"One of seven deadly sins should be using Internet Explorer."

-Anonymous

Heh

JOE SIMON, RIP: Remembering the legendary ‘Captain America’ co-creator, who has died at 98

“Joe Simon and Jack Kirby’s Captain America was the first comic I read that made me feel like I was watching an exciting action movie,” Stan Lee has told Comic Riffs. “To me, the way Simon and Kirby wrote and drew Captain America gave me the same thrill as watching Errol Flynn playing Robin Hood on the big screen.

“There was a sense of power and drama and excitement in Joe and Jack’s work that made it totally unique and always enjoyable.”

"The only way you can get good, unless you're a genius, is to copy. That's the best thing. Just steal."

—	Ritchie Blackmore

Just starting

Amir Khan unification title fight.
Awwwwyeaah..
#boxing
#Emailpost

"I came," she said, "hoping you could talk me out of a fantasy."
"Cherish it!" cried Hilarius, fiercely. "What else do any of you have? Hold it tightly by its little tentacle, don't let the Freudians coax it away or the pharmacists poison it out of you. Whatever it is, hold it dear, for when you lose it you go over by that much to the others. You begin to cease to be."

- Thomas Pynchon (The Crying of Lot 49)

Awwww, ANOTHER friend of mine asked for my nonexistent BlackBerry pin

She was asking about my availability in this project of hers--and God knows I could use the extra dough after what happened to my kids' bedroom last week--and it seems txt messaging or talking on the phone just won't cut it.

Should I then step into the second decade of this century, and get myself a BB?

Do cats shit grass they once in a while graze?

#unedited
#emailpost

I must be cool enuff not to get into a state of panic

The first BIG rain of the season just seriously showed the shitty work the last fuckin' roofer/handyman I hired did: My daughter's room is pretty much "destroyed."
She's gonna need a new bed, a new wardrobe, a new just about everything else, and that is if I can speedily find a decent roofer fix the downright totally fucked up drainage.
Shit I need more jobs.

#mylifeupdates #emailPost #MONEYMONEYMONEY #LeSigh

I missed Chris John's title fight on TV as I was still OTW home.
The guy won his 15th(!) title defend match for WBA Feather weight.


Yep. Daayuum is right.

#boxing #ChrisJohn #MyLifeUpdate #EmailPost

"O villain, villain, smiling, damned villain!"

Some of you may have suspected what it is I do to put food on the table. Besides teaching--which I really like to take a time off from, but sadly I cannot, I write advertorials, articles, and reviews. I also write books, and do some ghostwriting now and then. I do quite a lot of translating, including for film subtitles.

So, this one friend of mine, whom I consider one of my best friends if not THE best in this period of my life, works for, I daresay, the biggest cable TV provider in the country. His is a final editor, and I'm one of the company's outsourcers.

Now, he emailed me today, writing that he told his boss that should they have any Shakespeare films that need translation, they ought to give that job to ME.

Now, I love Shakespeare as much as the next guy, but do I want to translate the bard's words. No. Do I want to sit and watch Hollywood-made Shakespeare's? No. I could sit only about ten minutes into Romeo + Juliet, before the urge to barf, send out curses to anyone involved in the production, and cry took over.

And to this "best" friend of mine:

"All the infections that the sun sucks up
From bogs, fens, flats, on Prosper fall, and make him
By inch-meal a disease!"

Still love the guy, tho'. "Damned" is right.

#unedited
#EmailPost
#rants
#MoodSwing

Feeling silly and weak in ... some parts.

So, I was on this commuter train, going to my place of work. I had my notebook and some other stuff in my backpack. I HAD the backpack with me most of the way, and put it on the compartment above me only about three frickin' minutes from my stop.

I had Suicidal Tendencies blasting from my headset. Now, I know that hot piece of music isn't any way responsible for the thing about to come down--'cuz you know, it's the goddamn SUICIDAL TENDENCIES is what this is--but, hey, it makes this note somewhat longer, so there you go.

Anyway, the train arrived at this big-ass station, and it was my stop, though I don't usually get off here: This train's final stop is not the one where MY commuter train ends its journey at, but the train had been the one ready to leave and I hadn't had time to wait for the commuter train I'd have prefered to take.

Well, so I got off the train and walked like a boss to north exit of the station because that's where I take the public minivan to my office. Upon reaching the spot where I'd wait for my ride, I realized that I LEFT my fricking backpack on the BLASTED train! So, I ran, like an ass, back to the station, rushed to the Station Master's office, and, while trying to catch my breath, told the people there that I was an ass, with Suicidal Tendencies blasting. A few phone calls later, the good people at the office told me the backpack was found and was secured and that I should just hang in there and chill and wait for the commuter train to return to the station, which should not be not more than 40 minutes (The train has only two more stops before reaching the last station and commutes back, really).

So, here I am, sitting on a bench, writing this. With Suicidal Tendencies blasting.

"No other success can replace failure at home," or such quote

I'm missing waiting for my kids' coming home from school
I'm missing looking at my kids on the floor drawing
I'm counting the minutes when I can be with them
Yes, minutes as those are all we have together

I'm missing coming to them, instead of having them come to me
I'm missing jumping down onto the floor to them, and not having them drag me down instead
I'm missing their carefree ignorance to the world ready to bite your head off and spit you out
No, they're not part of that world for they feel

And they see me as they want to hear me
And they hear me although they soon lose interest in me
They go after me yet they are so ready to ditch me for a new set of plaything
They want to play with me so they can beat me again and again

I miss them for that
And I want to go home having them eagerly waiting for me but will it mean they have been missing me?

I pray that they do not miss me 'cause it hurts to miss

June 9, 2009

Today is 11/11/11. How will you celebrate it?

eh what? I thought it's 15 Zulhidjah 1432 H today?
Waaaaaitaminute...it's 29 October 2011 Julian calendarhooooooooolditritethere it's 21-10-2011 Year of the rabbit. Yep.

Ask me anything

formspring.me

Ask me questions about anything srsly http://www.formspring.me/gandif

What made you smile today?

Internet

Ask me anything

Oh wow, my book is out.

Now, let's see if anyone wants to...

Damn, I'm just not one to self promote (And I write advertorials to make ends meet)

#AwkwardAnnouncingIsAwkward #sigh #NeverReallyGoodAtThis

Newsflash: a FUCK YOU begets a FUCK YOU, TOO

And a sequence of corresponding shit that follows after

Damn, and I always thought that that movie the Patriot was an ass-sore.

http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/11/04/i-do-not-think-that-word-means-wh...

Work it. Work it like you mean it, G.

There's something in there, me think.

#ValidPostEntryIsValid

Chelsea-Arsenal game let me grinning EAR to fricking EAR. Truly entertaining.
#BPL #EPL #ForTheloveOfTheGame

Untitled

Starting to work today proofs to be too much for my still-delicate physique. *Le cough*

So much drama and GPOY-ness.

#GPOY

Because I can lie beautiful true things into existence, & let people escape from inside their own heads & see through other eyes. - Neil Gaiman

I really need a breather/vacation/a break so terribly much you have no idea

Shit I'm tired.

#MyLifeUpdates

Conan, when you're right, you should've shut up.

*sigh*

Untitled

Untitled

Living under NAZI/Apartheid murderous occupational regime

BLING!

Tweeter: @BreakingNews #Occupywallstreet update: Police say 80 protesters camped near NY Stock Exchange arrested on.msnbc.com/njw0yB

Corporate media strikes again.

Or not.

Watching Liverpool depresses

So I'm switching to Sunderland v. Stoke City

I have a weak heart when it comes to the Reds aight?

'Star Spangled Banner' just finished. Mayweather v. Otiz: Whoohooo...

The singer was cute <3333

And I sympathize with Otiz due to his sad history. Silly, I know.

Alvarez's crazily heavy punches ended that one flat.

Seeing all that blood turning Erik Moralez's once white trunk RED. NoT from his own blood, but from Pablo Cano's...

Somwbody BAN this sport!!#!..$%!@.. Heh.

I'll shut up now.
On with this next bloodletting!

