I just [chat] in your arms tonight....

It must have been something you said...

Black like my soul.

A rose dies. The life extinguished for whom none cry.
A smile, a laugh, all forgotten and lost within the dark.
Dark and black.
Black like my soul.
Unbearable tears refuse to fall; known only to They.
They who hurt. They who are pain. They who are dark.
Dark and black.
Black like my soul.
A love when lost drains hope and warmth.
Purpose dies upon the lost hopes; dreams fade into the dark.
Dark and black.
Black like my soul.
The day begins, begins and fades. Lost purpose and meaning unknown and unloved.
Worthless effort strewn across the wasteland of a life full of dark.
Dark and black.
Black like my soul.
I raise the knife to end the pain; the pain about which none care.
I am my own. Lost and alone. Alone in the dark.
Dark and black.
Black like my soul.
Tomorrow will come. Tomorrow and more. Meaningless, hopeless, inevitable life.
We take our steps and then look back. Back to the past. Back to the dark.
Dark and black.
Black like my soul.
The loss is a drop, a drop into an unbearable ocean.
An ocean of pain traversed by schooners of despair in the dark.
Dark and black.
Black like my soul.
I cry. I empty myself of all that I am. Feelings lost on a void.
Hope gone I am alone and nothing in the dark
Dark and black.
Black like my soul.

Clinging to Life and Denying Death

Work has afforded me plenty of time to sit and think. The macro I mentioned earlier that reduced the amount of time it took to do a repetitive task has now grown to the point where it simply does everything without input from me, and all I have to do is watch it go. What I've been thinking about is the cycle of life and death, which I can blame Joseph Campbell for, as I've been reading his Hero with a Thousand Faces at my leisure.

What I think I've come to realize is that we (I don't know exactly who that encompasses, but certainly more than just myself) have decided to value life to such an extent that the value of death is becoming forgotten. Birth and other life milestones are taken to be the good aspects of life, while death is relegated to the negative, but I don't believe that should be the case. Rather, death should be final good part of one life that makes room for another birth. Take for example a forest fire, which must necessarily occur in order to clear out old wood and allow new trees to grow, but people seem to want there not to be fires in forests. Then earlier this summer there was an enormous fire that consumed the old growth that apparently would have been cleared by smaller, more regular fires, but since there weren't any, it burned out of control and made itself into a problem. It's as though the cessation of miniature cycles brought about by a misunderstanding of life and death had given way to a far larger and more dangerous cycle.

Conversely, the Ise shrine in Japan is a wooden structure that has been around for centuries, though its longevity isn't due to mankind's meticulous preservation of it, but because every twenty years it is newly reconstructed. As long as there are people and trees in the world, there will never not be shrine in Ise, and it's because of an acceptance of life and death in their natural roles that this is possible.

Human life, I think, requires a similar understanding. Anyone who is born must die, just like anyone who has died must have been born, and trying to avoid the last step as unwise as trying to postpone or avoid other steps in life (the smaller forest fires, as it were). I'm 25 (an adult), yet I still attend college (a young man's pursuit) and I have no career (a child's privelage). I'm an adult by age, yet I haven't truly passed into adulthood because there are aspects of my younger life that have not yet died to allow me to move on. It's not such a terrible thing to be an old boy, but it may shorten my time as an adult, and make difficult my elderly years, and my death may come before I'm ready.

I don't really have a conclusion to all of this, I am just thinking after all, but I can see how a love of life could lead to a poorer one in the absense of a need for death, and that seems like something one ought to avoid.

Internet Downage.

Our internets was teh down between 9:15 and 1:00 today. The problem was this:



The problem was not our link to KC, but rather KC's link to Sprint. This made me think about the internet and how there is no true incorporeal form of teh Internets, but rather "teh internets" is a series of connections. The website upon which I work exists on one server, this blog exists on another, and flickr exists on yet another server. Yet when those servers are connected they seemingly form "Teh Internets". Kind of like how Voltron doesn't exist, so much as there is a combination of cats. The same is not true for Captain Planet, though. Captain Planet IS a being unto himself. He's summoned by the power of those rings, not formed by the power of the rings.

