The Attractive Nuisance Doctrine

I've been part of the LJ community for almost 10 years now (user number 13,845 baby!). That's a long time. Other than school, I think that's the longest I've ever committed to a single thing. When I started, the community was small, scrappy, and surprisingly close knit. I remember going to LJ meetups in Seattle and meeting people from all walks of life. It was great.

During those early days I made friends in the community pretty quickly and there wasn't quite the signal to noise ratio that there is today, nor were there the problems with advertisers, etc. Now LJ is much more insular and cliquish than it was. You don't meet random friends the way we did in the early days. Hell, one of my friends (twirlingtulip) was someone who just happened upon my journal, and another friend (gina) became my friend largely because I shamelessly stole her user icon and she called me on it. The idea of something like that happening on facebook seems unlikely to say the least, which might be why I really dislike facebook.

With the rise of "friends only" LJ posts, LJ acquired many of the symptoms of facebook. It lost the openness of it. But there's still a charm here that I'm quite fond of and that I haven't seen in any other medium.

Ok, this post is getting away from me.

The point is that I think I'd like to return to LJ. It's been a very long time since I've used LJ on a regular basis. I think I'll change that.

 

Things the GOP does to (I believe intentionally) annoy us.

- Claim they're fiscally conservative.
- Claim they're strong on defense.
- Misquote things and when they're caught, keep misquoting.
- Lie. And when they're caught, lie more.
- Turn political differences into theological wars.
- Boycott France
- Three Words: Free Speech Zones
- Ejecting/arresting people for asking questions they don't like.
- Support the Iraq war
- Parrot Rush Limbaugh
- Drive a gas guzzling V-10 pickup truck with one or more stars and bars bumper stickers
- Support Creationism
- Complain about political correctness, as if they long for the good old days when they could call women and black people whatever they damn well pleased.
- Vote for Bush/Cheney, McCain/Palin
- Insist that every publicly-placed television set they see is tuned to Fox News
- Troll websites asking why [Generic Democrat] won’t release his [Generic Official Personal Record]!?!?
- Say the words "fair and balanced" without a hint of irony.
- Name their astroturfed political campaign after a sexual act/fraternity prank
- Take Jonah Goldberg seriously
- Insist that Bill O’Reilly is the best source for news.
- Speak with an exaggerated regional accent
- Believe Bill Kristol
- Complain about the Liberal Media
- Refuse to believe the president is American despite the evidence.
- Insist that [insert policy] is a plot to kill Grandma despite a total lack of evidence.
- Insist that [insert policy] is a plot to kill soldiers despite a total lack of evidence.
- Insist that [insert policy] is actually communism/socialism/fascism/nazi-ism.
- Deny climate change.
- Claim forms of torture that people were convicted for in WWII isn't torture anymore.
- Employ the Nuremberg defense and browbeat anyone who says "Hey! That isn't allowed!"
- Fail to know what the Nuremberg defense was.
- Cut Veteran's benefits while declaring that democrats hate the troops.
- Laugh at or tell conservative jokes
- Form mindless mobs to shut down any intelligent discussion at townhalls and declare it a victory, declaring that it's the voice of the people.
- Make all GOP townhalls invite only to give the impression that america has a love affair with the GOP.
- Blather that anytime someone doesn't wear a bunny suit or a santa costume that it's an OMFG WAR ON CHRISTMAS/EASTER!!!
- Declare that Christ would support their policies of war, death penalties, bootstraps, and torture.
- Declare that anyone who went to college or lives in the northeast or west coast isn't a "real american."
- Buy-Cot Whole Foods
- Carry a gun to the mall
- Carry a gun to political rallies

President Obama,

I'm sure my comments will mirror what you hear on a daily basis from a variety of sources, but I thought I should lend my voice to theirs.

When you gave your first national speech I, like most people on the left, was truly excited about your political prospects. I immediately started speaking with friends and colleagues about the possibility of you running for president.

When you began your run I, again, was one of the faithful. I attended rallies, I drove others to your rallies, and I (for the first time in my life) became involved in a political campaign.

