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Halloween!

Tonight's the night - the kids are all hyped up and ready to go. Drew's going to be a zombie pirate, Fran is a vampire princess and Alec is Mr. Incredible (yes, I was shocked that he didn't pick Soooooopahmane).

Pictures later tonight or tomorrow, if I'm not too tired.

Stoopid sinuses.
posted by Adam C. Lipscomb at 4:43:00 PM

 
Progress

Another 1290 words today.

On the one hand, it's nice to be able to track how much I'm writing, even if it's only the number of words I've written. On the other hand, I worry that I'll turn it into some kind of pressure thing - that I'll feel like I've failed if I can't write X number of words per day.

I had to take several stabs at the latest bit - I just couldn't get the voice sounding right, and while it seems to be OK now, there's still something nagging at me about it.
posted by Adam C. Lipscomb at 12:20:00 PM

 
You Tell Me What You Think

John Warner National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2007

Sounds normal enough, the usual mess of appropriations and pork.

Then there's this:

Section 1042 -
Revises federal provisions allowing the President to utilize the Armed Forces in connection with interference with federal and state law to allow the President to employ the Armed Forces and National Guard in federal service to restore public order in cases of natural disaster, epidemic or other public health emergency, terrorist attack or incident, or domestic violence. Requires the President to notify Congress within 14 days of the exercise of such authority. Authorizes the President, when exercising such authority, to direct the Secretary to provide supplies, services, and equipment to persons affected by the situation.

Combine this with the Military Commissions Act, signed the same day, and you get a scary picture. President Bush can, thanks to these two pieces of "legislation", declare a national emergency, declare martial law and declare anyone that objects an "enemy combatant" and have them hauled away and tortured until they "confess" to their crimes.

Can't happen here, can it? Are you sure? Are you willing to bet your life on it? Ask yourself - how many times has this GOP congress stood up to Bush on anything? On the rare occasions they've disagreed with him, what has Bush done? Ignored the law.

I might be wrong. I hope I'm wrong, but I'm not holding my breath. There's a cold wind blowing in America these days, and we're running out of chances to save our nation.
posted by Adam C. Lipscomb at 9:01:00 AM

 
Thanks, YouTube!



The Monty Python clip above was the opening sketch from the original broadcast of episode 38 in 1973. In subsequent broadcasts of this episode, this sketch was replaced with captions by the BBC and it was assumed that it was lost forever - until a Python enthusiast came across some tape with this clip in Canada.

So, thanks to YouTube, I've been able to see a Monty Python sketch that I'd never seen before. Pretty cool, eh?
posted by Adam C. Lipscomb at 1:32:00 PM

 
This? Kind Of Cool.

Ancient human footprints found in Mexico.

Ancient human footprints discovered in the Mexican desert may be among the oldest in the Americas, researchers said on Wednesday.

The 13 footprints found in Cuatro Cienegas in the northern state of Coahuila are fossilized in stone less than an inch deep and are around the age of the oldest known footprints in North or South America.

"We believe they could be between 10,000 and 15,000 years old," said archeologist Yuri de la Rosa. "The research we have done on Cuatro Cienegas shows the presence of hunters and gatherers in the Coahuila desert beginning 10,000 years ago."

The oldest discovered human footprints in the New World are in Monte Verde, Chile and are believed to be around 13,000 years old.

Interesting. I'd like to see the followup on this.
posted by Adam C. Lipscomb at 1:40:00 PM

 
No, I Haven't Forgotten

I know there's an election coming up, and I know there's all kinds of fascistic shit going down in Congress and the White House. Soon as I get caught up on sleep, I'll post some more political stuff.

Don't forget to vote - vote early, if you can, so as to avoid the lines on election day.
posted by Adam C. Lipscomb at 1:37:00 PM

 
I'm A Dirty Cheater, And I Don't Care

As I posted yesterday, I'm doing NaNoWriMo this year. The rules state you can't start a project early, but I don't care. This morning, I wrote the most I've written in one sitting in over 6 months. I started a wiki for my project and ported over some stuff I'd written in that setting earlier, two pieces that had unique character voices and were relatively self-contained.

