Taking a breather

As you may have guessed, I'm taking something of an extended timeout from blogging. Several factors have contributed to this, not least among them a new job and the stresses and lack of free time associated with it. But I've also become somewhat mentally exhausted with politics and current events (not to mention the dreary economic situation), and have lacked motivation to blog lately.

I'll probably have some more things to say at some point (likely when elections are on the way), but for now, I'm leaving the commentary to others.

So I'd like to thank everyone for taking the time to read my unique take on things during these past seven months, and say goodbye for the time being. Stay safe, and don't let the world get you down.

This looks like a job for...Master Legend?

This story makes me smile:

Like other real life super-heroes, Master Legend is not an orphan from a distant dying sun or the mutated product of a gamma-ray experiment gone awry. He is not an eccentric billionaire moonlighting as a crime fighter. He is, as he puts it, "just a man hellbent on battling evil." Although Master Legend was one of the first to call himself a Real Life Superhero, in recent years a growing network of similarly homespun caped crusaders has emerged across the country. Some were inspired by 9/11. If malevolent individuals can threaten the world, the argument goes, why can't other individuals step up to save it? "What is Osama bin Laden if not a supervillain, off in his cave, scheming to destroy us?" asks Green Scorpion, a masked avenger in Arizona. True to comic-book tradition, each superhero has his own aesthetic. Green Scorpion's name is derived from his desert home, from which he recently issued a proclamation to "the criminals of Arizona and beyond," warning that to continue illegal activities is to risk the "Sting of the Green Scorpion!" The Eye takes his cue from the primordial era of Detective Comics, prowling Mountain View, California, in a trench coat, goggles and a black fedora featuring a self-designed logo: the "all-seeing" Eye of Horus. Superhero — his full name — is a former wrestler from Clearwater, Florida, who wears red and blue spandex and a burgundy helicopter helmet, and drives a 1975 Corvette Stingray customized with license plates that read SUPRHRO.

Most Real Life Superheroes are listed on the World Superhero Registry, a recently assembled online roster. ("I can't say if I will ever fight an army of giant robots or a criminal mastermind," an Indianapolis superhero called Mr. Silent notes in his entry. "I just don't know.") Some superheroes have joined forces in local crime-fighting syndicates: the Black Monday Society in Salt Lake City, the Artemis National Consortium in San Diego and the tautologically titled Justice Society of Justice in Indianapolis. Attempting to unite all the superheroes under one banner are groups like the World Heroes Organization and Heroes Network, which hosts an online forum where more than 200 crime fighters trade tactics (should I wear a mask?), patrolling tips (how do I identify a street gang?) and advice/feedback (can you get bulletproof vests on eBay?).

I dunno, if I were a real superhero, I'd want a cooler name. And Batarangs.

WTF, Dubai?

World's tallest skyscraper, under construction in Dubai:



Something about that building indicates low self-esteem on the part of the architects...

(click the picture for more detail)

Late night comedy

If you loved the BBC's Planet Earth, this irreverant spoof should crack you up:

I can has fan?

From time to time, I like to see where my readership is coming from, and how they're finding my blog, all that fun stuff. So it was with great surprise (and more than a little delight) that I discovered this link.

Yes, I have a fan!

It seems this blogger, who goes by the alias of NosferatusCoffin (must be some kind of weird pedophile vampire groupie), describes himself as "The anvil that falls on liberal's (sic) heads", and whom I suspect is a lot like this guy in real life, thinks my blog was inspired by his blog, http://www.asmallcornerofsanity.com/.

Some comments from the thread, which I shall respond to in turn:

First, from Nosferatus Superstar himself:

This guy looks to be some Daily K(rhymes with punt) worshipping Canuck who I am sure was inspired by my blog's site title.

I suppose I should be flattered....NOT!

Nope. You shouldn't be. In fact, I had never even heard of your shitty little nutjob blog. Second, I don't worship Daily Kos, only Michael Moore, Ward Churchill, Noam Chomsky, Malcom X, Che Guevera, and Karl Marx.

Next, "Covertness", who I'm sure is very, verrry sneaky in real life....

A canuk who spends all his time bitching about the US.

No, I bitch about anything that is worth bitching about. It isn't my fault if so much bitch-worthy stuff comes from the US of A.

Another pearl of wisdom from our favorite vampire groupie:

Indeed. I suppose we should be grateful that he is already in Moose Land. Now, to just herd all Leftists there, for good.

God knows there is plenty of empty space up there. Especially in the Yukon Territory.

