spooky

Not much interesting in the news, so here is the military history of the week.
Read about the 3rd Battalion 69th Armor Regiment.
Courtesy of GlobalSecurity.org

3rd Battalion-69th Armor Regiment

NPR's Noah Adams Focuses on the Struggle to Earn a Living Wage
In America, it is possible to work full time but not make a living. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, more than 20 million workers earn less than $9 an hour. At those wage levels, many people have trouble affording the basics -- housing, food, clothing, transportation and health care.

From NPR's website: Link

The Lamprey, friend or foe? Most would say foe. I say strange but interesting parasite of the sea and lakes. The vampire of the waters. Here take a look yourself.

Wisconsin Sea Grant

Thought I'd try a post at the begining of my day as opposed to at the end when I am tainted by the day's events. Right now I am 1/2 asleep. I have a cup of coffee (yum). Truthfully I have nothing of significance to post. So I offer this thought that just popped into my head. Spring rapidly approaches. I hear the birds outside, and it is partially sunny. Spring is a rebirth in these parts. Michigan, not unlike the arctic circle or polar ice caps has a long winter. I think spring and fall are the best seasons really. They are transitional seasons where summer and winter are the extremes. Wow I just realized I'm talking weather. I have this unwritten rule, if you end up talking weather it is nothing but small talk. I never have been big on small talk. I don't mind it, it just feels uncomfortable to me. So in a conversation when it ends up on weather, I realize that we really don't have much to say to each other. This may be mythical or unrealistic thinking on my part. If there is a severe storm, I like talking about it. Makes me just boring I suppose. Ah well, back to my coffee. Enjoy the good weather, we've earned it.

Here is a somewhat boring article copied from the New York Times and posted on another website. It is about Triangular Diplomacy but it is more or less a textbook description of it.
Here is the link: http://iskran.iip.net/review/july01/nyt1.html
This is in reference to the prior blog entry I wrote.

The 9/11 Panel. Is that what it is? A panel? I think it is a panel? What is the topic of the panel? 9/11 of course! Did we know it was gonna happen before it happened? Well, no. Maybe, but, no. If we knew beforehand could we cover it up? You betcha. Destroy the non-existent paper trail of nothingness.

This panel is meaningless. I've listened to some of it live. It sounds scripted and feels like a dog and pony show. Nothing will be ascertained from this panel. I guarantee you that. Big smoke screen.

Isn't the real question about the preemptive strike against Iraq, and how 9/11 and the war are not linked by intelligence that was gathered? Wait there isn't really a war in Iraq because we call it the war on terrorism.

Shifting gears here from the current administration, I recently watched (again) the movie Nixon. Nixon was quite an interesting guy. Henry Kissenger also an interesting guy. Triangular diplomacy, an interesting thing. Have I lost you yet? Here is the point. Of over 4000 hours of tape recordings made by Nixon only approx. 60 have been released. Nixon more or less has gone down in history as a pretty bad guy. I think it is all timing. If he pulled the same stuff today that he pulled then he'd get away with it. We'd expect it. There would be no outrage. 1/2 the country would want to re-elect him. He got busted for a burglary and some tapes that probably weren't what he really wanted to conceal.

So what has changed since 1973? Well like I said, nobody cares. People don't get outraged or really go all out to protest. Some do, but not in the numbers of the past.

Ok so Iraq and Vietnam are very different wars for a million reasons. Truthfully the Nixon administration inherited the war from the Johnson administration as a gift, and didn't know how to win, or better yet not lose that war.

So back to Iraq. How do we not lose or win that war? Afghanistan, same question? Do we all believe that Bin Laden is this one guy in a cave pulling the strings of evil that control the world? Terrorism is like the war on drugs. It goes on forever.

So here is the question, and the answer, and the whole ball of wax. Do we sit around like France and Canada and not piss off the terrorists while they secretly obtain nukes from North Korea, or do we take a hardline stance and blow up buildings and tanks and piss off the terrorists so they go get nukes secretly from North Korea?

Here's a funny thought, it will probably come out eventually that we knew they had Weapons of Mass Destruction because we sold or gave them to Iraq. Whoops that already has happened to some extent. Both with Bin Laden and Iraq.

Triangular Diplomacy is what that is called my friends.

