members (at least the old ones who have actually been there) will know it when you see it. When my senior moment passes and I remember which movie we are in, I'll repost.

I am really earning my "Nano" title. If this is senility, I think I'll enjoy it.


Take care!

Jim

Does Anyone Even Listen to this Guy?

Pat Robinson has done it again. In his never-ending battle to get bad publicity for himself, he has continued his brazen practice of one-upmanship with his nearest reactionary competitor: himself.

Here is a link sent to me by a reader of this blog (the reader?): http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10728347/

The significant remark:

Sharon “was dividing God’s land and I would say woe unto any prime minister of Israel who takes a similar course to appease the EU (European Union), the United Nations, or the United States of America,” Robertson said.

So, here is a tally of Good-ole Pat's recent remarks:

• He implied that God struck down Israeli president Sheron with stroke because of Sheron's unilateral peace policies with Palestine
  
• He called for the American-sponsored assassination of Hugo Chavez, president of Venezuala
  
• He called for a meteor to hit Florida because Disneyworld had a Gay Day
• He suggested it would be poetic justice if a nuke would be tested out on the State Department building

I know people out there watch this guy, listen to this guy, even revere this guy. This scares me more than the Taliban or Osama ever could. Stuff like this is not fit for print in America. Their paying audience should universally shun people like Pat Robinson If Christians can't police themselves and show a unified front against bigots like Pat Robinson, then woe unto them.

But maybe I'm wrong? Maybe there is a strong section of the USA that believes his crap?

Okay, now I'm really scared.

NaNoWriMo 2005

Here is my commitment. I'll be doing it this year one way or another (though I think I said that last year).

What is NaNoWriMo? Simply put, it is 50,000 words (~175 pages) of a novel that is begun November 1 and ends November 30. I have a few ideas of what I will be writing, including perhaps a second attempt (from the beginning) on my last year project (which crashed and burned in week 2).

Once I start writing I will probably have no time for revision; revision traditionally starts December 1. But if the opening chapters are not too horrible, I may revise them enough to post online here or in a blog made for that purpose.

The novel will be either Horror, Fantasy, Sci-fi, or more likely something that spans two of these genres. I will not be the great american novel. But if you like dark fantasy or speculative fiction, then maybe you'll be interested. If you are an editor or publisher, then just know that everything about me is up for sale :-)

So here is the first step!

Only 50,000 words left. I'm almost there!

Jim

Everything I Needed to Know I learned from Pat Robinson

On the Monday edition of the 700 Club (a Christain talk show) Pat Robinson made the following comments about Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez:

"If he thinks we're trying to assassinate him, I think we really ought to go ahead and do it."

We don't need another $200 billion war to get rid of one, you know, strong-arm dictator. It's a whole lot easier to have some of the covert operatives do the job and then get it over with.

"We have the ability to take him out, and I think the time has come that we exercise that ability."

This is not spin, they are direct quotes. They are not an out-of-context but the theme of his larger statement (which you can watch for yourself on the CNN website here). When I first heard about this quote, I didn't believe it. But after listening to his statement a few times--and coming to grips with its inner truths--here is what I have learned:


1. Thou shalt not commit murder applies to everyone, so long as you are not a commie and/or a Muslim Extremist.

2. Political assasination is a valid and moral form of politics according to mainstream popular Christian thought.

3. What Would Jesus Do? Assasinate commies to save the money of a war.

4. All that talk of turning the other cheek in the Holy Bible was meant to be taken figuratively, as is the sixth commandment.


Okay... enough of that. I really only learned one thing from that statement by Pat Robinson:

Pat Robinson is the biggest hipocrit in American Christian Politics. He should resign in shame and spend his life in repentance to save his soul.

People like this make Americans look like idiots. Osama is laughing his ass off and pointing at the TV, saying "See, I told you!" In fact, what Pat Robinson said is so similar to the things that Osama says in his speeches that I am still geeking out about it. Osama says that Americans should die for who they are: infidel imperialists. Pat Robinson says that Chavez should die for what he is: a communist supporter of muslim extremism. I might add that Chavez was elected by his nation (though under the cloud of fixed elections).

