tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-120185102024-02-03T10:50:55.342-05:00Dadaist Equestrian"Arthritis snow blur in demand..."Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger71125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12018510.post-45311084201358924892009-11-23T10:56:00.002-05:002009-11-23T11:11:28.819-05:00What would you say were your big mistakes?<p>As they flock in great numbers, exchanging their hard-won piles of birdseed for a volume so few of them will ever read, one hears the sad cry of the Teabag-crested American Nitwit: "Sign our books! Sign our books! Sign our books!"</p>
<p>By tomorrow, we will no doubt learn exactly why <a href=" http://is.gd/51U3d">the abrupt departure</a> of Sister Sarah's Tour Bus of Broken Dreams was really Obama's fault.</p><div class="blogger-post-footer">From <a href="http://dryfoo.blogspot.com/">Dadaist Equestrian</a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12018510.post-17110291275409298222009-10-16T10:14:00.003-04:002009-10-16T10:22:13.242-04:00The Franklin Stove<p><em>It's called a <em>Franklin Stove</em> because it's a
Colonial-style drink and it keeps you warm in the winter.</em></p>
<p>THE ONLY DIFFICULT PART OF THIS RECIPE is caramelizing the sugar.
Heat the sugar gently to melt it, stirring frequently. Cut the heat
when it gets darker brown, before it burns. If it starts to foam, get
it off the heat <em>immediately</em> and slowly pour in some of the
cider to cool it. NOTE: Melted sugar is <em>much</em> hotter than
boiling water so be careful about splashes. </p>
<h3>Ingredients</h3>
<ul>
<li> 1 ½ Cups white sugar </li>
<li> 4 Cups apple cider (unfiltered) </li>
<li> ¾ C. rum, or brandy</li>
<li> juice of ½ lemon or lime </li>
<li> 1 lemon — thin round slices </li>
<li> kettle of boiling water</li>
<li> 2 tsp ginger </li>
<li> ½ tsp cinnamon </li>
<li> ½ tsp nutmeg </li>
<li> ¼ tsp cardamom </li>
<li> pinch cloves </li>
<li> pinch black pepper </li>
</ul>
<p>NOTE: for all spices, use fine-ground.</p>
<p><em>Caramelize</em> the white sugar in a thick-bottomed sauce pan
over a moderate heat. Stir regularly and don't let it burn. Turn heat
to low once all the sugar is melted. There will be a little smoke
anyway. When it approaches the dark brown of maple syrup, take it off
the heat, and...</p>
<p><em>Add</em> the apple cider — carefully. The sugar is
<em>hot</em>, so there could be spattering. The caramel will harden
when the cool cider is added.</p>
<p><em>Heat</em> until the cider simmers and the caramel has completely
dissolved.</p>
<p><em>Add</em> the spices and stir thoroughly</p>
<p><em>Add</em> the lemon and/or lime juice.</p>
<p><em>Scatter</em> the lemon slices on top</p>
<p><em>Simmer</em> gently for at least ten minutes (or move it to a
pre-heated crockpot for serving later).</p>
<p><em>Ladle</em> the mix into large mugs.</p>
<p><em>Add</em> a shot (1 ½ ounces) of rum to each mug and serve.
If it's too sweet, add some hot water, to taste.</p>
<p>Serves 4.</p>
<p>DRINK HEARTILY and discuss topics in science and liberty.</p><div class="blogger-post-footer">From <a href="http://dryfoo.blogspot.com/">Dadaist Equestrian</a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12018510.post-36710508795919316242008-11-05T06:08:00.008-05:002008-11-05T06:38:45.326-05:00"It can all turn on a dime..."<p>I was just looking at <a href="http://dryfoo.blogspot.com/2005_05_01_archive.html">the first entry</a> I ever posted to this blog. It concerned <a href="http://www.thenation.com/blogs/thebeat?pid=2711">a piece in <em>The Nation</em></a> comparing Bill Moyers and Rush Limbaugh, and it's worth excerpting here today:</p>
<blockquote><em><p>It can all turn on a dime. The mob has always been fickle. Rush can be the Voice of the People today, and an odd historical curiousity tomorrow. How to make that change? Find every outlet and every way to talk to working people about their jobs, their debts, their fears, hopes, and ideals.</p>
<p>We're not against Bush because he's a smug smarmy smirky ignorance-peddling son of privilege (okay, well we *are*) but more importantly because his policies are screwing up the lives of all kinds of people all over the country, and the world. We're not against Rush because he's an abusive hubristic gas-bag (okay, well we *are*) but because he's misleading people, distracting them away from the causes of the difficulties and dangers to their own lives and well-being.</p>
<p>Moyers has been a resource for helping the already politically-aware, as is The Nation. But Rush is reaching a huge audience that hasn't made the connection between the powers-that-be and the conditions of their own lives. That's the gap that the useless big-media teevee evening news, local and national, isn't filling. That's the missing piece.</p>