I've located the page with the sidewalk art that I was trying to send people unsuccessfully. So here it is for all to look at. Be sure to let all the images load. My personal favorite is the laptop computer, gives a very good sense of 3-d illusion.

Sidewalk art at ebaumsworld.com

Untitled by David Bollella 2004

Through the shroud of darkness I am comforted by the rain.
The wind howls, it speaks in an unknown language. Taunting
me. The pellets of rain continue to strike me. They feel like small
electrical currents that seek to cleanse my very soul.

The darkness now wraps around me like a cloak. It penetrates
into my sorrow as if it were part of me. My only friend is the
rain. It continues to wash me as if it knows my pain. The wind
continues with its cryptic messages of the past.

The darkness is upon me now. It forces visions of untold stories
without endings into my mind. Pictures of places unknown to me.
It is the dark murky pond that conceals the hopes and dreams of
all that draw near to it. A vampire that feeds upon my memories of
that which once was good in this world.

The rain stirs the pond. The rain is at war with the pond. The pond
beckons me. Lures me. The wind chills me now. It whispers something
directly in my ear.

I cannot decipher the message of the wind. The rain stops.

NCAA Tournament News
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP)
Excite.com Sports News

To be, or not to be: that is the question:
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,
And by opposing end them? To die: to sleep;
No more; and by a sleep to say we end
The heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks
That flesh is heir to, 'tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wish'd. To die, to sleep;
To sleep: perchance to dream: ay, there's the rub;
For in that sleep of death what dreams may come
When we have shuffled off this mortal coil,
Must give us pause: there's the respect
That makes calamity of so long life;
For who would bear the whips and scorns of time,
The oppressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely,
The pangs of despised love, the law's delay,
The insolence of office and the spurns
That patient merit of the unworthy takes,
When he himself might his quietus make
With a bare bodkin? who would fardels bear,
To grunt and sweat under a weary life,
But that the dread of something after death,
The undiscover'd country from whose bourn
No traveller returns, puzzles the will
And makes us rather bear those ills we have
Than fly to others that we know not of?
Thus conscience does make cowards of us all;
And thus the native hue of resolution
Is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought,
And enterprises of great pith and moment
With this regard their currents turn awry,
And lose the name of action. - Soft you now!
The fair Ophelia! Nymph, in thy orisons
Be all my sins remember'd

William Shakespeare, (Hamlet 3/1)

Here is a link for all your anti-war needs: antiwar.com

MSU Spartans are a first round knockout to number 10 seed Nevada. Bet they are sad in East Lansing.....sniff sniff (not)

Tournament day 1: Well The 12 seed Manhattan Jaspers upset the 5th seeded Florida Gators, many were predicting this. I was not. Actually I'm doing quite poorly in my picks so far. I think picking lotto numbers is easier. Oh I'm well still enjoying the games.

Tournament starts Thursday. That's all folks.

March Madness 2004 tips off technically March 16th but really March 18th. I'm not going to tell you who I have winning it all in my bracket. I'm not going to tell you the upsets I've picked.

After the fact I will. I've entered my brackets already and most likely I will not edit them. There are a few picks I could really get burned on, but that is what makes this whole thing so much fun. I am a bracket junkie.

I will say this, if you are looking for places to play for fun, try Yahoo and ESPN. Espn actually has a grand prize, but the odds of hitting it are probably similar to winning lotto, but who cares. It is March and we are all filled with madness.

Sad to say only 3 teams from the Big Ten in it this year. ACC and Mid-Atlantic looking strong as usual. Well good luck to the teams and fans. Here is a tip,(it ain't much of a tip) a number 16 seed has never in the history of the tournament upset a number 1 seed in the 1st round. So, it is a guarantee that you can pick 4 games correctly, everything else has occured in the tournament just about. I'll check to see what the lowest ranked seed to ever win it all is and get back with you.

Here is The Official Dr. Wayne Dyer Website

View his lectures on PBS if you get a chance, he has some great things to say.

p.s. I get no kickbacks from this......I just think he has some great wisdom.

I haven't stopped writing. Just taking a short break. I want to research a few subjects and I promise to get back to my faithful readers.

It appears the attack is from the Basque separatist group ETA .