I am not defending Chavez. If he died today, I would not cry. To say he is a threat to the US and the region in general is not overstating the problem. Chavez is a dictator in the style of Castro and Kim Jong-il, and under his leadership we can expect in his country the kind of prosperity we see in Cuba and North Korea. His country sits on a third of the world's oil, which could have a tremendous effect on world economies, a power I don't think is safe in his hands. I want him out. I find it hard to believe any free-minded person in America would support his tenure, but calling for his assassination by the US is so stupid as to be absurd.

Other thinks Pat Robinson has said:

• He called for a meator to hit Florida because Disneyworld had a Gay Day.
• He suggested it would be poetic justice if a nuke would be tested out on the State Department building
  

If Robinson was an elected official he would be driven out on a rail. But he is only a very prominant Christian evangelist politician/preacher who failed miserably in national politics (thankfully). It is up to those that he has supported in the past (read: Bush) to tear him a new one and put him in his place. That place must be absolute political isolation, the kind we give to KKK members.

Pat Robinson is lucky enough to live in a country where his right to be an abject asshole on national TV is protected by the constitution. It is incumbant on the rest of us to show him just how much we appreciate his opinions. In the American discourse on politics statements like this cannot be allowed to represent us, no matter if you are conservative, moderate, or liberal. This kind of speech is unamerican.

What is the difference between an extremist arab calling for the death of americans and an extremist Christian calling for the death of Chavez?

Answer: not a whole hell of a lot.

I will be carefully watching the responses from those in America who call themselves religious. How they react to this kind of terrorist-like statement will massively modify my opinion of them. Anyone backing up this kind of statement deserves to be pushed off the political bus.

Class of 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011...

School starts next week and I can't wait.

I am beginning to think that I will be a perpetual student. I don't mean that in a trite way ("I will never graduate") or in a philosphical way ("I will always be learning as I grow old in this world of ours"), but rather I really will be in one school or another for the rest of my life, by choice and for fun.

I graduate this Winter with my BA in English Writing (that should get me a job about as fast as Darren's philosphy degree) and will be going on for my Masters in the Spring. I will be teaching as a substitute in the AV next year, assuming they will accept a non-credential degree. One of my goals is to be a college professor, but while I work that out I may be going back to undergrad work and completing my credential classes to get my English Specialist (whatever that is) rank so I can teach middle- and Highschool English and Language Arts while working on my Masters. Happy happy joy joy.

What I really need to do is to sell a series of novels and become a world famous author. Then I can get lots of honorary degrees for speaking at graduations.

But even as I write this I am thinking about what my "second" degree will be in. Perhaps history, anthropology, photography (they offer that?) or some science. I would make a great theoretical physicist if it didn't include mathmatics. I really hate math, but there I am listening to KITP lectures on superstring theory and particle physics (not understanding most of it except as general concepts), and hating math is one of those things that kind of precludes a career as the next Stephen Hawking. BTW, the Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics is a great site. They have all their lectures, workshops, and discussions recorded in Realmedia. Hawking seems to present there at least once a year, and some of them are actually understandable by novice fans of physics and astronomy like myself. If you have an interest in the state of particle physics, superstring theory, M-theory, or just want to be taken down a notch on the pride scale, listen in.

Perhaps I will go for my PhD in English. It is kind of premature to think about that, but as I am already conteplating another discipline, well, maybe not.

Griffin was pretty surprised when I told him that I had already read my Astronomy textbook for the class that starts in two weeks. In fact, I will probably have the books assigned by all my professors for the Fall schedule read once through before classes start. During the Summer I have listened to eight complete classes-on-tape (well MP3) on subjects that are similar to my schedule (e.g. A 40 hour course in Astronomy, The Civil War: a Narrative, A couple pop history courses with titles like "everything you learned in highschool is wrong" and stuff like that).

So, I am here to report that my OCD is doing just fine, thanks.

I should be putting up a couple smallish sci-fi stories that I have written and do not plan to sell, so stay tuned.

