October 17, 2007

Thursday Thirteen #4

rmiles7721October 17, 20072Site News


Thirteen Things I Learned in Helen This Weekend

1…. Don’t plan on working through a weekend when there is a blogmeet

2…. Take plenty of Aspirin and Alka Seltzer

3…. Bathroom floors are just as uncomfortable now as they were 20 years ago.

4…. Monkeys might REALLY fly

5…. Alligators left in the river DON’T stay long…

6…. Watch out for flying half-rubbers and duck when V-Man throws…You might get a fat lip

7…. Take an extra two days off. One before and one after…

8…. Don’t drink for 14 hours straight

9…. Most definitely don’t drink Chocolate Vodka on top of Chatham Artillery Punch and Sam Adams Oktoberfest.

10…. V-Man looks great in a Dress. No Photoshopping needed.

11…. Don’t sit right next to the stage and don’t plan on getting your food too fast.

12…. Bring TWO sheep next year

13…. And last but not least, get a hotel room and party in someone ELSE’S cabin. If I know I have to walk back I tend to drink less 🙂

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Thursday Thirteen Participants

1. Sassy
2. Working at Home Mom		 3. Gabrielle
4. Leigh		 5. Robyn Mills

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Remember Baby Jessica?

rmiles7721October 17, 2007Site News

babyjessica The so-called anniversary of Baby Jessica’s rescue was Tuesday and I had meant to post something in passing about it but got busy doing something else.

On October 16th 1987 I was actually on the road out to Los Angeles when this was on the news. I was pretty young at the time and although it really didn’t effect me as much as it did quite a few people around the country it touched me as well and is one of those things that stick in my head from growing up, such as the Regattas during the Bicentennial, the first Space Shuttle Launch and various other items that I have filed away in that black hole of my head.

Most of the news sites have had something posted this week, the 20th anniversary of her falling down the well and being rescued. It was such a huge deal back then.

The big thing I keep hearing about is the donations that were sent to her family during the time and how it was saved for her in a trust fund (good choice by her parents there) and how she gets it when she’s 25. My question is why is this news? I can see the date being important in people’s minds because we all like to reminisce about things both good and bad but I could really give a rat’s ass what she does with the money. Good for her is all I say.

Cars…

rmiles7721October 17, 2007Technology

Althouchrysler300gh I probably have a few more months before I start looking at new cars again, driving that rental this weekend got me to thinking about them. I am still pretty much up in the air as to what I want to get when I finally break down and get another car. I do know that it needs to be big enough to carry all of my work stuff as well as the girls if need be. I have been thinking about the Chrysler 300.

That’s one bad boy car. The Chrysler 300 started out in 1955 and has had a long illustrious history since then. The latest line of the 300 is a full size luxury sedan that was introduced as a 2005 model in 2004. Of course the one to get is the 300c which has a 5.7 liter Hemi V8. It has a five speed transmission and comes with standard 18 inch chrome-clad allow wheels, Chrysler’s Information/Entertainment system, SIRIUS Satellite Radio and backseat television. One sharp car. Add in a nice Chrysler 300 accessory such as this California Walnut Wood Dash Kit and maybe some more automation controls and you’ve gotdash it made.

The whole thing will set me back a pretty penny though, so it may be awhile before I can spring for this whole package unless I happen to win the lottery all of a sudden.

Word Association…

rmiles7721October 17, 2007Entertainment

When I was thinking last week about gift for the holidays and/or our upcoming 20th anniversary I started thinking about pearls for some reason. One thing led to another and the fact that I was looking at a pearl necklace online got me to thinking about the classic ZZ Top song by the same name and I just couldn’t stop laughing. At that point I just had to kind of lay off of the ‘window’ shopping (online) and go to work doing something else more constructive.

They are one of my favorite classic rock bands and they are still going strong, you just don’t hear about them quite as often as some of the others.

Artist Draws Mohammed As A Dog

rmiles7721October 17, 2007Site News

Remember the artist in Denmark that drew Mohammed that received death threats from all over the world and prompted some publications to pull it and apologize? Swedish artist Lars Vilks has done basically the same thing but is taking a stand for his artistic expression, but he’s making sure to look under his car for bombs now since Al Qaeda has put a $100,000 price on his head and offered an extra $50,000 for anyone that murders him by slitting his throat. That’s one high-priced cartoon. His website is at http://www.vilks.net. Unfortunately it’s all in Swedish and I haven’t bothered to run it through babelfish yet so am getting most of this secondhand. He does have some depictions of Mohammed over there as well as other religious figures if you are interested in checking them out.

Vilks has been a controversial artist in Sweden for more than thirty years and his crude sketched caricature of Mohammed as a dog was a calculated move and he wanted to get a reaction. That he has certainly gotten. He receives constant death threats, and although he still works at home during the day he has to go to a safe house at night. Police have asked him to abandon his home completely to protect him from people such as the Swedish woman known as Amatullah who says that she hopes she can make good on the Al Qaeda threat and slaughter Vilks like a lamb. She has apparently already been fined for making death threats and claims that she will never stop taunting him.

I guess Lars Vilks should be glad he’s not living in Bangladesh where they have detained a cartoonist for offending Islam by drawing a caricature of Mohammed as a cat. I have to tell you, my cat is extremely offended and thinks that his eyes should be clawed out for offending catkind everywhere.

mohammed_dog

You can see the drawing he did of Mohammed’s head on a dog’s body. Since Muslim’s view dogs as being unclean I can see why they might be slightly aghast. Big hairy deal. If you don’t like it, don’t look at it. There are plenty of offensive things that we see every day, from stuff like the infamous Piss Christ to caricatures of the Pope along with plenty of political commentary.

