Cagey's listening to

...synth goodness. Jan Hammer (Dadrian Wilson) - The Great McCarthy - - (1983-1987) Jan Hammer - Gina - - (1983-1987) Jan Hammer - Rain - - (1983-1987) Jan Hammer - The Talk - - (1983-1987) Jan Hammer - Marina - - (1983-1987) Jan Hammer (Dadrian Wilson) - - The Great McCarthy (1983-1987) From the Miami Vice television series.

My zero T.V. household

Great article yesterday on  NPR - the cable t.v. hawkers are afraid, very afraid: (LINK). It's been a year and about four months since I cut the umbilical.  To reflect, I'd say it's been satisfying getting my time back.  I simply lost interest, with the majority of shows catering to dullards, specializing in the profane, debasing our sensibilities, and peddling "infotainment" to mostly the lowest common denominator. Don't get me wrong, I like a lot of pop culture, I keep up with what's going on (especially '80s).  Full disclosure: I watch two shows. One is "The Walking Dead", but on the other side of the spectrum is PBS News Hour or Nova when I can catch it.  I also like Craig Ferguson if I'm ever up that late.  I refuse to keep a t.v. in the bedroom.  I'd rather reach for a magazine, short story, or Imprimis in the morning, something light and imaginative at night, or just good old talk radio. 

I remember a telemarketer calling, more than one, trying to test the waters, looking  for vulnerabilities and the means to bring me back. I've done battle with a grizzled vet who could care less and a more idealistic college graduate who wouldn't quickly succumb to my arguments against plugging back in. I have a few handy references to back myself up - the time when Dateline NBC falsified their data, newscasting dirtbags, or shows like the Kardashians and Maury.  The barrage of media in all forms contributes a great deal to the malsocialized, spoon-fed, attention-deficient public; I asked the kid coming over today looking for a quarter what he'd do with it.  He said he'd "buy an iPad with it."  I said, "That scooter you have there looks a lot more fun than an iPad." 

It was in the '90s that I began to become turned off by cable, and my friends were probably somewhat taken aback. I don't pretend to be a saint, but back then, MTV had long since turned into 24/7 pulp trash (and zero music) with forerunners of the "reality" model like The Real World, Road Rules and Jackass, themselves harbingers of the Idiocracy to follow. So when I would leave the room when my roommates watched, they'd get confused, "What's the matter with him?" I was never above locker room talk in the frat house but the relentless drumbeat of s_x and scatology was overbearing as networks raced to the bottom in who could outdo whom in terms of shock value. I used to defend shows like Howard Stern for standing up for creative freedom and maybe - Anti-Puritanism? But I held onto something that I think is valuable, and that's a bit of modesty. Attention to modesty, well, elevates us from behaving like animals in the long run. It's...civility. Civility is good, civility promotes harmony, allows us to better resist pressures that make us want to clobber the clod in Wal-Mart with their pants hanging down off their asses or mumbling in line, cutting us off on the highway, not defending women, taking advantage of the elderly.

So, I'm happy with my decision. Maybe I spend more time on the internet, as seems to be the case with other emerging "zero-t.v. households". But there is just very little satisfying or worthwhile on t.v.

QOTD

M.E. Bradford on Reagan:

   "For all things change when the expectations generated by political discourse shift. In recent months, conservatives have argued that tax reform and tax cuts have made it difficult for politicians coming after Reagan to Postulate the necessity for creative spending; to insist that government, if properly concerned for the unfortunate, should throw money at social problems. For a time I shared that opinion. Now I doubt its validity. Leftism is a virus in the bloodstream of our body politic, present in authoritative appeals to tolerance and peace, fairness, charity, and a natural right to the property of others. It will not go away. It has a ground in envy and resentment, which are the fashionable modern responses to eminence and distinction of every kind.
   Yet the political success of Ronald Reagan has forced the contemporary Left to disguise the intransigent emotional core of its world view behind talk of heart-rending circumstances and imminent disasters, which by reason of their severity cancel every consideration of means or ends. Assuredly, the task that President Reagan set for himself has not been completed. The practical consequences of his triumphs have been adumbrated by continuing Democratic power on Capitol Hill, by a press overwhelmingly on the left, and by the timidity of too many of his servants. We must remember that he was allowed to govern for only one term. The rest has been a holding action, undercut by concern for respectability and by a preoccupation with the 'Judgment of history'."

