Dan Evil-Head

Why did I not know that Jonathan Coulton was a Connecticut native?

As to his intention to play Toad's Place this year, allow me to say... *ahem*...  squee!

It wasn't that bad - a fun diversion.  I can't wait for the DVD to come out, though - Michael Bay must have shot a scene where the jive-talking gold-toothed illiterate Autobot twins (didn't make that part up) sit around eating watermelon and drinking 40s.  Seriously - in the first one, he killed the 'black' Autobot, and in this one he created Amosbot and Andybot.

• Water fell from the sky yesterday.  Not to be a complete contrarian, but if I have a choice between cool-and-rainy and breathe-through-a-sponge-and-sweat, I'll choose the former.
• Stopped by Burgers And Beyond on Farmington Avenue in Farmington.  Do you know they mix onions and herbs into their ground beef?  I didn't.  Did you know that I find onions repulsive?  One (daintily into a napkin) spit-out mouthful and a bottle of water to rinse my mouth out later, I was back on the road.  Grumble, grumble.
• Waiting at a light, a Lexus crossover vehicle dickishly nosed into the lane in front of me.  The license plate?  UFIRST.

• 15:22 Hadn't thought about it before... One reason for odd band/performer names now - ease of Googling. #
• 16:50 I pulled over after driving through downpours and hail. Not hot hail, thankfully. #

Love fonts? Love the often-used Hitler movie clip? Then you'll love this...

Tasmania has had a rash of 'crop circles' appearing in poppy fields lately, and they have the culprits.  No, not aliens, or college kids with planks and rope -

Stoned wallabies.

I am now and forevermore going to blame any odd or weird occurrence in my life on stoned wallabies.

Wet towels in the washing machine?  Stoned wallabies.
Empty Brita jug in the fridge?  Stoned wallabies.
Election irregularities?  Stoned wallabies.

I require a number of these to be sent out to all who wish for them.

Edit:  Sure, no-one needs one of these - that doesn't mean I don't want one...

• 12:46 Currently waiting to give blood. Haven't given since '95 - need to update card. #

• 17:05 I am standing under a patch of blue sky. Clearly this means I am the Messiah. #

• 09:54 From friend - "Given the current situation in Iran, I now admit that Twitter has a useful purpose. Happy now? ;->" #
• 10:22 Show support for democracy in Iran add green overlay to your Twitter avatar with 1-click - helpiranelection.com/ #

Most all of you have seen this first video - interviewer can't stop laughing at high-pitched voice of person being interviewed.



If you're like me, I'm sorry you probably wondered what the heck was going on. Well, wonder no longer. Complete with subtitles, here is the explanation.

• 09:30 Just pre-ordered The State on DVD. Next purchase - $240 worth of pudding. Aww yeah. All right. #

"Weird Al" channels Jim Morrison and sings about Craigslist, with help from Ray Manzarek. Brilliant.

• 11:07 STOP ALL #
• 11:13 That was cryptic - I got a charge on my cellphone, had Sprint block that number, and they went and blocked all text messages. Grrr. #

Obligatory proud uncle picture posting below.

• 13:38 I hope that racist corndog shooter gets better - he doesn't deserve a quick death. #

I was getting mental whiplash last night. On the one hand, many friends of mine were discussing last night's So You Think You Can Dance?. On the other hand, a friend of mine was working at the US Holocaust Memorial Museum yesterday...

I don't want that to come off like, "How can people care about a show on TV when so many horrible things are happening in the world?" I think that our ability to be passionate about both the trivial and important is a valuable coping mechanism. FSM knows, if I didn't divert my attention away from the big stuff to focus on whether the Enterprise-D could take out an Imperial Star Destroyer (it totally could, btw), I'd be hiding under my futon much more than I usually do.

• 00:17 Played with a Pre earlier today - not as blown away as I thought I would be. The screen didn't seem that responsive. #

I've been thinking about Pride lately.

Gay Pride, Latino Pride, Wymyn Pride, (insert here) Pride.

I've been reading things lately that are not of my particular brand of philosophy, and the discussion of Pride came up. The argument goes like this - why should some trick of birth or choice or whatever be a source of pride? This got me thinking, and thinking is always a good thing. It forces you to put your feelings and beliefs into words, and helps you come to conclusions based on what words you find fit your beliefs.

What it all boils down to is this - the flip side of Pride is Shame, and it's a Shame when you don't fit into the default mode. The default mode, i.e. the Ruling Class, is the straight WASP male. It just is, so don't argue - just move on.

It's a shame that your first child wasn't male, or that he's interested in boys. It's a shame that you got stopped driving through the nice section of town, but you just look different. We'd love to hire you, but your accent is tough to understand. It's wonderful that you have a job, despite being in a wheelchair. You scored very high and are offered a spot in the Vulcan Science Academy, despite your human blood. Okay, maybe that last one was a bit of a reach...

People get sick of this, and rightly so. Why should some trick of birth or choice or whatever be a source of shame? Why can't it be a source of strength or pride to be different from the default?

I understand the accompanying problem. People, being people, can't just push the pendulum back to the center - they have to push it to the other extreme. Maybe I'm better than you because I'm different! Maybe you're the one who sucks, Mister Boring!

I'm hoping that we can calm down about differences in the future to the point that 'shame' doesn't have to have the reactive 'pride' that is just as devisive.