So much in political news these days, and yet

I just don't have a unique perspective on any of it. Not the mixed message of the President accepting the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo and giving a speech justifying the continuation of war in Iraq, Afghanistan, etc.

It was just odd. Perhaps the Nobel folks, going forward, will offer an "opt out" to their winners, should the winner not feel deserving of the medal, prize money, honor, etc.? I can't even find a matching set of circumstances in my own life so that I can at least say something like "I understand, to some degree, why things happened the way they did".

I cannot even find words to talk about the legislative situation in Uganda. Besides, Rachel Maddow tied it all up nicely earlier this week by having on her show a man who, indirectly, led to what looks like legislation through proselytising. And, this guy looks like he's getting all the validation he was seeking through all of this.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Laws written to jail people who don't tell the Ugandan government that someone they know may or may not be gay. Never mind what the law proposes to do with the alleged "gays" themselves.

I can't find the words. But, if it comes to it, I'll do what I can to find room to harbor as many refugees as this law will create. And, barring something miraculous happening, the law is all but assured to pass. If I am able to do what I've just written, then I couldn't say a word to anyone about what I'm doing. I wish I was being hyperbolic.

Then, there's the whole Sarah Palin, Al Gore, iceberg headed for Australia, global warming scientist e-mail disaster. The best I can come up with?

Palin in 2012!

Perhaps then I'll have something to say. Daily.

As the work week ends

One of the great joys of living in Southern CA: gorgeous sunsets nearly every day! While I know that moisture, dust, smoke and other particulates in the atmosphere and the sun's position in the sky determine the colors present in the sunset, the little child in me can't help but stand in awe and give praise to God for the amazing artwork done just for lil' ol' me.

I do the same thing with star-strewn skies or a full, bright moon in the night sky and photos from the Hubble telescope, knowing full well the science involved in it all.

A nice way to end a very turbulent week for many around the nation.

Cleaning the Red Carpet

In the top right corner of this photo from earlier today, you may be able to make out the lone man with a vacuum getting a red carpet ready to go for yet another world premiere on Hollywood Blvd.

Tonight's fare is "The Proposal" starring Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds.  Take a few moments to enjoy (I found this photo at the blog See Sarah Eat. Many Thanks, Sarah!)

Cute dog, eh?

If you dug my post from yesterday, you may enjoy seeing the fulll blogroll at Mombian and might want to partake in some of the other blog posts.  I'm at #19, though the posts are listed in the order they were received.  I really enjoy the challenge of having to write to fit a theme; however, to be fair, I spend a good amount of time at my job writing to fit a theme, so maybe it's more a "I'm familiar with the structure" thing than anything.

Speaking of writing to a theme, NASA is looking for a few good . . . uh, Twitter-ers ?  Reuters has the details.  I still am not a fan of Twitter, though I have an account.  I have to admit me being such a nerd for anything science-adjacent, I'm sorely tempted to head back to Twitter and "follow" NASA when their next mission begins in August.

And, finally, I listened to the last 10 minutes of Thursday 5/28/09's Mike Malloy program.  It is very rare that Malloy will "play a prank" on someone.  However, it seemed he was a bit restless for the majority of the show and this was a wonderful way to close out the program.  Though once again I was trying my best on the light rail tonight to stifle laughter as Mike acted like a conservative, fundamentalist talk show host to this clueless Pastor.

Enjoy the show!

The blog posting that overfilled the glass

With the new work schedule these past two months, I don't have all day every day to read news articles, blogs, etc., and react.  On the one hand, I have a job! (things could be a lot worse).  On the other, I'm having to sift through a lot of information during the week to decide what is "blog worthy".  I've now picked up the habit of waiting for three "blog worthy" stories before posting except, of course, when I don't.