QOTD

"I am Inspector Matsumoto, Criminal Investigation Section, Osaka Prefecture Police, and I do speak f**king English."

             -Black Rain (1989)

I'm back with a new summer project!

Crop circles were SO 2011.  This year I give you my Tron-inspired lawn, which is an '80s checkerboard wannabe.  Researching the appropriate design factors for the actual checkerboard.  Need some kind of bizarro steamroller/zamboni attachment I'm not sure I want to attach to Chessie (my lawnmower).  I do however plan to get my first chainsaw.  That should make for some truly superior hedge trimming!

Cagey's listening to

AIRWOLF TRIBUTE! Judas Priest...

I love any and all things that have to do with turbo. "Gimme turbos, Dom!" the catchphrase that resonated with millions of worldwide fans in the '80s and today.

For more information on turbos and this blog, check here: (LINK)

Aladdin's Castle: Acropolises of 1980s U.S.A.



URL: http://www.comingsoon.net/movies/news/71938-flynns-arcade-opens-in-london

Like a good '80s child, a bike ride to the arcade was a huge formative experience.  Navigating our BMXs through trails, backyards and cut-throughs to go play Double Dragon, buy 10 cent soda and stay out from underfoot of bigger kids.  Inthe00s.com has a great history of reporting on this kind of nostalgia, where I've contributed some.  I recently unearthed a few AWESOME Aladdin's Castle token pouches , real relics, and having seen Tron:Legacy (2010) with the ghost town like images of Flynn's, I wondered if the preeminent arcade of the time was still in operation.
The corporate response:

Yes, we did acquire the Aladdin's Castle, along with several other arcade chains, many years ago. Unfortunately, most Mall Arcades have gone the same path as the dinosaur. As mall owners have doubled or tripled our lease payment, it has forced most arcade to become unprofitable, and therefore we have closed them up.

Currently, there are 3 Aladdin's Castle arcade left.

QUINCY MALL 3423 QUINCY MALL
QUINCY IL 62301
MAPLEWOOD MALL 3001 WHITE BEAR AVE. NORTH
MAPLEWOOD MN 55109
ST. LAWRENCE CENTER 100 ST. LAWRENCE CENTER
MASSENA NY 13662

Not sure I'll be lucky enough to swing by one of these... all kind of out of the way.  Back in Michigan, we had Pinball Pete's. 10 cent sodas.  I SAID TEN CENT SODAS.  Andy Capp hot fries for maybe 50 cents.  Double Dragon Arcade, Elevator Action.  High school "burnouts" on one side of the arcade that would beat your third grade body to a pulp if you looked at them.  Checkerboard pads on my bike, racing through vacant lots and dirt paths on construction sites (maybe a new Tarshzay going up?) to sneak in.  Now the place is a Sprint store :(



Update:  Found all this awesomeness on eBay:

Aladdin's Castle manager blazer

Token pouch - get medieval on that ___

'80s icon Lee Iacocca still kickin' knowledge

Friends, would you believe that Lee Iacocca is 82 years old and is still KICKIN butt? Check out his latest rant.

Just as true today as it was when his book first came out.

He was, and still is, a brilliant businessman! Often we need to be reminded of Iacocca's words.

Remember Lee Iacocca, the man who rescued Chrysler Corporation from its death throes? He's now 82 years old and has a new book, 'Where Have All The Leaders Gone?'.

Lee Iacocca Says:
'Am I the only guy in this country who's fed up with what's happening? Where the hell is our outrage with this so called president? We should be screaming bloody murder! We've got a gang of tax cheating clueless leftists trying to steer our ship of state right over a cliff, we've got corporate gangsters stealing us blind, and we can't even run a ridiculous cash-for-clunkers program without losing $26 billion of the taxpayers' money, much less build a hybrid car. But instead of getting mad, everyone sits around and nods their heads when the politicians say, 'trust me, the economy is getting better..' Better? You've got to be kidding. This is America , not the damned 'Titanic'. I'll give you a sound bite: 'Throw all the Democrats out, along with Obama!'

