FULL METAL NOVELIST

Seriously? STFU.

This is why we can't have nice things, or let anybody even remotely conservative or libertarian in this country get a fair shake.



[Not even giving this a Bothy as its just that stupid.]

"Splash! NASA moon crash struck lots of water" -- AP

Experts have long suspected there was water on the moon. Confirmation came from data churned up by two NASA spacecraft that intentionally slammed into a lunar crater last month.

"Indeed, yes, we found water. And we didn't find just a little bit. We found a significant amount," said Anthony Colaprete, lead scientist for the mission, holding up a white water bucket for emphasis.

The lunar crash kicked up at least 25 gallons and that's only what scientists could see from the plumes of the impact, Colaprete said.

Some space policy experts say that makes the moon attractive for exploration again. Having an abundance of water would make it easier to set up a base camp for astronauts, supplying drinking water and a key ingredient for rocket fuel.

Say it with me now: WE'RE GOING BACK TO DA MOON, YEAH YEAH YEAH YEAH!

Oh, and can you say "MOON BASE?" I can say "MOON BASE!"

I think this is a fascinating video on what's going wrong with the stock market today. seanr commented with this to a comment I made in libertarianism, suggesting that there were too many people in the stock market and that it was unhealthy. Stephen Molyneux of Free Domain Radio agrees. It even gets leftist at parts, criticizing executives (or at the very least, the executive environment) for their shoddy ethical practices. Of course, he also blames the government for most of this, mainly by creating 401(k) accounts and influencing people to put their money in the stock market. It creates a very mercantilist, corporatist collusion between big business and the government, one that I don't think any sane American would find to be in our best interests.(Then again, whether there are any sane Americans left is another question entirely...)

I had similar thoughts to this for a long time. When I first got interested in mutualism, one of the first things I heard (aside from everyone owns the land) is that there is too much focus on capital and investments and the like, and that its not really a good thing. This is not to say they should be banned (Proudhon in fact came out and said this was never his intent) but just that it was unethical and unhealthy. I felt the same way: when you work in the financial services industry, what are you really doing? What are you making? What are you providing? As far as I can tell, its just a lot of number shuffling, as Molyneux puts it, a "giant shell-game." It's not based in reality and it's total crap when you look at it. It's fake, it's not real economic output. Of course, I never really mentioned this within libertarian circles, because I didn't want to start another pointless turd typhoon, but that's what I feel. I'm still a total fan of the free market and voluntary interaction and against government intervention, yet I feel the stock market--as it is today--is a waste of our money and time, and is not truly beneficial to the economy.

Now I just have Free Domain Radio backing me up on it.

(Now I just want a citation for the poverty comment...)

Just looking at some journalism related stuff and browsed Romenesko, the gossip corner for journalists, and found my way to an interesting message from the publisher of the Cleveland Plain-Dealer on the past historic week. (Apprently there was a lot of news in the local area, including some county-level reform. I don't know the details.) But there was one comment that caught my eye:

With all due respect it would appear that your ego is bigger than your paper. When you limit access or edit out opinions that contrary to your editorial beliefs you send a bigger message than the one that you sent today. Good or bad each of of us has the right to our opinion and the right to be heard.
Control over speech is not an option.

With all due respect, the Plain-Dealer is not required--nor should it be required--to hold every opinion under the sun under its editorial pages. While having other opinions is healthy, is not necessarily good that people (and what is a newspaper but people) be forced to print opinions that run counter to their views. I'm not going to run articles extolling the virtues of communism, here, and a communist blog shouldn't be forced to run an article extolling the virtues of honest capitalism and libertarian political theory.

Respect for diversity in opinion also requires respect for not printing or reading other opinions. That's just how it is. Comments like the above are juvenile and betray little understand of the subject.

There's also a professor at George Washington university taking flack for criticizing John Stossel for having speaking engagements at politically oriented organizations. Now, I'm not happy Stossel went on O'Reilly to discuss this--that show completely lacks in the credibility department--but seriously, we're now calling any journalist who expresses an opinion as "pretty shameful?" Let Prof. Fieldstein recall the early days of American journalism, which was highly partisan and political. And let him also recall that "traditional journalism" has a) failed and b) never meant what he is construing it to mean; the "objectivity" that journalists so strive for was not about balanced viewpoints and not having opinions, but rather that journalism was conducted as per the scientific method, showing how and where journalists got their information. (This was the original definition of journalistic "objectivity" as promulgated by Walter Lippman, back in the 1920s.) And if Fieldstein really cared about this, would he not criticize Barbara Ehrenreich, author of Nickel & Dimed and a prominent magazine writer, for sitting on the board of the Social Democrats of America? I'm fairly certain he wouldn't.