Moving on, here's what "overfilled the glass" and got me to posting today:

Having a big family history of cancer, I was overjoyed to see this posting on one of my favorite sites.  I'm a big-time spiritual guy, but for heaven's sake, if something is wrong with the body, you fix the body -- meds, surgery, a long soak in a hot bathtub.  The notion that cancer is a healthy response to stress -- ugh!  The people in my life who have battled cancer also battled overdoses of stress.  Then again, a diagnosis as terrifying and life-altering as cancer comes with its own big barrel full of stress.  If stress = cancer, there'd be no day-traders, no soldiers and every last President (well, except the vacation champ) would have their own cancer-treatment clinic at Bethesda.

That said, there is something to be said for battling the spiritual component of any major illness. Certainly, letting the inevitable depression go untreated makes no sense -- people are less likely to go through with the meds, surgery, etc., if they "just don't feel like doing it".

So, treat the spiritual component, the physical side of illness gets a lot easier to treat.  Ignore one, you lose to the other.

************************************************************

Continuing with science, there was an article earlier this week (and the History Channel has a special about it premiering Monday) about a unique set of remains.  So unique, apparently, that it fills in one of the "missing links" of evolution between humans today and animals from millions of years ago.  I was surprised by the word "lemur" appearing in all of this; however, I'm a fan of science and definitely not a scientist (the patch of something growing in the fridge which I keep meaning to clean up does not count as a science experiment).

The entirely irrational side of me still believes there's some mystical link between all of this science and God.  The Hubble telescope, exploring the ocean depths and anti-viral medication are all just tiny glimpses into what we call God.  Maybe I should consider a career as a minister or a full-time psych patient.

************************************************

As I finished the above section, I somehow got onto a soapbox and whined my poor partner's ears off about the non-passage of five CA state ballot initiatives.

The latest chatter is the only way to close the state government's budget deficit is to eliminate programs that assist the state's poor.  Not only those who appear to be taking advantage of welfare (a really small percentage, I'm sure) but everyone else who is working full time hours, trying to raise children, pay for rent/mortgage, food, etc.  All of these programs -- gone.  And, somehow magically, all the problems will disappear.

I'm just going to stew a bit more.  I know I'm not sharp enough to know what programs to cut which help the least number of people and/or who help those who are already wealthy.  Should be interesting to see if CA's legislature can turn down the panicked rhetoric and make tough budget decision for everyone, not just for every poor person in the state.

As our week begins, some interesting stories:

On most days during my work week, the last hour of the day has been quite slow, so I get time to surf the 'net and get caught up on stories others may miss.

All of these stores come courtesy of Yahoo! -- my employer's choice of safe sites to visit.

So, there really may be another planet like Earth in the Universe?  Seems the answer is yes.  Though, mathematically, the odds of another planet orbiting a star being close enough to sustain life and that planet being close enough in size and of similar composition to support some sort of life are quite good.  There are A LOT of stars in our galaxy, never mind the entire Universe!

This is sort of like crossing the Mojave by car from L.A and seeing Las Vegas in the last 10 miles of the journey -- it always feels like you can reach out and touch it and it never gets close enough to you fast enough.

Where's that warp drive technology when you need it?

************************************************************************************

A new book to read?  What may have turned out to be an exercise in cynicism turned into, according to the article, an interesting semester of a liberal finding common ground with Christian conservatives.  I've been trying to do this very same thing here and wherever I wander on-line -- maybe the author has a few pointers on how I could be more effective.

************************************************************************************

Finally, a fascinating story from the world of amateur Mixed Martial Arts (MMA, or Ultimate Fighting) about Kyle Maynard.  I'll link direct to the author's site for this story.  It all comes down to whether a mixed martial arts fighter has a fair opportunity to win matches in spite of issues with his arms and legs.

The interview below was posted a couple of days before his first match yesterday.  Though he lost his match, it was lost after fighting a full match - no TKO, no tap-out.  The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has an after-match interview with Kyle.  By their and Kyle's account, he had already won by just fighting all of the way through the match and defying those who predicted he couldn't last through the entire match.

The only way in this life that anyone loses is by doing nothing.  Imagine if we stopped looking for planets outside our solar system, stopped trying to infiltrate groups who are not like us then finding common bonds and stopped training for the next fight.

Keep fighting, infiltrating and training.  WTG, Kyle !

@ Yahoo! Video

The (you pick it) big event!!!