You might think I'm getting senile, that I've gone off my rocker, and maybe I have. But someone has to speak up. I hardly recognize this country anymore..

The most famous business leaders are not the innovators but the guys in handcuffs.. While we're fiddling in Afghanistan , Iran is completing their nuclear bombs and missiles and nobody seems to know what to do. And the liberal press is waving 'pom-poms' instead of asking hard questions. That's not the promise of the ' America ' my parents and yours traveled across the ocean for. I've had enough. How about you?

I'll go a step further. You can't call yourself a patriot if you're not outraged. This is a fight I'm ready and willing to have. The Biggest 'C' is Crisis! (Iacocca elaborates on nine C's of leadership, with crisis being the first.)

Leaders are made, not born. Leadership is forged in times of crisis. It's easy to sit there with thumb up your butt and talk theory. Or send someone else's kids off to war when you've never seen a battlefield yourself. It's another thing to lead when your world comes tumbling down.

On September 11, 2001, we needed a strong leader more than any other time in our history. We needed a steady hand to guide us out of the ashes. A hell of a mess, so here's where we stand.

We're immersed in a bloody war now with no plan for winning and no plan for leaving.. But our soldiers are dying daily.

We're running the biggest deficit in the history of the world, and it's getting worse every day!

We've lost the manufacturing edge to Asia , while our once-great companies are getting slaughtered by health care costs.

Gas prices are going to skyrock again, and nobody in power has a lucid plan to open drilling to solve the problem. This country has the largest oil reserves in the WORLD, and we cannot drill for it because the politicians have been bought by the flea-hugging environmentalists.

Our schools are in a complete disaster because of the teachers' union.

Our borders are like sieves and they want to give all illegal's amnesty and free healthcare.

The middle class is being squeezed to death every day.

These are times that cry out for leadership.

But when you look around, you've got to ask: 'Where have all the leaders gone?' Where are the curious, creative communicators? Where are the people of character, courage, conviction, omnipotence, and common sense? I may be a sucker for alliteration, but I think you get the point..

Name me a leader who has a better idea for homeland security than making us take off our shoes in airports and throw away our shampoo?

We've spent billions of dollars building a huge new bureaucracy, and all we know how to do is react to things that have already happened.

Everyone's hunkering down, fingers crossed, hoping the government will make it better for them. Now, that's just crazy.. Deal with life.

Name me an industry leader who is thinking creatively about how we can restore our competitive edge in manufacturing. Who would have believed that there could ever be a time when 'The Big Three' referred to Japanese car companies? How did this happen, and more important, look what Obama did about it!

Name me a government leader who can articulate a plan for paying down the debt, or solving the energy crisis, or managing the health care problem. The silence is deafening. But these are the crises that are eating away at our country and milking the middle class dry.

I have news for the Chicago gangsters in Congress. We didn't elect you to turn this country into a losing European Socialist state. What is everybody so afraid of? That some bonehead on NBC or CNN news will call them a name? Give me a break. Why don't you guys show some spine for a change?

Had Enough? Hey, I'm not trying to be the voice of gloom and doom here. I'm trying to light a fire. I'm speaking out because I have hope - I believe in America .. In my lifetime, I've had the privilege of living through some of America 's greatest moments. I've also experienced some of our worst crises: The 'Great Depression,' 'World War II,' the 'Korean War,' the 'Kennedy Assassination,' the 'Vietnam War,' the 1970's oil crisis, and the struggles of recent years since 9/11.

Make your own contribution by sending this to everyone you know and care about. It's our country, folks, and it's our future. Our future is at stake!

QOTD

"What is that, like turbo or somethin'?"

~ The mom of my best friend Mike S., while reacting to my strained kid-like explanation of a capacitor out of my "Jr. Science Lab", and whose son had been my best friend prior to bloodying my head in third grade during a fight when we used big heaps of dirt as pretend hand grenades. Accidentally.  Turbo was one of the best things about the 1980s.  I love this quote.