To all of you watching THE BIG FOUR today

Rock your shit out, stay cool, stay safe.

Have a jolly frickin' good time.

And I fuckin' hate you guys :D)))

#WOE IS ME

If you could only read one magazine for the rest of your life, which would it be?

PCGamer I guess

Ask me anything

formspring.me

Ask me anything http://formspring.me/gandif

formspring.me

Ask me anything http://formspring.me/gandif

formspring.me

Ask me anything http://formspring.me/gandif

formspring.me

Ask me anything http://formspring.me/gandif

What's your favorite app on your mobile phone?

Pocketwit

Ask me anything

Asdfgrullsjtgd...hdsswiflst

Having "Lumajang" grilled chicken courtesy of the office (It's the company's 52nd anniversary, apparently. Whatevs.)

D-E-L-I-C-I-O-U-S
Aaaaahhh..

#GPOY
#nomnomnomnom
#post worth ignoring

When you are standing in a looong line for a movie ticket, and people around you are so hip and cool and chatty, cheery, and happy into whatthefuggeverishottoday, and you make yourself dumb to the world listening to Children of Bodom on your Pod

The hell am I doing here in my eight-year-old Tee (Yup, eight years old) and thongs when I could've cried myself to sleep at home reading some sad literature?

I'm about to embark on a 81.5-mi.-drowsy-train ride

It's either continuing The Tenant of Wildfell Hall courtesy of 100 Classic Book Collection on NDS, or 40 winks and then some.

#My life updates
#gpoy post

RT @BreakingNews Irene becomes major Category 3 hurricane with 115mph winds - AP

Be save, y'all.

Whatthe-??

Twitter, facebook, posterous, tumblr ALL acting up simultaneously?

This can only mean the sign of times... To think there is still so much of this world left uncovered.

#GPOY to the max

NATO has stated they will remain in post-Ghaddafi Libya to ensure smooth transition of power

Why do I read Libyan OIL all over this?

Will we see man-vultures hovering over dead Libyan youths--soldiers and rebels, once brothers, not yet cold, their blood still flowing awashing the streets of the country--waving letters of contracts full of lies for Libyan OIL?

For any Libyan out there, your fight just starts anew. You will have your blood sucked, your bones ground, your resources stolen by greedy corporates in three-piece suits carrying flags emblazoned with the words democracy, pornography and MTV.

RT @journeytogaza Convoy of international NGO staff heading out of #Gaza now

You know why these nazis are ushering internationals out of Palestine, right? Fuck this.

RT @occpal GO LOOK WHAT ISRAEL DID LAST TIME: nevercastleadagain.wordpress.com/in-pictures/ | SPREAD IT AND WAKE UP THE WORLD TO PREVENT SAME HAPPENING AGAIN! FOR #GAZA

RT @free2sayso Meet Israel, Meet 5-yr-old Islam Qreqa'a - BEFORE & AFTER Israeli Attack - in pictures wp.me/p16sn9-b68 @USATODAY @GMA @ABC @CNN @AP @UN

I think my tumblr acc.'s hacked with those kathycadvrwhatevershit posts keep appearing as if I'm posting them

Crapcrapcrap. I'm gonna block all those "followers" with no avatars. It's lame, I know, and it probably won't help. Damn..

If you guys see that shitty post where it says I reblogged it from kathycadvr-whatthefuggeveritsnameis DO NOT click on the link.

Oh okay. Now I remember why I dislike driving to the city

Frickin' traffic.
.
.
.
.

Now, awaiting my friend's txt message saying: "Take it like a man," or some shit.

Aaaaand it's ON

Liverpool v. Sunderland, and
Newcastle United v. Arsenal today. O.M.G. I can'teven..

#for the love of the game

Life is good

Just got an e-mail from a friend of mine which may open the possibility of my embarking to a  venture--not necessarily a new one, but this may plunge me deeper into it. 

So excited. I'd be doing flips and shit if only I knew how. 

I thought I'd share it here. 

xOxO

'Tortured' veterans to sue Rumsfeld - Americas - Al Jazeera English

'Tortured' veterans to sue Rumsfeld - Americas - Al Jazeera English

The US Court of Appeals in Chicago on Tuesday upheld a lower court ruling last year allowing the men, Donald Vance and Nathan Ertel, to pursue claims that Rumsfeld and unnamed others should be found personally liable for their treatment - despite efforts by the former Bush and current Obama administration to get the case dismissed.

Why would Obama administration wanted the case dismissed in the first place? Here comes the new shit, same as the old shit thing?

Penny Red: Panic on the streets of London.

Penny Red: Panic on the streets of London.

"I'm huddled in the front room with some shell-shocked friends, watching my city burn. The BBC is interchanging footage of blazing cars and running street battles in Hackney, of police horses lining up in Lewisham, of roiling infernos that were once shops and houses in Croydon and in Peckham. Last night, Enfield, Walthamstow, Brixton and Wood Green were looted; there have been hundreds of arrests and dozens of serious injuries, and it will be a miracle if nobody dies tonight. This is the third consecutive night of rioting in London, and the disorder has now spread to Leeds, Liverpool, Bristol and Birmingham. Politicians and police officers who only hours ago were making stony-faced statements about criminality are now simply begging the young people of Britain’s inner cities to go home. Britain is a tinderbox, and on Friday, somebody lit a match. How the hell did this happen? And what are we going to do now?

"In the scramble to comprehend the riots, every single commentator has opened with a ritual condemnation of the violence, as if it were in any doubt that arson, muggings and lootings are ugly occurrences. That much should be obvious to anyone who is watching Croydon burn down on the BBC right now. David Lammy, MP for Tottenham, called the disorder 'mindless, mindless'. Nick Clegg denounced it as 'needless, opportunistic theft and violence'. Speaking from his Tuscan holiday villa, Prime Minister David Cameron – who has finally decided to return home to take charge - declared simply that the social unrest searing through the poorest boroughs in the country was "utterly unacceptable." The violence on the streets is being dismissed as ‘pure criminality,’ as the work of a ‘violent minority’, as ‘opportunism.’ This is madly insufficient. It is no way to talk about viral civil unrest. Angry young people with nothing to do and little to lose are turning on their own communities, and they cannot be stopped, and they know it. Tonight, in one of the greatest cities in the world, society is ripping itself apart."

I just notice I lost a follower over the weekend 'o.O'

I really hope it's them bot follower that has somehow self destructed.

I'm on this bus and there is this busker, a girl, who is singing and playing a guitar. She has quite a nice voice, I'm pleasantly surprised :)

I may not like the repertoire, but pretty decent voice is pretty.

Day Two of that recording:dubbing thingy

And I am NOT contributing to any of it today, thank God. I did that yesterday, and eeewwww is right.

Otw to the studio for this dubbing/recording thingy

I may just be a spectator. Or I may have to contribute to the recording. Eeewwww...

Bla bla TMI:

I'm on a commuter train (It's pretty much empty) otw to my class, and I'm listening to some old traditional blues from them cats (Robert Johnson, Collins, king etc.).
As I turned in only at 3am. and woke up at 7, blues may not be a good choice, but heck if these guys ain't smooth.

I know I'm gonna zone out any minute now. Hope I won't miss my stop.

x0x0 and all that

Congrats to Japan and the team's supporters for winning FIFA Women's World Cup 2011

Wonderful performance from the U.S. I might add.

