BLADE RUNNER IN 30 MINUTES

Courtesy of Blogless Brother Tom

Part 1:

[YouTube direct link]

Part 2:

[YouTube direct link]

Part 3:

[YouTube direct link]

RACE CRISIS OF THE DAY

Looks like they're going to fire Boston cop Justin Barrett for calling Professor Gates a "jungle monkey".

First, a little nitpicking: the correct racial slur is either "jungle bunny" or "porch monkey". Mixed metaphors irritate the piss out of me. It's like when someone sings along with the radio and screws up the lyrics.

Second, Barrett isn't a racist. While the insult is based on Gates's race, it's also specifically directed at Gates himself. Barrett is not calling ALL blacks jungle monkeys, just Gates. As I mentioned in a previous post, I don't have a problem with race-based insults if it's personal between the giver & receiver, and I think that's the case here.

Granted, Gates & Barrett never actually went toe-to-toe, but Gates screwed with Crowley because he was both white and a cop. I think anyone who fits that description has a right to declare open season on Gates and say whatever the hell they want, because they could've just as easily been Gates's target.

JUST F'N BRILLIANT

The Senate wants to pass a law making it illegal to text while driving.

Personally, I don't need a law, since the imminent threat of a sudden, fiery, impact-related death dissuades me just fine.

But the actual result of this bill will be MORE accidents. Right now, people hold their little crackberries over the steering wheel and at least keep their peripheral vision on the road. Now, to avoid being caught, they'll hold the devices in their laps, and just look up every once in a while.

Dumbest. Law. Ever.

LESSONS FROM THE TWILIGHT ZONE

Specifically the episode, "Button, Button".

A mysterious stranger shows up at a couple's house and gives them a box with a button on it. He tells them that if they push the button, two things will happen: they will get $200,000, and someone "whom you don't know" will die.

After agonizing over the morality of the decision for days, the wife finally pushes the button.

The stranger comes back, hands over the cash, and takes the box. The wife asks what will happen to it. The stranger looks at her and says it will be given to someone "whom you don't know".

Problem is, someone else is pushing a different button that will screw you over because they don't know you.

The common factor is a government that's passing out buttons like Halloween candy, safe in the knowledge that they'll never be the button's victims.

Maybe it's time to shut down the box factory.

Throwing tea in it's gears is a good start.

THE "WATCHING PAINT DRY" AWARD

Steven of Chizumatic posted:

There's going to be a movie based on World of Warcraft.

I wonder if there's anything they won't at least consider making a movie (or anime) out of. "Watching paint dry?"

Which made me wonder, what movie(s) would you nominate for the "Watching Paint Dry" Award?

Nominees off the top of my head:

* Close Encounters of the Third Kind

* Dr. Zhivago

* 2001: A Space Odyssey

* No Country For Old Men

* Blade Runner

Please add your own nominees in the comments.

I HADN'T THOUGHT OF THAT

Blogson Peter of Shakey Pete's Shootin' Shack brings up a point about the Professor Gates kerfluffle that I've seen discussed nowhere else, and I've browsed a LOT of stories on the topic.

There are people who wonder why, after Gates showed an ID with the address of the home on it, that didn't end things. Peter points out that all that proves is that Gates lived in the house at some point in his life, NOT that he lived there NOW:

Someone tell me exactly how many men (or women) are running around with old addresses on their identifications. Someone else tell me how many spouses and ex-spouses are breaking into houses to do dirty to that spouse that didn't work out.

Sergeant Crowley was called to a house where there was some evidence of a crime in progress. He owed it to his community to not leave until he knew exactly what was going on. An officer that left without knowing, only later to find that there was a deranged ex-husband with a restraining order and a big sharp knife would have been, and rightly so, in a world of hurt. Sorry, ID is just the beginning of Sgt Crowley's job.[emphasis mine]

I hope this point gets included in all further discussion on the topic.

FOR YOUR SHOOTING PLEASURE

Blogson _Jon of We Swear pointed me to these fancy silhouette shooting targets (via From Where I Sit):

If you don't recognize some of them, the answers are here.

RANDOM THOUGHT

My favorite airport to land in: O'Hare, at night.

The lights of the sprawling Chicago metroplex are the most beautiful thing I've ever seen and not married.

NEED HELP WITH A TAGLINE

Hapkido of Hapkido Crunch asked me for help coming up with a tagline for Silverwings Silverings.

Since helping new bloggers is a Bad Example Family Value, I thought I'd put out a call for help.

Here's the post for leaving a suggestion.

Officially, the contest ends today, but I'm going to request an extension. Besides, if she gets some responses (so far, sadly, only one entrant, plus me), she might keep it going for a while.