<p>If the people catch wise, it's all over for Rush and company.</p></em></blockquote>
<p>Well how 'bout that?</p>
<p>Here's another quote. It's from Annie Kinsella (Amy Madigan) in the movie <em>Field of Dreams</em>:</p>
<blockquote>There you go. America, I love you. I'm proud of you.</blockquote><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCYcWpHdu-NYA4e1euyMqozhPhq94O6tsBeVqidord1ALRfSbiLiZza4H8ogOWd2MLlpBlykcRMKYj_L8Jw_bYInVN7eceAWXIw20d8ONEgEYXIGrKE7fwbdsaavVoEBN8iAY/s1600-h/b_02.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCYcWpHdu-NYA4e1euyMqozhPhq94O6tsBeVqidord1ALRfSbiLiZza4H8ogOWd2MLlpBlykcRMKYj_L8Jw_bYInVN7eceAWXIw20d8ONEgEYXIGrKE7fwbdsaavVoEBN8iAY/s200/b_02.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5265134110540294642" /></a><div class="blogger-post-footer">From <a href="http://dryfoo.blogspot.com/">Dadaist Equestrian</a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12018510.post-75267154884264283842008-10-28T22:15:00.004-04:002008-10-28T22:27:35.583-04:00My pal Gordon, againThis is my pal Gordon again, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZaOj99IlzDc">playing a pair of walkie-talkies</a> like a kind of faux-theremin. He's an enthusiastic, and oddly-talented, thereminist.
<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5UayYdZWly69zn5MwOe0MH0UXlYo7_Qyg2QEei_9XvHdoYoqCcoshn1OxtVu29SxxfG5Nhii45_nWcGA8ytdtbeBU1qQXvSUMi7_k3up7wj81Ezpy12pCHbMoCGW9N6hMu40/s1600-h/thumbs-charlton.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5UayYdZWly69zn5MwOe0MH0UXlYo7_Qyg2QEei_9XvHdoYoqCcoshn1OxtVu29SxxfG5Nhii45_nWcGA8ytdtbeBU1qQXvSUMi7_k3up7wj81Ezpy12pCHbMoCGW9N6hMu40/s320/thumbs-charlton.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5262396448835408130" /></a><div class="blogger-post-footer">From <a href="http://dryfoo.blogspot.com/">Dadaist Equestrian</a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12018510.post-49780556939854286562008-10-16T13:28:00.002-04:002008-10-16T13:30:09.785-04:00On the trailSome folks have commented that Obama looked a bit distracted last night, during the final debate. My guess is that he's a little worried because he still hasn't found the last of Dick Cheney's horcruxes.<div class="blogger-post-footer">From <a href="http://dryfoo.blogspot.com/">Dadaist Equestrian</a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12018510.post-58722568662468995472008-10-03T20:39:00.006-04:002008-10-03T20:51:43.305-04:00Just needed to refresh my eyes...<p>I thought I'd take a moment here to refresh my eyes and my spirits, with a break from daily crapfest.</p>
<blockquote><em>
<p>We hold these truths to be self-evident,</p>
<ul>
<li> that all men are created equal, </li>
<li> that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, </li>
<li> that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. </li>
<li> That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, </li>
<li> That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. </li>
</ul>
</em></blockquote>
<p>There, wasn't that better?</p><div class="blogger-post-footer">From <a href="http://dryfoo.blogspot.com/">Dadaist Equestrian</a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12018510.post-75700587829465576112008-09-28T00:13:00.004-04:002008-09-28T00:18:18.759-04:00Fill in the blank<p>So, turns out that Sarah Palin can't really see those Alaskan islands from her house, after all.</p>
<p>Seems that was only an... _______ ________ .</p>
<p>[Come on, you can do it!]</p><div class="blogger-post-footer">From <a href="http://dryfoo.blogspot.com/">Dadaist Equestrian</a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12018510.post-57133607508064869482008-09-20T11:54:00.003-04:002008-09-20T12:28:21.411-04:00New Rules: Etiquette<p>(yes, I'm stealing the format from <a href="http://www.hbo.com/billmaher/new_rules/">Bill Maher</a>)</p>
<p>New Rule: from now on, if someone offers you something, and you would like to have it, you can accept it by saying "Thay-inks, but no thay-inks!" and then reaching out and taking it anyway.</p>
<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiITZ6rSi6KJ916_0zlllVuuwMGUmOmpFHzqu2G6azRbIkO-da94I_xhXaxFaSN_NewzoWkNhCVDQrVZcdVAL2Dmdhe3PFtmuQQ4G_vM-RePlOsOu4T6zXm830XXyqWxFKf8N0/s1600-h/palins.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiITZ6rSi6KJ916_0zlllVuuwMGUmOmpFHzqu2G6azRbIkO-da94I_xhXaxFaSN_NewzoWkNhCVDQrVZcdVAL2Dmdhe3PFtmuQQ4G_vM-RePlOsOu4T6zXm830XXyqWxFKf8N0/s320/palins.png" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5248140912272628770" /></a><div class="blogger-post-footer">From <a href="http://dryfoo.blogspot.com/">Dadaist Equestrian</a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12018510.post-88530203230481977002008-08-22T14:11:00.007-04:002008-08-22T14:54:59.277-04:00Well, that's just not rightGoogle <a target="de2" href="http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&safe=off&q=%22Celestial+Sneezings%22&btnG=Search">reports</a>:<br />
