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In Mexico City, more questions than answers - LA Observed

ashantinu — Sat, 02 May 2009 12:18:57 +0000

[obembed=askrayj]The shows over, but theres plenty left to discover about our guy. Is he stressed out about tabloid lies? Does he like thick women? Has he got a celebrity crush? Ray J fills.[More..]

Healthwatch reporter Kellye Lynn spoke to Dr. Richard Boehler, St. Joseph Medical Center

"The Kenneth Roberts Reader": Ben Ames Williams Introduction

Danny — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 02:29:39 +0000

As stated in an earlier post (“The Kenneth Roberts Reader“), I wanted to find out why Ben Ames Williams was chosen to write the introduction for The Kenneth Roberts Reader. Unfortunately, I’ve met the same fate I’ve met in finding info on Kenneth Roberts on the Web. About the only imformative I’ve found thus far on Ben Ames Williams is this article from Answers.com. However, Kenneth Roberts is mention only in passing (the context is that the author of this article states that B.A. Williams was one of the most popular authors of his generation along with K.R. and Hervey Allen). It seems, so far as I can see, B. A. Williams was chosen because he was popular at the same time K.R. was popular, and probably also because Williams had tried his hand at historical fiction as well (House Divided, per Answers.com).

Hopfully more to come on this…

47 minutes of abortion sting video released

christarzan — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 15:18:00 +0000

FROM WND

Pro-lifers challenge Planned Parenthood to be equally open

The full 47 minutes of a video done by Live Action Films revealing Indianapolis Planned Parenthood staff members covering up a reported statutory rape has been released, along with a challenge from pro-life activists for the abortion industry leader to be equally open.

The video, available on the Live Action Films website, reveals in real time the sequence of events highlighted in an earlier edited release.

As WND reported at the time, the video shows a staff member for Planned Parenthood counseling a “pregnant 13-year-old” to avoid mandatory statutory rape reporting laws by suggesting the patient look into the states that surround Indiana.

In Indiana, sex involving an adult and a 13-year-old is a felony, and any time a minor under 14 is involved, law enforcement must be contacted immediately. However, the video released by LiveActionFilms.org reveals a counselor suggesting how the requirements can be avoided.

Just days earlier, the organization unveiled a video about a pro-life activist, 20-year-old Lila Rose, going into a Bloomington, Ind., Planned Parenthood facility undercover where a “nurse” ignored the apparent felony of a young teen pregnant by a 31-year-old and coached the “patient” to protect the assailant.

Now Live Action has released the full 47-minute video of the undercover operation in Indianapolis, with the unedited footage showing the story in real time as clinic employees met Rose, again posing as a 13-year-old, and heard her describe how a 31-year-old man had impregnated her.

Lila Rose

“Once in the counseling room, a Planned Parenthood nurse assured Rose that she would not report the statutory rape and instructed her how to obtain a secret abortion across state lines,” the organization said.

But Rose also challenged Planned Parenthood to show transparency.

Citing a letter released earlier, Rose called on Betty Cockrum, president of Planned Parenthood of Indiana, to release the company’s data on how often it provides birth control, pregnancy testing, STD testing and abortion services to minors under the age of 14 and how often it has reported these cases to Child Protective Services.

The organization has not responded, Rose said.

“If Planned Parenthood has concern for the children of Indiana, as they claim, why don’t they disclose the statistics that will help law enforcement apprehend the scope of the problem?” Rose said. “We are willing to be open and transparent about our methods and activities because we have nothing to hide.

“Can Planned Parenthood of Indiana say the same?”

The organization eventually may have no choice. Rose said state authorities in Indiana now may open an investigation into Planned Parenthood’s handling of statutory rape cases.

The video is part of Live Action Films’ Mona Lisa Project, which across the summer of 2008 documented inside information about the abortion industry.

The project says despite “a consistent pattern of lawlessness and abuse, Planned Parenthood receives over $300 million from taxpayers.”

The tax-exempt “nonprofit” also netted $100 million in profits last year.

One Planned Parenthood staff resigned following release of the Indianapolis video. When the similar video was released from the Bloomington, Ind., Planned Parenthood, one employee was fired.