GCAS Music Video of the Year

Duran Duran released 'Girl Panic' this month from their new album, All You Need is Now, a production with the new wave sophistication and star power that helped make the '80s the greatest decade. George Michael tried this trick before I read, but Duran Duran were among the first putting supermodels in the music video format that was just debuting. The production comes off a brilliant original, and cast are Naomi Campbell as Simon Le Bon, Eva Herzigova as Nick Rhodes, Cindy Crawford as John Taylor, Helena Christensen as Roger Taylor. The storyboard follows the troupe through a drunken hazy day through London to the set of their 'video shoot' in a 9 minute tongue in cheek rock star interview and retracing of a lost day's events, with a cool nod to just a few other videos chiseling out the DD archetype: Rio, Notorious, The Chauffeur, Ordinary World, and Girls on Film.

Article: "Girl Panic", Rolling Stone, (LINK), 9 November 2011.
Article: "Yasmin Le Bon on the Duran Duran video, her dream campaign & unexciting editorials!", Grazia Daily, (LINK), 9 November 2011.

Initiative

   I'm on blog lockdown until I cook up some more material for my classes. Friends, the light at the end of the tunnel (or 'L.A.T.E.O.T.T.') is flight from Mudville. Keep my eyes on the prize. Anyway, oh yes, initiative. I am wearing my workout gloves more often around the house, trying to bring back Jud Nelson's trend from The Breakfast Club (1985), that greatest of '80s movies from what arguably was the greatest year of the decade. Why did people do that? Were they weighted for combat? Besides keeping my hands warm and comfortable, if I need to lift heavy things, they're already on, and I just seem to have more power in everything, as with similar totems (G.I. Joe in my pocket, ring, crucifix, a tidy desk, etc.) I feel about 77% more effective. You know what I like about the change in seasons? More pockets. Brain's warmed up now. See you in a few days, feel free to drop a line.

Cagey Electronic Cavalcade

I'm in Electronica/New Wave mode.



Cause and Effect - Trip



Duran Duran - The Man Who Stole A Leopard
My favorite new DD song in a LONG time.



M1 - Never Far Away Radio Edit
(with Idiot Drivers Compilation)



Miami Vice Score: Jan Hammer feat. Grace Jones feat. Fleetwood Mac - Lethal Seductions (sequel)



It's Over Now (1994) - Cause & Effect



Antarctica - Vangelis; Covered by Ed Starink - Synthesizer Greatest Vol. 1



Air - Run



Renegade Soundwave - Renegade Soundwave (Leftfield Remix)



Kris Menace feat. Fred Falke - Fairlight



FPU- "Ocean Drive"



Street Hawk Adventures By Giullano Pilati (The Long Road For Wisdom)



Duran Duran - Time For Temptation (Come Undone B-Side 1993)
(When are these guys gonna put all their killer B-sides on an album already?!)



Duran Duran - "Beautiful Colours"



Underworld - Peach Tree



Underworld - Moon in Water

Not sure how exactly I went from Space Shuttle to Delta Force

I almost, almost applied to the shuttle program on a dare once. At least it'd have been a good story for kids someday. Anyway, I grew up in the heart of the era, watching Space Camp and all that other '80s goodness, proud of our nation. However, watching the Atlantis landing yesterday, I am a bit PISSED that the mission control guy kept trying to one-up the pilot, a.k.a. mission commander with final remarks! If I could find the script, I'd love to show you exactly. Instead, I'll simulate.

"Welcome home, Atantis."
"Thanks, Mission Control. The shuttle has taken the hope and inspiration of mankind to the stars and back."

"Atlantis, the staff here was watching you all the way like a loving parent cradling her child as the guiding light of the stars nestled you in her soft bosom."


"I constitute a part of Cagey's unique
experience with the shuttle program."



"Mission control, this is Atlantis. After thirty years of the shuttle program, we're just glad you helped us home safely one more time. That's a wrap."



"Atlantis, this is Mission Control, thanks for your remarks. On behalf of a grateful nation, we are also glad you are home, glad as the father to the Prodigal Son, we welcome you with open arms, forever shall we cherish you and forever shall we remain guardians of the tranquil majesty of the night, the sea of dreams, the hearkening nocturne of which the celestial magnificence chants, we are but a lonely mission control who dared to dream that we could perform this mission, and here on the ground we had an absolute professional team that was utterly satisifed in driving the adventure."