The NaNoWriMo stuff will be posted here. I may or may not post regular updates here, but you can always follow the link I'll put on the sidebar here.
posted by Adam C. Lipscomb at 11:17:00 AM

 
Well, I Think I'm Going To Give It A Go

In the past, I've thought about participating in National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo, if'n you want to sound hip), but I always talked myself out of it.

This year, I'm gonna do it. The main thing that's been holding me back was the intimidation of trying to sustain the momentum I think I'd need to write an entire novel. It hit me last week that I didn't have to write a novel per se, and that if I did better with short fiction, I should stick with that strength. I've got a perfect framework built already - The City. I can craft stories to cover different apsects and inhabitants of The City, and every story I write helps me make that setting more detailed, and it's easier to think of things in terms of narrative than as dry, encyclopedia-like entries.

So I'm going to give it a try. About 1667 words per day will get me to 50,000 words by the end of November. I think I'll set up a new wiki that I can link to The City, though I don't know yet if I'll be posting a daily update on word count.

More details as I figure them out.
posted by Adam C. Lipscomb at 10:41:00 AM

 
Home Day

Just taking it easy and cleaning house today, figured I'd post a few more pictures from the cruise:

The ship at the dock in Progreso, Mexico:


Franny looking out at the Gulf as we sailed out of Houston:


Melissa sitting by the pool and lookin' pretty darn good, if you ask me:

posted by Adam C. Lipscomb at 1:17:00 PM

 
From the Cruise

Alec loves Superman. WORSHIPS HIM. At least half of his clothing now is Superman-themed, and his favorite movie is the Christopher Reeve "Superman", though the classic Fleischer Bros. cartoons are big faves, too.

While I was in San Francisco, I bought him a cape that he wears every chance he gets. Of course he took this on the cruise, and on our evening strolls around the Promenade Deck, he'd zoom along, the cape streaming behind him as he gleefully shouted, "SAVE THE DAY! SOOOPAHMANE!" The crew all knew him by the end of the first day - even without his cape, he'd be greeted everywhere we went with, "Hello, Superman! How are you?"

One day, I commented on his popularity. "Wow, Alec! Everyone seems to know who you are."

"Yes," he replied solemnly. "That's 'cause I Alec."
posted by Adam C. Lipscomb at 12:02:00 AM

 
Belated Welcome

I waited to blog this because I wanted to post pictures.

I'm an uncle again! On Saturday, October 14th, my brother Scott and his wife Lea became the (justifiably!) proud parents of Lillie Bette Lipscomb.

My parents were there, and they are, as the picture shows, pleased as punch with this latest addition to the Lipscomb family:


Welcome aboard, Lillie Bette. It's a big world and a little scary at times, but it's one hell of a ride.
posted by Adam C. Lipscomb at 7:52:00 AM

 
Stress

I'm not going to go into too much detail, but I found out earlier this week that my current employer has just been purchased by a competitor. The current talk from management is that it's going to "maximize shareholder value" or some such nonsense, which everyone that doesn't have those sweet executurd-level stock option deals understands really means, "Fuck you, peons! Our stock options will actually be worth something, and we'll be sitting pretty while you scramble for new jobs!" And scrambling will be going on - it's not a merger or a buyout, really - more of a corporate-level smash-and-grab.

I've got several months, at least. Plenty of time to find something else, but it's going to mean lots of adjustments in the near future.

Fucking fatcat motherfuckers. I goddamn hate them, and I hate the fucking stock market and I hate the shitsucking fatcats that sit on the BoDs of all the fucking fatcat corporations that think business is all about fucking over the workers.
posted by Adam C. Lipscomb at 10:09:00 AM

 
Latest Column

I know I'm biased, but god-DAMN, Melissa writes some good ones.