While the internet was down I made some new Lol Raeks. Morning well spent.

Nancy Grace Sticks Up for Britney Spears, Junk Food

LINK
sadly i cannot figure out how to embed a flash video for a gawker blog.

If this wasnt real, i would think it was cut from an episode of studio 60

Red Cross sued for use of cross emblem

By DAVID CRARY AP National Writer

NEW YORK (AP) -- Johnson & Johnson, the health-products giant that uses a red cross as its trademark, sued the American Red Cross on Wednesday, demanding that the charity halt the use of the red cross symbol on products it sells to the public.
Johnson & Johnson said it has had exclusive rights to use the trademark on certain commercial products - including bandages and first-aid cream - for more than 100 years.
It contends that the Red Cross is supposed to use the symbol only in connection with nonprofit relief services.
The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in New York, marked the breakdown of months of behind-the-scenes negotiations and prompted an angry response from the Red Cross.
"For a multibillion-dollar drug company to claim that the Red Cross violated a criminal statute ... simply so that J&J can make more money, is obscene," said Mark Everson, the Red Cross president.
Johnson & Johnson began using the red cross design as a trademark in 1887 - six years after the creation of the American Red Cross but before it received its congressional charter in 1900. The lawsuit contends that the charter did not empower the Red Cross to engage in commercial activities competing with a private business.
"After more than a century of strong cooperation in the use of the Red Cross trademark. ... we were very disappointed to find that the American Red Cross started a campaign to license the trademark to several businesses for commercial purposes," Johnson & Johnson said in a statement.
It said these product include baby mitts, nail clippers, combs, toothbrushes, hand sanitizers and humidifiers.
The Red Cross said that many of the products in question were part of health and safety kits, and that profits from the sales - totaling less than $10 million - went to boost Red Cross disaster-response efforts.
The suit asks the Red Cross to turn over the products in question to New Brunswick, N.J.-based Johnson & Johnson for destruction and also seeks unspecified punitive damages.
"The Red Cross products that J&J wants to take away from consumers ... are those that help Americans get prepared for life's emergencies," Everson said. "I hope that the courts and Congress will not allow Johnson & Johnson to bully the American Red Cross."
In a telephone interview, Everson said the Red Cross was confident it would prevail.
"Our lawyers have looked at this; we wouldn't be doing something we think is improper, and our position will be sustained in the courts," he said.
Everson noted that the Red Cross faces a budget deficit and relies on donations.
The lawsuit also names four licensing partners involved in marketing the disputed products.
Johnson & Johnson noted that it had contributed $5 million over the past three years to the Red Cross and will continue to make donations.
The company also said that it had offered to engage in third-party mediation to resolve the dispute, but that the Red Cross declined.

Atheist Club

While going through files on my old PC i came across the constitution that i wrote for the Atheist/Agnostic Life.

After a very long dinner i found BASIC's consitution and just changed the words. I think the reason we did this was because of that other Christian organization started. The idea was to see what would happen if we tried to start an atheist organization. If it was rejected we could than say "This is the same exact thing as BASIC" or something. someone else (jay) might have a better memory on how this happened. Enjoy.