Rose, who already was honored for her pro-life work this year, also recently was named the 2008 Person of the Year by Operation Rescue.

“Lila Rose exemplifies the new wave of pro-life activism and best reflects Operation Rescue’s own efforts to expose illegal conduct in our nation’s abortion mills,” Operation Rescue President Troy Newman said.

“Her work has helped raise public awareness of the seedy underbelly of the abortion industry and has helped to launch criminal investigations that we pray will eventually hold out-of- control abortionists accountable for their criminal acts,” he said.

Vattumannens Tidsålder är här!

Sam Zodiac — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 17:56:04 +0000

Gick vi i dagarna in i Vattumannens Tidsålder? Och till råga på allt; på Alla Hjärtans Dag?

I alla fall om man får tro texten i låten Aquarius från musicalen Hair. Du vet…

“When the moon is in the 7th house and Jupiter aligns with Mars than peace will guide the planet, and love will steer the stars. This is the dawning of The Age of Aquarius. Harmony and understanding, sympathy and trust abounding. No more falsehoods or derisions. Golden living dreams of visions, mystic crystal revelation, and the mind’s true liberation. Aquarius! Aquarius! As our hearts go beating through the night, we dance into the dawn of day. To be the bearers of the water, our light will lead the way. We are the spirit of the Age of Aquarius.”

The Aquarius alignment is starting this week already:

And here is a clip with a performance from 1962:

Now, in the early morning of February 12 we start the new Aquarius alignment. This is when the Moon moves into Libra (7th house). This alignment culminates around 6:00 AM on February 14, which is Valentines Day. There will be five planets in Aquarius, plus the node. During this time period Jupiter will align with Mars in Aquarius and the moon will be in the 7th house.

Remember the song Aquarius? When the planets lined up in 1962 the moon was not in the 7th house. In this alignment the moon will be in the 7th house. The year 1962 brought in the first inkling of the new age and now it is ready to mature.

Den engelska texten här ovanför kommer från ursprungsmailet, som min polare Johan Longhair, vidaresände från en av sina amerikanska kompisar.

Det här med 7:th house kan kräva en kommentar. I den s k naturliga zodiaken börjar husräkningen på 0 grader Väduren. Alla tolv husen är lika stora, alltså 30 grader. Då blir Vågens tecken det sjunde huset, eftersom Vågen är det sjunde tecknet i zodiaken.

Textförfattaren anser tydligen att förra gången när planeterna trängdes i Vattumannens tecken (februari 1962) var det bara frågan om en “trailer” inför vad som komma skall. Då var ju inte Månen i 7:e huset.
Nu var den det, så bered dig på att The Aquarian Show börjar!

Läs även andra “övervintrande-hippie-bloggares” (?) åsikter om Astrologi, Aquarius, Vattumanens tidsålder, Age of Aquarius, 1962, 2009, 7:th house, Vågen, Väduren, Johan, vänner, USA, Månen, 12 februari, 14 februari, Alla Hjärtans Dag, Valentine’s Day, Jupiter, Mars, Fifth Dimension, Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In, video, YouTube

dictionary: Definition, Synonyms from Answers.com

artistryinfaux — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 16:49:34 +0000

Have to admit I am constantly looking up words and thought…humm…wonder how many others do the same.

dictionary: Definition, Synonyms from Answers.com .

My stay in Louisiana has been a great chance to learn so much about their culture and the french language. I know this isn’t Cajun French language site but I love the hear the French language.

http://french.about.com/

BART Officer, Johannes Mehserle, arrested for murder

... and the cow goes moo — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 13:51:36 +0000

(Videos and comments on his shooting Oscar Grant can be found at my previous post here)

An article about the arrest can be found here (from Polizeros)

Mehserle was arrested in Nevada, I assume because of the death threats he has been receiving he was moved there. From what I’ve read, there is little reason to believe he was trying to avoid arrest there.

That the arrest was for murder is no surprise: I believe the most grievous possible charge is usually made at time of arrest, to be reduced during trial. It would not surprise me at all if Mehserle ended up with a manslaughter conviction.