The State of Jim et al

I 'spose it's time to start actually blogging on my blog, so this can be my first attempt at living up to the title, though I am pretty much convinced that no one but me ever reads this stuff. So I guess spilling my guts to the whole world is still rather private.

The State of Jim:

I start my last undergraduate semester at CSUNorthridge in a few weeks. The class schedule looks like this: Senior Seminar in Narrative Writing, Issues in Astronomy (yeah, I know, but it's GE credit), Folklore, and my last class at AVC which will be an American history class. Oh, and I squeezed in a photography class, just because I want to take a class that can't help me at all toward my degree.

I wonder if the history class (colonization to cival war) will be a long thesis statement on why the war in Iraq is bad, like the last one I took there...here's hoping. I can use a good fight. I wonder if I will have any Marxist professors this year. Last semester I had two, and even though I was the most royal pain in their supersanctimonious asses, they are the only ones I still want to talk to now that the semester is over. I wonder if every cute college girl that I make friends with this year will call me "sir" and treat me like their bald eccentric Uncle Jim.

Growing up sucks. Even dressing for college has been a challenge. Do I dress stylish to fit in? No way. The poser thing is not my style. Do I go in jeans, polo shirt and a Nascar hat? I have to admit it is kinda fun being the token redneck in a class of bleading-head liberals, the "white boy" representative in ethnic discussions, and of course the one that was losing his virginity when the rest of the school was still in training pants. So far I have been older than two professors, both who were doctors.

I wonder if I will get published this year. If that happens it will be the first New Years resolution I have completed since, um, ever.

I should start my Master's in English Writing in the Spring. My Master's Thesis will likely be a novel, but I guess I have to get into the program first before worrying too much about that. I am applying to be a Teaching Assistant as well, just so I can say I have a job if anyone asks. One day I may even be a college professor. Professor Jim. Hmm.

For some strange reason I am still holding out hope that I will be able to make a living as a freelance writer and not have to go back to writing Client Order Fulfillment Process manuals for some IT Service Industry company again. But I think I hear the wage-slave chains clanking. Getting published is hard. Too damn hard.

I finished the new Harry Potter book less than twelve hours after it was released to the public. That is right, I have no life.

I wanna be a hippie. But once they see me up close I think they'll just laugh and ask me what the hell I am thinking. Sigh.

The Rest of the Family

Jessica is almost thirteen, wearing a bra that is too big for me to deal (though not nearly as big as Susan was at her age, so there is hope), and is now on both her middle-school and the local all-star cheer squads. She can almost do her back handspring, and is currently in flyer class. She is on chapter 3 of the new Harry Potter Book.

Griffin is twleve and is talking about joining the junior marines in September. We'll see about that; his two year stint in football didn't go that well, but I am not going to tell him no. He is on chapter 5 of the new Harry Potter book. He reads about a 500 page book a month. Anyone who badmouths J. K. Rowling for being trendy can kiss my ass; she has done more for kids reading than all the RIF busses put together, and Griffin is living proof. He is a reading machine all because of Harry Potter books.

James is seventeen and is currently in a private school/group home in Petaluma, CA. It has been very rocky with him this year, but he seems to be on the path again; we are trying to be positive and he is giving us reasons to be lately. He has not tried to kill himself since Februrary. I don't think he reads books outside of school.

Susan is working too much because I am not. She is as energetic as ever but burning out. She is almost done with the Harry Potter book. She is looking forward to Darren's wedding at Burning Man, which is giving her the iron-clad reason to go that we just haven't had before. One way or another we will be there for it. She is, of course, as sexy as ever.

Chewy still sleeps under our waterbed (which is annoying as hell) and Mouse (our cat) still won't let anyone but me near her. I understand dogs but have no clue about cats, still. Perhaps Connie can fill me in. Or maybe it is just a chick thing and I am out of my depth.

I would post some short-short stories here if I thought anyone would actually read them. There is no reason to do it if no one but me cares, though. I mean, I HAVE to read them!

Anyways, that is me and mine. Give me a call or email if you want to chat. Until then, I'll be off in a corner muttering to myself.