Oh, and Brazil's Copa America squad, the goal was thataway, you know, 12 o'clock? Missing FOUR penalties? Sheesh, talk about pressure..
And the commentator's is always priceless. *chuckle*

#for the love of the game
#FIFA Women's World Cup
#Copa America

LRB · Eric Hobsbawm · War and Peace in the 20th Century

Vol. 24 No. 4 · 21 February 2002
pages 16-18 | 4089 words

• print

War and Peace in the 20th Century

Eric Hobsbawm

The 20th century was the most murderous in recorded history. The total number of deaths caused by or associated with its wars has been estimated at 187 million, the equivalent of more than 10 per cent of the world’s population in 1913. Taken as having begun in 1914, it was a century of almost unbroken war, with few and brief periods without organised armed conflict somewhere. It was dominated by world wars: that is to say, by wars between territorial states or alliances of states. The period from 1914 to 1945 can be regarded as a single ‘thirty years’ war’ interrupted only by a pause in the 1920s – between the final withdrawal of the Japanese from the Soviet Far East in 1922 and the attack on Manchuria in 1931. This was followed, almost immediately, by some forty years of Cold War, which conformed to Hobbes’s definition of war as consisting ‘not in battle only or the act of fighting, but in a tract of time wherein the will to contend by battle is sufficiently known’. It is a matter for debate how far the actions in which US Armed Forces have been involved since the end of the Cold War in various parts of the globe constitute a continuation of the era of world war. There can be no doubt, however, that the 1990s were filled with formal and informal military conflict in Europe, Africa and Western and Central Asia. The world as a whole has not been at peace since 1914, and is not at peace now.

Nevertheless, the century cannot be treated as a single block, either chronologically or geographically. Chronologically, it falls into three periods: the era of world war centred on Germany (1914 to 1945), the era of confrontation between the two superpowers (1945 to 1989), and the era since the end of the classic international power system. I shall call these periods I, II and III. Geographically, the impact of military operations has been highly unequal. With one exception (the Chaco War of 1932-35), there were no significant inter-state wars (as distinct from civil wars) in the Western hemisphere (the Americas) in the 20th century. Enemy military operations have barely touched these territories: hence the shock of the bombing of the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on 11 September. Since 1945 inter-state wars have also disappeared from Europe, which had until then been the main battlefield region. Although in period III war returned to South-East Europe, it seems very unlikely to recur in the rest of the continent. On the other hand, during period II inter-state wars, not necessarily unconnected with the global confrontation, remained endemic in the Middle East and South Asia, and major wars directly springing from the global confrontation took place in East and South-East Asia (Korea, Indochina). At the same time, areas such as sub-Saharan Africa, which had been comparatively unaffected by war in period I (apart from Ethiopia, belatedly subject to colonial conquest by Italy in 1935-36), came to be theatres of armed conflict during period II, and witnessed major scenes of carnage and suffering in period III.

Two other characteristics of war in the 20th century stand out, the first less obviously than the second. At the start of the 21st century we find ourselves in a world where armed operations are no longer essentially in the hands of governments or their authorised agents, and where the contending parties have no common characteristics, status or objectives, except the willingness to use violence. Inter-state wars dominated the image of war so much in periods I and II that civil wars or other armed conflicts within the territories of existing states or empires were somewhat obscured. Even the civil wars in the territories of the Russian Empire after the October Revolution, and those which took place after the collapse of the Chinese Empire, could be fitted into the framework of international conflicts, insofar as they were inseparable from them. On the other hand, Latin America may not have seen armies crossing state frontiers in the 20th century, but it has been the scene of major civil conflicts: in Mexico after 1911, for instance, in Colombia since 1948, and in various Central American countries during period II. It is not generally recognised that the number of international wars has declined fairly continuously since the mid-1960s, when internal conflicts became more common than those fought between states. The number of conflicts within state frontiers continued to rise steeply until it levelled off in the 1990s.

More familiar is the erosion of the distinction between combatants and non-combatants. The two world wars of the first half of the century involved the entire populations of belligerent countries; both combatants and non-combatants suffered. In the course of the century, however, the burden of war shifted increasingly from armed forces to civilians, who were not only its victims, but increasingly the object of military or military-political operations. The contrast between the First World War and the Second is dramatic: only 5 per cent of those who died in World War One were civilians; in World War Two the figure increased to 66 per cent. It is generally supposed that 80 to 90 per cent of those affected by war today are civilians. The proportion has increased since the end of the Cold War because most military operations since then have been conducted not by conscript armies, but by quite small bodies of regular or irregular troops, in many cases operating high-technology weapons and protected against the risk of incurring casualties. While it is true that high-tech weaponry has made it possible in some cases to re-establish a distinction between military and civilian targets, and therefore between combatants and non-combatants, there is no reason to doubt that the main victims of war will continue to be civilians.

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[*] This is also the case, by definition, where individual states accept international humanitarian law and unilaterally assert the right to apply it to citizens of other countries in their national tribunals – as, notably, the Spanish courts, supported by the British House of Lords, did in the case of General Pinochet.

A downloadable PDF version of this essay is also available for purchase from the London Review Bookshop. Contact us for rights and issues enquiries.

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• More from this issue »
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twitter

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via lrb.co.uk

@Gawker News Corp. Hires Criminal Defense Lawyer http://gawker.com/5821424/

Isn't this like coming out and admitting they're criminals? Oh alright then.

Hamilton v. Massa made my heart stopped for a while there. Wwwwwhhhoooaaaa...

#I'mawatchingmesomeF1goodnessawwwwyeaaagpoy

The bully that is Israel

Via @sarahraslan #Israel Instructs Air Lines To Cancel Tickets Of Passengers With "Welcome To Palestine" Campaign http://bit.ly/oeulA7

#NAZIONIST

Via @GazaYBO Early today 2 Dutch journalists were prevented from boarding El-Al flight to Tel-Aviv #flytilla ( v. @PalYouthVoice )

Of mobile media tracking and crappy public transport system

I'm standing in once more for my pal doing this media tracking thing, but the material came in while I was already out of the house. I had to do it mobile on my trusted WM6.1-powered (don't laugh, pliiiiz) phone. Not fun.

Damn commuter train is late again afdlasdhjguheuloeijl, and I have this meetingasffehybfg

G, out.

Of not having coffee and them pages (Warning: Mood swing to be accepted)

I just realised that from the number of times I've been at Starbucks, I've never had coffee, and what I ordered has always been hot thick creamy chocolate with non-fat milk. And cinnamon. Lots of cinnamon.

I had quite a long talk with my editor this afternoon (Never thought I had it in me, really: Having a long talk with someone other than my wife, heh. Well, I like my editor: She's nice.) though of course I did most of the listening.

So, we talked about my book and about not so random stuff, mostly about books and publishing here in my country. There is this one company, the biggest publishing house with the largest bookstore chain in the country, having the monopoly on how books are displayed and sold in its stores, and as more than 60% of bookstores in the country bear the co.'s name, there you go.

The publishing house that publishes my books (heh, I have only one book published really, and the second one is out in October, here's hoping) is the second largest and it's suffering from the practice. You can imagine how it is with small ones.

I don't get it really. A book is good, people are looking for it and it sells really well, but as it's not published by this one company, they'd not want to display it on their best seller's list. Heck, they tend to 'hide' the damn book, and people'd have to ask for it. I mean, they sell well meaning the company's bookstores sell a big number of books. That is good. Right?

And I learn also that many of the manuscripts the company receive don't get through a proper editing process. They've 'welcomed' too many manuscripts, maybe, but without enough ready editors to read them (One of my friends works as an editor here (For Disney's comics and magz this company has the publishing rights in my country really but, hey, an editor is an editor, right? And his job got him to visit Pixar Studio once, lucky b*****d, hyuk hyuk. Yea, Dave, it's you I'm looking at.).

The second largest book fair in the country opens tomorrow and the arrangement of the booths and stands apparently also follows what this company dictates how it should be. Oh wow.

We also talked about ghostwriting; something which I have done and which idk if I ever want to do again (cross that: I'll do it again if the $$ is good whoo-hoo).

And of course on my trip home, the traffic was so bad, I fell asleep the moment my bus got stuck. Me driving? Not if I can help it thanks so fricking much.
And thanks for reading this whatever.
Really.
What is this?

Yaay, I'm meeting my editor in an hour

Tho' I don't have anything to put on the table, Yaaay nevertheless.

GPOY

What TV show character do you relate to the most?

Homer Simpson

Ask me anything

Haven't seen this one in a while

Sunday is laundry day. Hooboy

I need Red Bull.

