“OK, I am finding it very difficult to do much except work. How do you people, especially those with long hours/billables, fit in the gym?” ⇒

It doesn’t seem appropriate for the imbroglio, but I can think of a number of blogs where this CuteCaps widget would fit right in. Who doesn’t like puppies and kittens?

Reminds me of the Greg Brown song “I Don’t Wanna Have A Nice Day.” It’s not quite as curmudgeonly as you might think, but it is priceless. It suggests the following responses the next time someone tells you to have a nice day:

No no no no no nonononono…
Why don’t you have one? Take two, they’re small.
Why don’t you have a day like a painting of a kid with big eyes?
Why don’t you have a day like a painting of a puppy with a ribbon ’round its neck, Sun goin down over the sea?
Why don’t you have a day like a painting of a kid with big eyes holdin’ a puppy with a ribbon ’round it’s neck’ standin’ down by the ocean with the sun…

So, um, have a nice day. Or have a day like a painting of a puppy with big eyes holding a kid going down over the sun by the sea. Oh, and enjoy the cute. [tags]widgets, music, greg brown[/tags]

“Try to remember that, yes, we are going into a humorless business full of uptight, soulless pricks. But it can only stay a business full of uptight, soulless pricks if we all in fact become uptight, soulless pricks.” ⇒

1. What is this site trying to accomplish? For some reason I suspect it’s been created by someone who opposes the war and is sort of saying “I told you so” as he/she watches Republicans catch a clue. However, it could just as easily be created by some hard-right warhawk who wants to criticize Republicans who support a pullout. What’s the deal?
2. Two years ago today Ambivalent Images was featured on DCist.com. I haven’t given up the effort to post a photo each day, but I have obviously fallen a bit behind. Sadly, small town life and full-time work have not been combining to create super photo-taking opportunities of late. I hope to change that soon.
3. Speaking of DC, this murder there last week is terribly sad.
4. I saw Little Miss Sunshine over the weekend. It was good. I laughed out loud a lot. However, I do think if you haven’t seen it already it will be just as good if you wait for video. Lawrah says it’s the “Best. Movie. In. A. Very. Long. Time.” Like I said, it’s good, but Washburn’s critique is also accurate. And you have to admit that the end is just, well, borderline creepy. So a mixed bag, but you will laugh, definitely.
5. If you’re headed back to your second year of law school about now, Ian at 3L Epiphany has some advice for you. FWIW, I pretty much agree with all of it.
6. I am not nearly as glad as I thought I’d be that I don’t have to start school again soon. That doesn’t mean I’m sad about not starting school, but there are some great benefits to the student life. To those of you heading back about now I just say: Enjoy it while it lasts!

UPDATE 8/29/06: Ok, I should have just read a little further. Cut and Run Now is the creation of an anti-war person—Dave Winer of Scripting News. He started the site after watching Meet the Press and getting incensed that Republican pundits were saying “of course it’s time to get out of Iraq, and that real Republicans were against going into Iraq in the first place!” Hmph.
[tags]lists, politics, movies[/tags]

After the last “big scare” that got the western world all riled up about terrorism, Ze Frank pointed out that you can’t have terrorism w/out terror. Last week, network security pro Bruce Schneier said the same thing:

Imagine for a moment what would have happened if they had blown up 10 planes. There would be canceled flights, chaos at airports, bans on carry-on luggage, world leaders talking tough new security measures, political posturing and all sorts of false alarms as jittery people panicked. To a lesser degree, that’s basically what’s happening right now.

Our politicians help the terrorists every time they use fear as a campaign tactic. The press helps every time it writes scare stories about the plot and the threat. And if we’re terrified, and we share that fear, we help. All of these actions intensify and repeat the terrorists’ actions, and increase the effects of their terror.

. . .

Another thought experiment: Imagine for a moment that the British government arrested the 23 suspects without fanfare. Imagine that the TSA and its European counterparts didn’t engage in pointless airline-security measures like banning liquids. And imagine that the press didn’t write about it endlessly, and that the politicians didn’t use the event to remind us all how scared we should be. If we’d reacted that way, then the terrorists would have truly failed.

So simple, so true.

And while we’re going thought experiments: Imagine what a different world we might be living in today if Bush had not been president on 9/11/01—if we’d taken time to think and act deliberately and w/a real plan other than, “we were attacked, a bunch of people are going to have to die.” Imagine we’d reacted with even a small fraction less hysteria and hyperbole. Imagine…

And finally, imagine what the history books are going to say about this time in 20-30 years. I really have no idea, but I suspect that the story history tells will be almost as unkind to us as it is to the terrorists.

Finally finally: Do you think that if the Democrats take a majority in Congress in November that things will change much in terms of this whole “war against terror” which just creates and perpetuates terror thing? [tags]terrorism, bush administration, fear, war[/tags]

“As president, I strongly believe that my first duty as president is to support and serve the president,” Bush said. ⇒

“I’m wondering if maybe this blog has served its purpose. I don’t foresee having much of anything new to say about school this year.” ⇒

“You’ll behave because you don’t know if you’re being watched.” ⇒

“If a death row inmate can find redemption, maybe a lawyer can, too.” ⇒

“An Indiana state court judge held three spectators in contempt (and restrained them for “more than an hour”) after they allegedly refused to admit whose cellphone was ringing.” Capricious use of judicial discretion like this makes a mockery of the court, IMO. ⇒