Anyway, from her "About Me" post:

* I can unicycle
* ABJD is an acronym that describes my hobby. I collect Asian Ball Jointed Dolls. See the dolly up on the title? That's one of mine. I have...six at the moment...all ranging from approximately 4" tall to 24" tall. Ask me if you want to know more!
* I love music. I live on music. Even if it sucks (like half of the stuff on the radio station we get at work...*whimper*). I sing CONSTANTLY. I also play trumpet!
* Photography is another thing I love...and this blog is going to have a daily photo, starting tomorrow! I photograph my dolls, nature, people, random objects...it's great fun. Hoping to actually make a living out of it someday!
* I am a United States Sailor, in the Reserves. Stinkin' proud of it, too.
* I love to talk/type/write/tell stories...and I hope that I make people laugh. Laughter is always good!
* I'm Republican and not afraid to admit it. Heck, I'll even say I'm Conservative! Less Government, More Personal Responsibility, Lower Taxes...all that good stuff. If you don't like it, go cry to your mother and hug a tree...that'll make you feel better. :)
* Really, I'm a nice person...though I do know the art of sarcasm a little too well for my age...

Also:
21
female
Member of the TEA Party movement
NOT an Obama fan

Go here. Leave a tagline.

IF YOU'VE SEEN WEST SIDE STORY, THIS IS BRILLIANT

Specifically the song "Officer Krupke":

[YouTube direct link]

At Riehl World View, commenter Joe does a delightful parody of this song on the topic of Professor Henry "I'll speak with your MAMA outside!" Gates and his run-in with Officer Crowley, who arrested him for disorderly conduct.

Enjoy:

Dear racist Sergeant Crowley,
You gotta understand,
It's just my Harvard status,
That get me out of hand.
Whites cops are all punks,
Affirmative action rules the land,
Golly Moses, natcherly I'm a skunk!

Gates:
Gee. Officer Crowley, I'm very upset;
You did not give me the love that an elistist expects,
I ain't no delinquent,
I'm misunderstood,
And your mama aint no good!

Chorus:
Aint no good!

ALL:
Your mama's no good, no good,
Just like your no good,
Because ever racist cop is no good.

Crowley:
Sir, I am just investigating a robbery!

Gates: Lemme educate you about the world!

Crowley:
Just tell it to the judge!

Gates(to "Judge Obama"):
Dear kindly Judge, your Honor,
Society treats me rough,
With all the racism out there,
I cant get grants to do my stuff.
White people pay $50,000 bucks,
So I can brainwash educate their spoiled kids.
Leapin' lizards, that's why society sucks!

Obama (getting word his poll numbers are plumeting and it is time to throw another pal under the bus):
Officer Crowley, you're really a square;
This elder professor don't need a judge, he needs an
analyst's care!
It's just his neurosis that oughta be curbed.
He's psychologic'ly disturbed!

Gates:
I'm disturbed!

ALL:
He's disturbed. He's disturbed,
He's the most disturbed,
Like he's psychologic'ly disturbed.

Obama:
In the opinion of Da One, this professor is
depraved on account
he ain't had a normal nonracist society.

Gates: Hey, I'm depraved on account I'm deprived!

Obama: So take him to a headshrinker.

Gates (to "Psychiatrist"):
Society treats me like a bastard,
The cop's an S.O.B.
They think all negros are plastered,
I broke in 'cause I lost my keys,
Axelrod has a mustache,
Michelle wears a dress,
Goodness gracious, that's why I'm a mess!

Psychiatrist:
Yes!
Officer Crowley, you're really a slob.
This professor don't need a doctor, just a good honest job.
Society's played him a terrible trick,
"Und" sociogic'ly he's sick!

Gates:
I am sick!

ALL:
He is sick, He is sick,
He is sick sick sick,
Like he's sociologically sick!

Psychiatrist:
In my opinion this professor don't need to have
his head shrunk at all.
Elitist delinquency is purely a social disease!

Gates: Hey, I got a social disease!

Psychiatrist:
So take him to a social worker!

Gates (to "Social Worker"):
Dear kindly social worker.
They say go earn a buck,
Like be a race documentary maker,
Which means like be a schmuck.
It's not I'm anti-social,
I'm only anti-work,
Glory Osky, that's why I'm a jerk!

Female social worker):
Eek!
Officer Crowley, you've done it again.
Gates don't need a job, he needs a year in the pen.
It ain't just a question of misunderstood;
Deep down inside him, he's no good!

Gates:
I'm no good!

ALL:
He's no good, he's no good,
He's no earthly good,
Like the best of us is no damn good!

Obama:
The trouble is he's crazy!

Psychiatrist:
The trouble is he drinks!

Social Worker:
The trouble is he's lazy!

Obama:
The trouble is he stinks!

Psychiatrist:
The trouble is he's growing!

Social Worker:
The trouble is he's grown!