Here is the breaking CNN story:
Madrid bombers

My thoughts and prayers go out to Spain, and the families of nearly 200 victims and 1400 injured, due to the terrorist train attack. I don't think it is sheer coincidence that this happened exactly 2 and 1/2 years after 9-11.

I am always completely disgusted by terrorism. What do the terrorists gain by killing innocent victims? Do they honestly believe that by murdering random innocent people that they will move a step closer to their objective? Do they even know their objective? I mean it takes almost a year for them to claim responsibility and then what is it that they really expect to occur at that point? Nobody will negotiate with you, never. Terrorist=psychopath. I don't care what religious or ideological voice is telling them to kill innocent people, they are psycho. They hide behind false doctrines. They glorify brutality. Terrorists are filth. Pure filth that masquerades as some type of soldier of fortune or freedom fighter. The UN will stand against terror.

Allies, such as the allies that stood together during World War II, may have their disagreements, but one thing is certain, in the end when the final chapter is written, allies will rid the world of filth.

Here's the news story from NPR:
Al Qaeda Suggested in Madrid Train Bombings

Get a grip on the Universe. Look at pictures that show us how tiny and insignificant we really are. See your tax dollars at work, (actually I like the space programs even though some are in desparate need of reform).

If you don't follow the news, recently the Hubble Space Telescope captured images of many galaxies in the deepest view of the Universe yet.

Here is the Hubblesite Newscenter if you like astronomy that is on the cutting edge.

OK here it is: Gay Marriage or Civil Union? That is the question.

This is how I see it. I support Gay Marriage or a Civil Union. Quite honestly I feel it is a civil rights issue. The main problem people have with it (those that oppose) are religious in nature. Well that is their right if they want to run a church that doesn't perform gay marriages, or attend one.

As always I listen to NPR. It actually was the topic today on Talk of the Nation. There was one interesting point that came up that I hadn't considered before. There are singles activist groups that believe married couples should not receive any tax benefits or any other type of government incentives. So this is one angle I never really considered but it is somewhat unrelated to the main question. Another person brought up their fears that polygamy would be brought up in court if Gay Marriage was allowed. They suspected if you legally changed the definition of marriage then poligamists would be lining up at the courthouse. I see this as a weak argument. Simply state in the law that the union is between 2 people.

So here is the real deal with no spin. It boils down to a separation of church and state once again. What any church does is their own business but it should not be the law of the land. Now for the state part. The only reasons why the government would be in opposition is fear of losing votes from voters that oppose gay marriage, and they simply don't want to give any tax breaks that they don't have to.

The whole religious argument, and those that quote the bible repeatedly are growing old. It seems for each new issue that needs to be made into law those that oppose always go back to the safety net that is tried and true......"But the bible says...". This is not what the founding fathers intended. This is also why laws are adaptable to change with the times.

There are already European countries that have changed to a civil union system. I suspect Canada will also. Eventually the US will, but don't be surprised if it is on a state by state basis.

The bottom line is if 2 people love each other they should have the right to marry or form a civil union, or whatever term you want to put on it. If people that oppose this think that heterosexual marriages have any sanctity left in them when 1 of 2 end in divorce, then they are sadly mistaken.

My mind was made up on this long ago. I have listened to debates and talk shows on the subject and nobody has ever given one good reason that supports the opposition. If it is from the bible it has nothing to do with legislation, so each time I hear the bible being dragged into a legal issue I ignore it. When will people wake up ?

In the olden days those that supported slavery twisted the bible to support their belief that people should be enslaved. If you twist the bible around enough you can make it say whatever you want.

Personally I believe that God would support and bless any 2 people that loved each other and were faithful to one another, without judgment. That of course is my belief, but if you take a look at this issue from a strictly legal standpoint, then you can see the injustice of the current law.

I was looking at the headlines at 2:25am and this was about the most exciting thing I came up with. This is what we call writer's block. Enjoy the middle of the night random weather report. Here is a nifty little tip, the Nellis Air Force Base is in the Las Vegas area. Per usual Michigan is the coldest temperature.