<tt>"No results found for "Celestial Sneezings"</tt><br />
Someone really ought to do something about that.<div class="blogger-post-footer">From <a href="http://dryfoo.blogspot.com/">Dadaist Equestrian</a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12018510.post-84794201518342006452008-08-15T16:36:00.007-04:002008-08-16T11:49:32.408-04:00I miss old time radio...<blockquote>
<p>“...Live from the Rump Roast Room of the Hotel Electric, City Biscuit Bakeries — makers of Rustler's Oak-Tree Cremes, the unexpected flavor that Takes You Out Of This World, and Crocker's Golden Donuts, the familiar family favorite that Always Brings You Home Again —
are proud to present an hour of fine musical entertainment with Commodore Reginald Starcher and his Blue Suit Civilian Orchestra, featuring the vocal stylings of Miss Kitty Wilt.</p>
<p>“Here they are with an exotic number from down South America way, <em>No Thank You, Jerome, I Don't Care to Tango.</em>...</p>
<p>* * *</p>
<p>“And now, Martin Cross-Hyde and the City Biscuit Social Orchestra ask the music question, <em>Is that a Smile in Your Pajamas, or Has the Moon Come Out to Play?</em>...”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>...and I'm not even old enough to remember it.</p><div class="blogger-post-footer">From <a href="http://dryfoo.blogspot.com/">Dadaist Equestrian</a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12018510.post-6463991304925052942008-07-25T17:02:00.006-04:002008-09-22T15:51:02.019-04:00Sign of the times<p>As of this afternoon, a google search on the phrase <a target="de2" href="http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&safe=off&q=%22you+voted+for+an+idiot%22&btnG=Search">"you voted for an idiot"</a> returns 859 hits.</p>
<hr />
<p><em>"Sign of the times" will be a continuing feature.</em></p>
<hr>
<p>Update: Mon Sep 22 15:46:30 EDT 2008: As of this afternoon, the count is up to 1,310 hits.</p><div class="blogger-post-footer">From <a href="http://dryfoo.blogspot.com/">Dadaist Equestrian</a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12018510.post-68149926224182857282008-07-03T13:31:00.003-04:002008-07-03T13:44:38.859-04:00Imaginary Nations<p>My friend Justin posted this at his blog:</p>
<blockquote><em>Y'know, there's a worthwhile sociological experiment to be done: spread the word that Nigeria doesn't really exist -- it's just a hoax invented for the purpose of fake Internet rumors. Anything you hear about Nigeria is, by definition, false.</em></blockquote>
<p>Well, I'm always willing to play along. So I looked it up, and this is what I found:</p>
<blockquote><em>
<p>After Britain ceded independence to her colonies in that region, around 1960, there actually was a unification movement that advocated for a federal nation to be called "Nigeria". It was supposed to include Southern Niger, Biafra, some provinces from the Republic of North Cameroon, the Yoruba Free State, and Lagos-Benin.</p>
<p>Internal squabbling between the three major political parties -- the Nigerian People's Congress, National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons, and the Action Group -- scuttled the idea. A series of conflicts (the Lagos Delta war, the Biafran insurgency, the Cameroon Successions, etc etc etc) discredited all of the pro-unification advocates, and by 1963 the modern borders were pretty much set.</p>
<p>There's still a small pro-unity political group in the region, called "The 419" (named for the UN Security Council Resolution 419, which was to have recognized a "Greater Nigeria") but they have been plagued by corruption in their ranks, and don't have much credibility.</p>
<p>The idea is one of history's interesting might-have-beens.</p>
</em></blockquote>
<p>So when you get those emails from people claiming to be from someplace called “Nigeria” — well, now you know where they got the name from. A single state in that region, well-governed, would probably have provided a lot of economic growth and stability to the whole area, and been a benefit to its neighbors and the world. Too bad it never worked out. Pretty weird speculation though, huh?</p><div class="blogger-post-footer">From <a href="http://dryfoo.blogspot.com/">Dadaist Equestrian</a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12018510.post-26534424590145187082008-07-02T13:15:00.011-04:002008-12-09T20:58:57.734-05:00Free Science Fiction For Everybody!<p><em>“Free Electricity for Everybody!”</em> was the motto
and goal of genius inventor and inter-dimensional refugee Nikola Tesla.
