Fran's Lists

I think Blog Explosion should give out 5 points for anyone who gets the joke in that title!

Anyway,...

2004 Most Appropriately Named Songs:

• Black Eyed Peas - Let's Get Retarded ('nuff said)
  
• Ashlee Simpson - Pieces of Me (the rest is on tape)

Seven and half minutes each, and time's up!

• The Hilton Sisters (actually Paris gets 3:45, the other half goes to Nicole Richie)
• Ashlee and Jessica Simpson
• Britney and Jamie Lynn Spears
• The Olsens
• Hillary and Haylie Duff

If there was a thought police, I'd go to jail for life because of:

• Lindsey Lohan (Especially that EW Cover!)
• Jolene Blalock (T'Pol on Star Trek: Enterprise)
  
• The Desperate Houswives
• Poppy Montgomery

People We Could Do Without in 2005:

• Osama bin Laden
• Saddam Hussein
• Michael Moore
• The Brain Trust Behind "MoveOn.Org" (please, do what the site name says!)

Other than that, have a Safe, Sane, and Healthy 2005

:-)

He's At It Again!

Good ol' Lefty,..marching to the beat of the one-world, US-haters!

Funny, even though the US military's spread out all over the world, fighting an on-going war against terror, we STILL seem to be able to scrape up $34 billion in foreign aid every year. That's more than 10 TIMES the Untied Nations budget!

Addendum: The monetary quote comes from today's column by Jonah Goldberg.
Its also available here.

I Smell Bulls**t!!

Are the French really just that far out of touch with reality???

My God,...more than 125,000 people are dead, an entire civilization lays in ruins and will take years to rebuild and THIS is all the French care about???

As my friend Kevin (who is standing over me) has said: What's the French words for "Talk is cheap?"

The Blog List Walks Among Us!

OK,...just a few more things to get off my chest:

Movies I've Watched on TV Over and Again (Not in DVD Collection):

• Kill Bill, Vol 1
• LOTR - The Two Towers
• Star Trek: Nemesis
• Battleground
• Devil in a Blue Dress
• Enemy at The Gates
  

What Planet Are You From?

Boy,..there's something that's been asked of me many times!

You Are From Saturn

You're steady, organizes, and determined to achieve your dreams. You tend to play it conservative, going by the rules (at least the practical ones). You'll likely reach the top. And when you do, you'll be honorable and responsible. Focus on happiness. Don't let your goals distract you from fun! Don't be too set in your ways, and you'll be more of a success than you ever dreamed of.

What Planet Are You From?

Tsunami ,....Wow!

I'm not going to remark on this,...."catastrophe" isn't an adequate-enough word.

However, this may help focus on the magnitude of the entire event!

Revenge of the Lists!

Top Songs on my Hard Drive That I've Beaten to Death This Year!:

• Hotei Tomoyasu - Battle Without Honor or Humanity
• Dread Zeppelin - Lemon Song
• Silvertide - Ain't Coming Home
• Butterfly Boucher - Another White Dash
  
• Stevie Ray Vaughn - Voodoo Chile
• Tatu - All the Things She Said
• Flogging Molly - Drunken Lullabies
• Peter Gabriel - Shaking the Tree
  

Special Christmas Addendum - Trans-Siberian Orchestra - Sarajevo 12/24

This is Too Funny!

Click here to view "It's a Wonderful Life" done in 30 seconds!

Attack of the Blog-Spawned Lists

Yes, over the next few days, I'll be posting one of those self-centered lists of things for 2004!

First up: Blogs that I visit frequently:

1 - Sea2Sea, featuring MataHarley and Alia
2 - Michael the Archangel
3 - Rescue Mike
4 - Blogs Against Hillary
5 - A La Gauche

Oh, yeah,..and because he'll b***h and cry like a little baby, there's also Wannabee-Medic Mike's mental meltdown, too!

Sorry, folks, but as soon as I figure out HTML, I'll put up permanent links for you all!

Polarization?

In the last election, only 25% of the so-called "Jewish Vote" went towards GWB.

In a recent Haaretz column, Nathan J. Diament muses on this conundrum.