My point in writing to you, Mr. President, is that I am part of that wave of young people who carried you into office. We believed in you when you spoke of closing Gitmo, ending don't ask-don't tell, ending signing statements, and getting real healthcare reform.

What happened?

We gave you a 60 seat majority in the senate and a massive lead in the house. We put you in office with a clear mandate and all we asked is that you deliver change.

Where is it?

So far all I see are continuous concessions being given to a group of people who are so beholden to extremists that they will never vote for anything you endorse, and a continuation of your predecessor's policies. And now I read of secret deals with the health care industry and see that the public option (which was, already, a compromise) is all but abandoned.

I was discussing this the other day with a good friend of mine (who was a delegate for you in November) and the only arguments he could make in your defense were...

1) incrementalism, and
2) at least he isn't George W. Bush or John McCain.

That isn't why we elected you, sir. We didn't support you in the primaries and then in the general election because we wanted the lesser of two evils. We supported you because we believed you when you said you would bring real change and would not bow to lobbyists and special interests.

Well, sir, from where we stand it looks like you are doing exactly that.

You are the leader of your party, Mr. President. You have the ability to push this through, but you need the will.

Now I don't expect you to read this. I'm sure some unpaid intern will scan this, send me a form response, and move on with his or her life. So to that intern, please speak with your supervisor about this message and see if you can convey the general sentiment up the chain of command. President Obama had a groundswell of support in 2008. These days all there is out there is resentment and disappointment, and an increasing lack of interest in 2012.

The emails I get indicate that the President wants us out in the streets and in town-halls, and I'm sure that he's shocked by our lack of enthusiasm. But the President needs to understand that for us to follow, he must first lead.

A good commander is always in front of his troops, sir.

Sam Raimi, of Spider-
Man, is making a movie based on World of Warcraft.

Now I'm going to make a prediction here. Are you ready? Here it is...

It will be awful.

Well, it will be awful if it's actually set in the WoW universe. If it is about the Troglodytes who spend more time in the game than they do with the outside world? That might be entertaining. Heh.

Also, slight nerd knowledge here... If it's from the perspective of humanity and the alliance, the audience is going to unwittingly be cheering on the aggressive fascist faction who are pro-slavery (and pro-genocide against anyone who looks scary and isn't a willing slave). Those orcs, trolls, and minotaurs? Yeah, they're more peaceful and freedom loving faction. Ironic, no?

Frankly, I don't think a good WoW movie is possible. The story spans 3 single player games + 1 expansion, and an enormous MMO with 2 additional expansions. It's a massive story, not to mention the fact that it's quite cheesy with no main character. This is no Lord of the Rings.

So yeah, it's gonna be HORRIBLE!

Jeff: alcohol + sedentary = beer gut
me: I walk from the car to the office.
Jeff: haha
me: also: couch to fridge
Jeff: this is why I force myself to go jogging. so I can drink more beer
me: you know what sucks about jogging when you're out of shape? (other than everything)... The jiggling.
Jeff: yeah hehe I know
me: I am NOT a fan of the jiggling
Jeff: you get used to it. :)
me: I feel like a fucking jello mold.
Jeff: yeah just don't be one of those douches who wear like spandex.  I wear a baggy pair of shorts & t-shirt. spare the world. :)
me: hahaha spandex with a beer gut and skinny legs
Jeff: yeah

www.thehuntforgollum.com

Watching it made me think to myself that I seriously need more productive hobbies. ;)

Justice Breyer elaborated on what children put in their underwear. “In my experience when I was 8 or 10 or 12 years old, you know, we did take our clothes off once a day,” he said. “We changed for gym, O.K.? And in my experience, too, people did sometimes stick things in my underwear.”

*laugh* That's an actual quote. It's even better than the argument between Justice Breyer and Former Chief Justice Rehnquist where they were discussing privacy and decency issues connected to sodomy laws and Justice Breyer brought up the point that he thinks lying at the dinner table is quite indecent and wondered whether the Former Chief Justice thinks Texas could regulate that as well. Heh.

Side note: Former Chief Justice Rehnquist DID think that Texas could regulate lying at the dinner table.

Melissa and I had a discussion this weekend on a topic rarely discussed.