That may not have endeared him to his financial backers, so we're still
paying for our AC the old-fashioned way: cash for wire-delivered
current.</p>
<p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e)
{}" href="http://escapepod.org/" target="de2"><img style="float:left;
margin:0px 10px 10px 0px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;"
src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5S1vm7iX342uMDAlH3_ov-6FPUhk4Yh1XSPWJzp8B7IlT3YhMkOyb-WzH4HM2yUpV04S0RR3wNlrGrFFf9IlCZTruPQ7swW1d0Fj8WEBdCNd6poH3fX-rSajNXFbHCVU4wZ4/s200/Folder.jpg"
border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5218489878114067218" /></a>But
here in the future, at least we can enjoy a stream of other aether-borne
free goods, including a weekly SF story from <a
href="http://escapepod.org/" target="de2">Escape Pod</a>. For a couple
of years now, podhost Steve Eley has been buying real high-quality SF
from authors new and old, classic and up-and-coming, and putting it out
each week to a loyal listener base that should include you.</p>
<p>Recent entries have included M.K. Hobson's “God Juice”,
K.K. Rusch's “Elites”, and my personal favorite, Michael
Swanwick's <a
href="http://escapepod.org/2008/05/08/ep157-a-small-room-in-koboldtown/"
target="de2">“A Small Room in Koboldtown”</a> — a Hugo finalist and this year's Nebula winner. We've also been
treated to a few of Jeffrey R. DeRego's tales in the Union Dues series,
an unexpected angle on the behind-the-scenes lives of superheros. Eley
reads many of these himself, and when he doesn't, he calls on any number
of authors, sf bloggers, and other odd netizens to help out. In this
regard, “Koboldtown” deserves special mention for Cheyenne
Wright's invocation of the varied accents of a peculiar city that isn't
too much like, say, New Orleans, oh no, not at all.</p>
<p>Eley's introductions and other discussions are mostly focused,
considered, and on-point. You don't hear any of that “well, I've
just turned on the mike, now what the hell should I talk about?”
fumfering that bloats some otherwise-good podcasts. And every now and
again, just for fun, he features one of singer-songwriter Jonathan
Coulton's peculiar sf-themed geek-pop tunes. (Don't be surprised if
Coulton's bouncy cheery-sounding <a
href="http://www.jonathancoulton.com/songdetails/Chiron%20Beta%20Prime"
target="de2">“Chiron Beta Prime”</a> becomes one of your
Xmas-time holiday favorites.)</p>
<p>Escape Pod began by covering horror and fantasy as well as science
fiction, but now has two sister podcasts, Pseudopod and Podcastle.
There should be links to those from the Escape Pod site. If not, write
to tell Steve that you found out about him here, and tell him to get
those links up, fergoshsakes. And once you get hooked, don't forget to
buy some merch or make a regular donation. It's free, yeah, but it
ain't cheap, you know?</p><div class="blogger-post-footer">From <a href="http://dryfoo.blogspot.com/">Dadaist Equestrian</a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12018510.post-18520078801919309222008-06-16T19:08:00.003-04:002008-06-16T19:14:44.744-04:00Quote for the day<p>“You must be the change you seek in the world.”<br>   — Gandhi</p>
<p>“...or the world will seek the bee in your change.”<br>   — The Sphinx</p>
<p>(He's <em>terribly</em> mysterious.)</p><div class="blogger-post-footer">From <a href="http://dryfoo.blogspot.com/">Dadaist Equestrian</a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12018510.post-17161542705979734992008-06-14T10:58:00.001-04:002008-06-14T11:00:42.138-04:00Natural History Corner — the Papageno Bird<p>Report on the the mating ritual of <em>Reclutus papagenus</em> of
Central America</p>
<p><em>by John James Autobahn</em></p>
<p>Recent behavioral observations of a little-known member of the motmot
family (<em>Momotidae</em>) have discovered a previously unknown, and
possibly unique, type of mating display.</p>
<p>The Papageno Bird (<em>Reclutus papagenus</em>) is monotypic within
the genus <em>Reclutus</em>. Although related to the beautiful
Blue-crowned motmot (<em>Momotus momota</em>), the drab Papageno has
almost none of his cousin's flashy blue plumage, showing only a thin
stripe of iridescent turquoise across the throat of this medium-sized
dark brown-gray bird; along with an arrangement of concentric circles of
bright blue and viridian, alternating, within the broad tips of the two
elongated tail-feathers characteristic of <em>Momotidae</em>. The
females, entirely brown-grey, lack both the tail spots and throat
stripe.</p>
<p>What <em>Reclutus</em> lacks in plumage, he makes up for in talent
and ingenuity. In the highlands surrounding the common border of
Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador, the Papageno takes advantage of
the rich diversity of other bird species to create his remarkable mating
display. Toward the end of the dry season, in early April, the male
attracts a mate in his own peculiar manner. After selecting a suitable
set of tree branches, in an area crowded with other calling and
displaying bird species, he perches in a secluded spot and gets to work.