"Mission Control: Atlantis. Yeah, thanks or something."

So to try to replace my remembrances of Mission Control's speech with something else patriotic, I started thinking about Delta Force instead.


Delta Force, Chuck Norris

Anytime I hear this theme by Alan Silvestri I go wild. I get patriotic and I want to ride a motorcycle with missles on it and shoot at 711 stores and muslim churches called mosques while eating a bacon cheeseburger! Come join my Delta Force. Kill them all let Allah sort them out! Allah loves bacon. I'm the Baconator! ~'Bigdanny77'

What can I say? I'm an art afficionado.

One of the greatest hobbies, amid an unforgiving backdrop, in a still-motion film = packed with Vitamin A-wesomeness.

Pass in review

I used to have two of these robots - today, by chance, I learned they're called "Tomy Rascal" from the '70s.  Sweetness!  And the video is so apropos for a menacing looking robot army.

Cagey news compendium - 'Best of the Web'

WORLD:
FEATURED ARTICLE
"After Japan quake, cherry blossoms are reminder of fragility of life - and its strength"
http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5j2v8NTbEZtxvdbzopQqDwFPfgsiw?docId=6383234

Excerpt:

"Thinking about how these people living normal lives suddenly disappeared, you can't escape the feeling that humans, like the flowers, are transient things," Yoneta said. But consider this Japanese paradox: the delicate cherry blossom was also the symbol of the samurai, the epitome of Japanese valour.

The warrior class liked the flowers because they didn't cling to life, but rather showed up for the briefest spell, and fell at the peak of their splendor. In this way, they embodied the spirit of "bushido" — the way of the warrior that combines stoicism, bravery, and self-sacrifice.

These days, people invoke bushido less often than the common man's down-to-earth version — "gaman." It means gritting your teeth and just getting on with life. When people refer to Japan's salarymen as modern-day samurai, it's taken not so much in a swashbuckling sense but for the way these men in suits endure crushing, monotonous toil, and display unwavering loyalty to a common cause.

And amid death, people of all stripes here are plowing ahead with life, in an orderly and co-operative way. Many are already starting to return to the sites of their devastated homes, and thinking cool-headedly about how to start over amid Japan's biggest catastrophe since World War II.

POLITICS

"Michigan Seizes Assets of Town" (Title edited for brevity, pomposity)
http://www.pensitoreview.com/2011/04/20/michigan-gop-fiscal-martial-law-czar-seizes-assets-of-predominantly-african-american-town/

The impoverished former industrial town of Benton Harbor has become a flashpoint in the controversy over the new law that allows the governor to appoint Emergency Managers with virtually unlimited authority over local governments.

On Thursday the state-appointed Emergency Manager Joe Harris used the expanded powers granted by the new law to issue an order banning the city commission from taking any action without his written permission.

“They are using Benton Harbor as a test case,“ Henry said. “If they have disenfranchised the people so badly they just don’t respond to anything, they can do this all over the country.”

   Editor note:  I'm not sure which side I take on this issue.  My first reaction was that this reeked of abuse of power by state officials.  However, there must be a lot more than meets the eye to this story.  People have such a lax attitude toward government today, it seems like it hardly matters "who's in charge", because the people have zero interest.  It is also incredibly difficult to affect political discourse at the individual level.  Running for local office can be compared to being in a rowboat without an oar in a sea of regs & red-tape.  Where do you go? 

   However, even though the party executing this is GOP, this is the kind of new tactic I think we got from the economic crash and the resultant TARP/'stimulus' ram-it-through ideology.  The question is:  Is it crucial?  How was that proven? Will it rescue the town from economic disaster?  How severe would the disaster have been?  Is this ethical?  Will the "emergency manager" be in place for a lengthy period of time?  Etc. Etc.

