Month: November 2002

I try not to write about NYC often, because so many others have had so many better things to say about it than I could ever put down. However, today appears to be an exception.

Park Ave was a nightmare today. Sanitation was out en force to clean up the doubtless countless carcasses; remains of last nights glut moved on to a better place…in Jersey. Anyway, traffic was a crawl, so I suggested that perhaps the best idea would be to cut over to 5th, off of which I could reach my place of employ nearly as easily as Madison.

Shooting past 113th street, heading south on Park ave, I was thinking about how many times I had taken this trip in the past, and how the city’s movement never ceases to amaze me. It is like a vat of maggots, writhing horribly, yet with such fanciful glory that one dare not tear one’s eyes away…lest the secrets of the universe are divulged in the second of base squirming that takes place while your gaze is averted.

By the time we got to the tip of the park, I felt like I was riding down one of the greyish flesh-mechanique folds of a Geiger piece. I am one more meat cog in an immese clockwork horror of subterranian-to-towering proportions. The naked branches of twisted trees blotted out the white sky of early morning. A murder of crows stirred in thier branches across from Sinai. I could hear thier chorus even over the drone of traffic and hustle of busses. Pedestrians nearby (albiet thin in number) seemed not to notice. I always notice crows.

What I wonder is, how many ghosts does this city have? I mean, Ghostbusters deals with it playfully… clearly there would be big business for a paranormal investigator which promised results such as thiers in a city of this magnitude. Ghosts have moved so far from commonplace lore in today’s society. The idea of “ghost stories” have been eclipsed by video games, HBO, and even Nick-at-night specials. Children are not supposed to be faced with, or deal with death. Fear is not the way to get children to behave anymore.

The old stories say there is a Crow for every restlles soul. Was that murder representative of the bodies dumped in the pond over the last century? Hoboes who froze to death in the bleakest winters, or the old folk who passed in stroke or heart attack on the sweltering edge of midsummer’s blade?

Ghosts require only the quasi-energy of the death point, and the emotions of life, or the emotions of the death point, in the case of an “eventful death”. That energy leaves an imprint; a signature… like Newton’s soul molds, that can be “activated” by the transient energies around them. Sometiems the circut either requires very little draw, or no draw, which leads to the msot violent of hauntings. They can exist for decades on the energies that birthed them before fading into echoes of what they once were, only to return to matter once more. Other ghosts require a steady feed of energy, oftentimes from lifeforms, to stimulate thier mold. These are often the meaningful ghosts, the old spirits of the woods, and the guardian spirits of sacred places. Purposeful ghosts require a particular energy signature to activate thier full cycle, and once it has run its course, they return to matter. How do you find the hoaxes in a haystack like that? Look to crows, and the old stories…. How many of all these shells float jsut beyond the visible curtain in Manhattan, living off the near-endless supply of almost immesaurable, yet signifigant energy waves we produce?

Gods my paranormal theory sounds pretty weak standing naked on the street like that. What all this has to do with the breeding rate of crows in Manhattan is somewhat beyond me. However, it stikes me as odd that another bird; a scavenger, could prosper so widely in an area so beset by pigeons without there being some odd explanation…

I relished the shiver I had before I got to work. Not because I particularly enjoy fear, or its effects, but because it means I banked my embers well. Despire my research and all-cosuming methodologies having gone subterranian for the now, the whistles of thier deep machines can sometimes still be heard amidst the day-to-day of my Eloi life. Perhaps someday soon, the first Morlocks of my toil will find a way to work the Eloi pattern to thier advantage.

1. Actress, born 1933 in London, starred in the films “The Stud”
and “The Bitch” and on TV in “Dynasty”.

2. Also known as the Maid of Orleans, this 15th-century heroine
led the French against the English at Orleans and was later
burned at the stake.

3. American film star, born Lucille LeSueur in San Antonio: her
films include “Mildred Pierce” and “Whatever Happened to
Baby Jane?”

4. American folk singer, born 1941, supported civil rights and
anti-Vietnam War rallies.

5. A legendary female pope, said to have been elected pope in
male disguise.

6. British actress, widow of Laurence Olivier, her films
include “The Entertainer” and “101 Dalmatians”.

7. American comedienne, born 1933, real name Joan Alexandra
Molinsky, became famous on “The Tonight Show” and wrote
the book “Having a Baby Can Be a Scream”.