Actually, I have never seen a live moose in my entire life and I live in Nova Scotia. It says so right up there in the top right corner. Can't you morans read?

...I guess I shouldn't mock the illiterate. They have value to society too; someone's gotta clean those dirty public toilets! But they probably shouldn't try to write blogs for a living...

Next, an actual admin (or "Lady Templar") by the name of Talismen (what is it with these people and their fantasy names?) said the following:

You should file suit against his ass.
His canadian-whisky-drunken ass.

Yeah, good luck with that, you sister-fucking toothless rednecks. Hey, you want to hurl baseless epithets at me, it's only fair to respond in kind!

Just remember fellas, we Canadians are EVERYWHERE. Especially where you least expect us. And we have a plan....

Back and better than ever

Hey everyone, I'm pretty much done with the moving now. Got my phone, cable and internet hooked up this morning. I'll try to write a post or two tonight, but no guarantees, given how much work I have left to do.

For all those unaware of internet traditions

If you've ever been "Rick Roll'd", or been assaulted with some obnoxious attack like "LOL, I pwn3d j00 u St00p1D n00b! ROMFL!!!!!!", and the experience left you dumbfounded, this site is for you:

Silly Internet Traditions

(context here)

Blogging? What does that mean, anyway?

From Ezra Klein:

Back in the early days of blogging, the medium was set apart by style as much as venue. It was shorter, punchier, almost never reported or edited. Blogs read very differently from magazines, and even more differently from newspapers. For some blogs, that remains true. But the last year has seen the rise of reported campaign blogs (and other reported blogs, but I'm going to use the campaign example here). Marc Ambinder, Ben Smith, The Caucus, the Trail -- blogs written by serious political reporters, some of them in a style approximating newspaper articles, all of them dedicated to gathering and disseminating new information (not commentary) about the race. Blogs are, increasingly, just a platform. They're set apart by speed, comments, lack of space constraints, ability to embed video, hyperlinks, etc. They're not set apart by a particular type of content. The terms "blogging" or "bloggers" are of almost no analytical use, as they don't describe anything more specific than "writers" or "writing."

Blogs have indeed come a long way, and they are increasingly a medium rather than a particular form of content. The rise of reported blogs further blurs the line between the mediums. There really isn't any meaningful difference between what Ben Smith does and what more traditional political reporters do.

In any case, even blogs that are strictly limited to commentary (like mine) are often more informative and penetrating than what passes for serious reporting. Bloggers like Glenn Greenwald and digby have done an excellent job over the past few years of exposing the corruption and laziness of the MSM, and it's a good thing that the media giants are losing their monopoly on news and analysis.

Ugh....

Okay, I'm almost functioning normally at this point. When it's my turn, I am sooo not doing that. Jesus...

So due to the monster bachelor party hangover that I am doing my best to overcome, and other wedding related business, I will not be blogging much today either. Or tomorrow. But I'll be back, good as new, spewing fresh wisdom by the end of the weekend.

PS: My brother has not dropped off the face of the Earth; he is, of course, insanely busy with wedding preparations. But he should also be back blogging again next week. If anyone cares. ;)

I'm getting popular!

.....well, not quite. But I do seem to have a consistent group of 8 or 9 people that read my blog, and 5 or 6 subscribers. I'm happy that at least a few people enjoy my cranky ramblings.

Widgetmania!

I also added a bunch of widgets to the blog. You'll see some cool stuff over on the right; election stuff, a news headline thing (couldn't find a good ticker, unfortunately), a stock market watch, a couple Batman things, including a countdown timer for the biggest movie of the summer.

Check out my brother's blog too

This is just a shameless plug for my brother's brand new blog, One Sided Argument.

Unfortunately, he isn't as intelligent and entertaining as me, but check out what he has to say all the same.

Hard at work...

I've been busy figuring out this blogging business this afternoon. I think I've added a valid RSS feed, a link to Technorati (hopefully I'll be listed there pretty soon), and even an ad bar.

Publicizing a blog is harder than making a blog. It all seemed so easy last night, but today I've had to figure a bunch of stuff out and work through third-party websites to get it all up and running. I guess I've gotten a couple hits, but nothing much so far. Oh well, Rome wasn't built in a day...

Hello Internet

Hey everyone (if anyone is out there), this is my first ever foray into the harsh world of internet blogging. I felt it was time.

My only goal in this is to help organize and communicate my thoughts and feelings on what's going on in the world, and hopefully get some feedback from others of like mind or maybe even converts.

So bear with me, I'm very new at this; I don't know how half this shit works, and I'll be figuring it out as I go.