Constitution of
Atheist/Agnostic Life of Hanover College

Article I – Name
The name of this organization shall be called Atheist/Agnostic Life of Hanover College

Article II – Purpose
Section 1 – To motivate students to commitment to atheism/agnosticism.
Section 2 – To promote Atheist/Agnostic philosophies
Section 3 – To involve them in the study of Atheist/Agnostic writings.
Section 4 – To show members how to spread Atheist/Agnostic philosophies.
Section 5 – To involve them in experiences of Atheist/Agnostic community.
Section 6 – To involve them in Atheist/Agnostic social life and recreation.
Section 7 – To lead them to examine academic disciplines from an Atheist/Agnostic perspective.
Section 8 – To enlist and train them for a life of Atheist/Agnostic service in their vocation.
Section 9 - To enhance the sense of community within the club
Section 10 - To better our understanding of the underlying moral and social values in atheism/agnosticism

Article III – Membership

Section 1 – Any student regularly enrolled in Hanover College may become a member of Atheist/Agnostic Life of Hanover College with voting and office-holding privileges. Membership in Atheist/Agnostic Life of Hanover College shall be defined as “participatory”. A person who comes to and/or participates in activities sponsored by the Atheist/Agnostic Life of Hanover College shall be allowed to become a member.

Article IV – Organization

President: The fundamental duty of the President will be to oversee all matters of Atheist/Agnostic Life. The President shall be in charge of leading club meetings and organizing club functions. The president shall also have the duty of maintaining contact with the individual members of Atheist/Agnostic Life.

Vice President: The Vice President is to assist the president in all required duties. The Vice president shall also act as a perpetual stand in, acquiring full power of any office where the appointed individual is unable to fulfill their appointed duties. These powers shall be held until such time that another individual is voted into the designated office by a 2/3 majority vote. The Vice President shall also handle the public relations of Atheist/Agnostic Life.

Treasurer: All records regarding financial documentation shall be the responsibility of the Treasurer. While the uses of these funds are a matter of the entire club, the Treasurer is in charge of maintaining a record of these funds. These records shall be made available to any member who wishes to view them.

Secretary: The Secretary shall have the responsibility of keeping organized records of the happenings of each meeting and function of Atheist/Agnostic Life. The Secretary shall also keep all attendance and membership records

Article V – Elections
Officers to Atheist/Agnostic Life of Hanover College will be elected at the end of fall and winter terms. Elected officers will include a president, vice president, treasurer, and a secretary. By having only four officers in Atheist/Agnostic Life of Hanover College, we will remain both stable and small. Each office will have specific duties outlined by the nature of the office. In addition officers will take on delegated duties, which are to be issued by the president as needed. No term limits will be in effect for the offices unless decided upon by the entire club. Duties of the offices are as stated above.

Section 1 – Prospective council members shall be nominated by the Atheist/Agnostic Life of Hanover College members at large during the fourth week of April.
Section 2 – Any student member is eligible for nomination as an officer who: (a) is an Atheist/Agnostic, (b) participates in Atheist/Agnostic functions which support the beliefs and teachings of atheism/agnosticism, and (c) has a desire to minister to fellow students in the community.
Section 3 – Elections shall be held during the afore mentioned week and a vote shall be taken by a show of hands of the Atheist/Agnostic Life of Hanover College at large.
Section 4 – There will be a preparatory meeting for the newly elected members of council during the final term of classes.
Section 5 – The newly elected members shall fill their positions beginning the first week of fall semester.

Article VI – Amendments

All amendments to the constitution shall be approved by the Officers of Atheist/Agnostic Club of Hanover College. The proposed amendment may be presented to members at any meeting, or may be presented over a five (5) day period to the Atheist/Agnostic Life of Hanover College at large. The Officers of Atheist/Agnostic Club of Hanover College shall set a time to vote, and a 2/3 majority shall pass the amendment. It shall be effective immediately.

Accepting Applications

The Office of Human Resources is currently advertising for the following full-time position. Interested candidates should submit a resume, letter of interest, and three professional references to the Office of Human Resources or by emailing hr@hanover.edu. Interested candidates may also contact Tammy Poole at ext. 7097.

Admission Counselor

This is a full-time, 12 month, entry level position with benefits. Primary responsibilities include traveling/recruiting students in assigned regions through high school visits and college fairs, making presentations to a diverse constituency, interviewing prospective students, providing admission and financial assistance counseling, recommending admission decisions and assisting with on and off-campus recruiting events. Other related duties as assigned. Some weekend and evening hours required throughout the year.

