Monkeyfister

Oh BOY! This song is going to leave a nasty bruise on the Decider...


<

... and he was BRILIANT on Letterman recently:

The Letterman Interview:


Letterman Part II: Lie To me:


Tom Waits is an American Legend... Let no fool tell you otherwise.

OK... I'm off to a Christmas Party with my good friend, MadSatyrist, and his family... I'll see you all tomorrow--- Don't be stupid, don't drive drunk.



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Labels: Tom Waits

Added under "The Bartcop Family Treehouse," you will find Pood's BoomBoom

This is a personal site that I have had up and running in one form or
another for a long time in Internet years. Once, this was a place
where I tried out web programming ideas and showcased my photography,
now it is pretty much only a place to show the photos that I have made.
I also tend to keep a weblog of my changing interests.

I have changed careers a few times since I started fooling around with
this web site. I now work as a pediatric nurse, but I still do a little
photography and web programming. Fun!

His photography is beautiful, and Pood has been a wonderful friend and supporter to, and of me for years... Finally, I can start to return the favor!

Nice site, buddy!



BTW: Another of the Bartcop Family Treehouse, Skip, is about to launch a site that, as I see it, will be a Sister/Brother site to this one. Skip and I are Kindred Spirits, and as soon as he is ready for Prime Time, I'll be posting his stuff up, and linking to him a lot. He's embarking on the same Dream that I am, so between us, we'll be providing tons of good information to help you live a lighter life. Skip is likely to become a Guest Blogger here from time to time, while he gets his own site fully functional. I want him to get some visibility before his launch. You'll love his posts, I'm sure.

You are also liable, from time to time, to see a post my my good friend, MadSatyrist. Mad Sat is simply brilliant, and approaches things from his own genius point of view. I think that you will appreciate his occasional postings here.



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Labels: BoomBoom.com

I've been looking for a good, simple method for making yogurt, and Chevre Cheese for a while. I found recipes for both Mother Earth News Magazine.

Making yogurt easier than I thought it would be... Enjoy!

BTW: I added a nifty link to all of Mother Earth News' on-line content-- all of it-- to the sidebar. There are some fantastic articles to be found there. The archive goes back to the 1970s.



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Labels: Chevre Cheesemaking, Mother Earth News, Yogurt

I just found this site. It's loaded with great, low-tech, organic and sustainable ideas.

via The Bagelhole

Bagelhole.org is a non-profit, non commercial site to help individuals and communities move towards self-sustainability, self-reliance, and autonomy. It is a nexus point for communities, ecological, appropiate technology, alternative technology, low-tech, mutual cooperation, to meet and share information, ideas, and projects to make living in harmony with nature and one another a reality. To build the vision we long for now.

I'll add it to the Sidebar.

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Labels: Sustainable Living, The Bagelhole

I'm glad the 109th is over...

via Reuters

A House ethics panel concluded that Republicans failed to adequately respond to early warnings about a lawmaker blamed for the Internet sex scandal that shook the U.S. Congress this year, a source said on Friday.

The source [said] the bipartisan panel found that no one violated specific ethics rules but were negligent in protecting young interns in the matter.

Republican Rep. Mark Foley of Florida, a six-term lawmaker, resigned from the House of Representatives on September 29 after it was disclosed he had sent sexually explicit electronic messages to former teenage male interns.

So, what happens to those negligent Republicans still left in the House?



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Labels: Foley scandal, Negligent Republicans

It loves us back, when we let it...

Bart Anderson lays it out on soil structure

We know more about the movement of celestial bodies than about the soil underfoot.
- Leonardo da Vinci, circa 1500s

Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.
- Arthur C. Clarke


"Magic" is how humans have customarily described the soil's natural cycles of decay and growth. Without a scientific understanding, our ancestors relied on observation and traditional practices to grow crops.

Modern chemical agriculture has been only marginally better at understanding the soil. Unable to control the natural cycles, it bypasses them with synthetic fertilizers and pesticides. Despite the outward successes of modern agriculture, its heavy-handed approach brings with it pollution, soil degradation and other ills.

In contrast, organic methods like permaculture have attempted to work with natural cycles. Despite the many insights and successful practices that have emerged, a rigorous scientific model is still lacking. Permaculture and its brethren are accused of being belief systems rather than science. It's hard to make progress without having a common understanding of how things work.

Recently, however, soil ecology has developed to the point where we can open the lid on the black box of underground processes. We can begin to understand how micro-organisms maintain the structure and fertility of the soil. We learn that symbiotic relationships between plants and micro-organisms are not the exception but the rule.

