It’s a sick world when this is a headline:

   Severed fingers raise hope for abductees

All movements go too far.
   -Bertrand Russell

To knock a thing down, especially if it is cocked at an arrogant angle, is a deep delight of the blood.
   -George Santayana

Everyone complains of his memory, but no one complains of his judgment.
   -Francois de La Rochefoucauld

And before hubris takes hold:

Outside of a dog, a book is man’s best friend. Inside of a dog it’s too dark to read.
   -Groucho Marx

…whether to say “I’d love to go that way,” or “Boy, that sucks.”

   Naked couple who fell from roof to their deaths may have been having sex

Twelve years ago, in the midst of a life change the extent of which I had no conception, I started to work at my current location. I would write “my current employer” but the company has undergone so many major changes in the past five years (spinning off from the parent company to be an independent public company, being taken private by an investment group, having the investment group announce they wanted to go public, it is definitely NOT the same company I started with 12 years ago, even though I have an office in the same large cubicle farm.

In that twelve years, there have been more than a few layoffs, almost continuously from within a few months of my start date. Despite that uncertainty coupled with the strains from my divorce, the first four years or so that I worked here had a high “fun factor” because of the people who I worked with or, if I didn’t work directly with them, were in the general vicinity of my cubicle. There were many people with distinctive personalities that if not always pleasant were consistently challenging and interesting.

In other words, fun…

Really.

However, just like the physical process of erosion, the toll imposed by the exigencies of the past few years has washed away those who may have interesting personal characteristics but ultimately are judged to be “not in alignment” with the corporate mission.

I’m still trying to figure out how I keep dodging the “redeployment” bullet. It’s not as if I devote any energy at all to making friends and influencing people. Instead I’m argumentative, I poke holes in every sanguine presentation I see, and I warn against the worst rather than cheerleading the optimists.

At this point, I seem to be the sole survivor of the misfits. The fun factor in the job faded long ago with the continual losses of work-friends.

Once the fun factor is gone, it is just a job.

Sigh…

Photographs freeze a moment in time, and old pictures from the pre-digital era by their very nature add a weight of age to the image, even if the subject is something like a landscape, not attached to a particular time period. The yellowing of the paper, the fuzziness from the grain or the poor lens, the time-induced fading of the color or the reduced contrast of old black-and-white imbue a gravitas that is lacking in the crystal-clarity of images taken with a digital camera and displayed on a computer screen.

I wonder if in a quarter-century the pixel-files captured today will have the same impact of memory that old photos have now, sometimes wistful and sad, or recalling joy often repeated since that frozen moment. The razor’s edge clarity may be too harsh for gentle reminiscence to survive.

I’ve been trying to make time to write, time to collect thoughts together sufficiently to put to page (or to magnetic storage after a brief period as stored charge, to use the modern analog). Yet when I have made the moment to do so I discover to my consternation and dismay that I’m blocked, the brief passages that I wrote in my head while driving flee all memory and new turns of phrase are as rare in my mind as rain in a desert (to turn a cliche).

I hate it when this happens.

I’ll try a rambling post (an exercise in fiction) at Radio Saigon to see if that helps.

In the course of my packing and purging of items accumulated over the last 30 years in the process of merging the households of a single mom with two kids and a man divorced 10 years with no need to discard possessions because of the room available in his (that is, my) house, I have rediscovered a large number of items, including first issues of now famous short-lived series of comic books, along with other items that if I had been more proactive I could have either preserved or sold at relatively high prices.

Instead, due to constraints of time and space, I have been limited to a triage of finding the most important works to me to keep, others to sell at fire-sale prices in hopes of preventing heartbreaking disposal, and a third set of books and other printed matter to be discarded despite my insticts because it is now obselete either due to more recent developments or the advent of ready information from the Internet (for example, one volume encyclopedias).

When I sold my collection of comic books that encompassed around 6 long-boxes, I found the original paperback collections of the miniseries Batman: The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller, which revolutionized the comic book industry in the late 1980s.