I just got back from the station picking up my mother in law and it took me 1 hour to drive a mere 4 miles. Gaaah..dddfsssdfaasdfjgkthe traffic is really too much

And my friends wonder why I have disliked driving sheeeshh

I've been sneezing, my nose has been running full throttle, and I just took flu medicine guaranteed to get me drowzy in no time

And the fact that I've been eating dust in Mario Kart, courtesy of my kids (Yes, including my daughter. What's with little tykes nowadays??) are the stuffs tonight's dreams are made of.

'Night, dear ones
X O

I am watching Malaysia's Mahathir Muhammad's Docubio on BIOGRAPHY Channel

An all round important leader, with mistakes which makes him an all-the-more admirable human being.

Hooboy. I scream, you scream, we all scream for ASPIRIN®!!

Good nite, y'all
xoxo

Aand.. My editor emailed me, asking for a Foreword for the book.

And an About the Author (that would be my wife's job). Whoohoo.

This evening has been quite eventful:

1. My wife found a Nintendo DS in its bag lying on the road not more than 15 yards from our house (my daughter later reported a woamn and her husband was asking around for a 'bag' they said they had lost somewhere near our place sometime in the late afternoon.)
2. Earlier in class I made some doodles, some of which I kinda liked (They're crap but Hey! right?).
3. I bought dragon fruits on the way home for cheap. O joy!
4. I just pulled out my son's tooth which had been loose for months but he wouldn't let anyone touch it. He cried so hard, but it had to be done. We enjoyed ice cream together right after, tho'. And he's a sleep now.
5. I think I'm coming down with something; I have been having slight fever. Not cool.
6. No more English Premiere League (until August) has started getting to me...
7. And I MP3ed some old rock songs from my old cassettes earlier today. I loved Enuff Znuff, heh.

Whoo hoo mobile media tracking..

I hate it.

What's your favorite sport?

Now (and forever) swimming
I miss bowling tho' (my shoes just gather dust)

Ask me anything

If you were given the money to start a new business, what business would you open?

noneofur

Ask me anything

What was the worst movie you've ever seen?

Twilight (the last worst one I've seen)
Series: Gossip Girl yewch....

Ask me anything

If you could instantly become fluent in another language, which language would you pick?

Hell yeah French. Those French comics....lasngo;ahgirgksdfjas

Ask me anything

Belloo by my bedroom window

It's Friday night in the U.S.

You know what that means, rite?
tumblr crashes

Apparently tumblr is shitty again?

Manchester United vs. Barcelona in six hours

awww yeaaah

When you HAVE TO get some sleep, leaving all those unfinished work with deadlines approaching

Tossing and turning ensue

I give up

The connection is practically non-existent.
Bye.

What's your favorite genre of music?

Metal
d'uh

Ask me anything

When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?

A vet

Ask me anything

What's your biggest pet peeve?

smoke

Ask me anything

tumblr is acting up again it seems.

Bye then

And Tumblr is at it AGAIN

And Van der Vart made it 1-0 for Tottenham...T_T

It was a beautiful goal, tho'

Via @DAMNIRelate Roses are red, some condoms are blue, STDs are contagious, So watch who you screw.

Heh

your kid is so cute! what ethnicity are you?

Awww thanks. I'm Indonesian (from different ethnic groups. Indonesia's got like hundreds of them)

Ask me anything

Would you rather be a vampire or a werewolf?

Vampire, BEFORE they all went pig pale and lame.

Ask me anything

100 Best (Free) Science Documentaries Online | Online Universities

January 12th, 2010

No matter how much you know, there is always something new to learn about science. While your college courses may cover the basics, you can get a more in-depth look at a wide variety of topics from Internet resources such as these great documentaries. These selections will help you explore everything from the inner reaches of the human mind to the outer areas of our universe and just about everything else in between. Better yet, they’re all free to watch online so you can learn more without spending a dime.

Health and Medicine

These documentaries cover topics like health care, diseases, nutrition and more so you can get great insights into health and medicine.

1. Super Size Me: In this movie, filmmaker Morgan Spurlock attempts to subsist on only a diet of McDonald’s for a full month. His discoveries will make you question your own food choices.
2. The Age of AIDS: Here you’ll find a program done by Frontline that examines some of the worst pandemics the world has ever known, focusing on AIDS.
3. How Does Your Memory Work?: Do you know how your brain really works? While there are still many mysteries to be unraveled about the brain, this film attempts to foster a better understanding of how we learn and remember.
4. Sicko: Filmmaker Michael Moore exposes the ramifications of a lack of universal health care in America in this controversial documentary.
5. The Origins of AIDS: Check out this film to learn how the AIDS virus moved into humans and the factors that led it to spread so rapidly.
6. The Slow Poisoning of India: In the spirit of Silent Spring, this film exposes the serious health ramifications the use of pesticides has had on many Indian people.
7. Body of War: What is life like after returning from war? What if you come back disabled? This heartbreaking film shows one man’s journey back home.
8. Cryonics: Death in the Deep Freeze: This film shows the first woman to have her body cryogenically frozen after her death.
9. The Half-Ton Man: Learn more about Patrick Deuel, weighing in at about 1100 pounds, and doctors’ battle to save him.
10. Darkest Hour: This movie examines the lack of health care assistance for parents of children with mental health problems.
11. Swine Flu: The Science of Pandemics: Check out this show to see how pandemics like the swine flu spread and the impact they can have on populations.

Drugs

Learn how drugs impact the brain and the variety of legal restrictions imposed upon them from these documentaries.

1. Ecstasy Rising: Watch this video from Primetime to learn more about ecstasy, its effects and more.
2. Big Bucks, Big Pharma: This documentary attempts to expose the business behind medicine–often done at the expense of the health of consumers.
3. Prescription for Disaster: Learn why the billions poured into medical treatments may not be helping people to live longer, healthier lives through this documentary.
4. The World’s Most Dangerous Drug: This show will expose the true danger behind methamphetamines.
5. In Pot We Trust: Here you’ll find a film that wants to show the medical benefits of marijuana.
6. The Drugging of Our Children: More and more children these days take drugs for behavioral issues like ADD and ADHD, but this documentary points out that those drugs can have pretty serious side effects as well.

Genetics

From cloning to genetic disorders, these documentaries will shed some light on your DNA.

1. Mapping Stem Cell Research: Terra Incognita: Learn more about the research being done with stem cells as this neurologist seeks a cure for his paralyzed teenage daughter.
2. The Science of Dwarfism: Here you’ll find an informative program that will teach you about the genetic causes of dwarfism.
3. Panacea or Poison?: Check out this film to learn more about the battle between those who support and those who oppose genetically modified foods.
4. The World According to Monsanto: Watch this film to learn more about Monsanto, the leader in genetically modified organisms as well as one of the most controversial and hated corporations of all time.
5. Boy with the Incredible Brain: This documentary tells the story of David Tammet, one of the world’s true savants.
6. Clone: This film will show you the amazing potential as well as some of the more negative aspects associated with human cloning.
7. Designer Babies and Gene Robbery: If you could design your child, would you? As technology evolves, this documentary shows how this may soon be a reality.
8. Strange Culture: Learn how one man’s work with genetically modified organisms nearly got him branded as a bio terrorist.
9. Ghost in Your Genes: This film will show you how a mysterious second genome could also play a roll in determining our biology.
10. Gorillas: 98.6% Human: Remind yourself of just how close we are to the natural world with this stunning movie about the endangered mountain gorilla.

Evolution and Biological History

Learn more about life on earth, from the earliest cells to the evolution of humans, from these documentaries.