It is no longer just compost-lovers who are excited about soil. The respected journal Science devoted an issue to "Soils: the Final Frontier" (June 11, 2004), saying:

"In many ways the ground beneath our feet is as alien as a distant planet. The processes occurring in the top few centimenters of Earth's surface are the basis of all life on dry land but the opacity of soil has severely limited our understanding of how it functions.... However, perspectives are beginning to change... Interest in soil is booming, spurred in part by technical advances of the past decade."

Good soil is the key... keeping it "upping" and growing is your mission.


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Labels: Bart Anderson, Energy Bulletin, Soil, Soil Quality, Soil Structure

Hell... He won't listen anyway...

via Yahoo News

Private Saudi citizens are giving millions of dollars to Sunni insurgents in
Iraq and much of the money is used to buy weapons, including shoulder fired anti-aircraft missiles, according to key Iraqi officials and others familiar with the flow of cash.

Saudi government officials deny that any money from their country is being sent to Iraqis fighting the government and the U.S.-led coalition.

But the U.S. Iraq Study Group report said Saudis are a source of funding for Sunni Arab insurgents. Several truck drivers interviewed by The Associated Press described carrying boxes of cash from Saudi Arabia into Iraq, money they said was headed for insurgents.

Two high-ranking Iraqi officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the issue's sensitivity, told the AP most of the Saudi money comes from private donations, called zaqat, collected for Islamic causes and charities.

Some Saudis appear to know the money is headed to Iraq's insurgents, but others merely give it to clerics who channel it to anti-coalition forces, the officials said.

In one recent case, an Iraqi official said $25 million in Saudi money went to a top Iraqi Sunni cleric and was used to buy weapons, including Strela, a Russian shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missile. The missiles were purchased from someone in Romania, apparently through the black market, he said.

Saudi's attacked us on 9/11, Saudis are fueling the Iraq Civil War, But they sell us a shitoad of oil at cheap prices, so they're innocent... OOOOOKaaaaayyy.

Whatever there, Dick and George. And your Global War On (some) Terror has accomplished WHAT?



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Labels: Iraqi Insurgency, Saudis, Terrorism

I have posted on this previously, but, now here's the video of it targeting warm "bodies." Charming and endearing, oh great Government of ours... I feel MUCH safer now!



via ThrowAway Your TV

Say Hello To Goodbye Weapon
Wired News

"Documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act detail the US military’s extensive human tests of its Active Denial System – a non-lethal weapon that uses millimeter wave radiation to induce instant, searing pain that forces people to flee."

"The crowd is getting ugly. Soldiers roll up in a Hummer. Suddenly, the whole right half of your body is screaming in agony. You feel like you've been dipped in molten lava. You almost faint from shock and pain, but instead you stumble backwards -- and then start running. To your surprise, everyone else is running too. In a few seconds, the street is completely empty."

Let's say a local militia has just blown up a car in the middle of a crowded Iraqi street.
Let's say the U.S. government doesn't want anyone around to report that this happened.
Let's say they bring in this new weapon, to clear the streets of all Iraqi citizens and reporters.
Let's say all those un-embedded Iraqi reporters that we've been getting the real news from are now too scared to return to the scene of the crime, because they'll be blasted away by Microwaves.

U.S. Let this violence continue until we've set up our military bases in Iraq.
U.S. Let this violence continue until we've built our oil drills in Iraq.

WARNING...it's called the active denial system...it's called the active denial system...it's called the active denial system...it's called the active denial system...it's called the active denial system...it's called the active denial system...it's called the active denial system...

Yeah... it's called the active denial system...

UPDATE: Kelly B. Calls BULLSHIT!

Bullshit. 94 GHz and 3 mm waves are smack in the middle of the microwave band.

…The longer waves are thought to limit the effects of the radiation. If used properly, ADS will produce no lasting adverse affects, the military argues.

Documents acquired for Wired News using the Freedom of Information Act claim that most of the radiation (83 percent) is instantly absorbed by the top layer of the skin, heating it rapidly.

The beam produces what experimenters call the “Goodbye effect,” or “prompt and highly motivated escape behavior.” In human tests, most subjects reached their pain threshold within 3 seconds, and none of the subjects could endure more than 5 seconds.

“It will repel you,” one test subject said. “If hit by the beam, you will move out of it — reflexively and quickly. You for sure will not be eager to experience it again.”

But while subjects may feel like they have sustained serious burns, the documents claim effects are not long-lasting. At most, “some volunteers who tolerate the heat may experience prolonged redness or even small blisters,” the Air Force experiments concluded.

The reports describe an elaborate series of investigations involving human subjects.

The volunteers were military personnel: active, reserve or retired, who volunteered for the tests. They were unpaid, but the subjects would “benefit from direct knowledge that an effective nonlethal weapon system could soon be in the inventory,” said one report. The tests ranged from simple exposure in the laboratory to elaborate war games involving hundreds of participants.

