CULTURE/SOCIETY: My Answers to a Questionnaire

Just a questionnaire from a friend that I filled out. - OlderMusicGeek

1.)Q. Can you cook?
1.)A. Let me put this way - a college roommate said, "He's not a picky eater. He eats his own cooking."

2.)Q. What was your dream growing up?
2.)A. Science fiction writer.

3.)Q. What talent do you wish you had?
3.)A. Playing an instrument, preferably a guitar.

4.)Q. If I bought you a drink what would it be?
4.)A. Probably diet coke.

5.)Q. Favorite vegetable?
5.)A. Corn - I'm from Iowa - What can I say?

6.)Q. What was the last book you read?
6.)A. Read? Probably something i read to my daughter, but I LISTENED to the second Harry Potter book recently.

7.)Q. What zodiac sign are you ?
7.)A. Beware of dog.

8.)Q. Any Tattoos and/or Piercings?
8.)A. Nope.

9.)Q. Worst Habit?
9.)A. Picking my nose.

10.)Q. If you saw me walking down the street would you offer me a ride?
10.)A. If i knew it was you.

11.)Q. What is your favorite sport?
11.)A. Don't like sports, but baseball is probably my fave.

12.)Q. Negative or Optimistic attitude?
12.)A. Negatively optimistic - I know it's going to be bad!

13.)Q. What would you do if you were stuck in an elevator with me?
13.)A. Talk - It asked what i would do, not what's my fantasy.

14.)Q. Worst thing to ever happen to you?
14.)A. Divorce.

15.)Q. Tell me one weird fact about you:
15.)A. Just one?

16.)Q. Do you have any pets?
16.)A. Yes, a cat that is part dog.

17.)Q. What if I showed up at your house unexpectedly?
17.)A. What if? SHOULD I be worried if you do?

18.)Q. What was your first impression of me?
18.)A. Quiet! Where's the comments?

19.)Q. Do you think clowns are cute or scary?
19.)A. Cute. (I don't want to hear it, Sassy Witch!)

20.)Q. If you could change one thing about how you look, what would it be???
20.)A. My long neck.

21.)Q. Would you be my crime partner or my conscience?
21.)A. It seems I'm everybody's conscience - Figure it out on your own, people!

22.)Q. What color eyes do you have?
22.)A. People color.

23.)Q. Ever been arrested?
23.)A. No, though I have spent a night in jail!

24.)Q. Bottle or Draft?
24.)A. Don't drink beer.

25.)Q. If you won $10,000 dollars today, what would you do with it?
25.)A. Put half in my daughter's' college fund and buy a better car.

26.)Q. Would you date me?
26.)A. Maybe....

27.)Q. What 's your favorite bar to hang at?
27.)A. The one that has live alternative bands.

28.)Q. Do you believe in ghosts?
28.)A. I think they're more likely to exist than not.

29.)Q. Favorite thing to do in your spare time?
29.)A. Listen to music!

30.)Q. Do you swear a lot?
30.)A. Not since I became a dad.

31.)Q. Biggest pet peeve?
31.)A. I don't know - People who cant answer simple questions everyone else can, I guess.

32.)Q. In one word, how would you describe yourself?
32.)A. Different.

33.)Q. What's your middle name?
33.)A. I'd have to kill you if I answer this question. Okay, not really. I just don't give that kind of information on the internet!

34.)Q. Will you repost this so I can fill it out and do the same
34.)A. Already did.

ENTERTAINMENT: The End of a Great

"He was the author of the greatest piece of advice ever given by man to man: 'I tell you, we are here on Earth to fart around, and don't let anybody tell you different.'" -- Andy, blog.myspace.com

"So he made it to 84 and then dies by falling? Somebody should have got him a scooter. Seriously though, great writer...he will be missed." -- Jason, blog.myspace.com

William Burroughs, Hunter S Thompson, Robert Anton Wilson, and now Kurt Vonnegut... Not many left now! Will be missed, but so it goes... -- In The Now

His fans will knowingly laugh when I rip off dear, departed Mr. Vonnegut and say, "Well, Kurt is in heaven now..." -- Laura, NYC

an interview with Kurt Vonnegut in Second Life

NPR's remembrance of Kurt Vonnegut

excerpts from God Bless You Dr Kevorkian

HUMOR and CULTURE/SOCIETY: Men, Women, Marriage, Money and Intelligence

Another joke sent to me by the Sassy Witch. - OlderMusicGeek

When John found out he was going to inherit a fortune when his sickly father died, he decided he needed a woman to enjoy it with.

So one evening he went to a singles bar where he spotted the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.

Her natural beauty took his breath away.

"I may look like just an ordinary man," he said as he walked up to her, "but in just a week or two, my father will die, and I'll inherit 20 million dollars.