And then there's this column from the Daily Wildcat, a student paper at the University of Arizona, calling out a fraternity for stealing their newspapers. Just...wow. I wish more opinion pages were like that: forceful, but not the raving lunacy of those like Limbaugh & Co, or Olbermann & Maddow and Associates. (And then there's this on college maturity, something that's sorely lacking nowadays. Unfortunately, I feel its a problem also being increasingly shared by adults.)

Finally, Obama backs a federal shield law that would include bloggers. Hmm...I think that's interesting, and something useful. Reporters shouldn't be forced to turn over sources when the government decides to bully them. That would also, possibly, make me a journalist under this law, something I will have to consider carefully.

So just some thoughts on journalism, being a journalism major journalist and all. Oh, and let's just say, if you were to make a newspaper, what would you call it? I'm torn between either the Liberty Bell or the Morning Maverick.

So UHC passed the house. As you can probably imagine, I'm not pleased with it. I think its just another tool to shovel honest people's income to large insurance and pharmaceutical corporations. Dennis Kucinich, one of the most liberal members of Congress, actually echoes my sentiments. Of course, he comes to the completely wrong conclusion, but at least he recognizes that this bill is a piece of crap.

Unlike some commentators, I don't think this will have that much of a problem when it hits the Senate. I'm fairly certain Reid will scrounge together enough Senators to get it passed without too much trouble. There will be hemming and hawing and there will be the media playing it up, but at the end of the day it will just be political theater and the Senate will dutifully pass it and Obama will dutiful sign it like the politician he is.

But I'm not angry at Democrats. Rather, I'm angry at Republicans--and so called "conservatives"--who bowed to people like Rush Limbaugh and O'Rly, who acted immaturely like Joe Wilson, who hijacked honest citizens movements like Dick Armey and Rupert Murdoch, who parroted falsehoods and idiocy like Sarah Palin (although if she didn't she might die of suffocation), and who then contributed to this stupidity by doing nothing but saying "Its bad!" without actually laying out an argument and thus eroding the credibility of the opposition like reality_hammer, mr_bogey, and hunterkirk. And of course, I am extremely upset at the people who utilized free market rhetoric while systematically destroying it and laying the foundation for a new generation to completely run over it while dragging us all towards socialism, like George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, Alan Greenspan, Ben Bernanke, and pretty much every loser, liar, fool, thief, and outright slimeball that was in the Bush Administration and the Republican leadership from 2000-2008 (and in the case of the Republican congressional leaders, 2000-2009.) Of course I disagree with the Democrats. But they're not the ones I'm upset at.

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I've stopped using Google Chrome. It honestly was getting annoying. Whenever I would right click something to put it into a new tab, I would have to click 50 times on the "Open in new tab" button in the context menu to get it to work, and it finally drove me insane. It also lacked any sort of "leechblock" feature like Firefox, which is something I desperately need considering all the time I waste talking to idiots on LJ communities. So I've gone back to Firefox, and have the leechblock add-on set to kick me off the LJ communities after only 30 minutes in every day. (That's just communities, mind you. All personal journals are unblocked.) There are really just two problems I have with Firefox: compared with Chrome, it feels sluggish and unwieldly, making me wait constantly for what seems to me to be simple tasks; and whenever I open up a PDF file, it crashes. I don't know why, but every bloody time I try to open a PDF file in Firefox it just freezes and then goes "kaplunk." Usually I can get around this, but not always; downloading PDF files from JSTOR, for instance, doesn't usually give me a chance unless I weasel my way around. Which is actually why I'm writing this particular entry in IE8. I'm not usually a fan of Internet Exploder, but it really seems to me that this latest child is relatively...okay. Its decent. It works. And that's all I care about.

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BTW, I just want to say I hate Vista. Seriously, every time I try to delete something, open something, install something, uninstall something, save something, or move something, a window pops up and asks, "This program requires permission to continue," "You must be administrator to complete this task," etc. etc. etc. ad nauseum. I'm too stingy to get Windows 7 at the moment...but believe me, I'm thinking about it.