Jim

April 24 is Worldwide Pinhole Photography day

So there I was in the bathtub, thinking about photography (yeah, I know) and suddenly I decided to start exploring pinhole photography. Below are a couple links that I found (after I got out; no I do NOT take the laptop into the tub with me). Anyways, I am currently looking at making a pinhole camera or two and working on a set of pinhole shots. Some of the possibilies are amazing, and it is probably the cheapest way to make a photo.

Worldwide Pinhole Photography Day - obviously

The Pinhole Gallery - A good all-around site for info and great examples of pinhole work.

Pinhole Resource - Great all-around site for info, charts, etc. They also make and sell a number of pinhole cameras (like the de Vinci models) and even 35mm camera body caps for pinhole photography on your high-tech SLR--gotta love the poetry in that. This site is great for the technical details, such as hole size to focal length to exposure time.

Kodak Site: How To Make a Pinhole Camera - Some useful info from Kodak

Photo.net article on pinhole photography - A very good history and how-to on pinhole photography.

I'm making my first camera now, and will post what I make here by the day :) Maybe a trip to 165th street East to do an hommage to that famouse photomosaic "Pearblossom Highway" that is in the Getty. Something with gravesites too. Hmm. The possibilities are endless.

An Original Sketch - Number Four

(The following is a sketch from a collection I am currently working on. It is pretty harsh, so if you don't like that sort of thing I wouldn't read on. )


Number Four

They pushed the fucker blindfolded into the hall. He was brown and naked except for these butt-huggers that were bright white. White like snow white. They were God-bless-America Fruit of the Looms, and I remember how white they were on the fucker's dirty brown skin.

He knew what he had done. There was no doubt. Blew away three marines at close range with an RPG. Too bad for him he got caught. So there he was in the hall, all alone and all but naked, and we gave him to Number Four. Don't ask me Number Four's real name because I won't say and that is the way it is going to stay. Number Four was the driver, and too bad for the fucker he didn't get all four.

So they pushed him out and were shouting at him to get down on his knees, but he just stood there like a dumbass. Just stood there in his khaki rag blindfold and those virgin white butt-huggers till someone finally butt-ended him in the kidney and he dropped like a dog to his knees.

Number Four pulls out a .40 and yanks down the blindfold so the fucker could see it. One eye exposed. Big and round, but still saying fuck you if you know what I mean. Fuck you. Showing some balls.

Well, Number Four works the action of the .40 and points it at the guys head. You know that picture someone took in Viet Nam; the one where one guke is discharging his pistol into another kneeling guke's head, execution style, and you see the moment stopped forever still of this poor guke fucker getting his head blow away? It was like that picture, but real life, and no one had a camera.

So Number Four just points it at the fucker's head and then--this is the kicker, because Number Four is crying like a baby, like he is the one on his knees--Number Four says something in Arabic, and the fucker just loses it. I mean, that's it for the balls. He starts pissing himself, crying and begging and it was the sickest thing I have ever heard. No one except maybe Number Four had a clue what he was saying, but I felt it in a way I still can't explain. It was like the sound a puppy makes when it is hurt bad. It was the real shit.

I mean, we knew what he had done. There was no doubt the guy was guilty as shit. Number Four had driven his buddies back to camp, their gutts all over his windshield. The fucker deserved the same. Worse. But no one could speak. Number Four let the .40 drop and just walked away. Just like that. Gone. Leaving us to put the fucker back in his cell and clean up the piss.



***

This is one of a set of sketches I am working on as part of a larger work. It is one of the more graphic ones, so if you are disgusted, well sorry (okay, I'm not really all that sorry). The pieces will not take any clear side, but will try to describe small out-of-context events in a way that can explore something about war, human nature (the good and the bad) and something of the realities of being in combat. As much as one writer who has never been in combat can fathom.

I'll appreciate any comments to what I post. Send me email or just post here.

- Jim

Not a Resolution

This is the time of year when I remind myself that it is just another day, then go about trying to believe it. So, here is the obligatory self-assessment (or at least the parts I plan to post here).