8. American film star, born 1917, starred in Hitchcock’s
“Rebecca” and “Suspicion”.

9. Australian soprano, born 1926, noted for her commanding
range.

10. Surrealist painter, born in Barcelona in 1893, painted
in a childlike style with amoebic shapes.

Random Things
1. Your name spelled backward?
dranreb… almost sounds like a confused yokel

2. Where were your you born?
NYC, NY

3. What is the last thing you downloaded onto your computer?
The control variable documentation for javascript/VBA handles in browser initiated “Browse” dialouges (you asked…)

4. What’s your favorite restaurant?
Hmm… gotta go with The Bayou these days, love them crayfish =)

5. Last time you swam in a pool?
Earlier this summer. Forgot how much chlorine sucks the life outta you.

6. Have you ever been in a school play?
more than the FDA reccomends for a lifetime

7. How many kids do you want?
heh, uh, ultimately, i have a feeling I will have very little say in the matter

8. Type of music you dislike most?
neu-metal whine bands (bascailly 9/10ths of the neu metal “phenomona”)

9. Are you registered to vote?
never have been, never will be

10. Do you have cable?
digital

11. Have you ever ridden on a moped?
heh, yeah, my grandma almost gave me one, but then sold it for 50$ instead (made me reconsider my worth…)

12. Ever prank call anybody?
Oh, enough time to have had to explain my self to the police no less than more fingers than you have.

13. Ever get a parking ticket?
Oi… does a Republican Majority Gov’t believe in Pork?

14. Would you go bungee jumping or sky diving?
Been bungee… skydiving might be a lil much for me… somehow I like the idea of jumping off stationary objects, I’m not so sure about the plane thing.

15. Furthest place you ever traveled?
Egypt, and I loved every minute of it. Although it was a day trip, and I spent more time gettig there and back than I spent there, it was really amazing… Geographically, I’m not sure it is as far away as some of the parts of Europe I bussed through, but it totally seemed like a different world.

16. Do you have a garden?
No, nor do I plan on having one until I can either live off it, or make enough money off it to live.

17. What’s your favorite comic strip?
hmm…toss up between wigu and foxtrot… I’m leaning towards foxtrot atm tho

18. Do you really know all the words to your national anthem?
unfortunately

19. Bath or Shower, morning or night?
shower, night… they don’t make bathtubs very accomodating

20. Best movie you’ve seen in the past month?
Hary Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

21. Favorite pizza topping?
Pepperoni

22. Chips or popcorn?
chips

23. What color lipstick do you usually wear?
whatever richelle is wearing

24. Have you ever smoked peanut shells?
uh, if you replace “peanut shells” with tobacco or cloves, yes

25. Have you ever been in a beauty pageant?
lol….LOL…::pause::…LMAO

26. Orange Juice or apple?
OJ baby…alla way (apple juice looks like recycled pee)

27. Who was the last person you went out to dinner with and where did you dine?
Richelle, and although she considers my folks place “out” i see the french joint we went to down in the city more as the last time “out”… Danny Aiello and pate mmmm and escargot…

28. Favorite chocolate bar?
charleston chew (three musketeers is the only other bar of cany i like, othe rthan white chocolate, which is a fortune)

29. When was the last time you voted at the polls?
never, not gonna do it

30. Last time you ate a homegrown tomato?
August

31. Have you ever won a trophy?
Yeah, a couple, Elementary and high school… i think my mom has them stashed away somewhere.

32. Are you a good cook?
I consider myself to be, given that I am now back into cooking fulltime, despite my constant battles with rusty memory and electric range.

33. Do you know how to pump your own gas?
Uh, is that a trick question? Oh, maybe gross inuendo… hmm either way, yes.

34. Ever order an article from an infomercial?
An Article? Like George Foreman selling “The Magna Carta”? Or Richard Simminons “Articles of Confederation to a leaner ass?” Curious wording… I borrowed a speedreading tape series my roomate bought in college off an infomerccial, but discontinued use right away because the tapes were creepy, and slowing me down…