The military simulated crowd control situations, rescuing helicopter crews in a Black Hawk Down setting and urban assaults. More unusual tests involved alcohol, attack dogs and maze-like obstacle courses.

In more than 10,000 exposures, there were six cases of blistering and one instance of second-degree burns in a laboratory accident, the documents claim…

Kelly provides more information at the link... Corrente style... From the top of the Mighty Corrente Building-- Comes Wisdom.

Go and read Kelly's research. This WILL be used on US. Make no bones about it. That is the basis of its design.



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Labels: Active Denial System, DARPA, DoD

Thank you, dear friends, who noticed that I was going through HELL trying to buy this beautiful land on which I will close 8 days from today...


skippy

My Family at Blah3

Maru at "WTF Is It Now?"

Everyone at the Bartcop Forum-- Especially GrannyC. and MadSatyrist and his wonderful wife!

Shayera at "Pardon the Mess, That Was My Brain"

Steve and Hillary at Hamtramck Star

Barndog

These folks are some of the best damned Human Beings ever planted on this here Planet Earth... I love you all, and I will ALWAYS support your efforts in any way that I can.

Thank you for your friendship and support... through thick and thin.. Especially those of you who helped me through my several meltdowns with kindness and understanding, and still liked me later... :)

One day, I WILL find the way to help you, and return the favor of your kindness and love.

Consider this an IOU.



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Labels: Really Wonderful People

Ya'll... It IS Clausome! You have to download each song separately, but, it is WELL WORTH the effort! Remixes, and incredibly fun Mash-Ups!

via DJBC

Song List:

1. Jingle Jane - Divide and Kreate
2. Carpenter's Christmas (Karen Meets Roots Radics Uptown)
- Go Home Productions
3. Lonely Siberian Winter - DJ John
4. Donde Esta Santa Claus? - Lenlow
5. The Darlene Love Sub-Zero Ecosystem - ATOM
6. X-Mash - Divide and Kreate
7. Let Me Clear My Throat At Christmas - Cheekyboy
8. Pere Noel Blues - ComaR
9. The Rockin' Manger Twist - Voicedude
10. Dreidl-Bells - DJ Flack
11. Chanukah Song (GoyiMix) - dj BC
12. Give Da Jew Girl Toys (Clean) - A plus D
13. Rudolph The Paranoid Reindeer - ToToM
14. I Want A New Limb For Christmas - Pilchard
15. Rudolph Berry Molecular Pattern 4 - ATOM
16. Red Nosed 5 - Solcofn
17. Wonderful Christmastime (Rhythm Scholar Kringle Kut Remix)
- Paul McCartney vs Rhythm Scholar
18. Last Christmas The Winter Took The Street - Martinn
19. Stop I've Had Enough Christmas Music - King Of Pants
20. White Christmas (Electro Remix) - Miss Frenchie
21. Imagine Santa - dj BC
22. Frosty John - Secret Santa

BONUS (Mature Themes):
Horny Christmas - Loo and Placido
Give Da Jew Girl Toys (Dirty) - A plus D

I saw it at BoingBoing.




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Labels: Christmas Music, DJBC, Santastic II

I love a site called Woot!.com. Every day, they take one good product (it's always a surprise), mark it down, and sell it until it's gone. Delivery is $5 whether it's an iPod or a bowling ball... So, I got this $300.00 Roomba for $155.00. a very good deal. The cat's are going to LOVE it... In that totally HATE it sort of way. That should be fun.

From the iRobot Site:

STANDARD FEATURES

Active Dirt Detect, Stair Avoidance System, Surface Transitioning, and Bagless Debris Bin

ADDITIONAL FEATURES

Triple cleaning mode
Features three powerful cleaning modes: Clean, Spot and Max.

Advance Power Supply (APS) Battery
Enables up to 120 minutes of continuous cleaning time.

APS Fast Charger
Fully charges Roomba in less than 3 hours.

2 Virtual Wall Units
Uses an infrared beam to create a barrier so Roomba cleans where you want. 2 D batteries required per unit, not included.

Standard Remote Control
Infrared remote lets you control standard Roomba functions from across the room.

Standard Wall Mount
Space-saving wall mount conveniently stores Roomba off the floor. Attached remote holder keeps your remote at the ready.

SPECIFICATIONS

Robot Dimensions: 5.06"H x 20.93"L x 16.74"D
Robot Weight: 13.1 lbs.
Package Weight: 24.9 lbs.

WHAT'S IN THE BOX

* iRobot Roomba® Discovery Vacuuming Robot
* Standard Remote Control
* 2 Roomba Filters
* Advance Power Supply (APS) Battery
* APS Fast Charger
* Self-charging Home Base
* 2 Virtual Walls (requires 2 D batteries per unit, not included)
* Standard Wall Mount
* One-year manufacturer's warranty
* Documentation
* Owner's Guide

There's a video of the Roomba in action at the link above, and BoingBoing has several good reviews as well.