Obviously, this attitude of religious inclusivity is double-edged:

Arabs may see this as pandering to the Israeli cause and fuel more speculation of a renewed anti-Muslim crusade,...

or,......

Show the world that the US president is NOT a puppet of the religious right in this country.

The Morning After,....

As I arouse myself from the Christmas food-induced stupor,...some random thoughts today:

1 - I am comforted knowing that US justice is slowly invading Iraq.
2 - In a time of giving and receiving, I wonder about all of the Christmas songs we hear every year. Sunny 104.5 and that hell-spawn Brian Check aside, the only time you hear a lot of these songs are in the month before Christmas. Now, as far as I know, groups like the Royal Guardsmen, the Waitresses, and the Whirling Dervishes never amounted to much on the pop/mass market scene, yet the royalties they make each year from their one Christmas hit being played ad nauseum must be a sweet jingle bell in the performers' pockets!
3 - It truly isn't the gift, but the thought that counts

What CHRISTmas Carol Are You?

You Are "Silent Night"

Silent night, holy night All is calm, all is bright Round yon Virgin, Mother and Child Holy infant so tender and mild Sleep in heavenly peace You never forget that Christmas is about the birth of Christ. Santa and eggnog are just gravy

What Christmas Carol Are You?

What Christmas Gift Are You?

You Are Socks!

Cozy and warm... but easily lost. You make a good puppet.

What Crappy Gift Are You?

Merry CHRISTmas!

Nothing to rant about today. I'm still buzzed from all of the Christmas cookies!

Here are a few things you can do today:

Make a snowflake!


Throw a snowball at someone!


Other than that,..Enjoy the day!

The Blame Game

OK,..once again, a gun has managed to leap into someone's hand and fire itself!

Jeez, this stuff is getting tiring. I can't be bothered to get worked up and rant about this anymore! The story speaks for itself.

"Blue" Christmas!

Today, several items of note from the Blue Stater's counter offensive:

First - on the eponymous blog, "A la Gauche," it appears that the Blue Staters are upset with Time Magazine's awarding of "Person of the Year" to GWB. After numerous letters to the editor, Time has now cowed to the Neo-Socialists' pressure , stating "it is not award, but rather a designation." Amazing! This is pure Clintonian doublespeak!

Second - there is a movement afoot amongst the Blue Staters to try to regroup in 2008. In the website, Choose the Blue, the Blue Staters are trying to use economic might to fund to '08 run. The site lists various companies that have supported the Neo-Socialist agenda and asks for their future support to enable more contributions to 2008 candidates. Well, I say this site cuts both ways! Let the 54% of America with their heads screwed in right BOYCOTT these companies and drive them to bankruptcy! HA!

Last few bits - Some On-Line Tests

What color are you?

I'm green - "Very calm and contemplative" OK,...this test is a little off :-)

Which LOTR character are you?

I am Elrond - figures. I get the oldest guy in the story! But I'm also the smartest f**ker in the bunch! Hehehe!!

More Random Thoughts for December 19th

Trying to finish up my CHRISTmas shopping this week. Delayed today by several CHRISTmas parties, so I'll be braving the malls and internet all this week.

Now, just for S&Gs, as I was trolling Amazon.com, I happened to look up that travesty of literature, "King and King," by Linda deHaan.

Check it out here:

Now, some time ago, when this book came out, the response was immediate. There were at least 30 customer reviews, generally split 50/50 in opinion.

Now, the grand total is 11. All of them are favorable. It appears Amazon has done a little creative editing and eliminated many of the opposing points of view about this book.

BTW - The "Truly Clueless MF of the Year" Award goes to James N. McNally, who opines:
"When two men fall in love and want to live happily ever after why do you always assume they're gay?"

D'oh!!!!

Words in the News

OK,..many people have already read about or watched news about the tragedy/travesty in Missouri involving the pregnant woman and her child.

What raises my ire about this story isn't in the diabolical nature of the event, but the somewhat hidden, secretive agenda of the MSM's defence of the pro-choice group.

Early on in this story, this CHILD was frequently reported by UNN as an "abducted fetus" from a murdered pregnant mother.