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So I'm relatively close to putting up a new video--and a real one too--on my blog for school, having finally gotten around the stupider points of open-source video software. Still, its going to be a real pain in the butt. It'll be about my visit to Fushimi Inari of course, and hopefully it will come out, if not great, okay.

I also might have gotten my first real lead on this thesis. That I'll keep under wraps for now...

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I really need to go to sleep earlier. No, seriously. I do.

So this off-year election year has been a firestorm, it seems, all in my backyard--or would be my backyard, if I were still in New York.

Just saw two interesting articles about it. I have to run so I can't talk for long, but I wanted to post them here before I forgot. The first is from the Examiner, and is claiming that the 23rd special election in New York is a "political earthquake in progress." Maybe--I doubt it, since the New York Conservative Party does not have much strength outside the state and is largely a New York thing only. Furthermore, such conservative types are losing steam across the country--Hoffman only got big in this election because Scozzfava, the Republican, was fairly left-wing, and because national celebrities decided to weigh in. That's all. (And it seems like Owens, the Democrat, will win anyways, thus making Hoffman and his lot look even more foolish.) But what it says that I find interesting is that candidates will become more important than party lines, and that parties in general will be far less important. Hooray?

The other is a column from the New York Times, praising independents and third parties for their crucial role to democracy. I agree fully (except with the presidency part), and really, really want this two-party system to crumble. Hopefully, more people will run in third parties in the future, and not just billionaire slimeballs like Bloomberg.

Well, just wanted to share. Gotta run and study for a journalism midterm. Ja, mata ne!

So I didn't spend the entire night like I intended, but it was fun anyways. I spent three hours climbing the mountain that is Fushimi Inari, and boy, I was dead tired by the end of it. Hopped on the last train and was shaking because I had absolutely no energy left. (Why wouldn't I? It was all 60 degrees, up hill, both ways.) I'm surprised I didn't fall over before I made it back to the dorm house.

As for Fushimi Inari itself, it was mad awesome. I think its the best thing I've ever done in my life on my own, hands down. The massive torii really scream "sacred grounds" at you, and every so often you feel the need to turn around and check to see if you're being followed. Sometimes, you are--by one of the many cats that inhabit the temple grounds. Honestly, for a temple that worships the god of foxes, it sure has a lot of cats. There's also a lot of stores and tiny restaurants/pubs on the mountain, but they were all closed by the time I got there. And a house. There's a house on that mountain; I still heard the people inside talking around 11pm. I'm sure it was a house, because I don't see why anyone else would have parked their bike next to it. I'm not even sure how they got it up there; it's all stairs up that mountain and there's really no way to get it up there. Maybe its shinto magic. Yeah, that must be it.

I'll have to collect my thoughts and get my video and photos transferred to the computer before I make my official write-up of it. I was thinking, that night was so cool, I might be able to put together a good travel writing article. Dunno who I would sell it to, though; might end up just putting it on the oft-un-updated other blog. If I can have the strength to actually fight the video editing software.

Haven't done much else today, other than spend a few others with a friend downtown (apparently some girls can't shop alone, hmm...) That's okay though; today was definitely a "don't do anything" day. I guess all that's left is to study for a mid-term tomorrow; gotta remember the difference between Kyosai and Hokusai...I think that was their names...

I don't really do Halloween. Haven't for many years. But many of my friends do, so yesterday, the day of the campus Halloween festival, I ended up hanging out with a lot of people and taking pictures and such. One of my friends, Lucas, dressed up as Jack Sparrow, with a very convincing costume, and a very convincing gait. I mean, really, he looked just like Jack Sparrow. Of course, that was because he drank about five or six really strong chuhais and got pretty drunk. He also apparently went to the bathroom during class, threw up, and passed out.

Oh, Halloween and college.

I myself plan on doing something very out of character for myself: spending a night, alone, in a shinto shrine in Kyoto. It's called Fushimi Inari Taisha, and its bound to be a pretty awesome experience. I've already gotten most of my stuff together and plan to hop on the train in a few hours. Hopefully I won't wet my pants while I'm up there, or otherwise be thwarted.

No, really.