-          -           -          -

Notable quotes:
 

The beauty of passing so many laws that thwart business development is that when businesses raise their prices to compensate for the laws, the government can blame the businesses for raising prices and entact price controls, the final piece of control that will drive the U.S. into hyperinflation and empty store shelves. These laws may only be for CA, but the U.S. is working hard to catch up. ~Unknown

-           -          -          -

PERSONAL

"Don't Be That Guy in 20 Years"
http://www.askmen.com/dating/curtsmith_300/387_dont-be-that-guy-in-20-years.html

Excerpt:

You don't want to beat yourself up during this time. So many guys during this period of their life are hard on themselves because they feel like they should get everything right on the first try, or that they should be achieving certain milestones by a certain age. They will think -- about every part of their life -- "When am I going to get this?"

MILITARY

"Life After Iraq: 10 Lessons on Transitioning Out of the Military" http://www.huffingtonpost.com/don-gomez/life-after-iraq-10-lesson_b_848011.html

Excerpt:

1. Your military service will define you, whether you like it or not. With less than 1% of the population serving, you are part of a tiny minority who have shouldered incredible responsibility. If you served overseas, to many, you are exotic. People around you will find out you served (trust me) and will define you by your service. When you raise your hand in class, people will refer to you as the "military guy" or gal.

MUSIC

L.A. Times Duran Duran interview: 
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-et-duran-duran-20110413,0,4899157.story

"...offers Taylor, 50, reflecting back to the early days when he and his childhood friend Rhodes were first choosing to follow in the footsteps of the musicians that inspired them, artists such as David Bowie, Roxy Music, Kraftwerk and Chic. "We were an art school band; we became a pop group because of the way we looked."
"In a way, [our success] happened so quickly, we were quite ambitious. We were very ambitious. And we achieved our goals. I certainly achieved my goals. I didn't realize how limited the idea of wanting to play Madison Square Garden was, because we achieved it within four years, and then I didn't know what to do for years after that. What I thought what it was all about had to change, it had to not be so goal-oriented."

"We've had a lot of time to ponder the question of what our job is, what we do in the world," Le Bon says. "I feel that we do something which brings people together, makes people feel good about themselves, makes people feel that they're not alone. Making people feel not alone, I feel we're providing a very useful service."

"Modern Indie College Aging Hipster Rock"  whoops, I mean 'Alternative Rock for Hipsters', "or MICAH for Short"
http://www.popmatters.com/pm/column/139554-modern-indie-college-alternative-rock-for-hipsters-micah-for-short/

Excerpt:

Because of its origins at under-the-radar college radio stations at the dawn of the ‘80s, this music first gathered under the “college rock” banner. Some of the genre’s earliest champions were U2, R.E.M., Duran Duran, INXS, Depeche Mode, and the Cure. In what became the MICAH music trend, these bands all forfeited their college-rock membership badges when they landed top-selling albums fueled by top ten hits. Fanatics who had supported these bands pre-MTV cried “sell out” and embraced the never-quite-prime-time rockers like the Replacements and Sonic Youth. By the late ‘80s, the term “college rock” was overhauled to “modern rock”, presumably because its 20-something listener base were now struggling to pony up cash for rent and car payments instead of textbook fees and pizza deliveries.

LITERATURE

"Usagi Yojimbo: Stan Sakai's Rabbit Samurai Makes the Mundane Seem Amazing"

http://www.comicsalliance.com/2011/04/11/usagi-yojimbo-stan-sakais-rabbit-samurai-makes-the-mundane-see/

Excerpt:

Stan Sakai's Usagi Yojimbo, published by Dark Horse Comics, is the story of Miyamoto Usagi, a rabbit ronin (masterless samurai) who wanders the roads. He often takes odd jobs protecting villagers, hunting bandits, or briefly serving as a sword-for-hire for the feudal lords who dot the land. He's foiled assassination attempts, teamed up with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, befriended gruff rhinos, and battled ninjas for more than 25 years now. Stan Sakai is one of the best (and most consistently good) cartoonists in the game, and I'm going to use his eight-page story "Jizo" to show you why.

The true beauty of Sakai's work in Usagi Yojimbo isn't just his cartooning (which is very good) or his writing (which is refreshingly to the point). It's how Sakai manages to take things we're used to, things that are considered rote or mundane, and make them compelling simply through the strength of his craft.