Until Proven Innocent
posted by Adam C. Lipscomb at 11:38:00 AM

 
Under The Sea!

No singing crabs or mermaid jailbait on this dive, thankfully. Lots of colorful fish and coral, which sadly doesn't come out very well on the cheap disposable underwater camera we had with us. Next time, I'm going to spend the money to make sure I get good pictures.

Still and all, I hope these pics give you an idea of how beautiful the reef in Belize was.

Alec wasn't entirely sure about this whole snorkeling thing, but he was a trooper about it, and seemed to enjoy riding on my back as I swam along:


Here's some coral and seaweed, and there might be a fish somewhere in there, too:


More fish. The water was about 6' deep here, and was so clear it seemed at times like I was floating on air.


Purple fan coral and a black and blue fish. I don't know what the official names are, and I'm too lazy to google:


There's a Bloody Great Conch right in the middle of the pic. I thought it was maybe 6" long or so, but when I swam down, it was closer to 18":


I don't know what I was taking a picture of here. Possibly a crab that scuttled out of sight before I could take the picture.


A devil ray, moving right along the surface of the coral. It was about 2' across blended in with the coral. If I'd had an underwater movie camera, it'd probably be easier to see:


Just missed a picture of a moray eel. I was further away than it looks:


A smaller devil ray:


There's more pictures, and I'll get them all up on Flickr before too much longer. This weekend at the latest.
posted by Adam C. Lipscomb at 11:20:00 AM

 
More Pictures Coming Soon

I'll be picking up the photos we took with the waterproof camera today after work and I expect to be able to post them tonight.
posted by Adam C. Lipscomb at 2:03:00 PM

 
A Few Trip Pics

Still working on transferring all the pics, but here's a few good ones:

I took this one the morning after we left port. We were in the middle of the gulf, between Houston and Progreso:



Two days later, we were in Cozumel, and there was a beautiful rainbow visible as the ship came in to shore:



Alec, Franny, Melissa and I got to swim with a dolphin. Here's a pic of Alec getting a kiss from Ixchel the dolphin:



After swimming with Ixchel, Alec was all tuckered out, so he took a nap in a hammock on the beach:



I did manage to get some Quality Time with Melissa:



And we even got all dressed up and got our picture took all fancy-like!



Belize was my favorite stop. We've got some underwater pictures from the reef that still need to be developed, but here's Melissa and the younger kids on the way to our snorkeling excursion:



Meanwhile, Drew went with his grandparents and uncle to look at sharks and rays and snorkel elsewhere on the reef:



After we snorkeled, Melissa and the kids and I spent a few hours relaxing at Bannister Caye. White sand, clear water and a well-stocked bar that served Fruity Rum Drinks - what more could we ask for?



More pics to be posted as I get around to it.
posted by Adam C. Lipscomb at 2:08:00 PM

 
First Up Against The Wall

When the people finally get off their asses and do something about the corporate fatcats and their culture of corruption, this motherfucker needs to die slowly and painfully.

You may not know Frederic W. Cook, but if you are a shareholder or employee who has watched executive pay rocket in recent years, you are likely to be acquainted with his work.

As the nation’s leading executive compensation consultant, Mr. Cook and his colleagues at Frederic W. Cook & Company are probably responsible for creating more wealth for executives over the last 20 years than any other pay advisers.

Cook and the scum like him are the reason American corporations are so busy fucking their workers. They're a big part of the reason the fatcat shitlickers have such a large portion of the money.

Cook's a dirtbag, worse than any crack whore or drug dealer. He's done more damage to the fabric of society than any purveyor of kiddie porn.