Qualified candidates must have a minimum of a bachelor’s degree, possess excellent oral and written communication skills, and demonstrate a strong record of achievement. Candidates must also possess an in-depth knowledge of the value of Hanover’s liberal arts mission, academic programs, extracurricular activities and educational outcomes. Must have valid driver’s license; driving record investigation will be required.

Please send letter of interest, resume, and contact information for three professional references to Hanover College, Office of Human Resources, P.O. Box 108, Hanover, IN 47243 or email hr@hanover.edu. EOE

iHate Macs.

I find that working on a Mac can be described with the following picture:



On one side is you. On the other side is the information you desire. Between you and the information is a retarded person. This retarded person doesn't speak your language, nor does it think in a logical manner. After all, it is retarded. So the task when working on a Mac is to think like a retarded person and so obtain the information you desire.

This morning the lady from the catalog printing company came to get our catalog files. She brought an external hard drive with her. So they hooked up the external hard drive to the retarded person and then were consternated because the retarded person could not write to it. Why? Well, the retarded person cannot write to the NTFS file system, because why the fuck would it be able to write to the most common file system? So I tell them that they'll need to copy the catalog to the server from the retarded person and then hook the external hard drive up to a PC to access it. I unhook the external hard drive so that I can attach it to a PC and the retarded person beeps at me. Apparently the retarded person gets very upset if you unplug a USB device without telling it first. Because, as a USB device, it wasn't designed to be used as a plug and play device. It's designed to be integral to the stability of the retarded person's hardware configuration.

After the retarded person stops beeping at me and shooting up warning windows they copy the catalog files over to the server. When they do this the retarded person creates a ._ file for every file in the catalog. So for every image, InDesign file, etc. there is a ._ file which, presumably, reminds the retarded person in very, very simple terms what it's supposed to fucking do with it. What's neat, though, is that a few of these ._ files "could not be read" by the PC or the server. So instead of just selecting the main folder for the catalog and copying it all over to the external hard drive I had to go through manually and delete the ._ files and then select the files which were not the corrupted ._ files to move over.

What was neat is that the catalog lady kept talking about how great retarded people are for designing things. The problem is that is a GOD DAMNED FUCKING LIE because PCs and Retarded People run the EXACT SAME fucking programs.

Yes, certainly, using Photoshop on a PC is worlds inferior to using Photoshop on a retarded person. OH WAIT! IT'S THE SAME DAMN THING! But no, you see, PCs have two mouse buttons, and two mouse buttons are inferior to one mouse button. Also, the PC isn't full of ._ files, which are integral to the design process.

Bridge Democratic Bridge Debate Bridge

The word for tonights debate is, "Bridge". Time for some out of context quotes:

7:21: Hilary says we need a, "broad reform".
7:23: Richardson goes on record as being against slavery and child labor
7:25: Biden suggests that we take the Prime Minister of Canada and the President of Mexio to the mat.
7:27: Senator Edwards will not appear on the cover of Fortune Magazine
7:27: Leprican, "I'll take us out of Nafta." "I will take us forward, not backward."
7:29: Hllary, "I'm your girl."
7:29: Obama, "People don't want a cheaper t-shirt if they're losing a job in the process."
7:33: Hilary, "I want to say 'amen' to Joe Biden because he's 100% right." Also, Hillary doesn't want her "children" to be playing with shoddy chinese toys.
7:34: John Edwards, "Everything everyone has said thus far about China is right..."
7:35: Kusinich, "There was a rumor that if you dug a hole you could get to China...we're there."
7:41: Biden doesn't answer the question
7:42: Hilary has a 3 point plan for leaving iraq which is based on sounding good to the electorate
7:42: Dodd doesn't answer the question
7:44: Lord God Edwards is a tool
7:46: Keith asks Obama why it took so fucking long to hear what his vote would be on the war spending supplimental bill. Obama stutters for 32 seconds.
7:47: Keith asks the same question of Hillary, she talks about how this is Bush's war.
7:48: Dodd, "words mean things"
7:52: Dodd and Obama have it out. Keith cuts them off to go to commercial. A Cialis commercial. >:(
7:58: Widow, "What will you do to make mines safer?" Biden, "We shouldn't have gone into iraq." Audience yells, "ANSWER THE QUESTION!"
8:03: Man, "I lost 1/3 of my penchon and can't pay for my wifes healthcare after being forced to retire. How will you fix america?" Edwards, "Universal healthcare and treating the penchants of CEOs the same way we treat workers."
8:12: Biden makes a HUGE BURN on edwards for being a fucking poser.
8:14: Edwards hates scabs
8:22: Richardson, "My vice president would not be Dick Cheney."
8:27: Dodd, "Terroism is a tactic, not a philosophy."
8:29: hehe, Barry Bonds question.
8:30: Hilary has a 3 to 10 point plan for everything.
8:35: Dodd wishes that we had a Parlimentary system.