He begins by imitating the mating call of some other nearby species. He
usually doesn't have long to wait before some outraged suitor comes to
investigate the appearance of a rival in his territory. Papageno hides
in the shadows, waits until the other male is about to leave, and then
repeats the call. After just a few minutes of carefully-timed calls and
pauses, he has the infuriated suitor perched on a chosen branch, unable
to locate the intruder, calling and bobbing in a furious display of
sexual jealousy and confusion.</p>
<p>At this point, the Papageno repeats the trick, but with the call of
yet another species. Once the next male appears, he continues to tease
and infuriate him, while repeating taunts of first visitor just often
enough to keep him from leaving. Then it's on to a third call, to
attract a third angry male.</p>
<p>Typically, the Papageno can attract four or five infuriated males of
completely unrelated species, and, like those old plate-spinners on the
Ed Sullivan show, keep them all active by dextrous timing. One
particularly skilled <em>Reclutus</em> was observed to have nine
furious males bobbing and dancing and calling for more than a hour!</p>
<p>Once this line-up is in place, the Papageno begins to show himself,
perching in front of, and slightly below the others, swinging his
distinctive long tail back and forth, in rhythm with the hoots, greeps,
and wakka-wakkas of his chorus, as if conducting them. By this time
however, the displaying birds seem entranced, absorbed by their combined
performance, and do not seem to pay him much attention.</p>
<p>At this point, the female, if suitably impressed, will perch some
distance away on the same branch as the maestro, and then sidle
gradually towards him. After watching the show for several minutes,
bobbing her head in the rhythm he has established, she may move right
next to him, with contact signalling her willingness to mate.
Copulation is rapid, completed in less than five seconds, but is usually
repeated several more times over the course of five or ten minutes. In
between these encounters, the male (like the plate spinner) must
continue his tail-wagging and occasional mimickry calls in order to
maintain the love chorus. Finally, once the Papagenos have mated, they
fly off together to inspect and repair the female's previously-prepared
nesting area, usually a secluded ground hole at the base of a tree.
Soon after, the chorus breaks up, as the performers decide that they
have at last driven off their rivals.</p>
<p>It is not yet known whether the chorus birds ever "wise up" to this
ruse, or whether the same birds can be bamboozled repeatedly. Further
observations of the Papageno are anticipated in the next several
years.</p><div class="blogger-post-footer">From <a href="http://dryfoo.blogspot.com/">Dadaist Equestrian</a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12018510.post-21727883681368076082008-06-08T19:06:00.002-04:002008-06-08T19:12:13.683-04:00Chercher le pantalon...According to an AP report, the historic Texas Governor's Mansion was severely damaged in a fire early Sunday morning. At present, the state's Fire Marshal suspects arson. I suggest he investigate whether former Governor George W. Bush may have left a pair of his pants in a closet or basement cupboard.<div class="blogger-post-footer">From <a href="http://dryfoo.blogspot.com/">Dadaist Equestrian</a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12018510.post-19907141637606278312008-06-02T16:12:00.014-04:002008-12-09T20:58:58.092-05:00Slammin' at the Shrine<p>It's fast and mean. It's more retro than metro. It's got hard-hitting action, good-natured ultra-violence, and enough tough, sexy dames to fill a long shelf of Mickey Spillane novels. But these gals aren't sitting on anybody's shelf. They are the skating stars of <a href="http://BostonDerbyDames.com" target="de2">Women's Flat Track Roller Derby</a>.</p>
<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4RwolJzQlGxHHc7s1bvaVzvmd-Hch0O671MLAJMHfup49d0TJPhHtmVzzwa2CgfL8Fd7ZrIST8Y7ozDz3dOrU4EMrVbdgReJySY73Q6PmOALsvq0rpylHyx43AtwcuMX8FFQ/s1600-h/bdd0.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4RwolJzQlGxHHc7s1bvaVzvmd-Hch0O671MLAJMHfup49d0TJPhHtmVzzwa2CgfL8Fd7ZrIST8Y7ozDz3dOrU4EMrVbdgReJySY73Q6PmOALsvq0rpylHyx43AtwcuMX8FFQ/s200/bdd0.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5207389716056625714" /></a>