I swear, I wouldn't piss down his throat if his guts were on fire. Though I might give him a nice glass of napalm to drink.
posted by Adam C. Lipscomb at 2:35:00 PM

 
Home Again, Home Again

Back from a 7-day cruise of the Caribbean. We left from Houston last Saturday and went to Progreso, Mexico, Cozumel and Belize City. It was a good cruise, to say the least. Pictures as soon as they're uploaded/processed. Right now? Dinner, then early bedtime. I'm tired.

Oh, and snorkeling? on the reef in Belize? The shiz-NIT, baby.
posted by Adam C. Lipscomb at 4:49:00 PM

 
Posting Less This Week

Some of you know what's going on, the rest of you, Dear Readers, will need to wait until it's all done. Nothing bad, I promise, save that I won't be posting as much this week.

And remember: if you know what's going on this week, don't tell anyone - I want it to be a surprise!
posted by Adam C. Lipscomb at 6:43:00 AM

 
I Am Above The Law!

George W. Bush, the least popular, lyingest sorry-ass sack of shit to ever occupy the White House, says he can decide whether or not we need to know if Homeland Security is obeying the law.

In the law Bush signed Wednesday, Congress stated no one but the privacy officer could alter, delay or prohibit the mandatory annual report on Homeland Security department activities that affect privacy, including complaints.

But Bush, in a signing statement attached to the agency's 2007 spending bill, said he will interpret that section "in a manner consistent with the President's constitutional authority to supervise the unitary executive branch."

In other words, "Fuck you, peasants! My minions will spy upon you as I tell them to, and you can shut the hell up before I waterboard your sorry asses!"

The rubber-stamp Congress will no doubt simply roll over for this assault on the very foundation of our political system - separation of powers - like it has every other goddamn time the insane, warmongering, torture-happy cokehead fuckstain decides that this law or that just cramps his motherfucking style.

To add insult to injury (as if that was anything other than a criminal understatement when talking about the Shithead In Chief), there's also this:

Bush's signing statement Wednesday challenges several other provisions in the Homeland Security spending bill.

Bush, for example, said he'd disregard a requirement that the director of the
Federal Emergency Management Agency must have at least five years experience and "demonstrated ability in and knowledge of emergency management and homeland security."

His rationale was that it "rules out a large portion of those persons best qualified by experience and knowledge to fill the office."

Ummmm, yeah. Because the last incompetent moron you appointed as FEMA Director was just soooooooo amazingly good - chock-full of experience and knowledge. Yep.

The man's a criminal. He's a sociopath, a monster that gets off on the deaths of women and children, a coward, a morally reprehensible pathological liar, a thief, charlatan, bounder, cad, nutjob wetbrain booze-addled scumbag.

Whenever I think I can't hate that amoral sicko any more, he goes and proves me wrong again. Impeachment can't come soon enough, nor can a trial for war crimes and a nice, long sentence in the foulest of cramped, tiny cells where he could (if there was any justice) get the same treatment he's so eager to hand out to innocent Arab men and women. Don't get me wrong - I want Bush to live a long, long time. I want him to spend every moment of the rest of his life painfully aware of how monumentally he fucked up, knowing deep in the center of his being that he deserves the scorn and derision heaped upon him.
posted by Adam C. Lipscomb at 11:33:00 AM

 
Assclowns In The News

Alton Verm thinks Fahrenheit 451 is far too naughty for high school kids.

"It's just all kinds of filth," said Alton Verm, adding that he had not read "Fahrenheit 451." "The words don't need to be brought out in class. I want to get the book taken out of the class." - _{emphasis mine - ACL}

So, just to make sure I'm following this:

1. Your daughter was assigned a book about censorship to read in high school.
2. Your daughter, Diana, saw all the "bad words" in the book and complained to you.
3. Your daughter and a friend decided that "bad words" ("bad" apparently being defined as "having more than two syllables") in the book would pollute their pwecious widdle minds and were allowed to read another book entirely.
4. You DID NOT READ THE BOOK, instead choosing to start your own little shitstorm by demanding that the school district remove the book (which is one of the best treatments of censorship in modern fiction) from reading lists.