UPDATE: Funny thing, just as I was hitting "Publish," NPR's All Things Considered did a piece on WOOT! and the Roomba, which is one of WOOT!'s best-selling items... Hear the piece at the link!


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Labels: iRobot, Roomba

What's wrong with this picture?















EVERYTHING is wrong with it.



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Labels: American Food Prices

We mourn and remember...


via Navy.mil

The 7 December 1941 Japanese raid on Pearl Harbor was one of the great defining moments in history. A single carefully-planned and well-executed stroke removed the United States Navy's battleship force as a possible threat to the Japanese Empire's southward expansion. America, unprepared and now considerably weakened, was abruptly brought into the Second World War as a full combatant.

Eighteen months earlier, President Franklin D. Roosevelt had transferred the United States Fleet to Pearl Harbor as a presumed deterrent to Japanese agression. The Japanese military, deeply engaged in the seemingly endless war it had started against China in mid-1937, badly needed oil and other raw materials. Commercial access to these was gradually curtailed as the conquests continued. In July 1941 the Western powers effectively halted trade with Japan. From then on, as the desperate Japanese schemed to seize the oil and mineral-rich East Indies and Southeast Asia, a Pacific war was virtually inevitable.

By late November 1941, with peace negotiations clearly approaching an end, informed U.S. officials (and they were well-informed, they believed, through an ability to read Japan's diplomatic codes) fully expected a Japanese attack into the Indies, Malaya and probably the Philippines. Completely unanticipated was the prospect that Japan would attack east, as well.

The U.S. Fleet's Pearl Harbor base was reachable by an aircraft carrier force, and the Japanese Navy secretly sent one across the Pacific with greater aerial striking power than had ever been seen on the World's oceans. Its planes hit just before 8AM on 7 December. Within a short time five of eight battleships at Pearl Harbor were sunk or sinking, with the rest damaged. Several other ships and most Hawaii-based combat planes were also knocked out and over 2400 Americans were dead. Soon after, Japanese planes eliminated much of the American air force in the Philippines, and a Japanese Army was ashore in Malaya.

These great Japanese successes, achieved without prior diplomatic formalities, shocked and enraged the previously divided American people into a level of purposeful unity hardly seen before or since. For the next five months, until the Battle of the Coral Sea in early May, Japan's far-reaching offensives proceeded untroubled by fruitful opposition. American and Allied morale suffered accordingly. Under normal political circumstances, an accomodation might have been considered.

This former Sailor salutes his fallen Shipmates.



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I'm loving everything about Ran's blogs...

Here's the LINK, and his Sidebar leads to the rest of his world.

About Landblog:

Around the 2004 fall equinox, I bought land, on which I intend to restore nature, build a cabin, stay off the grid, invite some friends to live there, grow fruit and ducks, and save a few species, including my own, through these difficult times. This is my journal about it, intended as a resource for people considering the same thing.

Dang, it's almost like having an instruction book. I like all the little projects that he's done, how he's keeping everything wild, and all his wonderful photos.

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Labels: Landblog, Ran Prieur

WHAT a tangled Web!

via Think Progress

The Washington Post reported today that Mary Cheney and her partner of 15 years, Heather Poe, are expecting a baby. The right wing is already on the attack:

Janice Crouse of Concerned Women for America described the pregnancy as “unconscionable.”

“It’s very disappointing that a celebrity couple like this would deliberately bring into the world a child that will never have a father,” said Crouse, a senior fellow at the group’s think tank. “They are encouraging people who don’t have the advantages they have.” …

Carrie Gordon Earll, a policy analyst for the conservative Christian ministry Focus on the Family: “Just because you can conceive a child outside a one-woman, one-man marriage doesn’t mean it’s a good idea.”

---

Cheney and Poe will also face discrimination from Virginia state law. According to Equality Virginia:

While there are no specific Virginia laws addressing the custody and adoption rights of gays and lesbians, Virginia courts have routinely discriminated against gays and lesbians by finding that the parent’s status as gay or lesbian is not in the “best interests” of the child.

The result, according to Jennifer Chrisler of Family Pride, is that Poe will “have no legal relationship with her child.”

DAMN That Religious Right Wingnutoshere for GBLT Republicans. Mary... WHAT THE FUCK ARE DOING BEING REPUBLICAN??? Just FUCKING UP YOUR DAD'S Preznidency?

Mary Cheney, It's time for you and Ms. Poe to enjoy a piping hot cup of SHUT THE FUCKING FUCK UP...