<p>Their second season Boston-area championship will be decided on Saturday, <del>June 19</del> June 14, at the Shrine Auditorium in Wilmington, Mass., when the Cosmonaughties face off against the Wicked Pissahs.</p>
<p>You'll have a couple more chances to catch them later this summer, when the Shrine Auditorium features two more matches. July 19 will see The Boston Massacre take on the Ohio Rollergirls, and then on August 9 the Massacre wheel into action against the Arizona Roller Derby. (Clearly the Boston skaters are already winners at naming their teams.)</p>
<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9B9FrZitjxirNnOjYNaxcZH4i7plKdOw4VEDYQQZAEJLWSv8xmW6IwcUnbMVd35ZWCn0pDuVU_jTfy35oUn3yfi264x4Qqz8j8RnUvmJhl4ecB8MdGmIdW4Mc0wBrOCAGNGM/s1600-h/bdd1.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9B9FrZitjxirNnOjYNaxcZH4i7plKdOw4VEDYQQZAEJLWSv8xmW6IwcUnbMVd35ZWCn0pDuVU_jTfy35oUn3yfi264x4Qqz8j8RnUvmJhl4ecB8MdGmIdW4Mc0wBrOCAGNGM/s320/bdd1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5207390201387930178" /></a>
<br clear="all">
<p>More information, and photos at <a href="http://BostonDerbyDames.com" target="de2">BostonDerbyDames.com</a>.</p>
<p>Yeah, years from now, when Women's Roller Derby is America's National Sport, you'll brag that you were a fan way back in '08. You know you will.</p><div class="blogger-post-footer">From <a href="http://dryfoo.blogspot.com/">Dadaist Equestrian</a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12018510.post-6379476167998922792008-04-16T17:28:00.007-04:002008-04-16T23:08:08.123-04:00You Can Take It With You<p>Years and years ago, when Massachusetts voters were considering a
soda can and bottle refund law called The Bottle Bill, there was
substantial opposition from an "astro-turf" lobbying group that produced
a series of commercials threatening the most awful consequences if the
law were enacted.</p>
<p>On television, we were presented with scenes of a frail elderly woman
precariously making her way down a narrow steep rickety staircase with a
wheeled shopping cart loaded to overflowing with returnable soda cans
and bottles, headed for a certain crash, no doubt followed by death or
at least a hip replacement.</p>
<p>On radio, we heard dire threats that massive hoards of unwashed soda
cans festering in supermarket storage rooms would breed new species of
venomous, plague-carrying roaches.</p>
<p>Finally, a clever political activist/advertising copywriter fought
back with a brilliant radio ad mocking the absurdity of these
panic-mongering appeals.</p>
<p><em>"If the Bottle Bill passes, old ladies will fall down stairs! If
the Bottle Bill passes, old ladies will fall UP stairs! Swarms of rats
and roaches will infest grocery stores! The Black Plague!"</em></p>
<p>as he built to a hysterical climax,</p>
<p><em>"The White Plague! The Greeeeen Plaaaague!! Earthquakes!!!
Floods!!! Tidal Waves!!!! GODZILLA!!!!"</em></p>
<p>he shrieked before, presumably, collapsing in exhaustion and
terror.</p>
<p>It was brilliant, perfectly timed and perfectly pitched to puncture
the nonsensical claims of the anti-Bottle Bill lobby. (Just how did
that old lady get all those bottles up those narrow rickety stairs in
the first place?) I admired the spot at the time, and had the privilege
of meeting its creator a few months later. (My apologies to him, as I
no longer remember his name, and can't find the old tape cassette
holding my copy of the spot.) I've never forgotten how one really good
ad can hit its bulls-eye.</p>
<p>Right now there's a new spot promoting "portable" health care,
i.e. coverage not tied to your crappy job. It's <a
href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oCHIuAShX8A">playing at YouTube</a>
of course, and it might be the Godzilla spot for this campaign. It's
pitch-perfect, funny, memorable, and makes a clear simple point. It's
promoting Senator Ron Wyden's <a href="http://careyoukeep.com/">Healthy
Americans Act</a>, and it could be a winner.</p>
<p><a href="http://CareYouKeep.com/">CareYouKeep.com</a></p>
<p>The Bottle Bill? It passed, by a good margin. And when news
organizations went to call or interview the opponents, they found... an
empty office and an unanswered phone with no forwarding information.