First, my last year’s resolution was to be published, as in "Yes I am a published writer." So perhaps that will be this year’s resolution too. I wrote a lot but didn't submit anything. I have a few things going on right now, and maybe I can break through and get my first rejection letter this year. College this year will force me to write, at least, even if it is things like "Amerindian Issues in American Literature" or something exciting like that. I failed to keep up with the NaNoWriMo thing this year, but I had lots of good excuses. My English Composition class (yeah, I actually had to take one of those) professor forced me to write some experimental essays, which was fun but hard work. I have most of the first "book" of my novel done, but now I actually have to start writing it. In short, I fell way short of my writing goals this year. No book signings this year. Maybe in '05.

Second, I did go back to college (the community variety) and got all A's except for my statistics class (they made me take it, and I got a B after three F's on tests; thank god for "the curve"). In the Spring I get to take a KILLER schedule. Technically I will only be taking 18 units at CSUN and three at AVC, but in reality I may be taking as much as 28 units, if one counts classes I will be taking on audit or "for fun" reasons. I literally skated last semester, so I am cocky going into this next semester. Stay tuned for my "Oh My God What Have I Done" post in the near future.

Third, I promised to write here a few times a week. Well, as with the rest of my public promises, I meant well and performed less than well. So here are some more promises! I will be posting some of my writing as soon as I can figure out how to do it without making it its own post here (maybe a new blog for my novel exerpts). I will try to write more.

Forth, I survived the year without losing any friends (that I know about) to politics. That is saying something, as it was an election year and I have a lot of rather fanatic friends. I was right about the election outcome, wrong about WMD, and end the year still behind the President’s foreign policy. I believe Iraq was a net positive (I can almost hear my friends’ incredulous screams) and that elections will happen in January with limited success. We may still have a civil war there, and to be honest I think that going to that level will actually be a way to end the fighting with less bloodshed, but you will have to guess why I think that. I tried very hard not to vote for Bush this year, actually, and failed. Kerry was such a fake and refused to give me anything at all to stand on, so I went with Bush. Perhaps next election I will have a candidate that I actually believe in enough to volunteer for. One can hope. I end the year as I began, a fiscal and political conservative, but a staunch social liberal. Mostly, though, I remain a devout believer in the credo of the Independent. There is no leap-of-faith in my future to turn me into a Democrat or Republican.

I did have fun in a History class that had the stereotypical agenda-driven professor. I think his whole goal of the year was to convince us that the Iraq war was just like Vietnam. The fact that I passed the class without getting a F for calling him on his lowsy proofs is amazing. I don't mind fanatics, but people with unfounded opinions annoy the hell outa me, doubly so if that person is supposed to be a scholar. I mean, if you go so far as to state an opinion, at least be able to defend it. Sorry, but the fact that you may be a college history professor holds little weight. And to think, now I get to go back to the University department that once told me "you have to be a woman to be a writer." Oh what fun. I will continue to fight for a fair treatement of politics in classes with the famous CSUN writing department feminist agenda. It is like digging a hole in water, but I just can't help myself.

So here is my New Years Resolution: I will try to begin less sentences with the letter I.

Susan, James, Jessica and Griffin all say hi. If you want to feel old, James is 16, Jessica is 12 and Griffin in 11. Susan is [Deleted on the request of a reader]. I am 36.

So how do I end this year? I just learned how to use "izzle" in a sentence. That is something right? No, I don't plan on using that knowledge any time soon.

- Jim

Your Christmas Card

They said there'll be snow at Christmas,
They said there'll be peace on earth,
But instead it just kept on raining,
A veil of tears for the Virgin birth.

I remember one Christmas morning,
The Winter's light and a distant choir,
And the peal of a bell and that Christmas tree smell,
And eyes full of tinsel and fire.

They sold me a dream of Christmas,
They sold me a silent night,
They told me a fairy story,
'Til I believed in the Israelite.

And I believed in Father Christmas,
And I looked to the sky with excited eyes,
Then I woke with a yawn in the first light of dawn,
And I saw him and through his disguise.

I wish you a hopeful Christmas,
I wish you a brave New Year,
All anguish, pain and sadness,
Leave your heart and let your road be clear.