Based on the definitions found here, I would expect Mehserle to be charged with Involuntary Manslaughter.

“Involuntary manslaughter is the unlawful killing of another human being without intent. The absence of the intent element is the essential difference between voluntary and involuntary manslaughter. Also in most states, involuntary manslaughter does not result from a heat of passion but from an improper use of reasonable care or skill while in the commission of a lawful act, or while in the commission of an unlawful act not amounting to a felony.”

(more specifically, criminal-negligence manslaughter where “death results from a high degree of negligence or recklessness”)

When Johannes Mehserle is given, let’s say, three to five years, I wonder if the outrage that has accompanied the incident will re-erupt? Certainly based on some of the rhetoric on the internet, some of which can be found in the comments on my previous post linked to at the top, many would be outraged if Mehserle weren’t convicted as a murderer for his ‘execution’ of Oscar Grant.

I especially wonder if, months or years down the road, when this conviction is actually handed down, will those so enflamed by the act in the early days of the year even remember OScar Grant or why they were so upset? Perhaps calmer heads will prevail and time will bring some much-needed perspective to the crime.

It still seems outrageous farce to me to call Mehserle’s shooting of Grant an ‘execution’, based on the videos made available to the public. It seems like just another excuse to strengthen a predetermined belief that law enforcement is out to murder and kill ‘us’.

… and the cow goes moo

Symboler- Ankh

Sam Zodiac — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 20:22:21 +0000

Ankh är en urgammal egyptisk symbol som står för Liv. Möjligen evigt Liv.

Egyptiernas symbol för livet och kanske också det liv som existerar efter den fysiska kroppens död. Ankh består av en ögla ovanpå ett T. Ankh kallas på latin crux ansata. Symbolen används som kors av den koptiska kyrkan.
Ankh symboliserar de fyra vindarna, regnmakarna och fruktsamhetsgudarna. Den anses också kunna skydda bäraren av symbolen från negativa tankar.
Ofta bärs på egyptiska bildframställningar ankh i gudomars högra hand.

Isis överräcker Livet till Nefertite

Läs även andra bloggares åsikter om Ankh, Egypten, Symboler, Liv, Evigt Liv, Isis, Nefertite, Wikipedia, Answers.com, TourEgypt, Religion, Arkeologi, Magi, Fruktsamhet, Regn, Allmänbildning

January 4th

carlaboner — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 08:14:35 +0000

So I stopped by to tell everyone about a little experiement I am going to do with promoting my Associated Content articles. But first I have to say…

I signed up for AlphaInventions.com yesterday and my pages views went from 82 to 632! I need to find out more about this place now. I’m a little leery of that many hits in less than 24 hours – I hope it’s legit. Maybe each time it rotates through it gets another hit. I’ll do some asking around and research on it then report on it here or better yet I’ll write an article about it.

***
So back to my AC experiment. I got to thinking about why some of my articles are shootin gthrough the roof in page views while others aren’t doing so hot.

The only thing I could think of was that the 2 that are doing really well were ones I put links to in Yahoo! Answers.

So I am going to link all of my articles to answers at Yahoo! and see what happens. I am only going to put them on Yahoo! for the next two weeks.

Starting on January 18th, I will only use Answers.com.

March 1st – 14th will only be Answerbag.com

I will post my page view averages after each two week experiment. I realize their maybe residual from the one before it, but depending on increased results, we should be able to tell which one is the best.

Perhaps it will be a combination of all three.

If you have already done a simular experiment or routinely do this with a site, please leave your comments. Let us know how it has worked for you.

NYTimes innehåller ett dolt uppslagsverk

edenstrom — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 15:37:50 +0000

Bra idé eller en totalt outnyttjad datakälla? Sedan två år tillbaka (september 2006) har alltid så innovativa NYTimes.com en omfattande ordlistefunktion på sajten. Vid dubbelklick på ord i en artikel, vilket ord som helst, så erbjuds en förklaring. Den öppnas upp i ett nytt fönster.

Funktionen har förädlats i år och numera dyker ett “?” först upp vid ordet. Vid ytterligare klick öppnas det nya fönstret upp. Men fortfarande går det knappt att läsa sig till att funktionen finns.