Impressed, the woman went home with him that evening, and three days later, she became his stepmother.

Women are so much smarter than men.

ENTERTAINMENT: Future Uncertain for Internet Radio

This is a piece from Radio Paradise's home page. - OlderMusicGeek
p.s. sorry for not blogging for so long - my life's been hectic!

The US Copyright Office has released their new set of rates for the payment of royalties by Internet Radio, and they ignored all of the facts presented by webcasters (including RP) and gave the record industry exactly what they asked for: royalty rates so high that they will put RP and every other independent webcaster out of business. See Kurt Hanson's newsletter for 3/2/07 for the details on how the rates work and what they will mean to stations like RP. You can participate in the discussion about this issue in our Listener Forum.

For some time, we've suffered with a system where we pay a large chunk (10%-12%) of our income to the Big 5 record companies - while FM stations and radio conglomerates like Clear Channel pay nothing. Now they want even more. In our case, an amount equal to 125% of our income. Our only hope is to create as much public awareness and outrage about this staggeringly unfair situation as possible. Neither the record industry nor Congress are ready to listen to us at this point. But members of the media may well be, and we need to get their attention.

If you have a blog, write about it. Feel free to quote anything I've written in the Listener Forum. If you find a good blog post about the subject, Digg it or Slashdot it. If you work for a media outlet, look over the facts of the situation and see if you don't feel the same sense of outrage that we do. Write a letter to the editor of your favorite magazine or newspaper. Let everyone you can know what a loss it would be to you personally if your favorite Internet radio stations, including RP, were no longer available.

The RIAA can, at any time, agree to strike a deal with independent webcasters to allow us to pay a more realistic royalty, one based on a percentage of our income. We're hoping that if all of you make enough noise they'll be more inclined to do so. We'd also like to hope that at least one member of Congress will take a look at this situation and become willing to propose ammendments to the deeply flawed 1990s pieces of legislation that are responsible for the unfair treatment of Internet radio.

Thanks a lot for reading this, and for considering the idea of taking some action on it. We'll be posting new information and links here as they become available.

CULTURE/SOCIETY: Good-Bye Robert Anton Wilson

RAW Essence
January 11, 2007

Robert Anton Wilson Defies Medical Experts and leaves his body @4:50 AM on binary date 01/11.

All Hail Eris!

On behalf of his children and those who cared for him, deepest love and gratitude for the tremendous support and lovingness bestowed upon us.

(that's it from Bob's bedside at his fnord by the sea)

RAW Memorial February 07
date to be announced

If you don't understand why this is so sad, here's an example of his writings - OlderMusicGeek


September 30, 1996 e.v.
I glanced into alt.feminazis today and found a lively debate about whether the feminist claim that "all men are potential rapists" leads to the conclusion "Jesus was a potential rapist." (It does. See Aristotle's Logic, part one. If all x are y, and j is an x, than j is y.)

I think this issue arouses so much fury because people are not aware that group-hate has never become unfashionable. Only the target groups ever change. Thus, the Ku Klux Klan's dogma "All black men are potential rapists" is ignorant, awful and politically incorrect, because it targets a group now on the "unfashionable to hate" list. The feminist "all men are potential rapists" is enlightened, educated and politically correct because it targets a group now on the "fashionable to hate" list.

You must always hate the right group to maintain your modernity. To become post-modern, find even more groups to hate.

Only idiots like Jesus (a potential rapist) and Buddha (another of that ilk) ever proposed living without hate of any groups.....Oh, and Korzybski, who described group hatreds as neurolinguistic halucinations sympomatic of what he called unsanity. But he was another potential rapist.

CULTURE/SOCIETY: Does Your Name Suit You?

This was forwarded to me by The Sassy Witch. Thought you guys might find it amusing.

O: Dead sexy.
L: loved by everyone
D: has one of the best personalities ever
E: Is a damn good kisser.
R: Popular with all types of people
M: Makes dating fun
U: Really likes to chill.
S: Easy to fall in love with
I: Is always there for their friends.
C: Is wild and crazy.
G: Never let people tell you what to do.
E: Is a damn good kisser.
E: Is a damn good kisser.
K: a big tease

A: likes to flirt
B: Likes people
C: Is wild and crazy.
D: has one of the best personalities ever
E: Is a damn good kisser.
F: People adore you.
G: Never let people tell you what to do.
H: Has a very good personality and looks.
I: Is always there for their friends.
J: Lives life for fun.
K: a big tease
L: loved by everyone
M: Makes dating fun
N: Best kisser
O: Dead sexy.
P: never ready
Q: A hypocrite.
R: Popular with all types of people
S: Easy to fall in love with
T: crazy/hyper
U: Really likes to chill.
V: Not judgemental.
W: Very broad minded.
X: Never let people tell you what to do.
Y: Makes dating fun
Z: Always ready.