1. The Four-Winged Dinosaur: Watch this film to learn how one of the earliest ancestors of birds may have been able to fly.
2. Neanderthal: Learn more about this close human relative, what it was like, and some of the factors that caused it to go extinct while we flourished in this film.
3. The Ape That Took Over the World: This film will help you to better understand the steps and even leaps in evolution that brought human beings to where they are today.
4. Why are We Here?: In this film, you’ll get a scientific examination of the origins of life from author Richard Dawkins.
5. A War on Science: This documentary shows the longstanding battle between proponents of evolution and those of intelligent design.
6. From Butterflies to Humans: Try out this documentary to learn what forces cause animals to evolve and how the process works over time.
7. Ape to Man: Here you’ll find the story of the quest for human origins, one that has already spanned 150 years.
8. Dinosaur Hunters: Secrets of the Gobi Desert: This film brings some of the latest dinosaur finds to life in stunningly realistic animations.
9. The Truth About Killer Dinosaurs: This BBC documentary explores how some of the fiercest dinosaurs lived, ate, got around and more.
10. Dinosaur Planet: Follow along with this documentary as it shows you the story of a young velociraptor named White Tip.
11. Dinosaurs: Giants of Patagonia: This movie will allow you to see some of the biggest dinosaurs brought to life as well as learn what the most important dinosaur discoveries have been.
12. Origins of Life: Check out this movie to learn more about how scientists think life arose from single-celled organisms.

Physics

Even if you don’t know a ton about physics, these great movies will show you how the universe works from the smallest particles to the biggest galaxies.

1. The Quantum Revolution: Dr. Michio Kaku explores the cutting edge of quantum science in this short documentary.
2. Pythagoras: While not really a physicist, Pythagoras did come up with some of the most important mathematical and philosophical issues, or so we think, as this documentary will show.
3. Cold Fusion: Fire from Water: This documentary offers a chance to learn more about a potentially cleaner and better source of energy.
4. Uncertainty Principle: This short film will explain the history and fundamentals of quantum mechanics.
5. Illusion of Reality: Professor Jim Al-Khalili explores how studying the atom forced us to rethink the nature of reality itself in this engaging documentary.
6. Albert Einstein: Check out this documentary to learn more about this renowned physicist and thinker.
7. The Atom Smashers: This documentary follows researchers at Fermilab as they attempt to find the Higgs-Boson particle.
8. Stephen Hawking and the Theory of Everything: Learn more about the work of cosmologist Stephen Hawking in this film.
9. The Universe: Beyond the Big Bang: This movie shows how different cultures think the universe began and how it will end, including information from leading scientists.
10. Absolute Zero: Here you’ll follow a team of scientists as they attempt to reach absolute zero.

Environment

These documentaries focus on technologies and conservation efforts meant to preserve the environment.

1. Car of the Future: From hydrogen fuel cells to cars you can plug in, this film takes a look at where the automobile is headed in the next decades.
2. The 11th Hour: This documentary narrated by Leonardo Di Caprio shows the truly perilous state our planet is in.
3. Who Killed the Electric Car?: Plans for electric cars have been around for awhile, and this film examines the reasons why they’ve never come to fruition.
4. Here Comes the Sun: Learn about what a big role solar energy may play in the future of our planet.
5. An Inconvenient Truth: This famous documentary shows the true impact of global warming through a talk given by former Vice President Gore.
6. The Great Global Warming Swindle: This film takes the opposite stance, claiming that global warming is just propaganda, not reality.
7. Global Dimming: Find out more about the phenomenon known as global dimming in this film, as well as the impact it may have on our climate, our planet and, ultimately, us.
8. Darwin’s Nightmare: Take a look at this film to see some of the unexpectedly negative effects of introducing a foreign species into an environment.
9. It Runs on Water: Think things can’t run on water? This 1995 film shows otherwise, with a technology that never came to be.
10. Robinson Crusader: Keith Robinson is fighting to keep his Hawaiian island home free from corporate development in this film.

Geology

In these movies, you’ll be able to learn about the regions of the world, how Earth’s processes work, and much more.

1. Africa: The Serengeti: Check out this film to see the world of the Serengeti in detail.
2. Lost Worlds: Life in the Balance: This film will show you just how interconnected the world truly is.
3. Ocean Oasis: In this film you’ll get to take a look at Mexico’s Sea of Cortez and Baja California.
4. Australia: Land Beyond Time: The wilds of Australia seem at first like a pretty inhospitable place, but this film will show you the amazing ways life has found to survive.
5. The Bermuda Triangle: What is it about the Bermuda Triangle that makes it so dangerous to travel through? This film takes a scientific look at the phenomenon.
6. White Sands: White Wilderness: This film gives a detailed account of the plants, animals and geologic formations of New Mexico’s White Sands National Monument.
7. Volcano: Nature’s Inferno: This documentary will let you take a closer look at the volcanoes and the volcanic processes that shape our planet.
8. Hunt for the Supertwister: Follow along with this team of storm chasers as they attempt to find the biggest and baddest tornadoes out there.
9. Crude: The Incredible Journey of Oil: Here you’ll be able to learn where oil comes from and how it gets from there into your car.

Space

Explore the solar system and beyond with these great space-focused documentaries.

1. Hubble: 15 Years of Discovery: Take a look back at some of the awe-inspiring images captured by the Hubble telescope in this film.
2. Supermassive Black Holes: While black holes are still largely mysterious bodies, you can increase your knowledge of them by watching this great documentary.
3. Asteroids: Deadly Impact: Learn what (literal) impact asteroids may have on Earth and what we may be able to do to protect ourselves.
4. Carl Sagan’s Cosmos Series: Though made several years ago, this series has stood the test of time and still offers one of the best and most accurate looks at the universe.
5. 3D Sun: This documentary uses stunning 3D images of the sun to explain its history and phenomena.
6. Revealing Mars: Take a look at the Mars orbiter in this film and some of the images of Mars that have been captured.
7. Colonizing Space: This documentary will present some of the plans already in motion to take the first steps into the final frontier.
8. Secrets of the Sun: Learn more about the star central to our own solar system in this film.
9. International Space Station: This film will explain how the space station was built and is maintained and operated.
10. Alien Galaxies: Give this documentary a try to better understand the galaxies that lie elsewhere in the universe.
11. Saturn: Lord of the Rings: This documentary will allow you to learn more about this beautiful and mysterious ringed planet.
12. The Life and Death of a Star: Take a look at how stars form, live, and ultimately die in this great documentary.

Technology

These documentaries will help you learn about computers, robots and even the beginnings of electricity.

1. Nikola Tesla: The Genius Who Lit the World: Check out this film to learn more about the inventions of this man and how they shaped the modern world.
2. Big Brother, Big Business: Learn about the myriad of technologies that watch your every move from this Orwellian documentary.
3. New York City Hackers: This documentary film will introduce you to the first hackers, a group of students from MIT, and what the name originally meant.
4. Building Gods: Watch this film to learn more about the development of AI technology.
5. Welcome to Macintosh: Here you can delve into the history and development of one of the largest technology companies in the world.

Nature

Study the natural world and the fauna that calls it home through these free documentaries.

1. The Ultimate Predators: Here you can watch the life and death battle between predators and their prey first-hand with cameras strapped to the animals themselves.
2. Life After People: Learn what would happen to Earth should the human race somehow become extinct in this interesting hypothetical documentary.
3. The Private Life of Plants: Take a look at the inner world of a variety of plant species in this film.
4. Ants: Nature’s Secret Power: Ants may be tiny, but they are strong and play a valuable role in ecosystems around the world, as this film shows.
5. Cassowaries: Learn more about these giant and little known birds in this informative film.
6. Life in the Freezer: Want to find out more about Antarctica? This film will introduce you to the land and the animals who call it home.
7. Microcosmos: Get tiny and explore the creatures that live all around us, but very often, out of our sight.
8. Africa: Wilds of Madagascar: This film lets you see some of the truly unique and beautiful creatures that call this island nation home.
9. Search for the Great Sharks: Travel the world to learn about the whale shark, the blue shark and the white shark.
10. Whales in Crisis: Whales may be the largest creatures on Earth, but this film shows how they are struggling to survive.
11. The Great Barrier Reef: The Great Barrier Reef is large enough to be seen from space, comprising miles upon miles of complex, beautiful ecosystems, as this film shows.
12. Amazing Journeys: If you thought your last flight was bad, consider the long journeys these migratory animals make each year.

Miscellaneous

Watch these films to fill in the gaps in your scientific knowledge.