They said there'd be snow at Christmas,
They said there'd be peace on earth,
Hallelujah! Noel!, be it Heaven or Hell,
The Christmas we get, we deserve.


"I believe in Father Christmas" - Greg Lake

Everquest 2 - update

Okay, I am on Crushbone as Dainn and Fidget.

They wouldn't allow Longbottom, saying it is too "naughty." Funny, cuz I got it from a children's book.

Level 9 chanter and running. Fidget is my evil rat (still level 1).

Send me an email once you are in.

jim.h.duncan@gmail.com

Everquest 2 - Server = CRUSHBONE

I will be on Crushbone server. So will most of my friends from EQ1 and SWG. If you want to play with me, and you are going to play EQ2, that is your server.

Hope to see you there. I'll be online asap (tomorrow is earliest, wednesday latest).

Misunderstimated

Well, the Democrats lost big. I predicted that Bush would win, but I underestimated the level of his success and was way off on how it would happen (here is my prediction post). Look at what happened.

• Bush won 51% of the popular vote, most since his father.
• Bush won most of the counties in the US, and took almost all of the South.
• Republicans took five more Senate seats, including ousting the Democratic Minority Leader.
• Republicans took at least three house seats (with three still undecided as of this post)

If this isn't a mandate, I don't know what one looks like.

The Bush-haters and their ilk lost big. The Michael Moore crowd did Kerry a huge disservice, I believe. Bush was the only one running. I still have no clue what Kerry's policies would have been. Kerry dodged interviews and refused to be specific, rather he attacked Bush and pushed his one message of "I will do it better." This was clearly not enough for the American people.

I am now in awe of the poitical genius of Carl Rove. What he accomplished in the 2004 election will be studied in the future. Whether you love him, hate him, or (like me) have no feelings whatsoever toward him or his politics, you have to admit that he has pulled off a masterpiece of a political victory here. Look at the events that I think lead to the surprising win.

1) In 2000, Carl Rove says that there were 4 million Christians that didn't vote. He begins working to get these voters in the 2004 election.

2) Nov. 2003 Massachusetts Supreme Court declares the ban on same sex marriage unconstitutional. State officials begin giving marriage licenses to gay and lesbian couples. Throughout the first few months of 2004, marriages are licensed in Mass. and San Fransisco, and the issue of gay marriage is a national topic of discussion.

3) In response, many State initiatives are submitted to define marriage as the union of a man and a woman. Bush and the Republican-controlled congress make the motions of submitting a change to the US Constitution defining marriage as a union between a man and a woman. Reports that the gay marriage wedge issue may sway the US election begin to appear (example). The religious right is mobilizing for a fight against what they see as the eroding of American values.

4) Republican get out the vote campaigns target churches and religious groups, especially in swing states such as Florida and Ohio.

5) Eleven states have initiatives to ban same-sex marriages (CNN story).

1. These include Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Michigan, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma and Utah. Bush will ultimately win all these states, except Michigan.
   
2. Florida had a similar initiative requiring parental notification for a minor to have an abortion, another issue that would be sure to mobilize the religious right. Bush wins Florida comfortably.
   
3. States in which a cultural issue such as Marriage Protection or Florida's Parental Notification have large turnouts of blacks and hispanic voters. In these contests, Bush gets a higher percentage of these voters than in states without such measures. The percentage of registered Republicans that vote is equal to the percentage of registered Democrats for the first time in many elections.
4. The number one issue for voters in this election according to exit polling is moral values, beating out terrorism, economy and Iraq as main issue. This surprises most political pollwatchers.
   

Get out the vote campaigns on both sides worked across the board. The problem with this for the Democrats is that though more people voted, the percentages of people voting didn't change. Said another way, more of everyone voted. A higher percentage of Republicans voted in 2004 than voted in 2002 or 2000.

The big story here is the Christian right. They were mobilized by an effective campaign including major cultural "moral" issues on the ballots in key swing states. That got them into the voters' booths on Tuesday, and was the main reason for the massive route of the Democrats in this election.