Boy, howdy, you're one dumbass motherfucking cracker, aintcha Alton? Let's see what OMFGHORRIBLE!!!1!!! things you claim to have found in the book, despite not having read it:

"...discussion of being drunk, smoking cigarettes, violence, "dirty talk," references to the Bible and using God's name in vain."

I'd like to point out that when I went to high school, I was already occasionally getting drunk, smoking, engaging in "dirty talk" (if telling someone to "fuck off and die" is the kind of dirty talk Alton means) and liberally inserting "god damn" into my conversations with my peers. I don't understand what a Christian might not like about "references to the Bible", but I made a lot of those, too - hard not to, when your father's a preacher. As far as violence went, we had everything from Looney Toons up to and including Arnold Schwarzenegger to see on a regular basis, plus the nightly news, chock-full of stories of American nuns getting raped and murdered in Central America by US-trained, right wing paramilitary death squads.

In a final amusing coincidence, I'd like to point out that this attempt to ban a book about censorship came during Banned Books Week.
posted by Adam C. Lipscomb at 9:46:00 AM

 
Robert Anton Wilson Needs Your Help

I don't know how many of you out there have read RAW's work - he's best known for Cosmic Trigger and as a co-writer of The Illuminatus Trilogy - but if you have, if you got one iota of enjoyment from reading any of it, you need to know this:

He needs our help. Now.

He's sick and broke and he doesn't have much longer on this Earth. From his friend Denis Berry (via Boing Boing:

Sadly, we have to report that wizard-author-intelligence increase agent is in trouble with his life, home and his finances. Robert is dying at his home from post polio syndrome. He has enough money for next months rent and after that, will be unable to pay. He cannot walk, has a hard time talking and swallowing, is extremely frail and needs full time care that is being provided by several friends-fans-volunteers and family. We appeal to you to help financially for the next few months to let him die at his home in peace.

That was Monday - things have improved somewhat as of yesterday:

...this morning Bob's daughter showed up at his house in tears because she had checked his PayPal account and found money for next month's rent plus more. Bob called me to say that he couldn't believe people would care so much about him and as we talked (which isn't easy for him at this point) he was overcome with emotion more than once. He is so touched and RELIEVED at the possibility of staying in his home. He kept repeating to me his deep felt appreciation and disbelief that people would care so much about him. What a humble and sweet man.

Still, if you've got a little spare cash, pass some along to help the man and his family out.
posted by Adam C. Lipscomb at 6:33:00 AM

 
Who You Gonna Believe - Me, Or Your Lyin' Eyes?

Damn, Condi Rice must be eat all up with the stupid. She lies to the 9/11 Commission about the warning she got from George Tenet in July, before the infamous PDB entitled "Bin Laden Determined to Attack Within US" she saw in August. Tenet warned then that intelligence sources were seeing signs of increased Al Qaeda activity, suggesting they were planning something, probably an attack against the US. She lied to cover her incompetence and the incompetence of her boss. Then, she lies some more when Bob Woodward's latest book mentions this meeting. Remember what she said yesterday?

“What I can be quite certain of is that I would remember if I was told, as this account apparently says, that there was about to be an attack in the United States,” she said. “The idea that I would have somehow ignored that, I find incomprehensible — especially given that in July, we’re getting a steady stream of quite alarmist reports of potential attacks.”

Incomprehensible. She's right about that - a person of her education, especially in an administration that claims to be terribly concerned about protecting Americans from terrorism, should have done something besides wander around with her thumb up her ass making goo-goo eyes at the Torturer-in-Chief. But no. She and her boss were asleep on the job when we had a clear shot at taking steps that could have prevented the attacks of 9/11.

For her to even attempt to deny the meeting, that's crazy and stupid.