1. Dangerous Knowledge: Here you’ll find a great biographical film that addresses some of the eccentric, depressed, and often volatile men who helped foster modern science and mathematics.
2. Earthlings: Gain a greater respect for the creatures and the world around you through this documentary.
3. This Is Coffee: Learn more about the history, biology and social role of coffee through this film.

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• Top 25 Movies for Writers
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• 50 Best Female Science Bloggers

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I'm done. For now.

Tumblr keeps going down. Whattheheck I am a-watching Liverpool game
that's what I'll be doin

I got to the class late, hot and annoyed (the traffic just killed my day. Every day).

Then someone's cell started to ring, and I was about to blow my top. But it was Mario Bros.'s theme, so I started nodding to the tunes...

And I got a smile on my mug.
I darned love Mario.

Pac Man just fell...

It didn't look like he was hit or anything.
But the ref counted anyway.

Mosley slipped and fell on the fourth. Doesn't look good.

We're in the fifth now.

I'm watching live match of Manny Pacquiao vs. Shane Mosley

Mosley went down for the count of the third. This is so darned exciting I can't even....

And Inception OST is playing on the background (my wife went home from work with the CD. Yeah...)

No sorry for you, Tumblr

RAAAGE.....!!

Minnesota GOP leader declares war on Neil Gaiman - Boing Boing

106 Comments • Add a comment

Anon

GOP hates the cultural elite because it is the only elitism they can't afford.

danfan

Republican pols are vile turds, to a person.

Jeremy Hill

Minnesota != Wisconsin.

Eli

Wait.. Minnesota or Wisconsin?

IronEdithKidd

Psst...Cory? Headline says Wisconsin, story says Minnesota. I assure you they are different places.

retrojoe

Wisconsin or Minnesota?

MrWednesday

Minnesota.

http://is.gd/l56pNv

bleepingdeadalien

Minnesota. Hello?

Anon

oh boy. anything to avoid dealing with real problems.

LabRat001

Would saying he stole money be sufficient to count as an accusation of a crime? I'm thinking defamation here.

Cory Doctorow

Gaah! Brainfart -- sorry gang.

RustyTrawler

not the same...

Mary Tyler Moore > Laverne & Shirley

jdollak

I would love for Gaiman to visit him.

chgoliz

Apparently some other sources are claiming that he lives in Wisconsin, but he lives in Minnesota, as does the library in question.

traalfaz

"Stole?" That's his speaker's fee, and they willingly paid it. There was no deception. Complain about the people who decided to pay it if you like, but not the person who was saying "this is my price" totally above board, especially since he turned around and donated the money to charity.

I doubt Mr. Dean donates all his speaking fees to charity.

It's also regrettable that a public figure uses words like "hate" so easily.

hw3

This is an attack on a constituent by this obviously corrupt politician, since Neil lives in Minnesota and (presumably – since he’s not GE) pays taxes there.

Neon Tooth

Glass houses Matt Dean,
Why do I get the feeling that if somebody does a little poking around they'll find you that you're a government welfare queen just like Michelle Bachmann

Anon

Well, obviously Minnesota House Majority leader Matt Dean hates charities. Duh.

Two specific charities, in fact. He hates them, and he hates Neil Gaiman for giving them the money that Minnesota had allocated to Gaiman.

I wonder which charities Dean hates so much. Gaiman does not identify them in the linked blog post. Probably some organizations that provide educational opportunities, since clearly Dean is a classic Know-Nothing.

Incidentally, has anyone compared Dean and Gaiman by collar size? I'm betting I have a thicker, more manly neck than either of them!

Anon

Perhaps Mr. Dean thought the author's name was Kneel Gay Man.

Jake0748

Neil Gaiman is one of my heroes. I'm rereading one of his books right now.

As far as this House Majority Leader Matt Dean goes... Christ what an asshole.

lasttide

Minnesota and Wisconsin are the same place. We all know it's true.

Anon

Allright, I'll do it.

Christ, what an asshole.

Jake0748 in reply to Jake0748

I'm sorry. That was wrong of me.

There should be a comma after "Christ".

Murisan

Thanks.

Bob Rossney

Every so often - and this is one of those times - all I can think of to say is, "What the *fuck* is wrong with you?"

Cari

I'm not sure Mr. Dean realizes what he has just done... Throwing down the gauntlet where Neil Gaiman is concerned will gain you the wrath of the interwebs, not points in the political arena.

styrofoam

http://boingboing.net/2010/05/10/neil-gaimans-awesome.html

This went around when he originally made this speech. I recall the hullaballoo, and essentially it boils down to "keeping the riff raff out. Otherwise I'm turning down speaking engagements 24 hours a day."

I'm not faulting him, nor the library for engaging somebody I consider to be a true rockstar writer. (Comparing that honorarium to a politico's speaking fees are probably not something we want to do either.)
If the government doesn't want funding to be spent above certain thresholds, or with more and stricter oversight, that's what the laws are for.

jvwalt

Just continuing the Republicans' single-minded focus on jobs and the economy.

GuyInMilwaukee

Welcome to America, Neil. It's the price we all pay to live in this wonderful country: People so dumb it makes your teeth hurt.

markfrei

Are you still shopping at Target? Perhaps gay marriage isn't the only reason to take exception with Target's support of MN PACs that are charged with supporting primarily GOP politicians.

I'd like to see if the Target supported PAC helped this guy's campaign. Of course, we only recently got this kind of visibility.

Anon

Why no link to 'Neil Gaiman's awesome FAQ justifying his $45,000 speaking fee' as you called it, a year ago next tuesday?

http://boingboing.net/2010/05/10/neil-gaimans-awesome.html

Scatterfingers

You stay classy, Republicans.

hw3

What really gets me is that Rep. Dean is likely not giving his $31,140 per year salary to charity, and since Neil is a Minnesota resident who likely buys near his house, his taxes are a part of this entire fund. The GOP is not a serious political party.

Anon

Is calling NG a thief legally actionable?

Anon

Psst. When you hit the FB share button, the headline that the Rep was from WI still appears!

FeO

Keith

Mr. Dean should count his lucky stars that Neil is such a gentle soul, because he commands a hoard of rabid fans who would gladly burn the Midwest down at Gaiman's command. One tweet and this guy's family would never be able to find where they buried his head. Instead, I'm sure Neil will just chuckle while sipping tea and politely explain to this nincompoop why he's so very stupid.

Anony Mouse

Which charity? Not a sci-tie one I hope!

JonStewartMill in reply to RustyTrawler

Mary Tyler Moore > Laverne & Shirley

Mary Tyler Moore > [Laverne & Shirley + Happy Days + That 70s Show]

goetzy

i was so mad i went and posted this on Neil Gaiman's facebook wall. that's right! i did it! i just told on Dean. BOOM! WHAT?!

i dont understand the need to attack Neil, unless this was Dean's ploy to publicize his idiocy which typically leads to re-election here in 'Merica.

Neon Tooth in reply to markfrei

Nope, have been true to my personal boycott for a year+ now, first motivated by the anti-gay funding and then learning more about their general funding of right wing interests.

Jorpho

Surely you can just imagine Mr. Dean picking up American Gods and hurling it across the room in disgust before making it through the first hundred pages, if that?

Tdawwg

Dean could have just mentioned Gaiman's script for the Beowulf movie. Lot to hate right there.

Anon

Actually Mr G doesn't live in Mpls anymore, he does in fact live in WI. I assume the speaking happened in MN. Either way it doesn't matter where he lives/pays taxes if he donated the money. Just another reason that he is an amazing person.

Remus Shepherd

I love how stupid republicans are. Everyone knows you do not mess with artists. They will turn your public persona, your credibility and image, and eventually the memory of your corpse into satire. Even Scalzi once noted that science fiction writers destroy planets before breakfast -- do you really want to get into a war of words with one of them?

Republicans: Hell-bent on re-learning the lessons of the 18th century, the hard way.

Shart Tsung

Matt Dean just made a mistake. He picked a fight with the wrong author.

I've been reading the Sandman series lately, what a great time, reading those books is like enjoying a dream while you're still awake. Going to order his novels soon and re-read my Marvel 1602 issues.