I developed some chest pain yesterday, but figured it would be gone by today. When it wasn't, I went to the Center for International Education office on campus and talked to an office worker, who took my temperature (36.1C) and then took me to a local hospital. Unfortunately, even though I got international, worldwide, study abroad health insurance, that hospital wouldn't take it; I would need to pay everything up front for at least the first visit. The hospitals on my plan are either in downtown Osaka or downtown Kyoto, both ~30min away. Annoying--but according to the office worker's superior, its not swine flu, because I don't have a fever. Apparently. I've also been told to wear a mask all day.

Yeah right. This thing is hotter than a cardboard box in Arizona at noon. Screw that.

---

So, your opinions, please: is John Lennon's "Imagine" the worst song of all time? To be honest, the musical qualities are not that good. Johnny's singing ability does not shine in this piece (not that he, as a Beatle, ever had any ability) and listening to his voice really is like boarding the last train for the land of Nod. And the music is quite sparse and, well, uncreative. Dull, even. And then there's the lyrics. I kinda liked this song when I was younger because I was an atheist (still am, sort of) and this was the only mainstream song that "preached" atheism. But the rest of it is just stupid. As the author of the linked review says, "The only response to someone with that kind of judgment is to listen carefully to what he says and then do the exact opposite."

So I'll leave it up to you. Is it the worst song of all time? Personally, I think there are worse songs, but "Imagine" is still pretty dreadful.

Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis: PhD's In Distress and the Unsustainable Cost of Education

Its stuff like this that make me hate college. What is my degree getting me? A BA in Journalism? Nothing, really.

And, of course, my parents (and grandparents) are pressuring me into getting a master's degree. I want to take an MPW at USC or an MFA somewhere, because I realize that any other master's degree would be a waste of time in this economy.

I was just discussing with friedseabass about our worries over getting a job, and how I feel cheated by the education system in this country. I was basically forced to go to college because of public indoctrination about how college was absolutely necessary in order to do anything. Even my economics/government teacher in high school said we had too, because "you have a $50,000 investment and make a million dollars on the return--everyone would be jumping at that investment opportunity." (Very rough paraphrase, there.) Well, no, sorry, that's actually complete bunk. You're only putting yourself into $50,000 in debt at this point, and worse, since most of that would be taken by loans, you're actually going farther as you'll likely be forced to make the minimal payments. (I do remember her saying that "you should college even if you have to take out half a million in loans," or something to that effect. Worst advice ever.) And what's the most insulting is that you don't really learn anything in college, since half the classes seem to be just remedial crap to teach you stuff you should have learned in high school, or at least that's the way it is at my university, which is a public one. Maybe its different at private institutions.

Honestly, just go to a vocational school or better yet, a language school in a different country. Or take internships or apprenticeships. That's the way to go. Four years at a college that charges you around $20,000 a year is not going to help you do diddly squat, and if you have the gumption to go ahead and get a higher degree you're just overqualifying yourself for dozens of other jobs. My friend Casey, who works as a technician at the local Air Force installation and goes to college part-time to get his degree in computer science (and who is developing new IR systems and getting patents for them) tried to get a part-time job at the local Radio Shack by applying for manager, but he was "too qualified" and so didn't get it. What stupid crap is that, yet that is the truth.

I'm going to angle for an internship after college; at this point, its the only thing that seems to have any hope. Either I'll go to Hollywood and get an internship or something like that at a movie company, hopefully in the script department...or I'll go to Cato and wash Mr. Boaz's car.

So now I finally have a Livejournal userpic of my face. I was never comfortable having my face on LJ, mainly because LJ is widely populated with idiots, people of questionable ethical standards, and losers who like to keep stupid grudges. Thanks to Facebook giving me the capability of pretty much keeping out everybody if I want to, other than personal friends, it's easier for me to have my pictures up there. But with this one, I think its safe to say that its okay for Livejournal. And besides...it actually looks pretty badass. As for why the mask in the first place, I'm sick, with what I don't know. In Japan--and this is a very good idea I think every other country should emulate--sick people wear masks to avoid contaminating people around them, or avoid getting infected in the first place. With everyone in this building either sick or coming off a sickness, I think it would just be proper of me to wear a mask and be courteous to everyone, whatever I have.