:)


Mmmmm... MORE-- via AmericaBlog!!!

The Religious Right is PISSED!!!



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Labels: Christian Values, GBLT, Hypocrite, Lesbian, Republican Family Values, Republican Values, Sanctity of Marriage

I'll Start Blogging Cookie Jill's Environment Blogging regularly, starting now.... She does a GREAT job of rounding up the Environmental News Stories... AND I get to link to skippy!

via skippy

Go... Read Cookie Jill's work...

OK... I gotta sleep, tonight... Good night, kids!



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Labels: Cookie Jill, Environment Blogging, Skippy the Bush Kangaroo

Great find, Hoff...


via Hoffmania

Below are the bios of the GOP's freshman congressional class. Note that not one new GOP congress member has served in the military.

The new Republicans have NOTHING to offer. I URGE you, dear readers, to smack the shit out of them every time they DARE to run their yaps on ANY Military Affair... Especially Veteran's Affairs, and War. Screw these Monkeys. Slap them silly every chance you get.


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Labels: Hoffmania, Non- Veteran Republican Congressmen, Republican Chickenhawks

This is a great six minutes for your viewing... WKRP uses John Lennon's "Imagine" as the basis of proof against a Religious Wingnut's fight for censorship of Music, Thought and Free Speech on the Air Waves... I suspect that this actor's resemblance to Jerry Falwell is no mistake. Please, have a look...



Way to go, Mr. Carlson! RIP, sir.


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Labels: Censorship, WKRP Turkey Drop

A great "How To," for many Climate Zones...

via Backwoods Home

Autumn is a good time to gather fallen leaves for composting. If possible, mulch the leaves into smaller pieces before adding to the compost heap. (A lawn mower with a bagger attachment works really well.) Decomposition will occur quicker if organic matter can be reduced to small pieces. Beware of black walnut leaves as they have a toxic effect on certain plants; it’s best to avoid using them.

Many of us like to spread organic matter— pine needles, leaves, etc.—directly on rows or beds in the fall to keep winter downpours from packing the dirt. It’s great to be able to pull back the layer of mulch in the spring and find nice loose soil ready for planting. Heavy soils such as those with a large amount of clay in them will certainly benefit from not only having leaves dug into them, but also having several inches of leaves and yard rakings piled on top of the soil. During winter, organic matter will break down and can be easily tilled into the soil ahead of planting time, thus improving the soil’s texture as well as its nutritional value.

If you live south of the Mason-Dixon Line, there is a good possibility that you can plant some garlic cloves in the fall. Select a spot protected from harsh winter conditions, maybe on the south side of a solid board fence or a building. Usually, garlic will thrive during moderately cold weather, producing plenty of green blades to chop and use as seasoning in soups, stews, and other hot dishes. The flavor of garlic gives food a special lift that can only be called larripin’.

Good stuff... More at the link.

Later, The Farm and Hog Report, with Les Nessman...

Seriously... This is a GREAT article on how to extend your gardening season, no matter where you live in the Lower 48 States.



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Labels: Gardening

A Wingnut caller tried to paste him as an "Anti-Semite" and all maner of crap... The host cut him off, and Mr. Carter had the grace to answer the caller in a thorough and sane manner... Check out what President Carter had to say...





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Labels: Carter, Middle East

Expert Village is a place where good people make and post "HOW TO" videos for damned near ANYTHING... Nearly 6,500 videos all tolled to date. From Belly Dancing to Organic Gardening to Car Repair and Home Improvement. This is a really great starter resource for anyone getting ready to embark on a project about which they know little....

Bookmark it, kids... You'll learn to love this place... check it often.

UPDATE: WOW! Look who left me a comment on this post... Coooool!



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Labels: Expert Village

There are dozens of them-- Short (under 5 minutes mostly), Sweet and To the Point.. From Expert Village. Plenty of odd stuff at Expert Village. I'm going to add them to the Sidebar under Marvelous Multimedia.


via Google Video



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Labels: Organic Gardening Videos

I'm glad I don't deal much with Big Pharma anymore, or have a desire to shop... But 'tis the Season...

via Deer Hunting With Jesus

At any rate, our regulating government only issues the good zippies to fighter pilots and night-scope stalkers in Iraq, and I suspect citizen dissatisfaction will have to get much worse before it rolls out the primo stuff for the rest of us. But let's not despair. Millions of Americans already gobble illegal mood-altering drugs or hammer the bong. There's still money to be made there, still dough on the table, and big pharma will eventually get around the current regulations, or have them changed.