Dean can eat a turd.

petertrepan

Perhaps the Republican misunderstood, and believed the speaker was "Neil, Gay Man."

g0d5m15t4k3

I think anyone who reads Neil's Blog post (http://journal.neilgaiman.com/2010/05/political-football-in-teacup.html) will understand this situation completely. He makes his rates insanely high so he can spend time doing his real job (writing) and not out traveling and speaking. The money was set aside specifically for such a purpose and would have been lost otherwise. All of this points to a logical conclusion. It sounds like Matt Dean just has his panties in a twist about SF writers for some damn reason. Perhaps he hasn't taken the time to read Neil's blog himself.

g0d5m15t4k3 in reply to Shart Tsung

A Turd Sandwich can eat a Turd. LOL.

RufferinAK

The only theft from Minnesota seems to be whatever the state pays Mr. Dean. It is astounding that legislators still think they work for their party and not the public.

slgalt

And yet Republicans have no problem with a community college in CA (the near bankrupted state) paid Palin $75k.

Talk about being robbed.

Richard

It's not that we have people so dumb it makes your teeth hurt. The problem is that we put them in charge.

msbpodcast

Mr. Dean probably hasn't read a thing not written on a 3x5 card in years.

It would be the height of foolishness to expect him to have read any fantasy, science fiction, young adult, or much of anything else, illustrated or not. Japanese Amimé would just blow him away into fits of apoplexy.

I'd bet the only book he's got is some yellow pages hanging on a nail in the out-house.

Anon

Clearly, Dean is not man enough to call someone a "pencil-necked little weasel" to their face. He's probably more used to stabbing people in the back, then running away.

He's obviously also a hypocrite if he claims to be Catholic and is spouting off nonsense like that quote. A little investigation might reveal that he's guilty of more theft than the theft he accuses Gaiman of.

It wouldn't surprise me if he's already wasted more of Minnesota's funds simply through the combined response to his infantile tantrum.

zyodei

Sorry guy, I think you're mistaken. It wasn't Neil Gaiman who stole the money from the state of Minnesota. It was the state of Minnesota who stole the money from the people of Minnesota. What happened after that initial theft is much less important than the cardinal crime of theft through threat of violence.

While accepting government largess in general is questionable, calling Gaiman out for it, when you yourself are a highly paid affiliate of the crime syndicate in question (in this case, a crime syndicate called the 'Minnesota State Government') is typical GOP hypocrisy.

Glippiglop

I'm sure the library could have (perhaps it did) sell tickets or profit in other ways to make up for the expense. The option is always there.

I'd think this guy is more mad about the fact that the 45k could have been better spent at a time of cut-backs. That would at least have been a valid point and it's too bad he had to go and misdirect his anger like this.

pinehead

Wiscesota sounds like my kind of state, if they could just get the leadership to sober up.

Anon in reply to LabRat001

Generally speaking, statements made in legislative session are not actionable in criminal or civil courts.

magpie

What a lot of commenters seem to be missing is that the money he was paid was actually NOT his speaking fee, per se. They didn't contact him and say, "How much would it cost to come talk to us?" They contacted him and said, "Hey, look, we have $40,000 left in the Legacy fund for bringing in authors to libraries who couldn't afford them otherwise. We can't use it next year and we can't use it for anything else other than bringing in a speaker. Want to come talk and we'll give you the money?"

In short. He didn't ASK for $40,000. He was offered it. The money had to be used, or it would be lost. It could ONLY be used for bringing in an author to speak, not for salaries or books or anything else. He took that money and gave it to charity.

He has also said that, despite what his listed speaking fees may be, he is generally willing to discount them for libraries if they ask. These people didn't ask. They offered an amount. He accepted the engagement.

Brother Phil

mn_camera in reply to zyodei

The State of Minnesota stole money from the people?

How, exactly?

And "taxation" is not a valid answer, before you even begin to mention it. Stealing is quite another matter, and you know that very well.

CanaryNoir in reply to Glippiglop

Except that is not how public funding works! You don't get to use the money for something else (read Neil's blog where he explains, but also I speak from years of experience in libraries where the funding is so specifically allocated it makes life seriously frustrating sometimes).

The thing is, this guy? He's a member of the organization that is THE REASON funding works like that which means it's his job to know that the library was only doing what it was told to do with the funds it had been allocated.

Which means he's either an idiot who doesn't know his own job or he's an asshole pretending outrage over something he knows very well isn't an outrage.

magpie in reply to Glippiglop

The money for the speaking fee didn't come out of the library's funding or budget. It was part of a special fund that came out of tax money and could ONLY be used for the purpose of paying authors to come speak. They were literally legally unable to use it for anything else. And if they didn't use it, they would lose it. So they used it! Validly and legally and perfectly appropriately!

Anon

I remember early in my career being aghast at how fiscal budgeting works. You set aside money for a *thing*. You need to use it. If you don't, next year your dept gets less money and then less *things*. So there is seemingly waste and end-of-fiscal-year hurry we must spend this RIGHT NOW scheduling. Too bad Old Matty Dean-o isn't clear. In other news, someone please buy Gaiman a comb.

Unanimous Cowherd

I have a funny feeling that a character very like our Mr Dean will be making an appearance in an upcoming Gaiman story. A very unfortunate character, to be sure, with less than savory habits, predilections, and mannerisms. Who knows? The pen is mightier...

zyodei in reply to mn_camera

Stealing:

To take (the property of another or others) without permission or right, especially secretly or by force.

Some people certainly gladly and happily pay their taxes. The money is not stolen from them.

Others do not want to pay their taxes, hate to pay them, and only do it because they know if they don't armed enforcers will come to their house and commit violence against them. In their case, the money was indeed stolen, by any reasonable definition of the term.

And no, their neighbours having voted to authorise the theft does not make it right, because their neighbours have no claim to it in the first place.

floraldeoderant

Dean said that Gaiman, "who I hate," was a "pencil-necked little weasel who stole $45,000 from the state of Minnesota."

...He added, "Hey Gaiman: tell your mom I said thanks," and then cackled till he snorted blood out his nose and collapsed. Dean went into critical condition and later died of what doctors describe as "Terminal Shit-for-Brains."

commenterx

Very strange quote. The "hate" part seems like an aside, unrelated to the speaking fee issue.

Maybe Gaiman stole his girlfriend back in high school...

Posteriormente

According to the Wikipedia, Mr. is an author too: "Also an author, Urdahl has written a book about former members of the Minnesota Twins baseball team[5] and about famous Minnesotans.[6] His two latest books have been historical fiction set in Minnesota during the Dakota War of 1862[7][8]"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dean_Urdahl

Smoobly in reply to zyodei

Sorry zyodei, that's not quite the way it works. You didn't wake up one morning to a tax bill out of the blue.

It's a social contract: you want to enjoy the benefits of living in our state, you help pay the rent. You object to that? There's the door. Find another state that'll put you up for free.

MrJM in reply to zyodei

Stealing: To take (the property of another or others) without permission or right, especially secretly or by force.

Emphasis added.

You're welcome.

valis

I'm another outraged Minnesotan here.

I don't think this state's GOP should attack anyone who Alan Moore gives the nickname "SCARY TROUSERS!" That's just asking for it.

mn_camera in reply to zyodei

Might I suggest your next mailing address include Somalia, then? Since the idea of no government seems to suit you, walk your talk.

Perception (in this case yours) does not equal reality.

Posteriormente

ooops. The Dean who hates Mr. Gaiman is Matt Dean. Too much deans for an article.

Glippiglop in reply to magpie

Sure, although what's wrong with 'losing it'? Presumably that means that it's been unallocated at the end of the fiscal year and then goes back to the state for next year's round of arts funding. The only thing you lose is that you haven't taken up the available opportunity.

That's not what I'm advocating though, I'm just saying if they wanted to they could e.g. have charged $100 per head and then used that money to expand the library, or put forward to next years budget. Is it not more of a win that way - you get a great speaker AND more books for the community.

I don't think the library is wrong, just saying that some options could give you more bang for your Gaiman buck.