ALL:
Crowley. we got troubles of our own!
Gee, Officer Crowley,
We're down on our knees,
'Cause no one wants a fella with a social disease.
Gee, Officer Crowley,
What are we to do!
Gee, Officer Crowley,
Crow you!

Courtesy Link

John Hawkins of Right Wing News has The Rightosphere Temperature Check For July: Palin, Franken, & Auditing the Fed posted, which I participated in. My answers below, with explanations:

Al Franken was declared the winner of the contested Senate seat in Minnesota. Do you believe he genuinely received the most votes at the ballot box?

Not sure. It was a very close race, and poll workers are normal humans of average intelligence. They may make mistakes. They may indulge in partisan fudgery. I don't have enough evidence to judge. However, for the most part, I believe that elections are like football games - if you didn't win because of one bad call, it's your own damn fault, because you should've played better so that one bad call wouldn't have made a difference.

Do you believe Sarah Palin is still a viable potential contender for the Republican nomination in 2012 after announcing that she will resign as Governor of Alaska?

Yes. I've seen too many politicians recover from "fatal" errors to believe that anything short of murder is a deal-breaker.

Do you believe the Federal Reserve should be audited?

No. I'm queasy enough about the Fed's ability to handle monetary policies rationally. Making them even MORE susceptible to political pressure from the ignorant, incompetent, short-sighted kleptocrats in Washington will only exacerbate the problem.

In Honduras, if the United States had to make a choice, should we be backing:

The government, supreme court, and military that expelled him. They had valid constitutional reasons for removing their President.

Do you think Barack Obama is willing to take whatever steps are necessary to insure than Iran doesn't obtain nuclear weapons?

No. His diplo-speak is soft & spineless. However, I also know that Obama can never be taken at his word, so I could be wrong. I also keep in mind that he had the Somali pirates killed, so anything is possible.

Are you less likely to buy a car from General Motors or Chrysler because of the government involvement in both companies?

No, not at all. However, I am entirely unlike the vast majority of the car-buying public because I only buy very old, very cheap, very used cars. Warranties and dealer service are not factors in my buying decision.

THE CHALLENGE

Rich Galen of Mullings writes (currently here, eventually archived here):

[1969] was some year, but nothing made the world stop in its tracks like the flight of Apollo 11.

We need another cause like the program to put a human on the moon. We need something we can all root for; something which will allow us to rise above ourselves and seek, neither profit nor dominance, but greatness.

For those of you who are too young to remember 1969; it's your turn: Bring us a moment of greatness.

Look, Apollo 11 was fantastic spectacle, but I'd hardly consider it greatness, since it was a military project with an unlimited budget. Yeah, you can do impressive things if you keep dumping money down a hole. Until you run out of money.

Screw you for insinuating that profit and greatness are mutually exclusive. The freedom to pursue profit is what makes America the last, best hope for mankind on Earth.

You want a moment of greatness from this generation? Here ya go:

VirginGalactic - privately owned, for-profit commercial space tourism.

REMEMBER

7/7/05

See the memorial.

I AM URBAN LEGEND

I made Snopes with my Newsish Fakery piece at IMAO "Obama Apologizes for Declaration of Independence"

Pink.

It's the color I'm tickled.

HOW TO FIND WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING FOR WHILE SEARCHING ON GOOGLE OR BING

This Bing search [screenshot] showed up in my referer log (sans quotes):

"i just want to see ballet vids if u mind as i am not so interested in hollywood stuff"

And it made me sad, because someone came to Bad Example looking for information and didn't find it.

Judging from the spelling & grammar, this person is a teenager going to a public school, so it also makes me sad that kids are not being taught the important life skill of successfully using a search engine.

So, I'll try to fill the gap:

1) Write out a sentence describing what you're looking for - which my Bing-baby did just fine.

2) The fewer words you use, the better your search will work. So eliminate every word from your search except the nouns. A noun is word that names a person, a place, or a thing, as this video explains:

[YouTube direct link]

3) Look at your search results. If there's a particular word that keeps showing up, but it's not what you're looking for, add it to your search with a minus sign (-) in front of it.

So, with the above example, it would be:

1) i just want to see ballet vids if u mind as i am not so interested in hollywood stuff

2) ballet vids

3) ballet vids -hollywood

An addendum on part 2 - when you search, you should use the words that the people who would provide that content would use. In this case, people who make ballet vids are snooty and formal, so they would actually refer to them as "videos".

Hope this helps.

Capitalist Propaganda - Independence Day Edition: "No More Kings" and "Fireworks":

(cross-posted from IMAO because EVERYONE should see these today)

From 1975, the Schoolhouse Rock episode, "No More Kings":

[YouTube direct link]

From 1976, the Schoolhouse Rock episode "Fireworks":

[YouTube direct link]

Happy Independence Day!