Hmmm,.....even from the most sterile, medical view, the ex utero survival rate of an eight-month fetus is pretty damned good, making it a LIVING, BREATHING, HUMAN BEING!! To wit: a newborn CHILD!

Grrrr,....

I've Created a Monster!

Oh, no!

Wannabee-Medic Mike has a,.....BLOG!!!


http://ivgauge14.blogspot.com

Christmas Card List

As I'm writing up my annual Christmas cards, here's a list of people who WON'T be getting any from me this year:

John Kerry & John Edwards - well,..just because,...
Terry McAuliffe - same thing.
Scott Peterson - Yup,...
Michael Moore - because he breathes the same air as I do.
Linda de Haan - Author of the children's book "King & King."
Bill Clinton - library, schmibrary,..you're still a schnook!
Hillary Clinton - Still uses Bill for $$$. In some places, you'd get arrested for that ;-)
Jim McGreevey - Screwed up New Jersey and blamed it on homosexuality.
Mayor John Street - Screwed up Philly and blamed it on the FBI, CIA, IAFF Local 22, AFSCME DC 33, GWB,...etc,...
Osama bin Laden - Keep running, you miserable prick,..we'll still find you! I'd put coal in your stocking, but you can actually burn that for heat and comfort, so NAH!
Kofi Annan - Yo! Send some of that CHRISTmas dinner to Darfur, Sudan.
Kojo Annan - Yo! Give some of that oil-for-food money back to the Iraqi people.
Barry Bonds - Cheater.
Ron Artest - Bully. Thug.
And finally,...
Any celeb who moved to Canada, England or mainland Europe, hoping that if they just ignore the US, it'll go away.

(Canadian) Swiss Cheese?

Hot news on the AP wire and found in the Philly Inkwaster:

"Canadian study assails its border, airport security" by Beth Duff-Brown

TORONTO - Canada's security net is full of holes, with most border crossings protected by a lone staffer and airport security so lax that missing guard badges and uniforms recently turned up for sale on eBay.

(snipped)

Canadians have relied too long on luck to avoid a terrorist attack, the study says.

Wow,....whodathunkit, eh?

Ho-o-o-ot-t-t-t-t-t!!!

Readers, let me tell you about my friend Mike's wife, Denise!

Doctor by day, mother of four (one naturally and three "adopted," yours truly included) by night, she still manages to make the best damned chili I've ever had!

Mmmmmmm!!

Tastes even better when you let it ferment a few days.

Ow-ow-ow-ow-ow!

No blogging for a few days, or until I can sit down comfortably again!

:-)

And a Word or Two About XM,......

Here's my opinion about XM (since wannabee-medic Mike has it in the rig all day)

First, I think. . . . . . .

Oops, sorry, I was driving under an overpass.

Anyway, I think XM. . . . . . .

Sorry, again,...too many utility lines overhead messing with the signal.

OK,...like I was saying,..XM is . . . . . . .

Dammit, I'm in another cellphone dead zone!


Hey, Mike,....$10/month for this? I get a great Top 40 station from South Jersey on my car radio for free!

Suck-errrrr!

Hehehehehe!!!

Oh, yeah. And they should also come out with something called "MX" for country music fans. This way, all the songs will be about getting your cheating wife back, you dog will come home, your Ford F250 will still be around and that nasty tornado won't blow away your trailer park!

Hehehehe (again)

BTW - My opinions are made as payback for a certain partner making his mentor's ears bleed with 8 STRAIGHT HRS of Christmas music!!!!!

Putting the CHRIST back in Christmas

Again, from Netscape.com:

"Christians Aiming to Boost Religion" by Allen G. Breed

Emboldened by their Election Day successes, some Christian Conservatives around the country are trying to put more Christ into this Christmas season.

Many groups appear angered and upset by replacing "Merry Christmas" with the more generic (and secular) "Happy Holidays."

