Finis

For reasons that I do not care to elaborate, this weblog is hereby terminated.

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Canada burns at the hand of violent right-wing militias...

…oh, wait, no. Those are left-wing groups, doing the same things they've done for centuries. Not exactly news.

Nothing to see here; let the kids have their fun. Keep looking out for those dangerous, gun-toting Tea Partiers, war veterans, and other possible terrorists.

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Tip to self: never, NEVER agree to have a reporter around

Why am I not at all surprised that Rolling Stone has been, hmm, "not exactly truthful" about what they said to McChrystal?

For some mysterious reason, you have to read the entire article before coming to the real evidence:

In the last question, the fact-checker asked "Did Gen. McChrystal vote for President Obama? (The reporter tells me that this info originates from McChrystal himself.)"

Boothby replied in all capitals. "IMPORTANT -- PLEASE DO NOT INCLUDE THIS -- THIS IS PERSONAL AND PRIVATE INFORMATION AND UNRELATED TO HIS JOB. IT WOULD BE INAPPROPRIATE TO SHARE." He went on to describe the "strict rules" under which military personnel keep their political views to themselves.

In the article, Hastings reported that the general "had voted for Obama."

Bates said that the remark was "absolutely" not off the record, and noted that Boothby's appeal "isn't on accuracy or even that it was off the record," but that it was irrelevant.

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A sign of the apocalypse if ever I saw one

In Groups C and F of the world cup, the teams that advanced are teams that have won no more than one game.

Spain, the supposed favorites to win, was humiliated in its first game — to Switzerland, a team that everyone was saying should have been happy just to show up.

France was not merely humiliated; its team was a disgrace.

New Zealand played better soccer than Italy. New Zealand!!!

Slovenia played great, but failed to advance.

The US played awful, but advanced. Last minute comebacks may be thrilling, but they don't always come through. (The Italians learned that today the hard way.)

The only team that has played beautifully and convincingly in every game so far is the one coached by Diego Maradona, aka the infamous "Hand of God".

If this isn't the end of civilization as we know it, I'd hate to see it.

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Green Italians are, apparently, not "true" Italians

I still remember how in the 1990 Cup Neapolitans whistled against Argentina when Italy played them in the stadium at Naples. In the words of one Neapolitan, ho fischiato il mio dilettissimo Maradona, e abbiamo perso lo stesso. I thought it was a neat phenomenon, but I was told later that it was in fact ugly, unsportsmanlike conduct by the Neapolitans. Still, it was less annoying than those awful vuvuzelas, if you ask me, but no one ever does.

Remember that, because the next time a northern Italian tries to tell you that southern Italians aren't real Italians, that they have no love for the country, and so forth (all of it nonsense: before the European Union made the borders porous so that Eastern Europeans could walk freely into Italy, Northern Italians would have had no one to exploit in their factories if not for southern Italians—but never mind that) ask them why Radio Padania cheered after Paraguay scored a goal to take the lead against Italy during Italy's opening game of the 2010 World Cup.

For all the Neapolitans' faults (and hey, I'm not averse to having some fun at their expense) I reckon you'd have been hard-pressed to find a cheering household in the Partenopolis right then. For some reason, I'm not at all surprised to hear that Radio Padania was exulting—not at all.

Update: Daniele De Rossi, midfielder for the Italian national team, has joked that when Padania's team plays, he will cheer their opponents.

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South Carolina politics have reached a new high-water mark

Doubtless you've heard of the fun that South Carolinians (not True Carolinians) had in their primary. (a) A woman raised as a Sikh who converted to Christianity has been called a Manchurian candidate and accused of infidelity, with one accuser even taking a polygraph test. (b) A veteran who won the Democratic primary for Senate gave no speeches, held no campaign events, and paid with $10,400 of his own (supposedly) money. Turns out he's wanted for a felony as well.

This latter case is the one that interests me, because now Rep. Clyburn is suggesting that Alvin Greene is in fact a Republican plant. I admit that would say some damning things about the people who run the Republican party in South Carolina, but honestly, what does it say about the people who run the Democratic party in South Carolina? Did no one notice, or care, what was going on?