Orddefinitionen eller uppslagsverksbeskrivningen kommer från NASDAQ-noterade Answers.com. Answers.com får även data från Google.

NYTimes.com är baserat på FatWire men har till en stor del även ett egenutvecklat CMS, sajtens bloggar ligger dock i WordPress, men tydligen måste journalisterna lära sig handkoda HTML i HomeSite, TextPad eller TextMate.

Hi friends , With cheats

Panfu Cheats — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 05:04:10 +0000

Please visit zapak.com - this is a awesome game site !!

Dagens jubileum: Stenansiktena

Sam Zodiac — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 21:54:13 +0000

På 1920-talet letade man i Syd-Dakota efter lämpliga sätt att öka turisttillströmningen i staten. I akt och mening att nå detta mål, kontaktade man skulptören Gutzon Borglum och gav honom i uppdrag att skulptera in ett minnesmärke i Black Hills -bergen.
Tanken var att skapa ett monument som skulle vara representativt för de första 150 åren i den nordamerikanska historien . (Här avses förstås bara kolonisatörernas historia, inte de inföddas – indianerna).
Den 4 oktober 1927 påbörjades arbetet med Mount Rushmore med en stor byst av George Washington. Det tog 14 år att avsluta resten av minnesmärket, som (förutom George Washington) inkluderar presidenterna , Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt och Abraham Lincoln.
Skulpturerna är ungefärligen 18 meter höga. Över två miljoner besökare per år drar stenansiktena.

(Texten hämtad och översatt från Answers.com)
Läs även andra bloggares åsikter om Mount Rushmore, Syd-Dakota, Skulpturer, Allmänbildning, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, 1927, Gutzon Borglum

Answers.Com: answers, just an alt-click away

gbonamie — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 06:00:14 +0000

Answers.com - give it a try!

A couple of weeks ago, I stumbled on answers.com, which is basically a dictionary slash encyclopaedia you can add to your website, blog or what have you. The idea is fairly simple: visitors to your site can double-click on any word they don’t understand to have its meaning pop up in … ehm, a pop-up. It’s quite needless to say that in any EFL context, this could be extremely interesting, of course, but wait, it gets even more beautiful: among many other things such as plugins for Firefox, IE, and mobile applications, Answers.com also provides a download version of their dictionary, which, after installing, does exactly the same thing (only now you have to alt-click instead of double-click). The huge advantage of this method is that you have the dictionary at hand in any application you use. Give it a try -soon you won’t be able to live without, I’m sure.

Answers

Dr. Hamid Raihan — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 08:07:02 +0000

Answers.com is a valuable tool to get authentic information about a search term. It is mostly concer

Answers.com - Übersetzung direkt im Webbrowser

hosi1709 — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 10:35:27 +0000

Sicher geht es auch manchem anderen aus meiner Generation ähnlich: Wir kennen uns so leidlich in der englischen Sprache aus und müssen immer wieder einmal fehlende Vokabeln nachschlagen. Besonders beim Surfen im Internet kommt man in diese Situation, denn oft sind interessante Informationen leider nicht in unserer Muttersprache vorhanden.

Da hilft dann nur “immer fleißig üben” und eine Ergänzung für den Webbrowser installieren! Seit einigen Wochen mache ich gute Erfahrungen mit Answers.com. Ich habe mir dieses 1-Click-Tool in die von mir genutzten Browser installiert (einfach auf der Seite auf “Add now” klicken und ggf. Installation zulassen) und nutze sie so:

Ein mir unbekanntes Wort markiere ich, dann drücke ich die Alt-Taste und die linke Maustaste und erhalte in einem kleinen Fenster die Übersetzung (siehe Bild unten). Vorher habe ich über >Read more und >Personalize (ganz oben rechts, leider sehr klein!) nur >Translation und die Sprache >Deutsch ausgewählt!