Scratch the surface of a blissful consumer and often as not you find a person hollowed out by anxiety and hopelessness. I watch coworkers and good friends suffer -- to the extent they are still capable of feeling anything -- anxiety, learned helplessness, excess weight, job meaninglessness, all of which can supposedly be relieved by gulping down Prozac or something like it. Then in their newfound functionality, they suddenly realize they hate their dinnerware and are tired of all of their furniture, and that a little retail therapy is in order. I swear there seems to be a link between Prozac and shopping.

More at the link above.


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Labels: Joe Bageant

Hmmmm...

via Cryptome

I'm sure this is perfectly routine, and Negroponte has no ulterior motives in mind at all...

Can I interest you in this bridge that I have for sale in East New York City?








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Labels: Cuba, Negroponte, Venezuela

The long-awaited sequel to "The End Of Suburbia"...

Suburbia, and all it promises, has become the American Dream. With brutal honesty and a touch of irony, The END of SUBURBIA explored the American Way of Life and its prospects as the planet enters the age of Peak Oil.

In ESCAPE From SUBURBIA director Greg Greene once again takes us “through the looking glass” on a journey of discovery – a sobering yet vital and ultimately positive exploration of what the second half of the Oil Age has in store for us.

Through personal stories and interviews we examine how declining world oil production has already begun to affect modern life in North America. Expert scientific opinion is balanced with “on the street” portraits from an emerging global movement of citizen’s groups who are confronting the challenges of Peak Oil in extraordinary ways.

The clock is ticking. ESCAPE From SUBURBIA asks the tough questions: Are we approaching Peak Oil now? What are the controversies surrounding our future energy options? Why are a growing number of specialists and citizens skeptical of these options? What are ordinary people across North America doing in their own communities to prepare for Peak Oil? And what will YOU do as energy prices skyrocket and the Oil Age draws to a close?

I am finally able to escape... I'm going to help you do it, too.


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Labels: Escape From Suburbia, Peak Oil, Powerdown, Sustainability

Grooovy!





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Labels: Beatles, Yellow Submarine

An ENORMOUS bunch, four sets, of 70 minute (full CD) sets of the BEST \Holiday music mix/Mash-ups EVER:

via DJ Riko Yes... Free.

His 2006 "Merry Mixmas" Collection is due to hit the internets in 6 Days... Stay tuned... I'll post it here.


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Labels: DJ Riko, Merry Mixmas

The NEW BSG... Some are split into parts, some are full episodes... Free... If you have never seen the new BSG, start with the PILOT, parts 1 and 2, and then find the episode entitled, "Thirty Three," or "33." You'll be hooked from there. It's the best drama on TV... Hands Down. The folks have honored the convention of posting as such: Season(I) X Episode(2) X Title, for the most part. Go to ITunes to get the serial details. Be sure to watch them in order.

via Daily Motion Just click... They are as Free as GooTube videos. FREE, FREE, FREE...

The episodes can also be purchased as a full season pass, or ala carte via ITunes.



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Labels: Battlestar Galactica

I knew this wouldn't last long... I hope the majority of you good readers watched the Documentary will it was posted. Sometimes these things happen, and I urge you to click while the clickin' is good.

The first part got ripped down late last night, and into the day, the others started to follow. I don't know whether it was by the Producers or the Wingnuts, but, part by part... It's all but gone, now.


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Labels: Jesus Camp

Read it all at the link below:

via Rolling Stone

I can't seem to copy/past any Fair Use quotes from the article... Go read it.


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Labels: Paul Krugman, Rolling Stone

Here's what happens when Smokey Robinson gets together with AC/DC...

via DJ Riko

Quicktime Audio.



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A most intense version of this song. Wasserman is simply brilliant on that weird-assed 6-String Bass of his... Mixing Jazz, Blues a Ragas, in the prelude and interlude... whoa!

I saw Bob and Rob in DC at Constitution Hall just days after Jerry Garcia's death... it was an incredibly emotional show, and Bob tried to start this song twice, but, walked off-stage when people stopped listening, and started "YIPPING.' This is a version of the song that reminds me of that very strange night...






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Stand by...

via Watching America

Two years ago, a couple of well-known American economists, Maurice Obstfeld and Kenneth Rogoff, published a noteworthy article RealVideo. The pair introduced a theory that explains how current global imbalances could regain equilibrium. Triggered by a decline in the housing market, the process would begin with a supply and demand shock in the United States. As a consequence, domestic consumption would decline and the ensuing recession would lead to a deterioration of the U.S. currency. It seems now that the two had written a script for the U.S. and world economy for the years 2006 and 2007.

So where do we stand with the Obstfeld-Rogoff scenario? The Federal Funds Rate has climbed from 1 of 5.25 percent within just a few years. Mortgage rates have risen and are now around 6 percent. During the same period, an excess supply of housing units has flooded the market, particularly in the major metropolitan and coastal regions. There is no end in sight to the drop-off in prices.