Carl Rove saw the problem in 2000. He found his solution when Mass. judges allowed gay marriage, kindling the firefight over this wedge issue. Rove capitolized on this issue to ensure that his missing four million were enraged enough to get out and vote. They had something to vote for (e.g., marriage initiative) and by-the-way voted for Bush while they were there. Moral Values becomes the number one issue on election day, a sleeper issue that wins Bush the election and gives him more Senators and Congressmen. Kerry didn't take a single state in the South.

The Democrats now have to lick their wounds and try to figure out how to recover from a surprisingly harsh defeat which shows their platforms to be out-of-sync with the mainstream of American values.

NaNoWriMo - Taking the Plunge

50,000 words. One Month. No Problem.

I have decided to take the plunge and try the National Novel Writing Month challenge. This means I will be writing, a lot. My goal is 1500 words a day, so that if I have to study, play soccer dad or have to have another appendectomy, I will still be able to make the novel goal.

The contest starts Nov 1, and that is when I can start writing. It ends Nov. 30, and that is when I party.

I have little idea what my novel will be about, just a couple of characters and a basic outline, some background work, and a choice of genre.

If you are interested, I will be posting my novel in a blog format, which I will link from this one. Please don't judge my writing prowess off of what you read, though. 50,000 words in one month means no revision (or precious little). The revising will all happen in December, assuming what I have is worth revision. We shall see.

Tune in to see my novel take shape. And if you are a writer, don't be a coward. Sign up.

For My Castle Club Friends

On the latest Mitsubishi commercial, you can see a shot of a car crossing "The Bridge." The camera for this shot was obviously placed on "The Castle."

The commercial I am talking about is the one with the car driving down the road lined with people in jumpsuits. You probably already know the one. If not, here is a pic of the people in the jumpsuits.

For those of you that have no clue what the Castle Club is, don't ask. Trust me. :P

Something light, for a dark and raining day. Sunny California my ass.

Who Will You Vote For?

I am almost positive that I will vote for George W. Bush next Tuesday. This does not make me very happy, to be honest, but there is no better choice (read: all the other choices are worse).

Here is my thinking.

Bush screwed up on the Iraq war by not having a real plan for the aftermath. That is plain. I wish he would admit it, because I think most rational people would take him on his word if he did. We know he made a mistake, he knows it, so why he continues to pretend that he didn't make a mistake is beyond me.

Bush had bad intelligence about the WMD in Iraq. Saddam, in his biggest shocker ever, apparently decided to destroy his stockpiles and then pretend he didn't (perhaps to use them still as a deterrant.) Everyone believed he had them. USA, Russia, France, Germany, John Kerry, Hans Blix (yes, I watched Hans Blix say that he belived that there were WMD there, but the evidence of his inspections told him something different). I am not sorry, though, that we went in. Saddam was a cancer on the face of the world and would have been a perpetual threat for as long as we have given him the freedom to do his own thing. He belongs in prison, and I am glad he is there. And, given all the same data, I would support the invasion again. Given hindsight, I would not, but we never will have hindsight in any decision, so that is useless.

Bush has the worst record on environmental policy in the history of the word environmentalism. I agreed with his larger plans, but he has allowed regulation and enforcement of many of the nations environmental policies to undermine them to the point that they are essentially facades of what they had been before he was elected. This is a big deal, and was one of the major reasons why I was considering voting for Kerry. I even wrote the Kerry campaign, asking them to tell me more of his enviromental policy committments, but alas, all that got me was on their email newsletter lists (somehow Moveon.org got my email too, so if you think they are not working together closely, well, there is the proof you are wrong LOL!)

So why am I voting for W?