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So I was stumbling around the Internet today--actually looking for a well-crafted argument against the unfounded "wealth is finite" assertion, and found two interesting articles on Mises: "Why do people vote for Communists?", a thought-provoking piece (well, not in my case, I know it already) on responsibility versus state control, and why so many post-Soviet countries are heading back down that road; and "Bubble Economics: The Illusion of Wealth," another piece which actually doesn't bash the state so much as it just bashes people being morons, and quashes the idea that economic booms are actually a good thing. I'm tempted to put them up on talk_politics and prompt a discussion, but I know that one of two things will happen: A) they will ignored by the majority as they will have no gumption to tackle something that is significantly outside their worldview, and will dismiss it as "fringe;" or B) Instead of actually discussing it, or even using logic to defeat it, they will simple say its apologizing for major corporations and its ruthless libertarian dogma and its against the American people and blah blah blah. It won't be a discussion so much as morons spouting moronic crap without any basis and then ignoring any attempts to explain or disprove. Since I'm tired and focusing on other things, I think I'll pass on that.

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I don't know why, but occasionally, I get these kicks occasionally about running for office or being an activist, which is doubly strange now that I'm in Osaka. But anyways, I get them, and usually, this means I'll go to Amazon and add some books to my wish list.

So much for me having any initiative.

Lately, I've been looking at books such as The Campaign Manager: Running and Winning Local Elections, The Anarchist Cookbook, a similarly titled book which seems to be focused on "direct action" but is rather peaceful, and How to Stage a Military Coup, which I think just looks fascinating. Not that I ever would stage a military coup, but it is something that should be studied, if only to prevent it from happening. I'd rather run for office and see what I could do. Part of me is thinking that, after I return from Japan and graduate, maybe running for county office or even the state Assembly. Taking on that thirty-two term incumbent Destito would be a fine thing to do...

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So apparently, New York State is now going to force residents to change their license plates and buy new ones for $25. There's already a petition site against this. I am not surprised in the least--New York has been drowning in debt for years now, mostly because of a highly dysfunctional legislature but also because of irresponsible lawmakers who figured they could extend the state's services to anyone. Unfortunately, that costs money, and while they've been hiking taxes up, its never been enough, and its resulted in a massive drain as individuals and businesses flee the state. Textbook example of an enlarging state making things worse for everybody: high taxes, no jobs, and now they're squeezing more money from the little guy. Here's a brilliant idea: cut spending! Don't cut taxes right away, but cut spending across the board. Yes, this will mean scaling back safety net programs, but that's for the better, since its difficult for even people not on the dole to feed themselves. Sure, I'm sure some New York City liberals will bitch, but they're the ones who got us into this mess anyways. I don't really care at this point what they say.

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Just saw the LJ announcement email, and they had a list of "Top 10 Responses" to the latest Writer's Block, "What is your biggest fear?" And #10 was: My biggest fear is that I'll run out of popcorn while I watch LJ discussions unfold. Nice to see malasadas getting some fame. ;)

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Tomorrow I'm going to see a presentation by Japanese high school students on their prefecture, which is Mie. One of the parts is going to be on "ghost spots." I'm really interested. Let you know if anything is born from this.

First, I'm just going to lead off with this. YEAAAHHHHH. That's Bothy #105, no kidding, kthxbai. Also, from the same community, gunslnger uses an obscenity. Not something you see everyday. (BTW, something interesting: many of the last few entries have triple-digit comment numbers. Are people actually discussing things again on politicsforum? Nah, can't be...)

Back in Japan, I hath become an idiot. So, here's what happened: I had signed up, sort of, to go with a club that focuses on getting Japanese students and foreigners together to a "dinner party" in downtown Osaka. We were supposed to leave at 6:30pm. At 8:17PM, I realized I was in my dorm room.

YEAAAHHHHHH. So maybe I should get a bothy. In fact, I will. I hereby award myself a bothy for completely forgetting about something I had been looking forward to for a week. And even got an email that day with details. FML.

Today was a bit more interesting. There's a festival going on in the park right next to the dorm (might have ended already) with a flea market, Kamen Rider, music--oh, don't believe me on the Kamen Rider bit, eh?



Okay, so I don't actually have any idea who this guy is. I realize its a short video, but its going to edited and compiled into a (slightly) longer one for use on my other blog, the one where my life is dying and I'm the most useless loser on the planet.