CULTURE/SOCIETY: What Life Should Be?

Saw this on a piece of wood at at co-worker's cubicle. Unfortunately, she bought it at a craft show, so I'll probably never be able to get one. But at least, I can share it with all of you.

Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rathet to skid in sideways, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out, screaming, "WOO HOO, what a ride!"

SPIRITUALITY/RELIGION and ENTERTAINMENT: Moby's Take on Christmas

Moby, an extremely liberal Christian, has this interesting take on Christmas. I got it from his website which Spin led me too. - OlderMusicGeek

as for christmas, i hope that everyone has a wonderful christmas, regardless of how you choose to celebrate it (or not celebrate it).

i always hope that somehow we can see past the fun and awesome pagan trappings of christmas (trees, mistletoe, december 25th, candy canes, etc) to remember that on christmas we celebrate the birthday (even if jesus wasn't actually born anywhere near december 25th) of a man who wanted us all to be more forgiving, more compassionate, less judgemental, less violent, and less materialistic.

ultimately christmas is about celebrating the birthday of a man who wanted us to love one another and to look after one another regardless of our religious or political or ethnic or gender differences.

thanks, and merry christmas.
moby

CULTURE/SOCIETY: Christmas Cartoons

CULTURE/SOCIETY: A Christmas Questionaire

Welcome to the 2006 Holiday Edition of Getting to Know Your Friends! You know the drill.

Don't be a scrooge!!!!

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? Hot chocolate - egg nog makes me sick to my stomach. But I actually prefer hot cider - love the stuff.

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? He just sets them under the tree. When does he have time to wrap them.

3. Colored lights or white lights on the tree/house? Oh, colored definitely, the more, the better. And one of these days, one with flashing patterns.

4. Do you hang mistletoe? Never have. Seems kind of weird - and don't want to have to kiss somebody i don't want to.

5. When do you put your decorations up? Friday after Thanksgiving. Have tried to do it a little later - and my daughter would have NONE of that!

6. What is your favorite holiday dish… anything I don't have to prepare!

7. What is your favorite Holiday memory as a child? Can't think of any particular one off the top of my head. After I send this, I'll probably think of a whole bunch I should have listed. But I just remember the excitement of being in bed waiting and knowing it's too early to wake up my parents. And the excitement of seeing the presents and opening the ones my parents and family got me.

I do remember one year when I was invited out on a Christmas Eve outing by friends. My mother said I could go, but Christmas morning was going to start the usual time because my brother's young daughter was there.

Well, we got home after midnight. And I remember being woken up to a young girl bouncing on my bed yelling, "Get up! It's Christmas morning!" I have a feeling a certain mother instructed her how to wake my brother and I.

And when I was in Africa, there was a family on the Zimbabwean campground I was at that invited me to join them for their picnic. (It's summer south of the equator at this time.) That was fun. I remember the guy playing a bunch of Beatles tunes on his acoustic guitar.

And my ex-fiancee and I would always visit her dad, who would slaughter a goat for the occasion.

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? I honestly can't remember. I have tried to remember and don't. It must have been very traumatic and a piece-by-piece suspicion and realization. I pretty sure when my mom told me, it was confirming what I pretty much already knew.

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? My daughter can open just one.

10. How do you decorate your Christmas Tree? Most people hate it. We put a ton of those metal ice cycles on it. Four strings on tinsel - white, gold, green and red. A ton of ornaments, most shining. And lights. It looks tacky in the day, but looks cool at night with reflections everywhere.

11. Snow! Love it or Dread it? I hate snow. I never missed the Iowa winters when I lived in Africa for six years. But it's nice for my daughter because she loves the snow.

12. Can you ice skate? Kinda sorta. Don't fall on my butt too much.

13. Do you remember your favorite gift? Off the top of my head. no. Maybe I'll come up with something later. Though a couple of years ago, I got a great collection of bluegrass Christmas tunes.

14. What's the most important thing about the Holidays for you? Spending time with the family, especially my daughter and my mom.

15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert? Any I don't make to make.

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition? As a kid, I loved singing Christmas carols with the family. Now, it's putting up the tree with my daughter the day after Thanksgiving. We dig out the Christmas tunes. And I always play first this kick-butt rocking version of Jingle Bells I taped off the radio decades ago. The Christmas season doesn't start for until I hear that. Just wish I knew who did it

17. What tops your tree? A star we bought at my brother's garage sale.

18. Which do you prefer giving or receiving? Giving. What kind of greedy jerk prefers recieving. Don't want to know that person.

19. What is your favorite Christmas Song? White Christmas by Bing. I'm a bit of a tradionalist. But not that much of one, because I'm very proud of my collection of Christmas punk rock songs.

20. Candy Canes! I like them, but I prefer the chocolate candy.

Other Christmas blog entries