Meet the Asshole of the Day

Thats right, Fred "God hates Fags" Phelps. Not a huge surprise, because really he is the asshole of the day, everyday. I am only point out that Fred Phepls is an asshole today because he and fucktard Westboro Baptist Church buddies are going to Minnesota to protest at the funerals of people who died in the bridge collapse last week. Thinkprogress has the link.

update:

Global Warming: Nuh-UH!!

Here is a link to a delightful Newsweek artical about Global-Warming Denial. The six page article discusses the means by which Global Warming deniers influenced the public debate and did basically what the tobacco industry did when people started to think, "Hey, maybe these things are bad for you!"

From a rhetoric standpoint the things these people do is inspired. From a "we're animals living on a planet on which we depend for life" perspective, it's pretty damn infuriating.

"Should pose no health issues"

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/08/06/wice106.xml
Creatures that once lived eight million years ago have been successfully thawed from the ice of an Antarctic glacier, in an experiment that sounds like a scene from a science fiction film.

Scientists found the microorganisms in ice samples from ancient Antartic glaciers
The feat of revival was managed with as yet unidentified single-celled microbes and should pose no health issues, say the scientists

In Eastern News....

China:
Panda Attack! Zookeeper required over 100 stitches after suffering lesser mauling by panda.

Beijing undergoing updates for 2008 Olympics. New Architecture to be considered. Free Speech, Democracy not to be considered.

Japan:
Hiroshima survivors, children, dignitaries mark the 62nd anniversary of Hiroshima atomic bombing. A moment of silence was observed. A moment of darkness would have been observed, but the town still glows a little.

Godzirra forecast: No Godzirra attacks likely, but 35% chance of Mothra swarm overnight.

The Human Condition.

So here's a picture of two cats:



I think this picture explains the human condition. At first there is one cat stuck in a jar. Then the next cat happens upon this jar and even though the cat can see that the other cat is stuck in the jar the non-stuck cat "decides" that it, too, must be stuck in the same jar so that it might experience the same things as the cat-in-jar.

What is interesting is that the jar is transparent. So we can see the trap, see through the trap, and see those others who are in the trap. Yet still we, like cats, enter into the trap and once in the trap merely try to find comfort within the transparent trap into which we entered. Yet there always remains the entrance through which we entered the trap.

It might be a metaphor for dating, or marriage, or spending money needlessly, or really any situation in which one sees other people, trapped, yet decides that were they to be in that same trap they would do it better than those who are trapped. So they enter into the same transparent trap situation and, as a result, become themselves trapped with those others who are trapped.

I'm not sure, though. I'm photoshopping pictures of wingnuts, which I think is an activity that drains hope from a person.

My family

this is my family... at my great aunts funeral her brother says, "i want to be cremated, and my ashes to be used to fertilize some marijuana plants. that way everyone can be happy."