I didn't really get much there--except for two bolts of kimono cloth I intend to send back home to both sides of the family, a cup of karage, which is basically grilled chicken (I think), and a can of "XXXX" imported Australian beer. I went to that particular booth because it had a Guinness sign, but unfortunately, it was the guy advertising his bar, not actually having any Guinness on-site. I know what you're going to say--"Lame," right? Well, it really wasn't. The guy who talked to me, Youhei, had some surprisingly good skills at English, and gave me a ticket for a free pint of Guinness when I went to his bar. Moreover, its not far from my dorm, only one stop beyond the local train station, which is itself only a 20-minute walk away (and far less if you go by bike.) Obviously, the XXXX was awful, but I still kinda liked Guinness from my last experience, so I want to give it a try. I would have bought the Yebisu Creamy Top Stout at the other booth, but I was running low on money and saved a couple of bucks buying Australian. Now I realized I should have just gotten a Mountain Dew. (And if there are any Queenslanders out there, upset that I have impinged the honor of their native drink, well...there's a reason you Aussies call beer "piss.")

Unfortunately, I can't get to work on my blog now, because I have homework and studying to do. Ah, if only I could be in Japan without actually having to do classwork...wait, that's what winter break is for.

So I've been thinking. There needs to be a counterfactual history community on LJ, something dedicated to alternate history. Then we can hash out all these sort of threads.

And while we're on the subject of making new LJ communities, we should have a community for ignostics. We're constantly ignored by both sides of the theological battleground. Not that I would know what we'd talk about, considering our argument is based on the idea that everything is irrelevant and debate is meaningless....

As for what I'm doing right now, I'm watching Pokemon in the kitchen, the honest-to-goodness Japanese language version on TV. And its just as dumb as ever. Only moreso, in that I have no idea what they're actually saying. I mean, seriously, what show in the history of TV has glorified animal cruelty as much as Pokemon?

I also have more or less given up on my thesis. I haven't talked to any reporters or newspaper specialists or done any substantial research, and my other blog hasn't been updated in a week because I can't find stuff to write. I should have never majored in journalism. Although I am planning on going to a club event tomorrow even at the "Party Room" in Nanba, downtown Osaka...I'm sure I could take some pictures of that.

Speaking of cameras, everything here is expensive, and I should definitely have gotten a smaller, more compact camera than the bulky thing I got now. Oh well. Guess I can't do much about that now. (And if I don't stop thinking about this, I'm going to turn into a camera nut.)

I'm just feeling quite depressed lately...maybe I could cheer myself up if I got a Cloud Strife haircut...yeah nevermind.

So last night I watched the first five episodes of Mobile Suit Gundam Wing with my friends in the lounge. I had never watched the series, or any Gundam series for that matter, aside from small snippets. Since I had heard it was such a great show, I was excited. "Now I shall watch some quality anime," I thought. But as it turns out, well...

Gundam Wing sucks.

It may be because we listened to the English dub since we couldn't get subtitles to work, but my god, it is horribly stupid show. None of the plot makes any sense. The combat scenes are completely one-sided; there isn't any fighting, just hack n slash then explosion. I mean, even the Earth military's super elite unit, the Specials, which they tout about their coolness, get ripped to shreds by a punch of Middle Eastern pikers. The dialogue is just purely awful. Most of the main characters are idiots, especially Rowena, who just likes to stand on a cliff and call out for Heero to kill her. The woman pilot, who supposedly goes crazy mad after the Chinese kid kills her beloved trainees, well, she's not believable in any way to me. And the names! Oh dear god the names! Seriously, where the hell do they come up with this crap? None of those names seem to have any basis in reality (except some of the five Gundam pilots.) Even if it were set two hundred years in the future you couldn't get those names, unless everyone decided to just change their names for the hell of it. (Maybe I should start calling myself Pachs Caledoz or something. Or Buttcraft.) But even then, who in their right mind would call themselves Septum? And Zechs? A few characters have come right out and called the guy Lieutenant Sex, so just can't see that as a name ever happening. From everything I have seen so far, there is only one good thing: Duo Maxwell's English dub is excellent. Otherwise, the entire series sucks.

There are some things I like about this show, but they don't really relate to the actual content of the show. The first is simply that it has big robots. The second is the concept of the "metaseries," which is something that I think could be used to great effect in the United States but is not. Third, the animation is decent. Otherwise...its an incredibly dumb show.

I know some people will likely try to hang me for daring to say such negative things about one of the most esteemed anime series in existence, or will castigate me because I only saw a meager five episodes, but really, when it makes me cringe and MST3K the series while I watch it, that's not a good sign.