George Tenet isn't in the clear on this, though - while it's apparent from this incident and subsequent ones that he was largely ignored by the White House before and after 9/11, he was told to take his information to Ashcroft and Rumsfeld. At this time, there's no sign he did so.

Not, of course, that Ashcroft or Rumsfeld would have done anything. Ashcroft was busy with his anti-porn jihad, and Rumsfeld was apparently prepping for an invasion of Iraq.

The way it looks to me, there were failures of imagination, intelligence, duty, honor and common sense going all the way to the top in the Bush Administration. They started the day after the election of 2000 and continue to this very day.

So, who you gonna believe? The protofascist Bushistas and their venal thugs, or the evidence right in front of you.
posted by Adam C. Lipscomb at 8:08:00 AM

 
Methinks The Lady Doth Protest Too Much

Condoleezza Rice claims she never got a warning from George Tenet in July of 2001 regarding terror threats. No, honest! According to her,

“What I can be quite certain of is that I would remember if I was told, as this account apparently says, that there was about to be an attack in the United States,” she said. “The idea that I would have somehow ignored that, I find incomprehensible — especially given that in July, we’re getting a steady stream of quite alarmist reports of potential attacks.”

And really, we can believe her, right? Because she's so quick on the uptake and all, like when she claimed that a memo entitled "Bin Laden Determined To Attack Within US" couldn't possibly mean that Osama Bin Laden actually wanted to stage a terror attack within the Unites States. Incomprehensible? Sadly, her incompetence and moral cowardice say otherwise. It's all too comprehensible that she, her boss and every single person he's appointed to anything are venal, cowardly, inept, fearmongering war criminals intent only upon power for its own sake.

Terrorism was not a priority for the Bush Administration before 9/11 - and it really hasn't been one since, they just say it is. If they were serious about fighting terrorism, the 101st Airborne would have surrounded Tora Bora and cut off Bin Laden's escape. If they were serious about fighting terrorism, they wouldn't have diverted money from Afghanistan to build up forces to attack Iraq. If they were serious about fighting terrorism, they wouldn't have alienated so many of our allies.

Condoleezza Rice has done nothing but lie and cover for her incompetent, booze-addled boss for six years. She's pathetic, the worst Secretary of State ever, working for the worst President ever. Add in the worst Congress and Supreme Court ever and you've got a veritable trifecta of incompetence and venality.

So please, Condi. Don't treat us like we're as ignorant as your boss. We're not. Sooner or later, your lies will catch up with you. With any luck, it'll be when you're on trial for war crimes. Man, that'd be sweet.
posted by Adam C. Lipscomb at 11:45:00 AM

 
What Do We Have To Look Forward To?

All kinds of fun things! No, really!

In 1944, investigator, proud of his faultless logic [...] told Babitsh: “Investigation and the process are merely juridical figaration, that can't change your destiny, which has been determined before. If it is necessary to shoot you, you'll be shot, even if you're completely innocent.” - Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, The Gulag Archipelago

That's what's going on right now in Guantanamo Bay and in dozens, or hundreds, of secret prisons around the world. Maher Arar got to experience the American Archipelago - the one we outsourced. Now, Bush and his cowardly thugs have brought those important torture jobs home to America. I mean, if you want to do things right...

We're becoming as corrupt and twisted as the Soviet Union - just replace "Commisars" with "the GOP", "collective farms" with "corporations", "Lysenkoism" with "Intelligent Design" and "Pravda" with "Fox News".

"But Adam, the law's just for terrorists!"

No. It's for people George Bush calls terrorists - if he says you're a terrorist, you get a trip to Gitmo, as much abusive treatment and torture as they want to give you until you confess, at which point you'll get a "fair and balanced" trial in front of a military commission, a trial at which hearsay evidence that you're not even allowed to hear from people you never see with a lawyer they choose for you.

Doesn't that help you sleep better at night? Don't you feel better about where our country is going? Don't you feel better about where we are now?
posted by Adam C. Lipscomb at 12:09:00 PM