As I like to do, I'll post three stories with quick takes and you get your pick of which one to read (or read 2 or 3 . . or go nuts and read all 3!  they've been in my head at some point in the day, why shouldn't you get the full taste of what rattles around inside my skull ?)

First, some photos!

Aah, the look of Hollywood Blvd. in Hollywood first thing in the morning!  Today, actor Hugh Jackman was honored by having his hands and feet set in cement in front of the entrance to Graumann's Chinese Theatre (see the red sign in the background).

By the time of the ceremony (around 10:30 am today), the best anyone could get to a look at the festivities were across the street.  All could hear Jackman chatting nervously with the crowd in the stands before he "took the plunge".  I had time to snap this pic above before I had to scurry back to the phones.  Customers before celebrity !!

Later this afternoon, I got this shot when an employee was lifting the cover off the cement block:

Yep.  Just another day amongst the glitz and glamor . . .

Next, a very exciting discovery made a little over 20 light years away from Earth:  The discovery of a planet orbiting another star within a range which would permit a temperature range considered "hospitable" to life AND is not a gas giant planet like Jupiter or Saturn are in our solar system.  According to the article, scientists have discovered just 350 planets which orbit other stars.  This is a bit like finding an individual blue/green colored grain of sand in the midst of the Sahara.  Yeah, it's that exciting!  I cannot wait until we can get orbiting telescopes in place and tasked to search other stars for Earth-like planets.

Finally, it looks like the most interesting place in Washington D.C was in today's Presidential Press Briefing.  By just the tiniest of slivers, it appears as if the President is leaving an opening to investigate, question, study, etc., those who drafted the "how to . ." documents released last week on how "enhanced inter . . " (oh, for Heaven's sake, let's just call it Torture!!) was to be carried out.  I'll leave it to you to track them down . . I'm catching the jist from listening to excerpts from one of the liberal radio chat show hosts and it reads like a recipe book crafted by the Devil himself.

In times like these, I get so much more likely to want to just hang out at Graumann's and wait for the next celebrity movie premiere or star ceremony or hand/footprint ceremony . . .

So, now can we start growing our own?

Terrific news on the war on cancer.  I know . . no one in the White House has actually declared war on this.  However, I have lost far too many family members to cancer with my sister-in-law having fought the latest battle in our family and kicked cancer hard in the keister!

It looks like the "active ingredient" in marijuana may be a potent weapon in the treatment of brain cancer.  I'm sure more studies need to be done and the effectiveness of the synthetic version versus that which occurs naturally in marijuana will need to be evaluated, too.

I'm just happy to celebrate any victory I can find when it comes to beating cancer!

You pick the story, I'll supply the outrage!

OK, "outrage" may be too strong a word.  Lots of things have popped up from the satellite as I drove home from the Park n Ride today:

Baseball fans were surveyed recently by the Associated Press.  They were asked what the biggest problem with Major League Baseball was.  45%, the largest percentage listed, said the cost of seeing an MLB game live at the ballpark is the biggest problem with MLB.

Fans also mentioned player salaries, steroid scandals and the length of games as other problems.

I'm still somewhat of a novice baseball fan.  I do understand how the game is played.  I have no problem at all with players using steroids.  I imagine fans will be able to spot the tell-tale physical signs of regular steroid use quickly enough (if they don't already see them by now).  Fans can decide if they want to support teams with a large number of steroid users or not.

Vote with your admission tickets.  Which brings me to my other semi-informed opinion.  I wish MLB well with increasing ticket prices.  If prices are a barrier, then there will be more empty seats over which TV cameras may pan as the games are broadcast.  If the trend continues, I would expect to see more "fan appreciation" nights OR "family nights" where kids get in for 1/2 price, etc.

Not that I'm becoming a bigger fan or anything . . .

**********************************************************************************

Fox News' Glenn Beck is either stark raving or just crazy like a . . .well, you know.  I'm having problems thinking of the liberal equivalent of this guy.  So, I'll entertain suggestions as long as you back your suggestion with links to transcripts and/or audio/video.