Not a concerned citizen in sight, just the leavings of an industry
political front group. It's been more than 20 years now, and still no
attacks by Godzilla.</p><div class="blogger-post-footer">From <a href="http://dryfoo.blogspot.com/">Dadaist Equestrian</a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12018510.post-32325427065815149352008-04-07T00:17:00.003-04:002008-04-08T13:58:46.958-04:00A Little Quiz -- another hintRegarding that <a href="http://dryfoo.blogspot.com/2008/03/little-quiz.html">Little Quiz</a> from a couple weeks ago, here's another hint. (Although, really, this makes it too easy.) Anyway, the hint: consider a sequence of numbers that begins 2, 80, 53, 34...
(okay, here's the rest...)
...92, 93, 94.<div class="blogger-post-footer">From <a href="http://dryfoo.blogspot.com/">Dadaist Equestrian</a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12018510.post-77415487362040919212008-04-06T20:17:00.003-04:002008-04-06T23:43:07.429-04:00His cold dead hands...No word on whether gun-control advocates finally took <a href="http://tinyurl.com/6duud4">their opportunity</a>.<div class="blogger-post-footer">From <a href="http://dryfoo.blogspot.com/">Dadaist Equestrian</a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12018510.post-63569657893233953352008-03-20T16:02:00.007-04:002008-12-09T20:58:58.267-05:00A Little Quiz<p>List #1: Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn.
List #2: All the other planets.</p>
<p>Question: what theme differentiates the two lists?</p>
<p>First prize, for the first correct reply: a very small prize.
Second prize, for the next correct reply: an even smaller prize.
Third prize: a smug look of dismissal from the other two winners.</p>
<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLJA6qynDlyQ5LWx6oslTUCawTCY3ZC3DsqOqQeWXwcToew9jbh3d1jaafvFSOOTDlDInBT8zrUbaQ8zuM23wjmdx536-VyHk3yrS5L440v-PqodQyxZ8uOVxnRn9ocdKBqfg/s1600-h/pluto1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLJA6qynDlyQ5LWx6oslTUCawTCY3ZC3DsqOqQeWXwcToew9jbh3d1jaafvFSOOTDlDInBT8zrUbaQ8zuM23wjmdx536-VyHk3yrS5L440v-PqodQyxZ8uOVxnRn9ocdKBqfg/s320/pluto1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5179918724860543538" /></a>
<p>If needed, a barely-useful hint will be posted tomorrow.</p>
<hr />
<p>Okay, here's the hint: if you include the Sun <em>and</em> the Moon, they would both be on List No. 2. And now you really have no excuse for not getting this.</p><div class="blogger-post-footer">From <a href="http://dryfoo.blogspot.com/">Dadaist Equestrian</a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12018510.post-29416146855960620772008-03-12T19:38:00.002-04:002008-03-12T19:53:41.955-04:00The Adventures of Phil in the Blanks<p>Let me steer you to <a href="http://tunafishicecream.blogspot.com/" target="de2">Tuna Fish Ice Cream</a>, the new blog of one Philip A. Goldman, formerly of ImprovBoston, Indonesia, and points unknown.</p>
<p>Sometime around the winding down of the whole Iran-Contra thing, Phil abruptly left town and was thereafter only sporadically heard from, usually in unlikely rumors from mutual friends. <em>"Phil's in Hawaii, living in a tree,"</em> or <em>"Phil's working as a waiter in Hong Kong,"</em> or <em>"Phil's on a tiny island, in a Buddhist monastery,"</em> or <em>"Phil's in Thailand, working as a jungle guide"</em>. With Phil, you never knew.</p>
<p>Well, Phil has returned from wherever to someplace nearer, and fortunately for all of us, has begun to write about his adventures in <a href="http://tunafishicecream.blogspot.com/" target="de2">his new blog</a>. You're probably not doing anything more interesting at the moment, so go read it. And tell him I said hello.</p><div class="blogger-post-footer">From <a href="http://dryfoo.blogspot.com/">Dadaist Equestrian</a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12018510.post-35423238140134250302008-03-07T12:55:00.005-05:002008-03-07T13:10:19.077-05:00Here, let me help you<p>What they sent:</p><pre style="font-style: italic; font-size: 0.9em; line-height: 1.0em;">
> WEBMAIL MIT EDUCATION:
> P O Box 02139-4307 77 massachusetts avenue cambridge, ma
> (Customer Services)
>
> INTERNATIONAL WORLD SCAM ALERT
>
> This is to inform you that mails are been sent to email address all
> over the world and they are all scams. So be more carefull on how you
> get along with them. So please you have to co-operate with us on how
> we fight them please send the following informations so we put up a
> scam alert on your emil address....