First, look at Kerry. Kerry is anti-war. Anyone who doesn't believe that is ignorant to his history, or believes his constant retelling of his history. He spoke out against Vietnam vets and the war, calling himself and those he served with warcriminals. This is documented. He threw his medals away (well, not his medals, if you believe his current retelling; they were someone else's medals and he was only pretending.) I don't buy The Swiftboat Veterans for Truth BS, but what I have seen of his post-war activities convinces me that he is no more a warrior anymore than John Lennon. And I wouldn't have voted for Lennon either. Vietnam sapped any will for fight out of Kerry, I guess. The last thing we need, in the face of the only real threat to our way of life that has been upon us since the end of the cold war, is someone who is only pretending to be a warrior. Kerry is pretending. Face it. If he is elected he will pull us out of Iraq, soften our stance against terrorism, and allow it to grow again inside states that he will not interfer with. Afghanistan will happen again, maybe in Sudan, Syria, or of course, Iraq.

I have waited with baited breath for Kerry's Iraq policy. So far I have seen maybe 10,000 words on the subject, and let me summarize it for you. Kerry's position on Iraq is "I will do it better than Bush." That is it. When asked about his policies, he always presents a generality, followed by an attack on the president's record, followed by a statement that is roughly "I will do it better." That is it. If someone can show me some committments that he has made, please, do so.

Getting our "allies" to back us up? BS. Kerry would not have had to get allies to back us up, because he never would have considered invading. We would have continued with the same thing we did under Bush 41 and Clinton: if they go too far we would have used cruise missiles and claimed a minor victory. There is little doubt that France and Germany want Kerry elected. That is obvious. There is also little doubt that France was selling weapons to Iraq during the UN embargo, as well as participating in the corruption of the Oil-for-Food program. If you have not heard about this scandal, stop reading the LA Times or watching CNN for all your news.

The worst thing you can do in the face of terrorism is look weak. Reagan did this by negotiating for the release of the embassy hostages (arms for hostages), and the result was years of more kidnappings in Lebanon, marines getting blown up, etc. When we look weak we get attacked, at least until the USA changes the constitution to adhere to Sharia law. Bush was wiser and did not negotiate, and that ended that crisis--one of the rare victories we have had. Clinton was worthless. He would take action, as long as it involved hurling missiles from ships and not getting dirty. Under Clintons watch, 911 was planned and set in motion. 911 is Clinton's baby, pure and simple.

The fundemental difference is that I think Kerry really believes that terrorism against us is based on our policies. It is not. It is based on our position in the world (we are the strongest, more prosperous, and that breeds jealousy,) and our core belief systems that govern our nation. Terrorists think of us the same way that the judge thought of Bridget Biship in colonial Salam (witch trials). They hate who we are. They don't want us to change. They want us to be gone. And their blindness to the absurtidy of this goal is due to their belief that they have god on their side and cannot lose.

They are a real threat. A dirty bomb = economic recession at best, depression at worst. Their attacks are on our economy and the success of the 911 attack is evidenced in the economica state we are in today. Kerry blames our current economy on the president. That is a joke. If you had to blame a president, it would be Clinton that caused the crash. But that is wrong too. Wall Street over optimism caused the internet bubble to burst, and that drove us into recession. 911 exaserbated that horribly, causing it to drag out so long. Why are we not hiring? Why are so many jobs still lost (mine included) while the recovery is happening and we are no longer technically in a recession? Simple. Businesses are afraid of the next terrorist attack and the cost to their bottom line that will cause.

We will be attacked again. In fact, we can look forward to years of attacks. The question is how bad it will be, and where will those attacks happen. Right now, they are happening in Iraq.

Take away the threat of terrorism, and I vote for Kerry. He is a better peacetime president.

But we are not at peace. Not for a while and not unless we win some major battles against the terrorists, both militarily and economically. Kerry won't win the war on terror, because he won't fight. His words of war are a facade to get elected.

Bush will fight. He will make mistakes doing this, and it will be dirty, but the fight will be on them and not a defensive battle here at home. That is the main reason why he has my vote.

Everquest 2 - UPDATE

Everquest II Ships November 8.

We have no idea what server we will be on, because SOE in their infinite wisdom has decided that they will not announce server names until the day of or before release. We will continue to try to change their mind on this, but that is assuming they will even listen. They think that they can control overcrowding on servers if they do this stunt.

Stay tuned. Once we know, we will tell you.

Dainn the Dumbfounded, level 18 Enchanter, Beta-1