The only Gundam entry I had seen before was Char's Counterattack, and aside from one really retarded character, it seemed to be a fairly good story. Oh, and I guess we could also say G Gundam, because I saw a few episodes as a kid on the tube, but I never really knew what it was and I don't remember much of it. So maybe there is some good Gundam. I just don't think Gundam Wing is that example.

So I'm thinking about getting out of political discussion on Livejournal. Its just not worth it. There's no point to it anymore; everyone has dug into their positions and no one is willing to change sides or see reason. Not to mention, as a libertarian, you are derided for believing in individual freedom and are labeled things such as a "heartless bastard" with no compassion for the poor people. Like here, I made a post commentating on the impending failure of the Federal Housing Administration. What do I get? "Are there no prisons? Are there no poorhouses?" Honestly, its ridiculous. So I'm thinking of getting out of the political arena, at least in the communities here, and finding other stuff to talk about. Like, my life. College. Looking for a job. Dating (maybe.) And hearing ridiculous comments from people I know.

There is one political comment that I would like to make, though: Obama's Nobel Peace Prize award. Honestly, is this not the most blatantly, transparently political gesture made in the past 50 years? It's worse than when Krugman received the Nobel Prize for Economics. What has Obama done in 9 months--less than a year--to advance world peace? Ummm...nothing. Considering the facts--that Obama has done jack shit since he got in office--then the only reason the Peace Prize was awarded to him was that it was a purely political gesture. It's disgusting, but its what I've come to expect from Stockholm nowadays.

But forget politics. I want to move away from that. What else is there to talk about? Well, on the college front, or more specifically, the thesis front, things blow. I haven't really done anything. Quite frankly, I don't want to. I really overestimated by abilities by suggesting this topic and approach, and now I'm getting screwed in the ass. I feel like I let a lot of people down and misled them, and I hate doing that, but...I don't really want to do this! And I don't really know how to do it anyway. Who am I going to talk to? Japanese newspaper executives? Yeah right. Reporters? Doubtful. People on the street? Why would they talk to me? The whole thing makes me depressed.

Oh, and I'm sick. Right now I have a cinder block for a head. I'm going to go take some money out of the bank and then buy some medicine--which costs around $10 for some simple cold pills. Yuck. Whoever told me that stuff in Japan was cheap was either a liar, a moron, or both.

Honestly, squidb0i is the most annoying person on Livejournal. (Or at least in the top 5.) Always spouting his crap and thinking he is so damn smart, then never backing it up with any real basis.

Well, I got the fucking squirt today.

I made a claim that Paul Krugman is just a Democratic Party shill and just isn't an economist anymore. Squiddy asks for a citation. Well, I bloody give a bloody citation.

The result is nothing short of beautiful. His precious little argument is blown apart by real, concrete evidence and reasoning, and what he does he do to combat it? Dismiss it by calling it "partisan fapping." It is the most blatant trolling I have ever seen.

I don't think anyone can defend that now, not even himself. It is quite clear he has an inability to debate.

What do you guys think? Honestly, I'm a little proud of myself. This is only half of the work--he's asked me to submit evidence of the Austrian school thesis that says the government and the Fed is largely to blame for the recent market crash, which is somewhat slow when you don't have Meltdown lying around--but I think its a good start. Unfortunately, I also have homework and that damn school blog to work on, which I would like to do tonight.

So just talk amongst yourselves...and feel free to berate the moron if you feel like it.

Introducing the bra that is meant to be taken off | Health Tech - CNET News

It's a bra...that turns into (2!) gas masks.

WHAT

Why hasn't this shit been invented yet?

PS: Remember, everyone, Rule 34 is in effect at all times.

I know I should probably talk about Japan, seeing as how I'm in the Land of the Rising Sun and all, but I couldn't help but comment on a recent story published in the New York Times, stating that "[a] specter is haunting Europe — the specter of Socialism’s slow collapse."

Even in the midst of one of the greatest challenges to capitalism in 75 years, involving a breakdown of the financial system due to “irrational exuberance,” greed and the weakness of regulatory systems, European Socialist parties and their left-wing cousins have not found a compelling response, let alone taken advantage of the right’s failures.

German voters clobbered the Social Democratic Party on Sunday, giving it only 23 percent of the vote, its worst performance since World War II.