Here (thanks to C & L), Beck carries on about wind power's impractically.  Mr. Amato kindly posts Wikipedia's write-up on overcoming issues inherent with wind power.  It gets a little technical, but I'm sure that's just fine.  It would be quite presumptuous to insist that Beck, oh, I don't know, research for maybe 10 minutes to see that a method exists to harvest wind power without needing to build more nuclear power plants.

For hammy acting and needless carrying-on, I'm sure a Sci-Fi (or SyFy) made-for-TV schlockfest (I say that with much love) will work just fine for me.

**********************************************************************************

If big-business sports and TV news-ish hosts aren't your cup of tea, try this.  Good article and plenty of pictures to click and view.  Ooh, so pretty !

This is just freakin' neat!

Gorgeous photos from nearly 20 miles above the earth by ingenious students who spent all of $125.00 to get them.  The Telegraph UK has the story (you'll want to read it then click on the link to the photos by clicking on the word photograph in the body of the story).

Lovely way to start off the week!

This is so freakin' cool !

Thanks to MSNBC's website for writing up an article and giving the link to the company named Terrafugia.  So Awesome!  At $20/month now being put into my savings account to pick one of these bad boys up, I need to bump it up to maybe $120 a week so I can enjoy my first flight at age 71!  Sure hope I can still drive then -- it's so gonna be worth it!!

Just an interesting article Science/Medicine related

Not everything out there is politics, money and/or music!  I have to confess, though, that I did come across this article while scanning through Raw Story.

Very interesting notion developing a tool to measure levels of consciousness and what researchers have and will learn in all of this development may prove even more interesting (just my opinion).

I'll let you insert your favorite media/politician joke regarding conscience here.

Green politics and irony

Was wide awake for several hours in the very early morning today and found these two stories:

First up:  One of California's newest State Assembly members Tom Ammiano introduced a bill yesterday to legalize marijuana for recreational use, much as alcohol and tobacco are now in the U.S.  The idea would be to generate somewhere in the neighborhood of $1 billion in tax revenue, as you can read in this San Francisco Chronicle article (yes, I chose that site purposefully).

Dollar and cents wise, no arguing with raising tax revenue these days.  And, as long as driving under the influence and use on the job, like is now enforced with alcohol, is kept illegal with regular enforcement, I still don't have a problem with this bill.

At this point in the argument, most who support the continued ban on marijuana growing/selling, etc., will site health risks to users and the likely risk to those in the vicinity of the smoke.  As a recovering alcoholic, I could use the same soap box to sermonize banning alcohol production and sales as I have never had positive experiences with alcohol.  I doubt I'd last two minutes on that box before someone yells at me to chill out.  Frankly, they would be right to do so. 

As is the case with tobacco, if individuals prohibit use in public places and in their homes, they can just as easily avoid marijuana as they now do with tobacco.  On the other end, cigar bars are still open in various places around the country with all those who enter the premises having full knowledge to what they are being exposed.  I would expect marijuana bars/clubs/houses to also sprout up overnight (yes, the imagery is intentional), creating still more tax revenue (could you imagine the money made from selling users all sorts of munchies?)

I'll let the other side of this argument speak for themselves -- I just can't argue against their points.

and, speaking of changes to the environment:

File this under ironic:  A satellite which was launched early this morning from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California failed to reach orbit and crashed into the ocean near Antarctica.  What was the satellite designed to do?  Measure CO2 levels in the earth's atmosphere.

Hmm, I guess these two stories don't tie in together -- I'm just pulled in all sorts of directions when I'm surfing the 'net for news.

Happy 200th, Darwin & Lincoln!

What an interesting coincidence having scientist Charles Darwin and 16th President of the United States Abraham Lincoln born on exactly the same day and year (2/12/1809)!

The only place I heard or read about this was on the Thom Hartmann show earlier today.  Hartmann had as a guest on his show a gentlemen with The Darwin Project.  The guest made some interesting observations on the "survival of the fittest" notion Darwin only mentioned a few times versus many more mentions of the term "moral sensitivity".  This makes a stronger case that humanity's survival has little to do with the "pulling (of one's self) up by (its) bootstraps", which conservatives tend to champion as the American ideal in economic issues; rather, it is how people treat each other which point to how long and well we may survive on the planet.