SELF-HELP

Locke's Goal-setting Theory
http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newHTE_87.htm

Excerpt:

Goal setting theory is generally accepted as among the most valid and useful motivation theories in industrial and organizational psychology, human resource management, and organizational behavior.
Many of us have learned – from bosses, seminars, and business articles – to set SMART goals. It seems natural to assume that by setting a goal that's Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-bound, we will be well on our way to accomplishing it.
But is this really the best way of setting goals?

"How to Hack Your Brain"
http://minddump.posterous.com/how-to-hack-your-brain

Excerpt:

If any of those common words come up again later in the day, you'll immediately associate that word with the associative value of the group. Here's an example: drive do go make objective important create commitment purpose enthusiasm eager motivation This is a list of words synonymous with or related to ambition. It's designed to be read aloud to put you in a more ambitious mindset, focusing your thoughts and priming your brain to react ambitiously when these words, or portions of these words, come up later in your day.

"To Help Your Resume Rise to the Top of the Pile"
http://blog.simplyhired.com/2011/04/to-help-your-resume-rise-to-the-top-of-the-pile.html?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=apr19 

Excerpt:

Focus on what would make you better than your competitors for the desired position. Examples:

•Critical skills not held by your competitors. For example, I had a supply chain manager stress his expertise in sourcing not only from Beijing and Shanghai but also from even lower-cost suppliers: inland China, Viet Nam, and Thailand.

•Quotes from customers or from your latest performance review. For example, "Jane Jones has the rare combination of brains, great work ethic, and being fun to work with." (from my most recent performance review.)

•Evidence that you not only have experience critical in the target job but excel at it. Examples:
-- In each of my four past performances reviews, I received the top rating: "Exceeds Expectations.

FEATURE
 
"Starbuck:  Lost in Castration"
http://bighollywood.breitbart.com/dbenedict/2009/01/19/lt-starbuck-lost-in-castration/
 
Excerpt:

There was a time, I know I was there, when men were men, women were women and sometimes a cigar was just a good smoke. But 40 years of feminism have taken their toll. The war against masculinity has been won. Everything has turned into its opposite, so that what was once flirting and smoking is now sexual harassment and criminal. And everyone is more lonely and miserable as a result.

"All You Need Is Poopers" (Duran Duran homage to my dog)

It's all up to you now
Find yourself in the treat bag
Don't step in the doo-doo
Now the channel is tail wag
Lose your leash
Lose collar

You come on a bit stinky and fine
Like snuggling or playtime
And you howl at the moon
The way you did when you were younger
When we told the other puppy
All you need is LT Poopers

Every puppy's gunning
For the little dog section (ugh)
All you need, all you need is LT Poopers

Cut your umbilical

   Boob tube, idiot box and Matlock box.  Broke my ties with standard, 72-channel cable t.v., and living much happier. Savin' some BUCKS!  Problem is, I waste a lot of time on the 'net now. But then, "Time enjoyed is time well-spent."

   How many times have you complained to yourself that there's only garbage on? (Jersey Shore, s-e-x this and that, baby daddy DNA testing, etc. etc. ad nauseum.)  Another thing:  Why our t.v.s so often the centerpieces of our living rooms?  Consider why the focal point is the television.  It doesn't have to be, and nothing is wrong if it is.  Information and entertainment are easily consumed in this format.  But there are alternatives.  Why not the fireplace?  Would life be simpler in that way?  Is a simpler life what Americans want?

Western culture and hyperadvertising in about 100 years, as interpreted in 'Idiocracy'

   I have limited basic cable, and internet. Total bill: about 40 bucks. Much nicer than paying $120. I have about 23 channels, more than enough - nothing's on anyway! I guess I like AMC and local news the most.    My channel, the cagey channel would be, "Cagey: all documentaries, all the time."  I'd interview Don DeLillo about his book White Noise.

   You can do it! Cut it!

   P.S. THEY WILL NOT TELL YOU ABOUT LIMITED BASIC. I didn't even know that was an option until asking over 3 times how to lower my bill! I'd take up the conversation every few months or so when I got sick of one of the pay channels and wanted to swap HBO for Showtime, etc. They go around regurgitating directly into the public consciousness "bundle this" and "bundle that." Nonsense!