35. Sprite or 7-up?
Hmm, sprite when not mixing 7up when cheap vodka abounds.

36. Are nurse uniforms sexy?
Depend on who they are on… Drew Carey in a nurse uniform=vomitfest…..

37. Last thing you bought at a pharmacy?
A pack of gum.

38. Ever throw up in public?
not that I recall.

39. Would you prefer being a millionaire or find true love?
Heh, show me the money… i already got the love!

40. Do you believe in love at first sight?
yeah

41. Ever call a 1-900 number?
yeah (See answer 40… damn phone-card women)

42. Can ex’s be friends?
If I’m the ex, yeah, but if they are the ex, apparently not (in recent history anyhow)

43. Who was the last person you visited in a hospital?
Melissa’s friend Joy.

44. Did you have a lot of hair when you were a baby?
Yeah, was born with it!

45. What message is on your voicemail?
“Hi, I’m either unavailable or out of range, please leave a message…”

46. What’s your all time favorite Saturday Night Live Character?
Haven’t watched SNL in sooo long… probably whoever does Connery in celeb Jeapordy

47. What was the name of your first pet?
Motorboat and Jacoby (they were the cats when I was born)

48. What is in your purse?
Godness! I have a purse? Someone must have stolen it or soemthing.

49. Favorite thing to do before bedtime?
noyb

50. What is one thing you are grateful for today?
That despite being a horribly inept megacorporation, Microsoft still apparently knows how to properly annote technical documetnation for programmatic variables…

You are 80% geek
OK. There is such a thing as too much geekness. I suspect you’re spending far too much time with the boys or girls of the Internet. The closer your score is to 100%, the closer you are to going right out the other side and being a nerd. Geeks rule. Where geeks are socially-inept, nerds are socially incompetent. Not even geeks can take nerds. So let’s be careful, huh? Watch a little TV, maybe listen to some popular radio, read a little Stephen King, anything to ensure you can communicate with the 99.44% of the population that isn’t all that concerned with the minutiae of whatever it is you happen to be geeky about. It’s OK to be a geek, but go much further and you’ll be a genuine bore.

Take the Polygeek Quiz at Thudfactor.com

Statesman and philosopher, born 22 January, 1561; died 9 April, 1626. He was the second son of Lord Keeper Bacon and Anne, his second wife, daughter of Sir Anthony Cooke and sister-in-law of Lord Burghley. In his thirteenth year (1573) he entered Trinity College, Cambridge where he studied under Whitgift. Before he left (1575) he had already acquired considerable reputation for his ability and learning. It was at Cambridge, as he later confessed to Rawley, that he’d fallen into the dislike of the Aristolean philosophy — “not for the worthlessness of the author to whom he would ever ascribe all high attributes, but for the unfruitfulness of the way; being a philosophy, as his Lordship used to say, only for disputations and contentions but barren of the production of works for the benefit of man. In which mind he continued until his dying day”.

In June, 1576, he was admitted to Gray’s Inn, being destined for the profession of law; but shortly afterwards was attached to the French embassy of Sir Amyas Paulet. His father died in 1579, leaving him small provision. He thereupon returned to England to continue his legal studies and was admitted barrister 27 June, 1582. Two years later he was elected to Parliament for the Borough of Melcome Regis.

In the following year he penned his “Letter of Advice to Queen Elizabeth”, a document of considerable interest to Catholics, as expressing Bacon’s views upon their treatment. Mary Stuart was yet alive, and there were plots and rumours of plots against the queen. There were many adherents of the old faith; and conformity might be secured either by severe measures or by insidious ones. The young member had Catholics for the queen’s enemies. It was impossible, he thought, to satisfy them, dangerous to irritate by too great severity. He recommended changes in the Oath of Supremacy and even went so far as to urge a circumspect toleration of the sectaries because their teaching led to an issue “which your most excellent Majesty is to wish and desire” viz., the diminutions, and weakening of Papists.

His political life and advancement, notwithstanding his intrigue and incessant suit for office, were slow; his extraordinary ambition doomed for years to infruition. He had the misfortune to incur the queen’s displeasure by opposing a grant of subsidies in such form as to infringe upon the privileges of the Commons. The patronage he found in Essex led to a friendship as remarkable as its end was dramatic and disastrous. Until 1607, when James I had reigned nearly four years, he had advanced no further in office than to be given the reversion of the post of Registrar of the Star Chamber. But in 1607, he became Solicitor-General. Then, until his fall, he advanced rapidly. The Attorney-Generalship was given to him in 1613. He became successively a member of the Privy Council (1616), Lord Keeper of the Great Seal (1617), Lord Chancellor (1618).

He was raised to the peerage with the title of Baron Verulam (1618) and made Viscount St. Albans (1621). Suddenly he fell. He was accused, as Chancellor, of taking bribes. To this charge he pleaded guilty, was deprived, and declared incapable of holding any office, place, or employment in the State. He was excluded from both Parliament and Court, fined 40,000 pounds, and sentenced to imprisonment in the Tower during the king’s pleasure. In time, all his sentence was remitted.