> Alert Code:,iwsamitc175
>
> 1.Name in full:
> 2.Home Address:
> 3.Age:
> 4.Grade level:
> 5.username:
> 6.E-mail password:
> 7.Phone Number:
> 8.Nationality:
> 9.Sex:
>
> please contact as soon;
>
>
> Email:mitcustomer_service@yahoo.com
> Phone Number:+191 73336663
> Remember to quote your alert code number in all correspondence.
>
>
> Sincerely,
> Mr. Gate Woods
> WEBMAIL MIT.EDU</pre>
<p>What I replied:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>If you can't even the good English being write, then I am not forward the believing of you. Maybe your brain picture over me is stupid, but that truth of reality is not of it! Seeing spam into your message.</p>
<p>with cromulence,</p>
<p>Mister Recipient</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Sometimes I just like to help the Russians and the Nigerizens with their Englishing lessons.</p><div class="blogger-post-footer">From <a href="http://dryfoo.blogspot.com/">Dadaist Equestrian</a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12018510.post-23431197588316600972008-03-05T00:02:00.008-05:002008-06-03T00:33:54.342-04:00Staking one out<p>Okay, I'm planting my flag here, so if anybody else gets the same idea later on, they'll have to recognize my prior claim.</p>
<p>A couple days ago, I was watching some damnfool on teevee talk about, and threaten to prepare, a "Turducken" -- which is of course that well-known and popular dinner entree, the chicken, stuffed inside a duck, jammed into a turkey. ("That was a nice enough turkey dinner, Louise, but wouldn't it have been better if there'd been a whole duck stuffed inside of it? With a chicken inside of that?") Lovely. Just the fact that the new made-up word begins with "Turd" should have given someone second thoughts, wouldn't you think? But no.</p>
<p>Okay, so stuffing one fowl into another into a third is kind of impressive, but does it really stretch the boundaries of abusive, post-modern gluttony? I think not. Hence my new culinary concept...</p>
<p>Dear friends, let me present the "Ewebuffapotamus" which is, obviously, a whole sheep stuffed into a buffalo (preferably the north American buffalo, or 'bison') and all of that wedged into the boneless carcass of a hippopotamus.</p>
<p>Say it with me, "Ewebuffapotamus". Melodious, and perhaps even mouth-watering. Tonight the world changes. At this moment, as I type this, a Google search of "Ewebuffapotamus" returns zero results. But in just a little while, all that will change. We are at the dawn of a new era.</p>
<p>And, dear friends, need it stop there? Why prepare and serve a mere Ewebuffapotamus, when with a little extra preparation you might create a Pigewebuffapotamus, or the exotic Platypewebuffapotamus, or the down-home Squirrecoonewebuffapotamus, or for a larger crowd, even the Bunnypigewebuffapotamusephant?</p>
<p>The frontiers of culinary science have been forced wide open. And now a piglet, stuffed inside a sheep, shoved into a bison, crammed into a hippo, has been thrust down its waiting gullet. Let us rejoice.</p><div class="blogger-post-footer">From <a href="http://dryfoo.blogspot.com/">Dadaist Equestrian</a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12018510.post-76728515260039038682008-02-24T11:00:00.005-05:002008-06-03T00:27:55.437-04:00Sit down and shut up! (I'm completely nadered!)<p><em>(Left this message on the Ralph Nader website, upon learning that His Screwiness has deigned to allow the American Public to vote for him for President again this year.)</em></p>
<p>Ralph Nader should get into a 1961 Corvair and drive himself off of a cliff. I can't believe his supreme ego that he's the only person pure enough to be president is going to lead him to fuck up another election. He has gone from being a valuable and respected force for good to being a joke, a bad joke, at the entire world's expense.</p>
<p>He can't be elected, he won't be elected, he knows he won't be elected, but he will once again attempt to attract votes from independent and democratic voters, to swing the election to another republican. Good ol' Ralph surely made things better for the whole country by running for president in 2004 and 2000, didn't he?</p>
<p>How much money are the republicans secretly pouring into his campaign anyway?</p>
<p>I used to admire Nader. Now I am disgusted. No, beyond disgusted, into some compotation of frustration, disgust, disdain, disrespect, and anger that has no name yet. Maybe it should be called nadered? Yes, I am completely nadered up, or perhaps out.</p>
<p>I hope that one of you zealot/supplicants will get some sense and prevail upon your beloved shaman to sit himself the hell down.</p>
<hr />
<p><em>No, it isn't the most eloquent thing I've ever penned. See what happens when I get so nadered up?</em></p><div class="blogger-post-footer">From <a href="http://dryfoo.blogspot.com/">Dadaist Equestrian</a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0