In the U.S.A., domestic consumption depends to a large extent on developments in the real estate market. The U.S. has a flexible system of mortgages and real-estate financing. Equity extraction [the taking of second mortgages, for example] has fueled consumer spending. The Wal-Mart chain, a barometer of U.S. consumption, has had a nominal to negative sales trend, which in real terms means a considerable decline.

Now the dollar is weakening. We stand perhaps at the beginning of part three of the Obstfeld-Rogoff Horror Story. They calculated that the potential dollar-devaluation is between 20 to 49 percent. Two years ago, the dollar dropped briefly to $1.36 per Euro. At that time the U.S.A. was not threatened by recession, interest rates were low and the market anticipated continuing interest rate increases. I venture no prognosis, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see an exchange rate of $1.50-$1.60.

The model that the two economists used to describe the mechanisms of the dollar's plunge is interesting. They didn't make the classic argument, according to which a devaluation causes a reduction of the current accounts deficit, but rather, they argued the reverse: The purge in housing prices was the trigger, followed by a consumer spending breakdown, followed by a smaller demand for imported goods. The devaluation of the dollar is a quasi-byproduct, and is exactly what we are experiencing at the moment.

Next year looks like it is REALLY going to SUCK. Thank you, George-- "the US Economy is strong... and getting stronger." In WHO'S book, there, George?


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Labels: Bush Economic Policies, US Dollar, US Economy

Nice... Not.

via Cryptome

Affidavits and Exhibits from the Case of DoD v. Padilla... Ugly pictures and documents detailing how Bush's America treats it's own Citizens.

Not pretty. Not Constitutional. Not Legal.



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Labels: DHS, DoD, DoJ, Hose Padilla

See it and do it here...

via Cheesemaking.com

This recipe works perfectly, and makes the BEST Lasagna Mozzerella. You can't go wrong.

Order the rennet and citric acid for cheap from this site.

Seriously... There's nothing like good, fresh cheese-- one of the things that I will teach at my new place.

I'm going to learn how to make Hard cheeses via this site very soon.



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Labels: Cheesemaking, Fresh Mozzerella

Global, Commercial Farming practices are killing us...

via In These Times

Since the advent of giant industrial enterprises in the late 19th century, corporate capitalism in the United States has been defined by its use of economies of scale to increase profits—profits further enhanced by the die-off of those businesses unable to compete.

Today, vast corporate enterprises—protected by a legal system that defines corporations as persons endowed with the same constitutional rights as flesh-and-blood people—control whole sectors of the U.S. economy, the three branches of government and the Fourth Estate (the mass media through which the public gets its information). The end result: an interconnected, self-reinforcing system of political power—Corporate America—that operates outside human control. (Of course, the machine is oiled by a class in thrall to their six, seven and eight figure paychecks.)

Concerns about life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness aside, the problem with this system is that it is, ultimately, unsustainable. Not only does this corporate behemoth chew up and spit out the people it employs as wage slaves, it gorges on resources of the natural world, disrupting the balance of life on Earth.

And when humans fuck with Mother Nature, she extracts revenge.

---

One could also look closer to home, to the 199 people fell who ill and the three who died after eating spinach contaminated with E. coli 157 bacteria. E. coli 157 was discovered in 1982, and now, on average, is responsible for some 20,000 infections and 200 deaths per year in the United States. Today, infection from E. coli 157 is the single greatest cause of kidney failure in children.

The origin of the recent outbreak is thought to be cattle that are fed a grain-based diet—more precisely the manure they produce. As researchers at Cornell University discovered in 1998, cows that graze or eat hay, as nature intended, do not produce the pathogen in their stomach.

The real culprit, in this case, is corporate agriculture, which uses economies of scale to mass produce food. And while the consumer may benefit in the form of lower prices, America’s agricultural communities bear the brunt of this consolidation. Consider these statistics. According to the Department of Agriculture, in 2001, 5 percent of U.S. farms, both corporate and family, raised 54 percent of the nation’s beef and dairy cattle, hogs and poultry. Ten percent of farm owners received 63 percent of the $27 billion in federal farm subsidies paid out in 2000. Between 1994 and 1996, about 25 percent of hog farmers, 10 percent of grain farmers and 10 percent of dairy farmers went out of business. Of the 50 poorest counties in the United States, all but one are rural and agriculturally dependent. The United States today has more people in prison than people farming. And, thanks to the war on drugs, more of those people in prison come from farm families, as crystal meth does to rural America what crack did to America’s inner cities.

Fuck the man. Grow your own. In the coming years, I will be here specifically to help and SHOW you how to do it. I'll give you costs, considerations, time allotments, all of it, and I'll be here to answer your questions, comments and concerns.