Mir scheint, das ist eine interessante Lösung, die zum Ausprobieren reizen sollte, denkt
HoSi

The Yahoo Answers Secrets Videos Can Be Your Marketing Goldmineโ€ฆ

answersyece — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 04:36:52 +0000

What to Sell on Yahoo Answers Detailed Video Series Takes You From Start to Finish How to Setup a Redirect to Promote Your Products How to Find the Best Questions to Answer How to Write a Profitable Answer

Hillary, Obama, Bilderberg, ethical journalism, balanced news gathering and effective communication

rhibowman — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 16:23:10 +0000

I’ve pasted a response to a friend’s political forum below this explaination.

The response and this post were prompted by a link from that forum to an article, Hillary and Obama in secret Bilderberg rendezvous, on Alex Jones’ Infowars.

The article accused the Associated Press, and all ”corporate media” of failing to report that Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama were meeting at the 2008 Bilderberg Conference in Chantilly, Va., Thursday night.

According to the AP article in question, Obama and Clinton met to discuss uniting Democrats, though the journalist’s source only smiled when asked to disclose the whereabouts of the meeting, leaving the location to the writer’s imagination.

Please recall: journalists shouldn’t report on their wonderings in the news, unless it’s on the Op-Ed page.

Perhaps Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Obama did meet at the Bilderberg Conference Thursday night and are still hanging out there, huddled with the world’s muckety mucks, blueprinting the future. Would it be shocking if they were? No.

The bottom line to this journalism student: a good, ethical journalist wouldn’t report they were at a meeting if they did not have confirmation they, in fact, were.

However, and what’s especially unfortunate, even if the journalist– note there isn’t a byline– attended the meeting and saw Hillary and Obama there themselves, the nature of this type of meeting and the relationship between top U.S. news organizations, their editors and politics would likely keep the news out of the public eye; which is a damn shame because that’s the opposite of what the media is charged with in our country.

The Bilderberg “Blackout” The press corps’ noncoverage of that weekend conference in Chantilly, Va. (Slate)

We absolutely deserve better, but are we going to get it? Probably not. Not unless we, as a people, inform ourselves and stand up for our rights. The problem: most of us aren’t informed or willing to stand up because, as a lot, we’ve grown lazy and dull.

So, will things change? It’s not likely, but it is possible.

The main points in my forum response, and I hope I communicated them, are:

We should not rely on one-sided news.

We should, as intelligent citizens, expect editors to be in bed with politicians.

This story is not an example of good journalism; the media should lift the political veil for a country’s citizenry, not staple it to the floor.

As citizens, if we want the truth, we’re going to have to actively seek it by looking at important issues from all angles and by sharing information with each other– effectively, with more logic than emotion.

With that, here is the text of my response:

I looked up “Bilderberg” in my on-line AP Stylebook. There is no listing. So, I e-mailed the editors and asked. I sent them the link from InfoWars.com as well as from the blog linked in that article. I’ll let you know if I hear anything back. (click here for the response)

The Associated Press, by the way, isn’t about snowing the public, at least not at its core.

Here’s their mission statement:

“AP’s mission is to be the essential global news network, providing distinctive news services of the highest quality, reliability and objectivity with reports that are accurate, balanced and informed. AP operates as a not-for-profit cooperative with more than 4,000 employees working in more than 240 worldwide bureaus. AP is owned by its 1,500 U.S. daily newspaper members. “

That doesn’t mean they don’t have political puppets in their ranks, they do. For proof, click here for a list of their board members.

Recognize any names, or names of news organizations? Now, re-read the AP’s mission. Make sense why they don’t cover secret, high-powered meetings? Why the name of that group isn’t in their Bible? Why they (probably) won’t respond to my e-mail?

Here’s a quick bit of history:

The New York Times was founded in 1851 by two gents, one of which went on to be the first director of the AP. The Gray Lady (the Times) was sold to a serious news man from Tennessee, son of German-Jewish immigrants. The money for the 1896 sale, $75K, came from the Democratic Party although, earlier, in the 1880s, the Times decided they would be a-political. Though considered a newspaper of record, they are frequently accused of being liberal.

I tell you this because it is crucial to remember the mainstream American press is almost entirely owned by a very small handful of people. For instance, the Och family– the one that borrowed $75K– has owned The New York Times since the late 1800’s; Och’s grandson is the current board chairman and publisher.