In North Carolina they describe themselves as "a vale of humility between two mountains of conceit", those mountains being Virginia and South Carolina. As a native Virginian I have my qualms with this statement, but after the last few months, they may have a point. As a friend of mine said, at least the troubles of Mike Easley of North Carolina are good, old-fashioned corruption.

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Sweet and upright

I accidentally prayed midday prayer from the wrong week, but I rather liked what Ps. 24(25) had to say anyway:

Dulcis et rectus Dominus,
propter hoc peccatores viam docebit;
diriget mansuetos in iudicio,
docebit mites vias suas.

(Sweet and upright is the Lord,
for this reason he will teach sinners the way;
he leads the mild in judgment,
and will teach the meek his ways.
[or: will teach [them] his gentle ways]

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Animation Movie Meme

From here; I've linked to references I've made to some. (Why are they out of order anyway? ;-))

X what you’ve seen
O what you saw some but not all of
Bold what you particularly liked
Strike-through what you hated

CLASSIC DISNEY
——————————-
[ X ] 101 Dalmatians (1961)
[ X ] Alice in Wonderland (1951)
[ X ] Bambi (1942)
[ X ] Cinderella (1950)
[ X ] Dumbo (1941)
[ X ] Fantasia (1940)
[ X ] Lady and the Tramp (1955)
[ X ] Mary Poppins (1964)
[ X ] Peter Pan (1953)
[ X ] Pinocchio (1940)
[ X ] Sleeping Beauty (1959)
[ X ] Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)
[ O ] Song of the South (1946)

DISNEY’S DARK AGE
——————————-
[X] The Aristocats (1970)
[ ] The Black Cauldron (1985)
[ ] The Fox and the Hound (1981)
[ ] The Great Mouse Detective (1986)
[ ] The Jungle Book (1967)
[ ] The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (1977)
[ ] Oliver and Company (1986)
[ ] Pete’s Dragon (1977)
[X] The Rescuers (1977)
[O] Robin Hood (1973)
[?] The Sword In The Stone (1963)

THE DISNEY RENAISSANCE
——————————-
[X] Aladdin (1992)
[X] Beauty and the Beast (1991)
[ ] A Goofy Movie (1995)
[ ] Hercules (1997)
[X] The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996)
[X] The Lion King (1994)
[X] The Little Mermaid (1989)
[X] Mulan (1998)
[ ] Pocahontas (1995)
[ ] The Rescuers Down Under (1990)
[X] Tarzan (1999)

DISNEY’S NEW DARK MODERN AGE
——————————-
[X] Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001)
[X] Bolt (2008)
[ ] Brother Bear (2003)
[ ] Chicken Little (2005)
[ ] Dinosaur (2000)
[ ] The Emperor’s New Groove (2000)
[X] Fantasia 2000 (2000)
[ ] Home on the Range (2004)
[ ] Lilo & Stitch (2002)
[ ] Meet the Robinsons (2007)
[O] Treasure Planet (2002)

PIXAR
——————————-
[X] A Bug’s Life (1998)
[X] Cars (2006)
[X] Finding Nemo (2003)
[X] The Incredibles (2004)
[X] Monsters Inc. (2001)
[X] Ratatouille (2007)
[X] Toy Story (1995)
[X] Toy Story 2 (1999)
[X] Wall-E (2008)
[X] Up (2009)

DON BLUTH
——————————-
[ ] All Dogs Go to Heaven (1989)
[X] An American Tail (1986)
[X] An American Tail: Fievel Goes West (1991)
[X] Anastasia (1997)
[ ] The Land Before Time (1988)
[ ] The Pebble and the Penguin (1995)
[ ] Rock-a-Doodle (1991)
[X] The Secret of NIMH (1982)
[ ] Thumbelina (1994)
[X] Titan AE (2000)
[ ] A Troll in Central Park (1994)