Get away from WalMart Produce, folks. Grow your own, organically. Tear up your little lawn, put in organic, raised-bed gardens. I'll have answers for you, no matter where you live.

Corporate Farming is KILLING YOU, or WILL make you very sick in the near future. It is TIME that we start rejecting their bullshit, and get back to what is real and right, a proper...

Seriously... Follow my lead, and the lead of those to whom I link... We will NOT steer you wrong.



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Labels: Commercial Agriculture, Poison Food

If you are looking to purchase a home, especially "Unconventional" property like I bought, it is ABSOLUTELY VITAL to keep in tight, constant, and good communication with the seller.

The best practice is to become as good a friend with the seller as humanly possible. If the Seller just wants to be a DICK-- screw them... There is better property, and a better Seller out there.

I have been blessed with a REALLY GREAT Seller... He set goals in the Contract, was VERY willing to negotiate terms when creating the Contract, he heard my needs, and I heard his-- an open mind is required on both sides, but, if you REALLY want the Property, it's vital to be even-handed, giving, but, unafraid to ask for concessions that you need.

In my case, there came a point when the technical aspects of the sale proved beyond the nature of the Contract. We needed to trash the original Contract, and start from scratch. The Lender, who was willing to help work the deal, required changes. A GOOD Seller will talk to your Lender, and work with him/her-- especially if the property is of an "Unconventional" type.

If the Seller refuses to talk with a Lender, it's best to cut the Contract, or at least threaten to do so. I was lucky, and didn't need to go to those lengths, but, really-- it's a Buyer's Market... Don't be afraid to push to get the Sale you want. Let the Seller KNOW the nature of your Lender's needs, and don't be afraid.

I was very lucky. The Seller of this Land is honest, earnest, and trustworthy. I relied on him for guidance, and honest negotiations, and a willingness to tweak details as needed. He is a wonderful Human Being, and frankly, I want to include him as a friend in my life when this Business Transaction is over. He and his family strike me as really fine people, and I will always welcome their presence in my life.

Folks, if you've never purchased a house before, I can only HOPE that you will find a Seller as good as the one that I found with this property, and I think you Can and Will, if you are just patient, take your time, and follow your heart and instincts.

The REALLY right property will SING to you when you find it... The craftsmanship, the location, the price... It will simply be the RIGHT place for you, and chances are, the Seller will also be the right person for you.

Getting to know and work WITH this Seller has been one of the most rewarding times in my life, and that is what I want to impress on you. It's not necessarily just about buying a house, it is also about the potential for making new friends. In my case, it's worked out that way. I hope the same for you, as it makes the whole process SO much easier.



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Labels: American Dreamblogging

Video Stream by Real Player, and Audio Streams... Your Preference...

via Global Public Media

Run Time is ~18 minutes...

In Brief: Mark Bomford, Program Coordinator at the Centre for Sustainable Food Systems at University of British Columbia Farm, speaks to Julian Darley of Global Public Media about the latest developments at the farm. The farm is part of of Post Carbon Institute's Local Energy Farm Demonstration Project.

Lots O' Stuff at the link, above.


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Labels: Permaculture, Sustainable Agriculture

Hmmmmm... Sounds like a Must-Have Soundtrack for me...




Appraisal is complete. Property attorney has been chosen, all paperwork is is in flow... 11 days until Closing... Moved before Christmas Eve. I was out to the place this past weekend, and noticed that the wind blew over one of my pine trees... :(

I'm going to top it, for a Christmas Tree, and then it becomes firewood, and I'll plant a new one in its place.

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Labels: American Dream

Heartburn at the White House today...

via Reuters

CARACAS, Venezuela (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez stormed to a re-election victory in Sunday's vote, handing him an ample mandate to broaden his promised socialist revolution and challenge Washington's influence in Latin America.

Dressed in his signature red shirt, Chavez told cheering supporters at his presidential palace late Sunday his landslide was a blow to U.S. President George W. Bush's administration, which portrays the leftist as an anti-democratic menace.

"Today we gave another lesson in dignity to the imperialists, it is another defeat for the empire of Mr. Danger," Chavez roared from a balcony above the crowds using one of the insults he has tossed at the U.S. president.

The former soldier's victory will further rile the White House, which worries about Chavez destabilizing Latin America neighbors and strengthening ties between the OPEC heavyweight Venezuela and U.S. foes Cuba and Iran.

The National Electoral Council said Chavez won 61 percent of the vote while rival Manuel Rosales, a governor of an oil-producing province who managed to unite the fractured opposition, won 38 percent after nearly 80 percent of the vote had been counted.

Heh.


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Labels: Hugo Chavez, Venezuela

I watched this the other night... Vidal's words are simply priceless:




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Labels: George W Bush, Gore Vidal, Iraq, Tavis Smiley