In my re-reading of these rescued volumes, I have discovered an unexpected resonance of the views and fears of the mid 80s with the mid to late 2000s. While in part this may be due to the archetypes and well-written stories used by Miller, I wonder if the echoes do not run deeper, with a strongly conservative President whose philosophy is out of touch with both the times and the electorate, not to mention other parallels that may not merit mentioning in a terrorism-addled age where the slightest threat seems to prompt the most drastic infringement of civil liberties.

This does not even include the story of Watchmen, which also raises questions that are still relevant even in a so-called “post 9/11 world.”

Sometimes even recently created stories with classic archetypes, if they are well written, can overcome the ravages of being a part of their era and ring to situations deeper than those existing at the time of authorship.

I have been sorting through my books in preparation to move and sell my house. I have realized that the encyclopedias and many of the reference books that I had bought over the years have been made redundant by the Internet, notably Google and Wikipedia. I am keeping one unabridged dictionary and one general encyclopedia both for sentimental reasons and for those rare occasions that I might not have web access from my house. It struck me, though, the usually uncontemplated far reach that the Internet has and the changes made in our lives and expectations.

When I was young and foolish, I was a huge fan of the vision of the future presented by the original Star Trek series, especially that fascinating tool the “library computer” that seemingly had not only a huge repository of knowledge but analytical capabilities rivaling those of human beings. For someone like me, for whom knowledge was my source of solace and a possible font of understanding in a world populated by incomprehensible beings with whom I shared humanity but not connections, the library computer was like a holy grail.

I recall reading old science fiction stories, those written in the golden age of pulp magazines, in the 30s through to the 50s, when asides in the stories wrote of people treasuring books because they were no longer used.

I was compelled to write even in those long ago days, and I was frequently confronted with an empty page in the typewriter where the stark whiteness of the blank page matched the barren landscape of my creativity.

Now, with our modern technology I am faced with a glowing screen that isn’t quite as barren as that white page, but it has a cursor blinking with impatience at my idleness.

Hmmm…

I’m not sure which is better.

Technorati Tags: random thoughts

I had some inspiration to write while I was driving home from work today, but now, a few hours later, I’m feeling rather burned out and incapable of assembling something coherent.

I have noticed a few bumper stickers on cars I see almost every day either at the parking lot at work or somewhere along my commute. Some have provoked a lot of thought in me, even though I don’t always agree. The first:

Never shoot to kill
Always shoot to live

I was raised in two different subcultures, the newly-evolved suburbia of subdivisions and the old, Southern rural farms. I was exposed to guns both for target shooting and for hunting, and they were not considered something evil in and of themselves. The philosophy expressed by “Never shoot to kill, always shoot to live” was really a part of my life, with no indoctrination of the sacred importance of the second amendment.

Another one I see frequently that always makes me think:

War is terrorism
with a bigger budget

Given that the now traditional philosophy of war is defeating the will of the enemy to fight, not merely killing the enemy, this succinct statement isn’t as far off base as a knee-jerk reaction against it might lead one to believe.

A related one:

We are making enemies faster than we can kill them.

The truth of this statement can be debated, but it is indeed a risk. However, the key is that it also prompts the thought that perhaps killing is not the best approach to defeating enemies.

A final one that prompts more wondering than real thought is a black square pasted on many rear windows, with the text in white, large, times-roman font:

W.
The president

While it may be viewed as an expression of strong support for George W. Bush, in this irony-saturated age it is almost impossible for me to see in it the simple message I suspect the car’s owner is trying to convey.

Technorati Tags: random thoughts

From an article at MSNBC.com on the elimination of the taxes on telephone calls:

Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., who won approval of the ban in the Senate Finance Committee, said he didn’t want the Internet to fall victim to taxes like the telephone tax enacted for the Spanish-American War.

“That war ended two centuries ago, and Congress is just now getting around to getting rid of the tax,” Wyden said.