Ypsilanti, MI
Partly Cloudy 26°F

Nellis AFB, NV
Partly Cloudy 68°F

Tampa, FL
Partly Cloudy 55°F

Washington, DC
Mostly Cloudy 35°F

The Museum of Tolerance

The Simon Weisenthal Center's Museum of Tolerance Online

Ok, I posted a few posts back that I'd lay off the religion and politics a bit, (quite hard to do) so I'll post something harmless.

I recently watched the new Stephen King series Kingdom Hospital. This looks to be an excellent show. I love this type of stuff. The weirder and creepier the better. Now I will have 2 strange shows to follow. Carnivale on HBO and this one. Problem with Carnivale is it moves at a snails pace through the entire season and then they unload everything in the season finale. Kingdom Hospital looks like it will dish out crazy, haunted, demented, Stephen King oddities week after week. I like this concept.

There are only a couple Stephen King films I thought were lame, actually the only one that comes to mind is Silver Bullet. There are so many others that I've loved though. Even the Rose Red mini-series that nobody liked, I liked. Just because it was kinda creepy.

So here are my top 5 (not necessarily in order) favorite Stephen King Movies/Series:

1) The Stand
2) Storm of the Century
3) Dreamcatcher
4) The Langoliers (sure i'll catch hell for this one)
5) Misery

Yes there are many I've left out, it doesn't mean I didn't think they were great. At any rate I'm pleased this new show is on the air. If you are a Stephen King fan check it out.

I suppose I should write something about Martha Stewart and the breaking news. To be honest I think they went a little tough on her, but if you insider trade you run that type of risk. Personally I haven't had either sympathy or malicious thoughts about her case.

What actually comes to mind for me is greed. I have never been rich or wealthy. I can't understand the mindset of pure greed. This may be why I have never been wealthy. I don't believe in breaking the law, I guess this makes me a goody-goody. I am ruled by my conscience.

Greed is an issue we all should have worked out in our childhood. Like "Johnny has more toys than me mommy, so I am going to take some of Johnny's toys." So I see these people that are wealthy far beyond my wildest dreams and I wonder why would they risk going to jail over a stock trade. If you figure out, or have the answer to that one please email it to me. Then your next assignment is to tell me why Winona Rider shoplifted.

Ok this will be the most important blog entry I will ever write, so I hope all Americans that are registered voters read it (I can dream).

I am going to explain why the Bush administration must be voted out of the White House in 2004. To me it is self-explanatory, however polls show that approx. 50% of Americans will still vote for Bush. For the life of me I cannot figure this out. See some of you must be wrong because unless you are in the top 5% of the richest people in America, you have no business voting for Mr. Bush. So if you are some kind of deranged millionaire or oil baron, this blog entry is not for you. If I were a rich, evil, power hungry,villain I'd vote for George W. Bush.

I want to discuss this with diplomacy however. You see I once thought Mr. Bush was a decent candidate prior to his Presidency, even in the beginning and after 9-11 I gave him the benefit of the doubt. I'll tell you when I completely changed my mind. It was the whole crock of BS about the WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION. This guy plays upon our fears of terrorism for his own benefit. He bypassed the UN, ok no big deal, but in this case the UN was right. How about tax cuts for the wealthy, do they need tax cuts? They are already wealthy! Also please explain how the outsourcing of American jobs is good for the American worker? The State Department and the Intelligence Agencies are really a mess. I mean I think the world is starting to look at us as a big joke. We aren't though, just our President and his administration is. The savvy can see this.

I will now make a list of criteria for people in case you are still unsure. If you fit any of these criteria, you have no business voting for Bush.

1) you make any less than $150,000 a year
2) you believe that there should be some jobs left in America besides flipping burgers
3) you favor affirmative action
4) even if you disagree with affirmative action you believe in civil rights
5) you are pro-choice
6) you believe in honesty (this is a big one)
7) you believe serving your country means more than skipping out of guard duty when you feel like it because your daddy is rich and powerful
8) you realize Dick Cheney is an embezzler and corrupt official
9) you think wars should be entered into only when all the facts are on the table and they are truthful
10) you have studied Bush's Presidency prior to 9-11 and realized it was a joke
11) you have studied Bush's Presidency after 9-11 and realized it was a joke
12) you don't want 4 more years of American soldiers at war and our economy in the cellar
13) you dislike high unemployment rates
14) you are starting to think Bush will go down in history with Herbert Hoover as having the worst economic policy in history
15) you don't enjoy a 74 trillion dollar debt hanging over our heads and you remember a thing called a balanced budget
16) you like having a job
17) you want your job to exist in 4 years
18) you have a son or a daughter and you don't want them killed in a war for oil or money
19) your vote can't be bought with a tax cut that amounts to less than what the hike in health care costs are
20) Now I've saved the best for last..........you want a President that can pronounce the word nuclear without sounding like a complete fool.