CLAYMATION
——————————-
[ ] The Adventures of Mark Twain (1986)
[X] Chicken Run (2000)
[X] Coraline (2009)
[ ] Corpse Bride (2005)
[ ] James and the Giant Peach (1996)
[X] The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
[ ] The Puppetoon Movie (1987)
[X] Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005)

CGI GLUT
——————————-
[X] Antz (1998)
[ ] Happy Feet (2006)
[X] Kung Fu Panda (2008)
[X] Madagascar (2005)
[ ] Monster House (2006)
[X] Over the Hedge (2006)
[O] The Polar Express (2004)
[X] Shrek (2001)
[X] Shrek 2 (2004)
[O] Shrek The Third (2007)
[X] Monsters vs. Aliens (2009)
[X] How to Train Your Dragon (2010)

IMPORTS
——————————-
[ ] Arabian Knight
[ ] Back to Gaya
[ ] The Last Unicorn (1982)
[X] Light Years (1988)
[X] The Triplets of Belleville (2003)
[X] Persepolis (2007)
[ ] Planet 51 (2009)
[ ] Waltz With Bashir (2008)
[O] Watership Down (1978)
[ ] When the Wind Blows (1988)
[X] Yellow Submarine (1968)

STUDIO GHIBLI/MIYAZAKI
——————————-
[ ] The Cat Returns (2002)
[ ] Grave of the Fireflies (1988)
[X] Howl’s Moving Castle (2004)
[ ] Kiki’s Delivery Service (1989)
[ ] Laputa: Castle in the Sky (1986)
[ ] Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro (1979)
[ ] My Neighbors The Yamadas (1999)
[ ] My Neighbor Totoro (1993)
[X] Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984)
[ ] Only Yesterday (1991)
[ ] Pom Poko (Tanuki War) (1994)
[ ] Porco Rosso (1992)
[X] Princess Mononoke (1999)
[X] Spirited Away (2002)
[ ] Whisper of the Heart (1995)
[ ] Ponyo on a Cliff by the Sea (2009)
[ ] Panda! Go Panda!
[ ] Tales from Earthsea
[ ] Horus, Prince of the Sun

SATOSHI KON
——————————-
[ ] Millennium Actress (2001)
[ ] Paprika (2006)
[ ] Perfect Blue (1999)
[ ] Tokyo Godfathers (2003)

SHINKAI MAKOTO
——————————-
[ ] She and Her Cat (1999)
[X] Voices of a Distant Star (2001)
[ ] The Place Promised in Our Early Days (2004)
[ ] 5 Centimeters per Second (2007)

OTHER ANIME FILMS
——————————-
[X] Akira (1989)
[ ] Appleseed (2004)
[ ] Appleseed: Ex Machina (2007) -
[X] Arcadia of My Youth (U.S. Title – Vengeance of the Space Pirate) (1982)
[X] Cowboy Bebop: The Movie (2003)
[X] The Dagger of Kamui (U.S. Title – Revenge of the Ninja Warrior) (1985)
[ ] Dirty Pair: Project Eden (1987)
[ ] End of Evangelion (1997)
[ ] Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz (1998)
[X] Fist of the North Star (1986)
[ ] Galaxy Express 999 (1979)
[X] Ghost in the Shell (1996)
[ ] The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (2006)
[X] Lensman (1984)
[X] Macross: Do You Remember Love (U.S. Title – Clash of the Bionoids) (1984)
[ ] Metropolis (2001)
[ ] Neo-Tokyo (1986)
[X] Ninja Scroll (1993)
[ ] Origin: Spirits Of The Past
[X] Patlabor the Movie (1989)
[ ] The Professional: Golgo 13 (1983)
[ ] Project A-ko (1986)
[ ] Robot Carnival (1987)
[X] Robotech: The Shadow Chronicle (2006)
[ ] Silent Möbius (1991)
[ ] Space Adventure Cobra (1982)
[ ] Steamboy (2004)
[ ] Sword of the Stranger (2007)
[ ] Unico and the Island of Magic (1983)
[ ] Urotsukidoji: The Movie (1987) I have no intention of watching this.
[X] Vampire Hunter D (1985)
[ ] Vampire Hunter D Bloodlust (2000)
[X] Wings of Honneamise: Royal Space Force (1987)

