MUGWUMP

Kansas Education Evolving

In response to the Kansas School Board voting to introduce the theory of Intelligent Design in science classes, an open letter to the state school board has been crafted arguing (in a well-thought out and compelling manner) IN FAVOR of teaching Intelligent Design along with the Theory of Evolution in our schools.  

I strongly recommend you check it out so that, if nothing else, you'll know what 'FSMism' is.

I know you already know this...

-but I just want to make sure you know it.

At least twice a month I get an email forwarded from a well-meaning friend or family member who wants to include me in on their good fortune, or they want me to join the fight to save 'Sesame Street', or a similar something along those lines.

I'm sure you all have these friends who do this as well. The 'fortune' email comes with the subject header of "Free Money From Microsoft" and it asks that people send the message along to everyone they know and they'll receive a check from Bill Gates for helping to test out a new soft-ware program which tracks email -- and our friends will insert a quick note in the email that says, "Hey, don't know if this works or not, but it couldn't hurt, right?"

Here's what our friends don't realize:
A.) There's no such "tracking software" that can possibly operate from a system of forwarded emails. Even if there was, I wouldn't want to be included in some sort of mass tracking of my communications with others. It's just WAY too Big-Brothery.
B.) When they say "it couldn't hurt, right?", they fail to realize that there are spammers out there just waiting to get their hands on our email addresses. Imagine how lucky these 'penis enlargement' or 'refinance your home mortgage' guys must feel when one of these chain letters finds its way into their in-box with a thousand valid email addresses included.
C.) Genuine or not, most chain e-mails JUST PLAIN SUCK.

What is one to do??? Well, at the risk of you coming off like a pompous asshole to your friends and family, there IS something you can do. When you get one of these emails, just refer your friend to the Snopes.com page that shows them that they've been had. (If it's a truly annoying friend who's gotten on your last nerve, you can even 'reply all' so that EVERYONE they've sent the chain email to gets the message and in the process you can save -potentially- thousands of people from a similar fate.)

I'm preaching to the choir here, right?

So I'm sure you also know that in those rare instances when a chain email comes along and you're wondering whether or not it actually speaks the truth, then you can go to Snopes and find out for yourself if it's real or some sort of urban legend before sending it along. This little bit of checking has saved me on countless occasions from forwarding something (usually political) that outraged me only to discover that it was a put-on.

Snopes is also great for discovering whether or not those pictures that come along in your email are real or fakes. Like that guy who had his picture taken from the top of the World Trade Center on 9/11 as a plane was approaching and someone found his camera in the rubble and developed the film. Not true... but you knew that, right? And remember that picture of the Olympic weightlifter who'd supposedly lifted too much weight and his rectum popped out? Well, turns out it's not true either. Don't believe me? Check it out here but be WARNED... it's pretty disgusting.

As a last little tip, which we should all make all of our friends aware of.... When sending out an email to a bunch of people, especially those who don't know each other, always always ALWAYS 'BCC' the addresses. There's nothing worse than getting emails from people who I've never met wanting me to come check out their band.

and yes... this post was basically an excuse to put up a link to the weightlifter picture.

Judas Goat

I was driving into work this morning listening to NPR and they were talking about how they were using a 'Judas Goat' to help curb the feral goat population in the Galapagos Islands (where the goats were decimating plant life and, as a result, the tortises who had no food.) I had never heard this term before but thought it sounded really cool and was fascinated by what a Judas Goat does.

From Wikipedia: "A Judas Goat is a term used to describe a trained goat used at a slaughterhouse and in general animal herding. The Judas goat is trained to associate with sheep or cattle, leading them to a specific destination. In stockyards, a Judas goat will lead sheep to slaughter, while its own life is spared. Judas goats are also used to lead other animals to specific pens and on to trucks. The term Judas Goat is derived from a biblical reference to Judas Iscariot.

"The phrase has also been used to describe a goat that is used to find feral goats that are targeted for eradication. In many ecosystems goats introduced there mostly by European colonists are a pest. The Judas Goat is outfitted with a transmitter, painted red and then released. The goat then finds the remaining herds of wild goats, allowing hunters to exterminate them."

Nothing to add... Just wanted to share.

What are they thinking?

So the month of August brings with it the longest EVER presidential vacation and a chance for the administration to duck and cover and hope that the Karl Rove mess will be old news by the time they return to Washington. The absence of Bush (and Bush mouthpiece Scott McClellan) has also made more noticeable the absence of Dick Cheney. Seriously, when's the last time anybody saw this guy?

It makes me wonder if they're getting ready for something I've been predicting since before the last election. It is my belief that Cheney will not finish out his 2nd term as Vice-President.

Why? Because the neo-cons need to have someone in place to run for President in 2008 and since the defacto nominee is usually the vice-president (and since Cheney's heart problems are a definite Achilles' heel) it seems logical that Cheney will step down for one reason or another to allow George W. Bush to nominate his brother Jeb as vice-president - thus putting him in a prime position for an '08 run for the White House.

