Profound Nonsense

For Christmas, badnoodles' father gave her a weather station, which we have set up in our bedroom. I have gotten into the habit of checking the outside temperature before I go downstairs for breakfast, to give me an idea of how cold it's going to be outside when I leave for work. This morning, the exterior temperature reading was "---", so I went to my computer and checked Weather.com. It was 8 DEGREES FARENHEIT outside.

Fuck Winter. Fuck it in the ear.

Merry Christmas to all who read my LJ. IF it's not your holiday of choice, creed, or belief, then please feel free to substitute the one of your choice. The sentiment will still remain.

Just a quick note: The natural gas explosion that everyone's been hearing about was in Sissonville, just north of the state capital of West Virginia. Nowhere near me.

Being a gamer, comic book reader, and avid fantasy/sci-fi fan with a deep love of the classic pulps, I get it. I understand the need/desire/appeal for pin-up art. Larry Elmore, Boris Vallejo, Luis Royo, J. Scott Campbell... hell, even Richard Corben, I get you guys. I have been your target audience.

That being said... could we have a few more action heroines that actually dress either a) in period and/or b) sensibly. Like this young lady.

I'll leave the discussion of the awesomeness of a Woman of Color as an action heroine to those with a bigger stake in that fight than I, but I will say that I think it is pretty awesome, especially since she actually looks like something other than a Caucasian with dark skin.

Stolen from my friends at the Drunkard's Walk forums:

Alfred Pennyworth, batman to Batman
Edwin Jarvis, majordomo of Avengers Mansion.
Cyrano, factotum of Thunderbird Headquarters.
Beeker, right-hand-man of Willard Phule.
Sgt. Mervyn Bunter (ret.), valet to His Lordship, Peter Death Bredon Wimsey, Duke of Denver
Magersfontein Lugg, manservant to Albert Campion
Edmund Blackadder the Third.
Reginald Jeeves.
And Mercy Graves, driver and bodyguard of Lex Luthor.

Together, they are the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen's Gentlemen.

"I think it’s funny that people are constantly saying “First World Problems”… bashfully excusing themselves, as if to dismiss their own emotions as invalid compared to the next person. because of course these problems, the problems stemming from our privileged lives pale in comparison to the problems of real-ass starvation, war, extreme physical suffering.

"Well, of course. Of course. Things could always be harder - everything’s relative. And it’s never good to lose perspective. It helps. It does.

"And OF COURSE the problems of those in the First World are First World Problems. If you’re HAVING them, chances are… that’s where you are.

"Starving people have Starving People Problems, dying people have Dying People Problems, overweight people have Overweight People Problems, white people have White People Problems, black people have Black People Problems, rich people have Rich People Problems, gay people have Gay People Problems, straight people have Straight People Problems…. Are we detecting a pattern?

"Everybody’s got them, period.

"You can’t measure human suffering with a yardstick. those who try to do it end up vindictive, even when they’re trying to be helpful.

"Because the minute you start measuring suffering, you invalidate somebody’s suffering…and that just never works. that’s where the whole shit starts getting ugly.

"Anyone who says “My pain is bigger than your pain” is speaking from fear.
Anyone who says “My feelings are more valid than your feelings” isn’t speaking from empathy.

"The song don’t lie: everybody hurts. everybody suffers, everybody feels pain. and everybody feels it for a different reason on a different day in a different way. And it’s all real….There’s no pain that isn’t valid, there’s no pain that isn’t “real” because somebody has it worse off. Pain is pain. All you can do is feel it, accept it, move on and know that everybody else on this spinning ball of dirt is in the same boat, and we all need to acknowledge each other’s pain, no matter what the package, and no matter how big or small that package appears.

"When we do this, that’s what keeps us compassionate brothers and sisters on Earth.

"Will I occasionally still use the “First World Problems” joke the next time I find myself complaining that the coffee in this bistro is over-roasted?

"Eh, probably.

"Why?

"Because it’s a funny fucking joke."

-- Amanda Palmer, 4/9/12

I was driving down Central Expressway this morning and I passed a new restaurant called "Taco Republic."

Presumably, it was once the Kingdom of Taco, but there was a bloody revolution that overthrew the Taco King ("El taco, mi está.") and Taco Queen (known for her famous quote, "Let them eat sopapillas.") and then suffered from the corruption and mob rule known as the Taco Terror.

Hmph. There is no better Conan....

Face it, Ricky. Virginia just doesn't like you. To be completely honest, I can understand; I don't like you much either. I mean, I know I'm a Texas Liberal, and we pretty much dislike most elected officials in our state, but this is just ridiculous. If you couldn't get the signatures that you knew you needed to get on the ballot, then Virginia just doesn't like you. Either that, or your election campaign staff did a half-assed job about canvassing Virginia to get people to sign the petition. (Maybe they don't like you either.)

Can someone tell me if Perry's lawsuit has precedent, or is this just another sign of how the political situation in America has become increasingly akin to a bunch of seven-year-olds squabbling on a playground.