Update: I found an article approximately 6:30 pm today on MSNBC about Darwin's birthday.  My apologies for the oversight

Mr. Hartmann also played a voicemail during the program from a pastor who mentioned the Clergy Letter Project.  They are having their Evolution Weekend today through Sunday.  The link to the Clergy Letter Project above will take you to their site and let you find congregations who are recognizing this weekend in your state as well as a link to sermons delivered by various churches during previous weekends.  

The group seeks to recognize that ". . . numerous clergy from most denominations have tremendous respect for evolutionary theory and have embraced it as a core component of human knowledge, fully harmonious with religious faith."

It feels good to know that I am not alone in my view that evolution is how life on this planet has come to be what it is now and that religious faith need to be set aside to accept the theory of evolution.  I imagine it more interesting to see how evolution determines what type of life exists on a planet rather than scooping up clay, molding it and breathing life into it.  I think the saying which begins "Give a man a fish . ." is the easiest way to summarize why evolution would be much more interesting to a deity.

The White House website gives a good thumbnail sketch biography of Lincoln.  President Obama is scheduled this evening to speak at the Abraham Lincoln Association Annual Banquet.  It appears to me that, once again, the only way President Lincoln's birthday was going to be acknowledged was through the current U.S. President attending this banquet and delivering the keynote address.

All around the blogosphere for 1/31/09

So much on-line drew my attention today -- lots of things going on in the world.  I just didn't feel there was anything happening that needed my own unique take.

I will admit to watching interviews of Ted Haggard and his wife with brief appearances by one (Larry King Live) or two (Oprah) of his children upon the premiere on HBO of the documentary "The Trials of Ted Haggard".  From my point of view as a Christian and a gay man, I started by feeling angry then just sad for the whole lot of them.  Every other LGBT person I know is on an ongoing journey with their sexuality and how that is expressed.  My prayer is that Ted continues his journey, continues to choose honesty over deceit with himself and his family and realize that Christianity and being gay are not mutually exclusive.  I have for years considered my sexuality as a gift from God, separating me from most so I can be most available to be of help.

Along those lines, here's what caught my eye today:

Embracing Two Spirit Traditions:  A point of view and a group that sheds light on the gift and responsibility of being different. 

Mt. Redoubt:  Some odd things are possible in Alaska any day now.  And, no, none of it has to do with its current governor

Weekly Presidential Address:  Video with Captions plus the text of speech are available.  A good recap of goings on between Congress and the White House with a hint as to what we might see in the coming week of Presidential politics.

"And that's the word":  When I watch the Colbert Report, I spend most of my time laughing hysterically and the rest of the time shaking my head at the silliness.  Once in a while, the humor comes with a sharp bite that turns fits of laughter into more head shaking.  The clip below, one of his "The Word" segments, is case in point:

The Colbert ReportMon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c

The Word - The Audacity of Nope

Colbert Report Full Episodes
Paul McCartney Appearance

Funny Political Videos
More Funny Videos

Reaching out to pull the neighbor's finger?

Again, HUGE astronomy / solar system / exo-planet geek here!

Just saw a segment on BBC News America about methane gas being "belched" out from under the surface of Mars which may mean, according to a senior planetary scientist at NASA Goddard Spaceflight Center, ". . . there could be biology that's going on either very near the surface or deep below the permafrost layer (of Mars)"

Life, if it does now exist on Mars, may be microbial.  So, I would not expect blasts of flatulence from little green men.  However, if there is something now living on Mars, it lends more credence to the possibility of life in another solar system and/or life existing in environments which do not match any environment on Earth.

Reaching out to the neighbors

In my time in between gown commentary, interior design critique, financial bailout investigations and job hunting, I consider myself a VERY amateur astronomer.

That's why this news is more exciting that I could express (but I'll try)! While it will be amazing to discover an Earth-like world somewhere in our galaxy, my guess is that the next step will be trying to figure out if life exists in this Earth-like world.  