   And whenever I see that annoying Cox guy with the atrocious ten years out-of-date puke green v-neck and blazing white undershirt, I want to throw the tube out the window!!

   Of all cable paragons (good and bad), don't get me started on UHF. That was the best broadcasting satire of all time. OF ALL TIME.



   O.k.: What's the deal here?  We were just talking about going all Jeremiah Johnson and abandoning our cushioned perches.  People love western culture.  T.v. and cinema, along with the symbology thereof, is one of our biggest exports, simultaneously rejected and loved. Counterfeited extensively, and part of how we identify ourselves ("I like the following shows."), the problem is that it peaked in the '80s. That's right, we've been living in a new dark age for 20 years.  If I were a big-shot t.v. producer like Weird Al, and couldn't have my own documentary channel, but could do my own programming, then I'd have a lineup like this:

5PM: Macneil/Lehrer Newshour  (Sigh, memories)
6PM: Street Hawk
7PM: Magnum, P.I.
8PM: Airwolf
9PM: Miami Vice
10PM: 80s movie (Showtime's interstitials were SMOOVE!)
1130: Yo! MTV Raps or Headbangers' Ball
12AM: The Benny Hill Show
1AM: Dr. Who  (Pre-paper route awesomeness)
2AM: Star Hustler
230: '80s pay channel interstitials.HBO bumpers
3AM: The Outer Limits (Often some real babeage on that show)
4AM: Cagey Public Access Variety Hour
430: Classic Moments in Breakdance
5AM: News
6AM: A-Team
7AM: Riptide
8AM: The Equalizer
9AM: Alf
10AM: Price is Right
11AM: Miami Vice
12PM: In the Heat of the Night
1PM: '80s Music Countdown
2PM: '80s Music Countdown
3PM: '80s Music Countdown
3PM: Sportscenter
4PM: Cosby Show
430: Max Headroom

   I tried to put some lighter fare in the daytime like Alf, Heat of the Night and Price is Right in there in case people want to veg out, step out to the grocery store, do some ironing, etc., same kinda thing for bedtime.  Still - there's never anything on!

Cagey sing-a-long

Duran Duran, Last Man Standing
Red Carpet Massacre, 2009

Now an unexpected peace comes to the day

As the howling dimmed the fighting dies away

when the hanging dust is clearing from the air

you can just make out a lonely figure there

Chorus:

He's the last man standing on the track

He does not look down

He does not look back

He's the last man standing on the track

You can't hold him down

You can't hold him back

He's sorry for the wrong he has done

And he cries out for the anger for so long

All the cuts and bruises suffered

In whose name

oh but now is not the time to face his shame

(Repeat Chorus 3 x)

Fell off my bike, and loved it!

"It's about time for me to grow as everyone else does. I want to be a real person rather than a wooden boy."

- Pinnochio

I've spent a lot of time in political fora lately, and not here where I belong.  But I at least owed you as much to tell you that I went flying off my bike today.  Tried to turn in front of a car that was blocking the ramp to the curb and boom. 

"Are you o.k.?"

"Yeahhh."

"Your quarter's over there."

"Thanks, I was looking for that."

I have been off of bikes for a number of years, but it all changed when I bought a beautiful, used mountain bike.  18 gears, shocks, lightweight; a completely different way of seeing the world than from the enclosed capsule of a car.  It seems a lot higher off the ground than it used to, the pavement and skinned knees and cracked noggins much greaterer deterrents than in Gen X's heyday.  The other day I walked through a bunch of BMX ramps in a forest and wondered if I could get the speed to go through them.  Like Excitebike, rally-style racing, those kids have to be 90 lbs. or less I imagine, or the risk for broken limbs goes up exponentially.

Yeah, so I wondered what it'd be like to take a spill again.  A very clean, quick test of body and mind.  There was this full page ad I remember from school, "Your grandma wants you to grow a backbone."  Kind of lame in comparison, thinking about what football players go through, or soldiers diving in dirt.  Just skinned my hands and knees on concrete, no big deal.  Lessons in all things. 

Most excellent post-apocalyptic genre internets finds of the day

Lord Humongous for governor(link)