OK in all fairness here is the criteria of why some might want to vote for Bush.

1) you own a large oil company
2) you are a multi-millionaire and enjoy tax cuts because each day you roll around naked in rooms filled with money and you need more to roll around in
3) you like being corrupt and admire others that are corrupt
4) you like war
5) you want more wars
6) you like unemployment rates that rise
7) Dick Cheney is your hero and you want to do some crooked business deals like he does
8) you got suckered into voting for Bush once and it felt real good to you
9) you'll vote for anybody from Texas even if they weren't born there cuz secretly you want Texas to take over the whole world and you want to bring us all to justice (said in a fake old west sheriff voice)
10) you are related to George Bush

Ok this was really fun but here is the reality, George Bush and the Republican party seek to eliminate the middle class. If you are wealthy you most likely will vote Republican. It is a proven fact there are far less Republicans a.k.a rich people than the Democrats (common folks and middle class workers). If Democrats turned out to the polls the Republicans would never stand a chance. The Republicans want rich people to get richer and poor people to get poorer. This is a corrupt philosophy and sadly it is the way things are, but it doesn't last forever. The average American is important, our vote matters, our tax dollars matter, and our collective strength can achieve anything. So hit the polls in November and vote your conscience, if you have a conscience I know who you'll be voting for.

To either the pleasure or dismay (not sure which) of those that read this blog, I may lay off the religion and politics for a little while and add a few more Detroit sports history entries. I mean after writing the Bobby Layne entry it got me to thinking. How can I not talk about Gordie Howe and the Red Wings? Olympia Stadium? Tiger Stadium? The Silverdome? How can I overlook the 1968 and 1984 Tigers? And don't even get me started on Wolverine football. I hear MSU had a few good basketball teams (just kidding) but I'm not really a Spartan fan. I guess since it is March, madness is right around the corner. I love filling out those brackets.

Side Note (actually anecdote): My Grandfather was an avid golfer, this is an understatement, he was a golf fanatic. Well he was a sports fanatic in general, but he played golf everyday, my guess would be 6 days a week. At any rate he tried to get me into golfing when I was fairly young, maybe around 11 or 12 years old. I wasn't a natural, I wasn't bad but I think I had a slice even when I was a kid. Well here is the point of the story.......I'm getting to it..........
One time at his country club he introduced me to Joe Schmidt. He told me he was a former Lion and did not make a big deal out of it since they were golfing buddies. I just smiled and said hello to the guy not really knowing who he was. Well now I am not a naive 11 year old kid, and I'm bummed out I didn't sit and talk to this guy and ask him a million questions. For starters, what was it like to play for and coach the Lions? How does it feel to win a NFL championship? Or be a hall of famer? UGH....that's all I can say. I have only one other story that ranks about as depressing, about how I almost met Muhammad Ali, but I won't go into it. That story isn't quite as depressing because all I would have been able to do is get a quick autograph from him. Still would have been nice to shake the hand of such a great man.

Well, I wasn't sure what to write about today, so I thought about it and decided to pick something that is fun and interesting. It combines two of my passions, sports and history, not necessarily in that order.

First off let me say I was born in Detroit, so no matter how bad some of our teams can be I always relive the glory days, even if they were before I was born.

Bobby Layne was the Lion's quarterback in the 1950's and he led the team to 3 championship titles all against the Cleveland Browns. Bobby suffered a broken leg in the final 1957 championship game so he only played the 1st half. He was inducted into the football hall of fame in 1967 after retiring in 1962.

From most accounts Bobby was a guy that liked to have a good time off the field but on the field he pushed himself harder than anybody. He was a leader, and he was tough.