Medic musing (sorry Mata):
Apparently, that's not the case here in the Philly area! As I was CHRISTMAS shopping on Saturday, I noticed that the usual "pop" standards on the Muzak from Bing, Dino, and Frank Sinatra were always sung out, but more religious songs, like "Hark, the Herald Angels Sing" and "Joy to the World," both of which have religious lyrics, were played only in the instrumental versions!

Heaven forbid if someone actually utters the reason for Christmas: "Christ the Saviour is born!"

Once again,...the left is trying to further secularize this country. The easiest way to eliminate ALL religions (Judaism and Islam included) is to eliminate the biggest one first and set the others at each others throats, thus making all religious belief look bad. And remember folks, Marx and Company (and Streisand and Baldwin and Sarandon) want you to believe there is no need for religion in society.

Paybacks in Iraq

I know Gandhi once said (paraphrasing) "An eye for an eye mentality will lead to a world full of blind people."

Today, however, there is good news from Iraq:

From Netscape.com:
A senior aide to Jordanian al-Qaeda ally Abu Musab al-Zarqawi has been killed by Iraqi security forces. Hassan Ibrahim Farhan was killed and two of his aides were seized.

For those not in the know, Farhan was one of the bastards behind the beheading of innocent civilians.

The Tribe Has Spoken

No,...! Not THAT bunch of losers!

Scott Peterson gets the death penalty!

Now,...knowing how quickly the wheels of justice grind in California, that means my grandchildren will probably witness the event.

And finally,...

Just got done the annual grilling by my medical director, so I am free to be a paramedic for yet another year (#24, but who's counting?)

What Price Victory

Over 1,000 soldiers have paid the ultimate price, both in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Now comes reports from the Pentagon that well over 5,500 soldiers have gone AWOL/declared deserters since military action began in Iraq!!!!

Guess where many of them have fled? (Oh,...Canada,...)

Fortunately, the Canadian government has the good sense not to issue a blanket "welcome" sign at the border for these traitors. Instead, they have to plead their cases before an immigration judge.

Many are trying to stay north of the Great 48 on the grounds that the are "political refugees" who will face retribution for their actions if repatriated.

Retribution? Umm,..let's see,...according to the Uniform Code of Military Justice, desertion during war time usually warrants the death penalty!

I know they won't get it, so let's hope they'll at least get 10-15 making little pebbles out of big rocks (using a ballpeen hammer).

More NBA Fallout (Good and Bad)

Well, reknowned pugilist, basketball player and aspiring rap star Ron Artest is going to get his pee-pee spanked for his Detroit hijinks.

But it looks like it may be too late to save the sport. Repercussions abound:

Latrell Sprewell, always an icon of proper manners (ask his former coaches) got nailed for verbally abusing a female fan (at least he had the sense not to punch HER lights out)!

And the trickle-down behaviour from icon to fan continues:

Here in Philly, a Public Schools League game was stopped in the first half when two players got overly physical and started a small melee.

God, I miss hockey. It was such a civilized sport.

Half a Glass of Water in Iraq?

A convergence of thoughts today:

On TV, they are showing Hamid Karzai being sworn in as president of Afghanistan. This is quite a feat, considering the state of things in Central Asia just three short years ago. I commented to my family that four years from now, as GWB retires, this triumph will long be forgotten in the shadow of Iraq.

Now, as I am on-line, I'm looking at a poll on Netscape.com:

The poll questions whether GWB is misleading Americans on the Iraq situation.

The choices are:

1 - Bush needs to be more realistic
2 - Optimism is needed
3 - I don't know

Well,...I'm sure that last one is making the MSM jump for joy. More idiots upon which to dump liberal, one-world ideology.

How realistic does Bush have to be? If it weren't for the CNN (UNN), MSNBC, NPR crowd distorting every action in Iraq, we wouldn't be having polls like this.

I guess the optimism needed is optimism that MAYBE we'll hear more stories about the schools being built in Iraq. Or about the empty homes in Fallujah, evacuated before the latest assault, that were stocked with blankets for the American/British soldiers. Or that up in the Kurdish North, people of varying ethnic backgrounds get along just fine.

Sigh,.....

Changing Times

As I sit here and digest some of the latest Supreme Court decisions, I keep coming back to the gay-marriage item.