CARTOONS FOR GROWN-UPS
——————————-
[ ] American Pop (1981)
[ ] The Animatrix (2003)
[ ] Beavis & Butthead Do America (1996)
[ ] Cool World (1992)
[ ] Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within (2001)
[ ] Final Fantasy: Advent Children (2005)
[ ] Fire & Ice (1983)
[ ] Fritz the Cat (1972)
[ ] Heavy Metal (1981)
[ ] Heavy Metal 2000 (2000)
[ ] Hey Good Lookin’ (1982)
[ ] Lady Death (2004)
[ ] A Scanner Darkly (2006)
[ ] South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut (1999)
[ ] Street Fight (Coonskin) (1975)
[ ] Waking Life (2001)

OTHER ANIMATED MOVIES
——————————-
[X] Animal Farm (1954)
[ ] Animalympics (1980)
[ ] Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon The Movie (2007)
[ ] Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker
[ ] The Brave Little Toaster (1988)
[ ] Bravestarr: The Movie (1988)
[ ] Cats Don’t Dance (1997)
[ ] Care Bears: The Movie (1985)
[X] Charlotte’s Web (1973)
[ ] Fern Gully (1992)
[ ] G.I. Joe: The Movie (1987)
[ ] Gobots: Battle of the Rock Lords (1986)
[ ] He-Man & She-Ra: The Secret of the Sword (1985)
[X] The Hobbit (1977)
[X] The Iron Giant (1999)
[ ] Justice League: The New Frontier (2008)
[X] Lord of the Rings (1978)
[X] Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland (1992)
[ ] My Little Pony: The Movie (1986)
[X] Pink Floyd’s The Wall (1982)
[X] The Prince of Egypt (1998)
[ ] Powerpuff Girls: The Movie (2002)
[ ] Quest For Camelot (1999)
[ ] Ringing Bell (1978)
[ ] The Road to El Dorado (2000)
[ ] Rock & Rule (1983)
[X] Space Jam (1996)
[ ] Starchaser: The Legend of Orin (1985)
[ ] Superman: Doomsday (2007)
[ ] The Swan Princess (1994)
[X] Transformers: The Movie (1986)
[X] Wizards (1977)
[X] Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)
[ ] Wonder Woman (2009)
[ ] Balto (1995)
[ ] Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron (2002)

ADDENDUM
[X] 9 (2009)
[ ] The Ant Bully (2006)
[ ] Batman: Mask of the Phantasm
[O] Bee Movie (2007)
[O] Beowulf (2007)
[ ] The Chipmunk Adventure (1987)
[X] Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs (2009)
[ ] Felix the Cat: The Movie (1988)
[X] Flushed Away (2006)
[ ] Happily N’Ever After (2007)
[ ] Hoodwinked (2005)
[ ] Horton Hears a Who (2008)
[X] Ice Age (2002)
[ ] Ice Age: The Meltdown (2006)
[X] Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (2009)
[ ] Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius (2001)
[X] Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa (2008)
[ ] Open Season (2006)
[ ] Pokemon: The First Movie (1999)
[ ] The Princess and the Frog (2009)
[X] Robots
[ ] The Rugrats Movie (1998)
[ ] Shark Tale (2004)
[ ] Shrek Forever After (2010)
[ ] The Simpsons Movie (2007)
[ ] Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas (2003)
[ ] Space Chimps (2008)
[ ] The Spongebob Squarepants Movie (2004)
[ ] The Tale of Despereaux (2008)
[O] Valiant (2005)
[ ] We’re Back! A Dinosaur’s Story (1993)

ADDENDUM II
[ ] Mind Game
[ ] The Secret of Kells
[ ] Shonen Sarutobi Sasuke (U.S. title “Magic Boy”)
[ ] Princess Arete
[ ] Urusai Yatsura: Beautiful Dreamer
[ ] Cat Soup
[ ] Summer Wars

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