I recently watched an HBO special on Pro Football that focused on Bobby and the Lions in the 1950's as a segment of the program. There were interviews with former teammates and footage of the Lions playing outside in Tiger Stadium in the bitter cold with only a bucket filled with charcoal to keep the guys warm. These truly were the days when real hard hitting football was played. The average player was making $8,000 or $9,000 a season and they had a second job in the off season to pay the bills. These guys loved the game. They were building something with blood, sweat, and determination. These guys were responsible for making football what it is today. Every now and again I like to take the time to remember and honor guys like Bobby Layne. They don't build quarterbacks like him anymore, but if they ever do, I hope we get him as a draft pick.

For more info and photos check out this article in the Detroit News.


Bobby Layne and the Lions' glory days

Here is the page this partial text is from, more details and links can be found here also.

Modern hero


My hero is Maximilian Kolbe. My hero died in the darkest days of World War II as an inmate of a death camp. Some people were chosen to be put to death for some trivial infractions. Maximilian Kolbe, a Catholic priest, offered to take the place of a man who had a family and stepped forward. Heroism is like that, a simple stepping forward. Colonel Travis at the Alamo drew a line in the sand and asked all that were with him to step over the line and join him. They did to a man. Jim Bowie, on a stretcher was carried over. Ayn Rand, in one of her books says we must never fail to make moral judgment, something this country failed to do when the Jews were being put to death. We could have but did not bomb the tracks leading to Auschwitz and kept silent about the Holocaust. Men like Maximilian Kolbe shine forth like beacons during mankind's darkest moments.

Richard Grimm from Hoboken, New Jersey USA
(posted on myhero.com)

Here is a link for those who haven't seen this before. I think it is pretty self explanatory.

George W. Bush's Resume

Also here is a good website if you are looking for new and different blogs to read.

Blogwise Link

Sign Causing Controversy


This is how the Bible and Religion get twisted. I would like to think that common sense would prevail in a situation like this, but if there was any common sense to begin with the situation would not exist. I have a short fuse for ignorance and ignorant people. To use Christ's teachings or the Gospel as racist propaganda is a sin.

This perhaps is the most assinine sign I have seen in my lifetime.....no, it is the most assinine sign I have seen in my lifetime. I'm not scared of the hatred these people have or attempt to instill in people, the only thing that scares me is that people actually think this way.

Way to go Mel Gibson, your father would be proud.

The best deterrent to crime is a comfortable couch???? Who knows.


Cat Burglar Caught Napping on Job

Mar 1, 9:37 am ET

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - A Dutch cat burglar was caught napping on a couch during a nocturnal heist and arrested, police said on Saturday.
The burglar curled up on a couch for a nap in the Rotterdam home he was robbing and was found snoozing by the owners' son, who held the 26-year-old thief while his parents called police.

"It's not very smart to fall asleep in the house you are trying to burgle," a Rotterdam police spokesman said.

11 Oscars for Lord of the Rings, I'm slightly surprised about the sweep, but very pleased. I am happy to see a movie from this genre win Best Picture, and I thought Peter Jackson was completely deserving of Best Director. I was Bummed that none of the actors from the film made it up for best supporting actor, but hey Tim Robbins would have won anyways, and his performance was great in Mystic River, he deserved the oscar. I did not see Lost in Translation so I can't really say if Bill Murray was cheated or not, but most people seemed happy that Sean Penn won. I thought his performance was very, very, good, but not excellent, just my opinion.

Well congrats to all involved in the Lord of the Rings project. The 3 films have brought me hours and hours of entertainment. As soon as the set of three are released together on dvd I will rush out and buy them. Each of those films I can watch over and over.

I have to be honest here, I don't think I've ever sat through an entire Acedemy Awards before this year. My primary motivation was to see how many awards the Lord of the Rings was going to pick up. I guessed around 6. I figured Hollywood usually sneers at Sci-Fi or Fantasy films and they couldn't overlook this one, but I didn't expect it to will everything it was nominated for.

Well I'll be curious to see what project Mr. Jackson picks next. I hope they Make a film of the Hobbit.

This trilogy will be difficult to top. Really the only thing that compares in my mind is the original Star Wars Trilogy. I figure a project this well done comes along about once every 20-25 years.

Thank you Professor J.R.R. Tolkein for bringing us the books and thanks Peter Jackson for bringing us the movies.