Recluse

Rutgers only paid Snooki 35K and she is a REALITY TEE VEE STAR Gaiman is just a guy who puts words on paper, clearly this favoritism is unfair to illiterates everywhere. I am mad as heck! :)

Just Good Sense in reply to zyodei

Then "they" may not call Emergency Services, drive on the roads, use the water, have their garbage picked up, or send their kids to school.

High or low, fair or unfair, taxes aren't theft. They fund "the general welfare" we the people are supposed to promote. Didn't you watch cartoons as a kid?

Falseprophet

I wonder how much in state taxes Neil has paid over the years. In the eyes of the Objectivists and Randroids who infest the Republican party, isn't he just taking back the money the state "stole" from him in the first place?

zyodei in reply to mn_camera

Anon in reply to zyodei

Uh, no, Zyodei, if you want to live in a country but you have to be brutally forced to abide by the social contract there, it's not the country stealing from you, it's you being a fucking criminal who is only kept in check by expensive tax-funded goon squads. If you don't like it VOTE WITH YOUR FEET - or work to change it - instead of whining like an overfed randroid.

If you stay, the state is not "stealing" from you when you pay your taxes. You are not under duress imposed by anyone other than yourself and your forefathers. Stop whining and start walking, or stay here and try to revise the tax system; either way taxation is distinct from theft regardless of what you do.

You would have nothing without the efforts of your fellow man. Stop being a fucking ungrateful sponge, or strip naked and move into the wilderness and live like a beast. Don't pretend your philosophy is more than banditry if you take what's given and have to be forced to give back. Jared Diamond is an overprivileged clown and "kleptocracy" does not adequately describe a nation that allows tax protestors to leave the country freely.

Now, federal forfeiture and imminent domain laws, that's not taxation, that's outright theft, and I'll freely admit it. But stop with the taxation-is-theft crap, it's childish nonsense.

chgoliz in reply to zyodei

Others do not want to pay their taxes, hate to pay them, and only do it because they know if they don't armed enforcers will come to their house and commit violence against them. In their case, the money was indeed stolen, by any reasonable definition of the term.

And no, their neighbours having voted to authorise the theft does not make it right, because their neighbours have no claim to it in the first place.

Then they better not trespass on the taxpayers' roads. They're gonna get mighty hungry.

zyodei in reply to chgoliz

elix in reply to zyodei

The state owns them, and the taxpayers maybe sometimes can have some effect on the actions of the state.

And where, pray tell, does the state get the funding to maintain its roads?

In a less serious note, you're a hoot, guy. :)

zyodei in reply to Smoobly

rrot

Hey look, zyodei's turned the thread into a contest. And "won" it.

Strabo in reply to Remus Shepherd

When thinking about this, I'm struck by the disparity between two diametrically opposed quotes by two of the greatest authors America has produced: Mark Twain and Kurt Vonnegut.

"Never argue with a man who buys ink by the barrel" - Mark Twain (unconfirmed attribution)

"During the Vietnam War, every respectable artist in this country was against the war. It was like a laser beam. We were all aimed in the same direction. The power of this weapon turns out to be that of a custard pie dropped from a stepladder six feet high." - Kurt Vonnegut

tempbot

Just for more background, the Legacy Fund is a special sales tax that was actually added to the MN state constitution after being approved by a majority of Minnesota voters. The use of the proceeds is mandated by constitution to go only towards nebulously defined "arts" and "outdoor/environmental" programs.

It basically works as a grant program. An appointed board oversees the distribution of Legacy funds to a variety of applicants (State/Local government agencies, non-profits, etc.) for specific programs.

Here's where the facts end and the editorializing begins. The Legacy Amendment has been in short a boondoggle. The actual use of these sales tax dollars (like funding for MPR who has boatloads of cash in member and corporate contributions) differs greatly from how it was sold to the public. What's more, the amendment passed shortly before the economy went into the tank. So now that times are tight, we have a huge slice of the budget being determined by constitutional mandate and the whims of an unaccountable board. Now more than ever we need a thoughtful balanced approach to state budgeting.

While, I certainly don't fault Mr. Gaiman here, I do think the whole Legacy Amendment should be scrapped. Unfortunately, it's nearly impossible to get rid of a constitutional amendment once it's passed.

jenjen

Whaaaat, @tempbot, a logical reasonable disagreement with the Gaiman-fawning??? This is messing up my world view.

Anon

This guy is bitching about $45K that went to a writer? Hmm. I wonder how that stacks up, percentage-wise, to the amount of public money that goes to building/upgrading sports facilities in Minnesota with public money. Funny how he isn't screaming about that. $45K? LOL. ANd how classy is it for him to call Gaiman names like they are in junior high?

Neon Tooth

Yay, another comment thread overwhelmed by libertarian trolling..

Neon Tooth in reply to zyodei

kleptocratic socialist dictatorship.

Lol, never mind the multi-national corporate influence on the Western world's friendly behavior toward that government. A socialist dictatorship would be horrible, just as a libertarian utopia would be horrible, just as the closest we've been to laissez faire the more miserable the majority of citizens have been. The proof is in the pudding, progressive countries have been the most successful.

Now you can go back to fantasy land.

Neon Tooth in reply to zyodei

In a rational world, I decide I need certain services and I happily pay for them.

The world is not rational, people are not rational, you are not rational. /fantasy

OldBrownSquirrel

The Stillwater library is off the hook for not booking Ayn Rand. She's dead. That being the case, they had to find some other author. Why not Neil Gaiman? Really, are there any living authors that the Minnesota GOP likes?

IronEdithKidd in reply to Neon Tooth

Taken over by the libertarian troll.

Honestly, can't Antinous give him the occasional holiday?

Antinous / Moderator in reply to rrot

Guess what his prize is.

Ugly Canuck in reply to Strabo

The statements are only apparently opposed: for Twain was speaking of getting into a dispute with a newspaper and its publisher; while Vonnegut was speaking of "respectable artists", and NOT of "the editorial boards of every major newspaper in America" - or even newspaper publishers as a group.

When I think "artists", I don't think "the owners of the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times".

Who does?

Ugly Canuck

Twain was speaking of the power of the press - and Vonnegut wasn't. Not diametrically opposed at all.

Strabo in reply to Ugly Canuck

I find that the statements are in conflict. Vonnegut was almost certainly referring to authors, playwrights, and screenwriters, while the purported Twain quote refers to journalists (and did specifically refer to journalists in the first real source I could find). Both groups are writers who write words. They simply use different media with different presentations. Why are Twain's journalists so powerful when they write in a newspaper while Vonnegut's authors are so irrelevant when they write in books, or for the stage or screen?

Ugly Canuck in reply to Strabo

Well it just seems to me that the only people who actually do buy ink by the barrel are newspaper publishers, and not the scribblers they employ.

Ugly Canuck in reply to Ugly Canuck

....or should I say, that the only people who bought ink "by the barrel" in Twain's own day were newspaper publishers.

That quote is rapidly becoming obsolete and inapplicable in our age of electro-screens.

Ugly Canuck

OTOH, paper is a concept which is not quite gone yet....

http://esciencenews.com/articles/2011/05/04/revolutionary.new.paper.computer.shows.flexible.future.smartphones.and.tablets

...but ink itself is slowly fading....

Shart Tsung

HAHAHA Dean's mom made him apologize....this is almost getting to funny with the schoolyard bully comparison.

http://minnesota.publicradio.org/collections/special/columns/polinaut/archive/2011/05/dean_apologizes.shtml

Anon in reply to Antinous / Moderator

Interesting response -- disemposting seems to lie somewhere between disemvowelling and account suspension.

Antinous / Moderator in reply to Anonymous

It would be so much easier if people just wouldn't respond to such obvious threadjacks.

anharmyenone

Culture wars...bleah...dualistic Manichaean nonsense on both sides.

AirPillo in reply to LabRat001

It'd probably work to waste a lot of someone's time and money but a response like that is sinking to the level of the inept demagogue.

grikdog

Ah, another Rat Speaker, I see. Somebody send this guy a packet of double-edged blue blades; he appears to have run out of amusing evil.

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