Stuff like that get’s everyone’s panties in a twist and there is plenty of banter thrown around but the only time I ever hear of hundreds and thousands of death threats are when Muslims are involved, which just goes to show how truly primitive and barbaric the mainstream religion is. If it were just far removed wings of the religion we wouldn’t see such impact but since the rest of Islam accepts their control that makes them the mainstream.

What I find really interesting is that most of us laugh and think just as I have said “God, what barbarians” and we go about our daily business thinking we are above those assholes. If that were the case then why under Chapter 272 of it’s general laws is section 36 “Whoever wilfully blasphemes the holy name of God by denying, cursing or contumeliously reproaching God, his creation, government or final judging of the world, or by cursing or contumeliously reproaching Jesus Christ or the Holy Ghost, or by cursing or contumeliously reproaching or exposing to contempt and ridicule, the holy word of God contained in the holy scriptures shall be punished by imprisonment in jail for not more than one year or by a fine of not more than three hundred dollars, and may also be bound to good behavior.” Perhaps Muslims aren’t the only intolerant ones…

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Samurai Swords

rmiles7721October 17, 2007Entertainment

I was always a big fan of martial arts as I was growing up but more of an armchair fan than anything I suppose. I have always loved Seven Samurai and any other type of martial arts movies up to and including stuff with Chuck Norris and some of the other more recent stars like Jackie Chan. I even incorporated Oriental elements into role playing games I was involved in from the late 70’s up until about ten years ago. Even our guest bathroom is decorated in an Oriental motif.

Anyway, although my fascination is much more laid-back, my son took a much more direct approach. From the time he was six or seven he was very involved in martial arts. He took classes for several years, eventually distinguishing himself as a second degree black belt in Choi Kwan Do. It was interesting in that during boot camp most of the guys that had taken any martial arts prior to joining to service were asked to lay off a bit and not use any of their training. I guess it’s just not really possible when working with all of those guys to keep them seperated and perhaps develop what they already know into something else.

I thought that I had some pictures online of the Marine when he was 11 or 12 in his uniform but I can’t seem to lay my hands on any currently. Oh well, just means I need to start scanning all the old photos like I have been wanting to for quite some time.

My fascination with Oriental culture and martial arts doesn’t actually stop at the TV for me. I like all sorts of Japanese weapons and armor as well. I would love to get a hold of a Samurai sword like this one.

samurai_sword

This is a Tachi Katana, traditionally forged and folded. It’s got a bigger curve than the katana and was generally used from horseback. The blade itself has a mirror polish finish that’s a beauty to look at. Most of the time a family crest is on the laquered saya . Swordmaking in the Orient was and remains an exceptionally arduous task and every sword holds it’s own personality unlike most of the European swords we are familiar with. One of the biggest differences is the hardening process. After the blade is forged and finished in it’s final basic shape it’s coated in a mixture of water, clay and ash along with whatever special ingredients the sword smith decides to use.

They apply the clay mixture over the surface of the sword, thcker along the spine. It acts as sort of an insulating during the cooling process, and the thicker part of the spine cools more slowly. After that they apply thin strips of clay over the surface of the blade. They also provide insulation during the quenching process and form small sections of softer material in the hardened edge.  It gives the blade the ability to prevent cracks in it under hard use and high pressure.

Wordless Wednesday

rmiles7721October 17, 20073Site News
What’s that sheep doing anyway?

Helen Blogtoberfest 085.JPG

Wednesday Hero

rmiles7721October 17, 2007Site News

This Weeks Hero Was Suggested By Beth

Holly Holeman

Her name is Holly Holeman. Her job is working at a flower shop. And her mission to make sure soldiers are never forgotten. Which is why she’s out at Arlington National Cemetery every week putting flowers around the headstones. She usually does this alone, but on a bitter cold day in February of 2007 she was met with family members of fallen soldiers buried in Section 60 of the cemetery who helped her to place the roses.
To read the rest of Holly’s story, you can go here.

These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero.
We Should Not Only Mourn These Men And Women Who Died, We Should Also Thank God That Such People Lived

This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your blog, you can go here.

Sunday (The Aftermath)

rmiles7721October 17, 2007Travel

All in all I felt like crap on Sunday morning. Nay..I felt like hammered dogshit as Rob would say. I was really looking forward to getting up, packing up, checking out and going to breakfast with the rest of the bloggers prior to heading back to Atlanta.

What I actually did was lie in a coma as the wife and Michelle packed up the cabin and stayed there until it was time to go. I belted myself into the truck while they checked out and said goodbye to everyone. A few brave souls came over to say goodbye, at east until I decided it was time to exit the truck and go blow chunks by the Chattahoochee. That must have been an interesting site for the mid-morning old people taking their morning constitutional walks. At least the monkey hat was off my head.

Luckily that was the end of the nausea but I did spend the entire day sleeping and whining about how awful I felt. Hell, I am still dehydrated 🙂

No phone calls, no dealing with work. Thank goodness there wasn’t any major emergency at work that required my attention.

I am still pissed off that I felt so crappy on Sunday morning. What a freaking lightweight I have become in my old age…