Voters also punished left-leaning candidates in the summer’s European Parliament elections and trounced French Socialists in 2007. Where the left holds power, as in Spain and Britain, it is under attack. Where it is out, as in France, Italy and now Germany, it is divided and listless.

This sounds all fine and dandy to libertarians such as myself, who decry socialism as the beast it is. But then we get to this part:

Europe’s center-right parties have embraced many ideas of the left: generous welfare benefits, nationalized health care, sharp restrictions on carbon emissions, the ceding of some sovereignty to the European Union. But they have won votes by promising to deliver more efficiently than the left, while working to lower taxes, improve financial regulation, and grapple with aging populations.

Europe’s conservatives, says Michel Winock, a historian at the Paris Institut d’Études Politiques, “have adapted themselves to modernity.” When Nicolas Sarkozy of France and Germany’s Angela Merkel condemn the excesses of the “Anglo-Saxon model” of capitalism while praising the protective power of the state, they are using Socialist ideas that have become mainstream, he said.

If I were to ask the reporter who wrote this story a question, the first would be: Are you retarded?

This is not socialism slowly collapsing. When the "conservatives" have adopted left-wing, socialist ideas and taken them as their own, this is not socialism dying--this is socialism adapting, changing, adopting a new guise. Simply put--its not dead. Nowhere near close. In fact, if we look at CDU/CSU/FDP win in Germany, then the socialists have won big, considering Mr. Winock's quote.



This is increasingly how I view politics these days, and it makes sense. Conservative parties nowadays are just a different kind of socialist--they're cultural socialists. They want to control your society and your culture and the way you think. And now they also want to control the economy. Honestly, this picture and this article go a long way towards showing that the political lines have blurred beyond recognition. It doesn't matter what anyone really seems to stand for, nowadays--they're all about government expansion, and in my mind, that's always in socialism's direction.

Libertarianism doesn't really need the Libertarian Party to continue; it just needs someone to hold and advance the libertarian philosophy. In much the same way, socialism doesn't need the Socialist Party to continue, it just needs someoen to hold and advance the socialist philosophy. The Times doesn't seem to realize that, and I doubt they ever will.

It's good to see leftist political parties getting clobbered. Its not good to see the right then pick up their playbook and use it.

Ah, being a child. I'm jealous of that age, an age where I did not have to think, did not really have to worry about social norms or what my future was going to be like. A time when I could sit around and play computer games all day. (Hmm, maybe I'm secretly a communist...)

One of those games is one I would love to play again, but which I cannot remember the name. It was a top-down game, and shareware to boot. You piloted a spacecraft around a giant area--or maybe there were multiple areas--dodging enemy ships, asteroids, and monsters, and picking up upgrades that were just floating around. I remember that this game took place inside your computer (no, its not Subspace) and the upgrades were like computer chips. There were racing levels you could play, and I also remember there was a bit of diplomacy, as you could align with some ships now and then turn around and betray them later. The ships were also very customizable.

So, in summary:

• Top down view
  
• Shareware
  
• 1990s-ish, probably ran on Win98
  
• took place inside a computer
  
• focused on spaceships
  
• which were customizable
  
• racing levels available
  
• had to pick up floating computer chips to upgrade ship
  
• some limited diplomacy
  
• NOT Subspace
  

It's been bothering me for awhile that I could never find it. It really was a ridiculously fun game; I don't know what circumstances made me leave it or forget it. (Probably happened after the old computer crashed.) I just want to know if I was the only person who played it, and if it could still be found today.

Come one, come all, to witness a truly monumental strain of stupidity. I am not talking about any liberal or commie here today, friends, but rather a truly ignominious conservative individual, one who willfully ignores anything even remotely related to, ah, "reason."

We start off with a post in libertarianism that introduces a new member and starts a discussion on the two-party system. And then, lo and behold, we have this dumb fuck bumble in and loudly proclaim that if you don't vote Democrat or Republican, your vote is wasted. Let's just ignore the simple fact that, if you live in New York, voting for anyone other than a Democrat is wasted (and in fact, if you vote Democrat, its wasted too, since the Democratic candidate is already assured of a win.)

I just want you to read the entire conversation. It's a real treat--especially when his English comprehension starts taking a massive hit and then accuses me of being incapable of understanding English. It's really funny.

Oh, and don't forget to take a look at this side thread on the many differences between Bush and Obama. More lulz to be had.

Here you go, V--a Bothy of your own.