That is one paper, whose parent company also happens to own The Boston Globe, the International Herald Tribune, WQXR-FM, Answers.com, etc. I’m telling you about the Times, instead of another, because it’s the most widely circulated American news source, but the list goes on.

For example, Fox News, a whole other nightmare, has spilled into the once esteemed The Wall Street Journal, which is a sad shame.

Always keep in mind:

Editors and politics are difficult, if impossible, to disentangle. You better believe news is spun in most major news rooms to some degree. You also better believe its spun elsewhere– if not everywhere.

However, spinning news and ignoring major events, issues, decisions, actions, etc… is not what American journalism is about.

There are plenty of writers, reporters and editors who don’t spin the news, who do report in an unbiased way so readers can make up their own minds; as unbiased as humans can be about important issues anyway.

Because of spin and bias potential, no one should rely on news from only one source. In fact, we should look to the left, the right and the middle and recognize the truth is probably a mix of all sides.

It is because there is so much information out there on such a large variety of issues that it is imperative we have groups, just like this one, where we share information. And, sharing it isn’t the only part; sharing with out anger, ridicule, accusation, etc… is what we should strive for.

People can share information without backing it, true? People can share without promoting, right? People can also share with ingrained belief they feel is central to their person. It’s difficult to tell at times, which is why understanding and effective, reasonable communication skills are something to cultivate.

I mention this last part, about understanding and communication styles/ skills, because it’s been my recent experience that, instead of conversation, people are so hot and bothered by today’s issues they aren’t interested in opening their mind to anything past what they already hold to be true. (I’m not talking about any one in particular here; no pantie wads please.)

Point is, you can’t believe everything you read/ see/ hear in the news (obviously) and, ideally, if you truly want to be informed, you should try to get as many angles on a story as possible– right, left and in the middle, top, bottom, and first hand account (people love to talk about themselves and what they’re in to, so call and ask).

Like the old adage: keep your enemies closer. Liberal? Check out The National Review. Conservative? Switch from Rush to NPR for a couple of days. I promise, it will only hurt for a second.

Oh, and keep sharing!

Our First Amendment rights are an essential part of what it means to be an American.

Speak up, listen up, act up.

My $2. (Stagflation, you know).
Rhi B.

May 27th - On This Day

jtanunleashed — Tue, 27 May 2008 00:35:00 +0000

Happy Birthday to Harriet what I used to go to school with.

Here’s some celebrities she shares a birthday with, and some famous/notable events that went on years ago…

The great Gazzzzzzzzzzaaaaaaaaa!
My alter-ego Jamie Oliver Ralph Fiennes (Lord Voldemort)’s brother Ralph Andre 3000, of OutKast Fame The late Lisa ‘Left-eye’ Lopes (d. 2002) Scarier than Vera Duckworth on Acid Christopher Lee Vincent Price Here’s an interesting fact – Bede died on this day (several hundred years ago, obviously) Its Mothers Day in Bolivia and Sweden, and Childrens Day in Nigeria DC Comics first introduced us to Batman on this day, and Walt Disney released The Three Little Pigs Oscar Wilde got sent to prison for sodomy. The Golden Gate Bridge opened to pedestrians in California.

Wikipedia em versão papel

charles cadé — Fri, 02 May 2008 14:14:23 +0000
A famosa enciclopédia on-line Wikipedia vai ganhar uma versão impressa. Trará os 50 mil artigos mais

WTF? Its all changed!

jtanunleashed — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 23:00:00 +0000

Go to my website or my blog and you’ll notice some significant changes have taken place. Check out the new look at www.jamienewton.co.uk and www.jamienewton.me.uk (go to the first and click on blog to get to the second).

Well, what do you think? Answer my poll, right next to this blog >>>>>>>>>>>

Both sites have completely different looks; I’m still working to combine them into one but now both are quite distinctive, and now they’re both clearly linked, unlike before. As before, both sites still have AnswerTips and SnapShots enabled:

Double-click any word for a quick definition and info courtesy of Answers.com – the site that compiles more info than any other, including dictionaries, Wikipedia, All Music Guide and 180 other trusted sources to provide information about anyone or anything you want.