Yes, I agree with the Supremes on this one: it is a state's rights issue and I am an ardent supporter of the 10th Amendment.

If you're gay and want the union recognized, move to Massachusetts. But don't go to Missouri and ask for the same protection.

As I read on about homosexually-related issues, I am reminded of a conversation I had with a friend a few years ago:

It was early 2001. Bush had just won the election. My friend and I were walking through Center City Philadelphia (back when I tried to be a healthy person). Our usual walk took us through part of the gay-friendly section of Philadelphia. Back then, just about every car had rainbow pinstripes, rainbow license plate frames, pink triangles, equal signs, etc,...

I ruminated what the country was looking forward to after eight years of a liberal, gay-friendly administration. I was of the view that things would change. My friend was not. Some time soon, I'll have to take that walk again and see if I can count to rainbows on one hand.

EAGLES - (Revisted)

Fly, Eagles, Fly!
On the Road to Vic-Tor-y!!
Cry, Packers, Cry!
You Got Spanked on Fox TV!
We Score High!
You Score Low!
Still Can't Stop
That Guy T.O.
So Fly! Eagles! Fly!
On The Road to Jacksonville!

E-A-G-L-E-S

EAGLES!!!

Random Rants for December 5, 2004

Grrrr,.....my brothers and I are taking my mother out to dinner for her 85th birthday today.
Unfortunately, reservations are for the same time Da Iggles are scheduled to destroy the Packers!

College football all day yesterday. Conference champs were decided left and right, but its not how good you are, but how badly you wupped your opponent that'll get you to the championship, again!

Is it so hard to get 10 Division 1A conferences into enough bowl games to make a realistic playoff system work??? Poor Auburn,...

For that matter,...poor Toledo (MAC), poor Utah (WAC), poor Louisville (CUSA), poor Pitt (Big East),.....you guys just aren't glamorous to make it to the big dance (or at least that's what the MSM guys think)

Local shopping center just put up a menorah on one of their anchor stores. Hmmm,...no signs of a creche, Santa Claus, or any other Christmas-related decorations (lots of green and red banners with snowflakes - must be for seasonal reasons, right?)

Well,..they're off my shopping stopping list until January.

'Tis the season? (Revisited)

OK,..more on the secularization of Christmas:

In the City of Philadelphia, there is a neighborhood called Chestnut Hill. Its a very tony area and the last bastion of old-school WASP-iness in the city. Point of disclosure: it bordered by the multicultural UN-topia neighborhoods of East and West Mount Airy and a series of increasingly-liberal suburbs.

Back on topic:

The Chestnut Hill Business Association put out its seasonal sales fliers for this month. Conspicuously missing was the "C" word. Instead, the stores are having HOLIDAY sales. The Schuykill Valley Nature Conservancy is selling HOLIDAY trees. The little knick-knack stores are selling HOLIDAY knick-knacks.

Oh, yeah. Most stores will be closed on December 25th. Its,......Christmas!

And Justice for All?

Driving home this evening, I heard that the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is about to commit yet another travesty of justice.

Convicted mass murderer George Banks was scheduled to be executed this week by the Commonwealth. True to form, after 22 years in prison, somebody finally convinced our Supreme Court that he's,...get this,...."mentally incompetent!"

For now, his case has been remanded back to Luzerne County (site of the crime) for further mental health screenings!

My thoughts on this are about to make me sound like a racist pig, but tough!

Yes, there is a racial aspect to this story: George Banks is black. Four of his victims were his white girlfriends. An additional five victims were his children by these four women. The other four victims were also white.

His motivation? In part, it was a pre-emptive strike for a race war he perceived was in the making and partially because he didn't want his children to suffer from an racial prejudice because they were biracial.

The other racial element?

One of the last people to be executed in Pennsylvania was Gary Heidnik (July 6, 1999). Gary Heidnik was also a mass murderer. He was a white, middle-class man who abducted, tortured, raped and eventually killed four black and/or Hispanic women.

Funny,..when he was executed (and he deserved it) there was very little hue and cry over his mental competency (BTW - he made over $500K in the stock market).

Hmmm,.....