God vs. Aliens

 Not kidding. Here's the basic argument from my side...

Four things:
1) The universe is so vast it's practically infinite from our puny perspective,
2) Our concept of reality doesn't even really take into account things like Dark Matter and the fact that relative weakness of gravity suggests that it's occurring on another plane and we're seeing it's shadow... thus, it could be even MORE vast,
3) We've discovered that life endures in seemingly impossible regions (like the bacteria living underground within the earth's crust near magma),
4) And even Bonobos have figured out how to use tools.

Given those four things, I think it's quite possible that we're not the only life in the universe and if there is life out there it is also quite possible that it's worked out how to use tools. As such, the possibility of alien visitation, while remote, isn't implausible.

Meanwhile, I think it's highly implausible that there is some bearded dude judging you, giving you a private cloud when you die, and being able to do anything but refusing to show his face in modern times (yeah yeah, burning bush... that happened thousands of years ago. Also... is a brush fire at a time when people were generally illiterate and lacked any way to record it the best he could do? Seriously, it looks kinda weak from where I stand.) 

Generally the fall back position for theists (though not raised by Melissa) is "Well, if there is no god, where did everything come from?"  The irony of that argument is that it assumes that a god has always existed and requires no explanation for where HE came from.  Yet, for some reason the concept of a universe without beginning is too difficult to imagine. 

Basically, I'm more likely to be abducted by aliens than to find myself face to face with a god in this or any other lives.

I won't paraphrase Melissa's argument because I don't want to get it wrong.  But there you go, that was our Sunday afternoon discussion.

Roast Lamb with Goat Cheese

Ingredients

* 5-6lb leg of lamb, boned and butterflied
* 1 tsp salt
* 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
* Olive oil, for drizzling
* Large handful of mint leaves
* Firm goats cheese, (such as Crottin), half frozen
* 6 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
* Few sprigs of rosemary
* Mint and lemon vinaigrette
* 6 tbsp olive oil
* Handful of mint leaves, finely chopped
* Zest and juice of 1 lemon
* Salt and pepper

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees and put a roasting tray in the oven.

2. Put the lamb on a board and open it out. Season with salt and pepper and rub all over with olive oil. Scatter the inside with the fresh mint leaves, rubbing the leaves into the meat.

3. Take the goats cheese from the freezer and using a microplain, grate it over the mint leaves, followed by the garlic.

4. Roll the joint up and over to form a nice long sausage shape, tucking the ends in, if needed. Secure the joint in place with kitchen string at 3-4cm intervals. Tuck some rosemary sprigs under the knots of string around the lamb.

5. Take the preheated baking tray out off the oven, scatter with a few more sprigs of rosemary then sit the lamb on

top. Season once more and drizzle with a little more olive oil. Roast for 20 minutes.

6. Reduce the temperature to 375 and continue to roast, allowing 20 minutes per pound, basting every 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and leave to rest. To serve, cut into thick slices and serve with mint and lemon vinaigrette.

7. For the vinaigrette pour the olive oil into a small mixing bowl. Add the mint and lemon zest and season with salt and pepper. Whisk in lemon juice to taste, until emulsified. Check for seasoning then drizzle over the lamb to serve.



Potatoes Boulangère

Ingredients

* 1 can chicken stock
* 1 sprig thyme
* 2 sprigs rosemary
* 2 crushed cloves of garlic
* 2 large onions, peeled and sliced
* 4 medium Yukon Gold potatoes peeled and finely sliced, on a mandolin if possible
* Olive oil
* Salt and Pepper

1. Bring the chicken stock to a boil and infuse with thyme, rosemary and crushed garlic cloves. Strain before use.

2. Gently sauté the onions and garlic in olive oil until softened and lightly colored.

3. Rub an oven proof dish with olive oil and layer the onions followed by the potatoes, repeating until the dish is full finishing with a final layer of potato. Make sure to season each layer as you go.

4. Pour over the stock until it comes 2/3rds of the way up the dish. Press down on the mixture to help the liquid absorb and finally drizzle a little olive oil on top.

5. Bake in the oven at 400 degrees for approximately 20 - 25 minutes or until soft and golden on top.