SnapShots gives you a preview of any link on the site; showing Youtube videos and RSS feeds, all without leaving the site. Just hover over a link. Here are a few examples of links to a typical site, Youtube video, Wikipedia, Google map and a blog to try out. It also works with Audio, Amazon products, stocks, MySpace profiles and all these things.
Of course, there’s a chance you won’t want to the snapshots whenever you rollover a link. To disable them, hover over a link, and click the Settings logo in the top-right corner. You can choose to disable either just on my site, or on all sites; you can also choose the default view, size and delay time.

Firefox’s popular AdBlock Plus plugin is likely to block Snap Shots from loading unless you add a filter to whitelist snap.com

Bookmarking and sharing with friends is easy thanks to the AddThis addon, used by MySpace and thousands of other sites across the web. You can (and please do) Digg articles, post them to Facebook, or any number of their competitors; or even just bookmark the site.

Aside from that, one of the biggest changes for this blog is the Menu at the top, which links to my website, facebook, and my other blog. TV Linx is a site which compiles links and news about watching TV shows and movies online). Although some videos are added, none are ever hosted locally or uploaded by me. Why wander round any number of other sites that actually do host the links, or forward you to them, when you can get them all from one site? You even get updates of sites that have been removed, and the latest updates at these sites; saving you time.

If you haven’t already done so, please go check out my new-look website, then click on blog and send me your feedback. To give detailed suggestions and comments either reply to this post or go to www.jamienewton.co.uk/contact

Update Twitter is a social network based SOLELY on status updates; you can post any 140 characters, from your mobile, from Facebook, from MSN; and also send updates to both MySpace and Facebook (including copying the Twitter status onto your Facebook status). I’ve got it. If you have a Twitter account, you can become my friend and follow my updates.

A Friend of Midnight

victimzero — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 06:44:34 +0000

The lyrics are from Leonard Cohen’s The Future. It fit the story. And it’s 1:36 in the morning.

________________________

Another day, another bomb scare.

She watched the news with a sigh, listened to the rantings of political madmen on the verge of midnight with that all too familiar glazed over look. Krispy Kreme eyes, the locals called it. The ones that were still fighting said it was a side effect of the zeitgeist. And to an extent, they were right. Mankind was in its elder phase. Every time the world revolved, it wanted to die. There was enough life left for a lick and a promise, not much more.

She remembered when her life was once sapid. Childhood. Before being forced to go to school. Reading grades above her level, the days when she was smart and even a bit innocent at times. In those times, there was nobody else. Just her, mother, and father. There was nobody to please. It was the only way one could be free. Young eyed and bushy tailed. It ended much too quickly. Starting at Kindergarten, she began to grow.

The first day was hard, everyday after that even more so. The teacher automatically disliked her. Her peers thought she was odd. Oh, how she longed to be one of them. Dumbing down to fit in. Realizing too late that it was like fitting a square peg in a round hole. The hate seed was planted and within years, it took root in her veins. The more she looked around at her fellow man, the more she despised. Rare serendipities that cried objection were overruled by studies of human nature. By eighteen, she became a nihilist in every sense of the word. Humanity never cared about itself, she thought, why should I care for it?

Handrolled cigarette pressed against lips. A cheap knockoff of a Zippo lighter provided the flame. Both were contraband, she knew. Getting caught with it meant paying more money she didn’t have over to a government that couldn’t handle money if it grew on trees. But there was no stopping an urge. It became her praxis in a way. Breaking the law was an art in her mind even for such a minor thing. Plus, she found many ways to start an apartment fire if the event called for such. A hum progressed. Music was in the mind. Though the tune hadn’t been heard in over a year, the mantic lyrics rang in loud and clear.

Things are going to slide, slide in all directions
Won’t be nothing, nothing you can measure anymore
The blizzard of the world has crossed the threshold
And it has overturned the order of the soul

In that moment, her eyes closed and was taken in by ataraxia. The thought of the rings becoming smaller was calming. Human nature would do what she alone couldn’t. It was only a matter of time before the world caved in, becoming semilunar and misshapen.

Until then, she would sit with her smokes and halva, waiting for midnight.