As it is, the potential for life exists in our own solar system, and not just under the surface of Mars.  I caught the tail end of an episode of "The Universe" on the History Channel (yeah, I know -- whatever is planet hunting doing on a History Channel . . oh, well) last night which illustrated this new orbiting telescope and outlined how the search for Earth-like planets outside of our solar system has gone so far.

Would be nice to get more folks interested in this.  I'll definitely be watching March 5!

. . and a much better afternoon!

Got out of the house this afternoon and cleared my head a bit. Getting the unemployment check didn't hurt my outlook any, either.  On my way back home, however, there was a swarm of LA County Sherrif's Deputy patrol cars at the corner nearby the apartment complex, plus another couple of cars at the next block, preventing me from parking in the complex AND a circling helicopter.  Even for our neighborhood, this was excessive!

I'll try keeping an eye on the 'net to see if this event warranted any coverage.

Also was enjoying watching a new Olbermann tonight.  Very cool quick story he did on this fellow in New Zealand and on some outrageously pricey upgrading to the Secretary of the Interior's office.  So nice to see the world is spinning around as always ?

I needed a laugh . .

. . and, my guess is, so do you!

My partner has recently developed a fear of opening his own mail, so he asked for help with opening and sorting about a couple of week's worth of it this morning.  Fortunately, nothing was past due, everything to which needed replying has been replied.  Included in the stack were a few Christmas cards.  One of them included a quick note which included news that the sender had been laid off last month.

Including what I heard from my biological family and from my church family, I now know of six people laid off this year.  I sorely wished I had some advice for finding a new job and, for some reason today, I am tapped out of my usual limitless optimism.

So, I will start changing my attitude by writing about what else I accomplished today.

I went through the last couple of days of e-mails.  After reading through job alerts from many of the major job posting sites, I applied for three jobs (which is better than two, one or none).

I also got an e-mail from the Obama-Biden transition team inviting me to visit a new "Open for Questions" page from the change.gov website.  Viewing the thousands of questions posted does not require registration to the site; however, posting your own question and/or voting yes or no does.  After registering, I voted "yes" on seven questions ("yes" meaning participants want the question answered by the transition team).  The question getting the most "yes" votes are right in line with what one may read in any of the more popular left-wing blogs.

Then, after perusing said left-wing blogs, I found a link to a BusinessWeek article listing the ten worst predictions involving the U.S. Economy for this year.  My bet is you will find a good chuckle out of at least one of the ten predictions (my guffaws came from prediction #9).

Still need a laugh?  Try this.

Who turned out the lights?

Unlike most people, I phrase the title of this post in a tone of gratitude and happiness.  I am very much an amateur star-gazer (the ones in the sky, not the ones down the street).  I don't even own a telescope . . yet.

I had the great joy in October to travel to Tonopah, NV (yeah, I also stopped in Las Vegas, Lake Tahoe and San Francisco) and had tears in my eyes when i drove 10 miles into the desert and saw nothing but stars in the night sky!  This organization is a "one-stop" shop for all things dark-sky, including some suggestions on destinations under the Policy/Programs menu.

One of the stories posted at the MSNBC website is about Death Valley National Park's efforts to make as much of their park a dark sky park as possible.  From what I read, it looks as if they will be successful once they make some modifications to their own lighting.  Blocking the lights from nearby Las Vegas will be a huge challenge, though.  Even if Vegas' lights cannot be blocked, the park stands a good chance of having a majority of its acreage set aside as dark-sky friendly.

On TV: I caught a showing of the newly released movie Christmas on Mars last night.  Please watch this sober or, if you choose to watch this in an altered state, bring a friend as it is one of the weirdest movies I've ever seen. 

That said, I LOVE weird movies! 

Like some of Ed Wood's movies, I could tell everyone tried their best with this movie and poured a lot of heart into it.  If Sundance is not airing it and you're not willing to risk the $10 to buy it off of iTunes, I hope it gets shown it somewhere on TV once a year around Christmas time.