His death occurred five years later on his way to dine at Highgate, he alighted from his carriage purchased, killed, and stuffed a hen with snow in order to observe the retarding effects of cold upon putrefaction. He caught a chill which set up bronchitis. A week later he died in the house of the Earl of Arundel; and was buried, according to his wish, at St. Alban’s in the church or St. Michael.

The cardiac output at rest is about 5 liters/min…About 1/5 of this blood (1 liter/min of blood or about 600 ml/min of plasma) enters the renal arteries and about 1/5 of that amount is filtered at the glomeruli. Thus, the GFR is about 125 ml/min or 180 liters/day. Plasma contains about 140 mM NaCl. About 67% of the filtered sodium load is reabsorbed in the proximal tubules, and with sodium move glucose, amino acids, chloride, and bicarbonate. This segment is freely permeable to water, so that solute transport from tubular fluid into blood is accompanied by water, i.e., reabsorption of solutes is isoosmotic without a change in tubular fluid osmotic pressure or in the concentration of sodium. As the tubular fluid leaves the proximal tubule to enter the descending limb of the loop of Henle, water is abstracted from the tubular fluid by the hypertonic renal interstitial fluids. The corticomedullary gradient of increasing interstitial fluid osmolality is due to NaCl and urea (about half and half). The concentration of sodium increases progressively as tubular fluid flows down the descending limb and equilibrates with the surrounding hypertonic interstitial fluid, so that luminal fluid at the turning point of the loop of Henle has a tonicity of about 1200 mOsm/L and most of this is due to NaCl. The permeability properties of the descending limb are strikingly different from those of the ascending limb. The ascending limb is virtually impermeable to water both in the presence and absence of vasopressin (ADH), but this limb is quite permeable to NaCl. In the thin ascending limb, Na probably diffuses from tubular fluid into the interstitium by a passive (carrier- mediated) transport process. (Remember that the interstitial fluid Na concentration is lower than tubular fluid Na, because of the high concentration of urea in this area.) In the thick ascending limb, however, NaCl is transported out of the tubular lumen by an active process. Here we have an active chloride pump (secondary active transport process) which moves essentially dry salt out of the tubular fluid, charging up the luminal membrane with a positive charge and leaving behind water which progressively lowers the osmolality of fluid in this segment.

There is now good evidence to suggest that chloride ions are co-transported with sodium and potassium ions on a common carrier across the luminal membrane and pumped out the other side with a standard sodium pump (recall that a similar co-transport system is used in the proximal tubule for glucose and amino acid transport). About 25% of the filtered sodium load is reabsorbed in the thick ascending limb. This reabsorptive step is the essential step in the formation of a dilute urine. Therefore, this segment is also referred to as the “diluting segment” and if the activity of the chloride pump is diminished, as it is in the presence of so-called “loop diuretics” (furosemide, ethacrynic acid), patients will not be able to appropriately dilute their urine. This happens with patients on furosemide who drink a lot of water (or beer), and they may suffer from hyponatremia and have symptoms of water intoxication. Moreover, the medullary portion of the ascending limb is crucial in establishing the corticomedullary osmotic gradient in the renal interstitium (i.e., the countercurrent multiplication function of the chloride pumps). Without a hypertonic, renal interstitium urine cannot be maximally concentrated in the medullary collecting duct, even in the presence of ADH. Thus, a patient may be secreting high levels of ADH either as a consequence of dehydration and increased plasma osmolality or as a consequence of volume depletion (bleeding, diarrhea, vomiting, etc.) and have collecting ducts, which are freely permeable to water. However, without a hypertonic interstitial fluid environment, water will not move out of the collecting duct and will be lost in the urine. Therefore, patients on furosemide cannot form a maximally concentrated urine. So the loop diuretics characteristically interfere with both dilution and concentration of the urine.

