Here is a start.
Until the truth is faced, distasteful though it might be for some folks, there will be no fix.
Until the truth is admitted, that the culture is damaged, there can be no change for the better.
Until we stop making excuses for, and hiding from, the truth…..
Until anyone who posts something like this isn’t immediately attacked as a racist….
Happy Birthday to my brother.
Seems like such a short time ago I was beating you up because I could (because I was bigger).
Not so much for the past 35 years or so.
Yer as big as me now, and you have become a good guy and have many accomplishments to be proud of.
Another turn around our star for you.
May you have many more.
A long year.
A year without my friend of 16 years.
A year without a dog in my life.
A year of reflections, of memories, of hurt and loss and grief and pain,
Of smiles at those memories, and yes, a tear or two.
A year that has taught me a bit, when I have taken the time to think, and learn.
A year of tending the tree that I planted over her grave.
I miss my dog.
I miss my friend.
I don’t know if I will ever get another dog. I have 4 (nearly 4 1/2!) cats.
They love me, and I, them.
But they aren’t a dog, and they love in a different way…
She led the way…..I am sure we will meet again….
Someday.
Kipling had it right:
The Power of the Dog
by
Rudyard Kipling
There is sorrow enough in the natural way
From men and women to
fill our day;
And when we are certain of sorrow in store,
Why
do we always arrange for more?
Brothers and sisters, I bid you
beware
Of giving your heart to a dog to tear.
Buy a pup and your money will buy
Love unflinching that cannot
lie–
Perfect passion and worship fed
By a kick in the ribs or
a pat on the head.
Nevertheless it is hardly fair
To risk your
heart to a dog to tear.
When the fourteen years which Nature permits
Are closing in
asthma, or tumour, or fits,
And the vet’s unspoken prescription
runs
To lethal chambers or loaded guns,
Then you will find–it’s
your own affair–
But … you’ve given your heart to a dog to
tear.
When the body that lived at your single will,
With its whimper
of welcome, is stilled (how still!)
When the spirit that answered
your every mood
Is gone–wherever it goes–for good,
You will
discover how much you care,
And will give your heart to a dog to
tear.
We’ve sorrow enough in the natural way,
When it comes to
burying Christian clay.
Our loves are not given, but only lent,
At
compound interest of cent per cent.
Though it is not always the
case, I believe,
That the longer we’ve kept ‘em, the more do
we grieve:
For, when debts are payable, right or wrong,
A
short-term loan is as bad as a long–
So why in–Heaven (before
we are there)
Should we give our hearts to a dog to tear?
And yet…..
I wouldn’t trade our time together for the world.
“The gift that a dog gives us is to see us as we would like to be seen, rather than as we are.”
Thermonuclear
Anthrax
Smallpox
Pipe Bomb
Pressure cooker.
Sarin
Shrapnel
Help keep a poor NSA employee working.
(they, and thousands of other leeches federal workers need useless jobs too)
And think about implementing this strategy as well:
Via Borepatch, I found this survey to tell you what kind of D&D character you should be.
Is it accurate? I dunno…Those of you who know me can decide for yourselves.
ETA: I find it interesting that many of the bloggers I like are also “Neutral” to a greater degree.
I Am A: True Neutral Human Wizard (7th Level)
Ability Scores:
Strength-14
Dexterity-13
Constitution-15
Intelligence-17
Wisdom-16
Charisma-15
Alignment:
True
Neutral A true neutral character does what seems to be a good
idea. He doesn’t feel strongly one way or the other when it comes to
good vs. evil or law vs. chaos. Most true neutral characters exhibit a
lack of conviction or bias rather than a commitment to neutrality. Such a
character thinks of good as better than evil after all, he would rather
have good neighbors and rulers than evil ones. Still, he’s not
personally committed to upholding good in any abstract or universal way.
Some true neutral characters, on the other hand, commit themselves
philosophically to neutrality. They see good, evil, law, and chaos as
prejudices and dangerous extremes. They advocate the middle way of
neutrality as the best, most balanced road in the long run. True neutral
is the best alignment you can be because it means you act naturally,
without prejudice or compulsion. However, true neutral can be a
dangerous alignment when it represents apathy, indifference, and a lack
of conviction.
Race:
Humans
are the most adaptable of the common races. Short generations and a
penchant for migration and conquest have made them physically diverse as
well. Humans are often unorthodox in their dress, sporting unusual
hairstyles, fanciful clothes, tattoos, and the like.
Class:
Wizards
are arcane spellcasters who depend on intensive study to create their
magic. To wizards, magic is not a talent but a difficult, rewarding art.
When they are prepared for battle, wizards can use their spells to
devastating effect. When caught by surprise, they are vulnerable. The
wizard’s strength is her spells, everything else is secondary. She
learns new spells as she experiments and grows in experience, and she
can also learn them from other wizards. In addition, over time a wizard
learns to manipulate her spells so they go farther, work better, or are
improved in some other way. A wizard can call a familiar- a small,
magical, animal companion that serves her. With a high Intelligence,
wizards are capable of casting very high levels of spells.
Find
out What Kind of Dungeons and Dragons Character Would You
Be?, courtesy of Easydamus (e-mail)
Yeah, a mural painted showing a man (supposedly G. Zimmerman) shooting a black teen (representing Trayvon Martin) IN THE BACK! oughta help dispel racial tensions.
It is, of course, designed to inflame racial tensions. The depiction in the mural doesn’t even come close to what really happened that night. Not that many people who never bothered to find out the facts will ever bother to learn that this is a poor representation of relaity.
Couple of questions: Who commissioned the artist’s work? WHO PAID FOR IT?
Who arranged for the artist to take the commission?
Why did she paint such an inflammatory mural?
Who benefits from increased tensions?
Seems that George W. Bush had a minor heart issue and was hospitalized for a stent procedure.
That’s not news, really.
What is news is that Vladimir Putin had the class to send a “get well soon” telegram to his old adversary. The current spin in the media is that he did it to poke Barry ) in the eye. Perhaps that is the case. But it could be (and likely is) an example of one world leader giving respect to an old adversary…
Obama, however, couldn’t be bothered.
Class shows. So does Character.
As does the lack thereof.
Apparently they hire “special” people in Porter County Indiana..
They are unable to plan drainage project. (or follow a plan if there is one) Things like having the proper materials on hand are foreign concepts to them, leading to project delays and re-doing of work already done once (poorly).
They seem to feel that water flows uphill as well.
and stuff like that.
No wonder the county is broke.
SO the Council on Foreign Relations has “released a memo urging the Obama administration to disregard the will of the American people and Congress and unilaterally enact a series of gun controls.“
Yeah, that is a good idea.
Want a war? We can dance.
Forget the rule of law and the Constitution.
The CFR wants things a Certain Way. Forget the will of the people.
Do they really think this will help? That they can make this happen?