Believe me, I hope I'm wrong.

On Golden Pond

I'm at the point in my Netflix rentals where I've seen pretty much all the movies I've made note of over the years that I need and want to see -- and so now I find myself searching through the myriad of other available titles trying out movies that either I have never heard of or ones that I originally thought wouldn't interest me.

About 3 weeks ago "On Golden Pond" showed up in my mailbox and I'd forgotten I'd even put it in my rental queue, but there it was, in my hand, with me thinking "Oh Jeez. THIS is gonna be a snoozefest. Why did I rent this?" The film was released in 1981 when I was 11 years old and I'd always known it was one of those award winners, but really, in my mind I'd somehow gotten the impression that the movie was just one big yawn. I mean, come on... old people being really old (Henry Fonda and Kate Hepburn) and dealing with their daughter (Jane Fonda) and reflecting on life while watching the light reflect off of the titular shimmering water. So it sat by my DVD player, unwatched, week after week, as I could never quite summon the enthusiasm to begin viewing it... until last night when finally I thought, "well, it's either this or Fear Factor on NBC." So... almost begrudgingly I popped the movie into the DVD player and settled down to accept my punishment for my willy-nilly rental choices.

Let me tell you..., I was a MESS by the end of this movie. It's funny, suspensful in spots, endearing, and if you watch the documentary about the making of it right after you finish the movie you get an even deeper appreciation for the film.

So there it is... a recommendation for those of you like-minded people out there who have never seen it.

Story #10: My Ryan Phillippe story

One night a couple of years ago I was at a casual reunion at the Standard Hotel on the Sunset Strip catching up with old co-workers I hadn't seen since we were all working on Flubber. When I finished up what must have been my 3rd or 4th martini, I decided that I was in the mood for a cigarette but, after asking everyone around the table and learning they were all non-smokers, I had to go outside to the swimming pool patio in search of one.

There were a couple of guys standing in the opening that led from the bar area to the pool and I could tell from his silhouette -- and a bright red glowing cherry at the business end of a cig -- that the guy who had his back to me was smoking.

I sidled up behind him and in my "help a bro out" voice said, "Can I bum a smoke?"

He turned to me and as his face came into the light from the bar I was surprised to see that it was Ryan Phillippe... handsome as ever... out on the town with a buddy... with his wife Reese nowhere to be seen.

He eyed me seriously for a second and then said, "What'cha gonna do for it?"

Fairly innocently and without even thinking about it I replied, "What do you WANT me to do for it?

He grinned and said, "Nawh, that's alright. Here you go." as he reached for the pack in his jacket pocket, fished a cigarette out for me and lit it.

I thanked him with a nod as I walked away, grateful that inhaling the cigarette made it impossible to speak.... Because the reality of the situation was that right about when he was leaning in to light my cigarette, I'd realized how packed with innuendo my response to him was, and I'd suddenly become mealy-mouthed; certain that I wouldn't have been able to manage a coherent combination of words if my life had depended on it.

But I'm also certain I probably would have done whatever he'd requested of me for the cigarette.

The Fireman's fireside companion

Our office building is situated next door to the Culver City Fire Department and the other day the mailman mistakenly delivered two copies of the latest issue of "The Firemen's Grapevine" to us instead of them. It's a glossy magazine published by the Los Angeles Firemen's Relief Association.

I started walking them over to our neighbors while flipping through the pages and became fascinated by the contents, so..., by the time I reached the door to the Fire Station, I'd pocketed one of the copies so I could share some of it here. (Don't worry... as soon as I'm done I'll take the second issue to them and hopefully the cute and hunky fireman I gave the first one to will still be there.)

There are certain things about the fire department that haven't once ever crossed my mind. Take, for example, the fact that part of their revenue is generated by fire extinguishers -- which, incidentally, was down $1000 in 2004 from 2003. And did you know that three activities preferred by firefighters are handball, motorcycling, and golf?

There's also a great section in the magazine called "Department In Action" which has photos of some of the exciting things the Los Angeles Fire Department encountered during the previous month. (I'm particularly fond of the bear story.)

What most intrigues me though, is - based on the ads in the back on the magazine - how interested firemen are in Alpacas and Laser Hair Removal.

The Aristocrats

Kevin and I went to see this documentary by Penn Jillette and Paul Provenza last night and it was just hysterically terrific. I first learned about it over a month ago and had been pining to see it since. As a result I think I might have over-prepped for watching it by reading too much about it beforehand (which might have slightly dampened my enjoyment of it). Kevin, on the other hand, knew absolutely NOTHING about what we were going to see... he simply agreed to go on my urging... and he laughed his ass off the entire time.

So... I really recommend that you go see it without knowing anything more about it if you're the type of person that really enjoys a good dirty joke.

BUT... if you're the type of person like me that has to know what they're getting themselves into try this review or this Frank Rich column about Gilbert Gottfried at Hugh Hefner's Friar's Club Roast.