Senator Wyden apparently thinks that there were telephones around in 1806 and that the Spanish-American War (you know, the one with Teddy Roosevelt charging San Juan Hill) predated the War of 1812 (the one with Andrew Jackson and the Battle of New Orleans). Either that or he thinks it’s the year 2098.

Geez…

From the BBC:

Officers find small pony in Mini

Police patrol officers who stopped a Mini Metro believed to have been involved in a road accident found a Shetland pony on the back seat.

Officers found the miniature pony after stopping the vehicle in the county during a routine patrol.

The incident was among details of traffic offences listed by Norfolk Police as part of a new road campaign.

The campaign aims to help educate drivers in an effort to reduce the number of accidents in the county.

These cars are NOT that big, why the heck would someone try to transport a Shetland pony in one?

Technorati Tags: random thoughts, odd news, weird news

…irrelevant considering that the Star Trek franchise has been killed by producers who have no clue as to what created the original furor and fandom that lasted over 30 years, until following a formula for profits became far more important than good storytelling that overcomes the bad special effects and hokey premise ruined the dreams. From a post at a prior incarnation of Random Fate lost to the ether years ago until resurrected now:

One hundred reasons why Kirk is better than Picard

100. Kirk is a leader, not a follower.

99. Kirk never really got into that kinky “Jumpsuit” look.

98. Kirk has sex more than once a season.

97. One Word: Hair.

96. Another Word: Pretty-good-looking-can’t-see-the-weave-WIG.

95. Kirk can beat up a Klingon bare-handed.

94. Picard is a French man with an English accent.

93. Kirk would date Beverly Crusher — and damn the consequences!!

92. Kirk never drinks tea. Ever.

91. Diplomacy for Kirk is a phaser and a smirk.

90. Kirk would personally throw Wesley off his bridge.

89. Two words: Shoulder Roll.

88. Kirk doesn’t wear dresses when admirals arrive for lunch.

87. Kirk once said: “I’ve got a belly-ache — and it’s a beauty.”

86. Kirk would never sing to children in a crisis.

85. Kirk can almost drive a stick shift.

84. Kirk, almost single-handedly, re-populated the Earth’s whale population.

83. Kirk says “Prime Directive? What Prime Directive?”

82. Kirk knows 20th Century curses.

81. Kirk was NEVER infiltrated by the Borg and used against the Federation.

80. Kirk ate little coloured cubes and still remained relatively healthy.

79. Kirk made do with obviously low performance technology.

78. Kirk never pretends to be a barber in order to gain a tactical advantage.

77. Kirk wasn’t shy about taking his shirt off –even around those pesky Yeomans.

76. Kirk would never waste a holodeck on something stupid like Dixon Hill.

75. Kirk never once stood up and had to straighten his shirt.

74. One Word: Velour.

73. Kirk can beat a Vulcan at Chess.

72. When Kirk was Picard’s age, he retired from Admiral and took to climbing rocks.

71. When Picard was 37, he was only Captain of the lowly freighter, Stargazer. When Kirk was 37, he was Captain of the flagship Enterprise.

70. Kirk liked a good belt of liquor every now and again.

69. One Word: Iman.

68. Kirk looks good with a ripped shirt.

67. If Kirk ever met a Ferengi, he would rip off its head and shit down its neck.

66. Kirk says “Shoot first and wait for retaliation.”

65. Kirk’s first officer NEVER tells him to stay on the bridge.

64. Kirk never leaves the room to bawl somebody out.

63. Kirk doesn’t rely on the wisdom of some dumb old janitor to get him out of intergalactic scrapes.

62. Two Words: Funky Sideburns.

61. Kirk never asks his bartender for advice.

60. Kirk never once said “Abandon ship! All hands abandon ship!”

59. Kirk is not politically correct.

58. Kirk never got “dumped” by a woman for an intergalactic busy body named after a letter of the alphabet.

57. Kirk never wore green tights and frolicked about in Sherwood Forest.

56. If there was ever a Klingon on Kirk’s bridge, Kirk would likely be dead.

55. Ever hear of a bar shooter called “Make it so?” No? How about a “Beam me up Scotty” then? See the difference?

54. One Word: Miniskirts.

53. Kirk’s girlfriends always look good in soft light.

52. Kirk never went anywhere without a whole bunch of guys in red shirts.

51. Kirk’s first officer didn’t play some wimpy instrument like the trombone.

50. Kirk had more dates than his first officer.

49. The extent of Kirk’s knowledge of Klingon vocabulary can be roughly translated as “GO F*CK YOURSELF.”

48. If something doesn’t speak English — it’s toast.

47. Kirk wasn’t some prissy archaeology fan.

46. Picard’s middle name isn’t tough or awe-inspiring like Tiberius is.

45. If Kirk finds a strange spinning probe, he blows it up.

44. Picard never met Joan Collins.

43. Picard flunked his entrance exams to Starfleet.

42 Picard hasn’t fathered any children; Kirk — probably millions.

41. Kirk has a cool phaser — not some pansy Braun mix-master.

40. Two Words: Line Delivery.

39. Picard grew up on a quaint little French vineyard, squishing grapes with his toes, while Kirk slung bails of wheat and hay in Iowa to put himself through school.

38. Kirk emphasizes his orations with pertinent hand gestures.

37. Kirk once made a cannon out of bamboo, sulphur, potassium nitrate, charcoal and then fired diamonds into the hearts of his enemies. (Need we say more?)

36. Kirk is not put off by green skin.

35. Kirk knows how to deal with peace loving hippy goofs.

34. Kirk once fought a Greek god. And won.

33. Kirk barely asks for suggestions. And if he does, he asks Spock only.

32. Kirk doesn’t let the doctor tell him what to do.

31. One Word: Fisticuffs.

30. Kirk’s name is hated throughout the galaxy.

29. Kirk appreciates Shakespeare, but he doesn’t let it show.

28. You can never lock up Kirk for very long.

27. Kirk’s eulogies can actually make you cry.

26. Kirk plays god with lesser cultures, and then exploits them for resources.

25. Kirk’s son would never drop out to become a musician.

24. Kirk can climb up a Jeffries Tube and fix anything.

23. Kirk never hired an engineer with punk glasses.

22. The Klingons didn’t have a word for surrender — until they met Kirk.

21. Kirk’s bridge is not beige.

20. Two Words: Crane Shots.

19. Picard likes wimpy violin music — and coerces Data into playing it.

18. Picard allows cats on board, while Kirk beams away even really cute things, like Tribbles.

17. Kirk is a cultural icon — Picard is just some guy who’s really nice.

16. Kirk specifically ordered a swivel LA-Z-BOY for the bridge.

15. Kirk would never touch SYNTHAHOL.

14. Kirk looks distinguished in reading glasses — and nobody dares to call him”four eyes.”

13. Kirk can infiltrate Gangsters, Nazis, and even the Pentagon — easily.

12. Picard likes painting nudes, for art’s sake.

11. When Kirk doesn’t trust the Romulans, he fires at them. When Picard doesn’t trust the Romulans, he gets fired at.

10. Kirk never once, ever, wore a wiener wrapping Speedo banana hammock on shore leave.

9. Kirk never gets his command codes locked out by some pimply acting ensign.

8. Kirk doesn’t test the engines — he just fires them up.

7. When Kirk says “Boldly Go,” he MEANS it.

6. Three Words: Flying Leg Kick

5. Picard’s crew would never ever think of him as a sexual object.

4. Kirk traveled through The Great Barrier, met God, and wasn’t even impressed.

3. Kirk’s bedroom is a passion pit with electric sheets.

2. Kirk would never let his Chief of Security wear a ponytail.

1. One Word: Balls

Technorati Tags: humor, Star Trek, random thoughts, Star Trek humor

…here is a gift, a song I particulary enjoy, a “Sad Cowboy Song” from the Red Elvises album I Wanna See You Belly Dance.

Listen and enjoy, consider it a Christmas present, but please don’t “share” it. If you like the song, buy the CD.

Technorati Tags: music, Red Elvises