As we move from the medullary thick ascending limb into the cortical portion of the ascending limb and early distal convoluted tubule, the process of tubular fluid dilution by reabsorption of salt without water continues. In this region, the tubular lumen has a negative potential in association with primary sodium pumping. (Note: The electrical potential is a consequence of the movements in both directions of all the ions of the system and their respective permeability coefficients, which is most clearly expressed by the Goldman Constant Field Equation . However, an easy way to remember the luminal potential is that it is positive when negative ions are being preferentially removed (thick ascending limb) and negative when positive ions are being pumped out (proximal tubule, distal tubule, collecting duct). About 5% of the filtered sodium load is reabsorbed in the cortical ascending and distal convoluted tubules. Any block of sodium reabsorption here, as for instance with the use of the thiazide diuretics, will again result in a diminished ability to form a dilute urine, with a tendency for hyponatremia. Indeed, this is one of the frequent complications seen with the thiazides. However, these agents do not interfere with the formation of a concentrated urine (in the presence of ADH), because the cortical segment of the ascending limb does not participate in countercurrent multiplication. Indeed, the ability of a diuretic agent to inhibit dilution, but not concentration, of the urine has been used experimentally to determine whether a diuretic acts on the medullary or cortical limb of the loop of Henle.

The late part of the distal convoluted tubule and the cortical collecting duct is sensitive to aldosterone. It is here that about 3% of the filtered sodium load is reabsorbed. Much of the sodium reabsorbed here is reabsorbed as NaCl, but some of the sodium ions are reabsorbed in exchange for hydrogen ions and potassium ions. Diuretics which act here, such as the aldosterone antagonist “spironolactone,” or the sodium channel blocker “amiloride,” not only increase sodium loss into the urine, but also decrease potassium and hydrogen ion loss. Again, this phenomenon can be used for distinguishing the site of action of various diuretics. A diuretic which decreases potassium secretion must act on the cortical collecting duct, whereas a diuretic which increases potassium excretion must act prior to this site.

ADH acts on the collecting ducts. In the presence of ADH, water is abstracted from the tubular fluid as it moves through the cortical collecting duct. The major solute in the tubular fluid at this time is urea. Urea will not diffuse across the cortical collecting duct even in the presence of ADH, so that its concentration increases. Now, in the medullary collecting duct, ADH increases not only water, but also urea permeability, so that urea now diffuses into the renal interstitium and contributes about half of the corticomedullary osmotic gradient, which is functional in abstracting water not only from the collecting duct, but also from the descending limb of Henle.

You may think that a specific blocker of ADH would be a useful diuretic agent. Although such inhibitors have been synthesized and tested experimentally, it is too early to know if they will find application in clinical situations. However, keep in mind that other agents which interfere with countercurrent multiplication (i.e., furosemide) or countercurrent exchange (mannitol) indirectly inhibit the antidiuretic action of vasopressin by diminishing the trans-tubular osmotic pressure gradient in the collecting duct.

So you can see that we filter about 180 L/day of plasma containing about 140 mM NaCl. We end up reabsorbing about 99% of the filtered sodium and water to eliminate about 1.5 liters/day of urine.

Phrases that hinder an ebullience deep
within,
rife with struggle to attain a mass exodus
from depths
I have not yet looked to my heart and
witnessed.

Rhetoric, hollow and undeep, is the yoke we all
hope to free
But how different that would render one,
Vulnerable to a majority;
You’re not tenuous to be yourself, are
you?

Ain’t that typical
As if the only saviour to ridicule is to wash
our minds
clean of what comes naturally.

Not just what, but the words, the pent up
anger,
if not amour,
Oh, yes, congruence I do believe exists, it’s
not a black or
white thing…

Fake, plastic (trees?), I judge not, lest I
be judged,
An honorable stance, but stand with me (on a
normal day)
I am no paragon of it’s worthy lesson.

Back to the profundity because I can claim to
repel the phony
But it’s a matter of supression, regression, to
likeminded
proverbial rights and wrongs.

Are they right?
No, but listen not to the likes of my
ephemeral, vagrant
ideas…

The DuPont company was established in a small town in Delaware in 1802 by a French immigrant named Eleuthere Irenee du Pont de Nemours. The DuPont company now a days is in production of high value products. DuPont currently produces polymers, chemicals,fibers, petroleum products, apparel, transportation, aerospace, electronics and health care. DuPont company serves customers in these and other industries everyday offering “better things for better living” as the company prepares to begin its third century of scientific, technological, comercial, andsocial achievement. When E.I du Pont first came to America he brought his Great ideas with him about the manufacturing of the gun powder. His product ignited when it was supposed to, in a manner consistent with expectation.

This was greatly appreciated by the citizens of a growing nation, including Thomas Jefferson, who wrote to DuPont thanking him for the quality of his gun powder, which was being used to clear land at Monticello. DuPont company is moving through the last decade of the twentieth century and towards it’s third century emphasizing several things; global competition, sharpening its business focus, increasing productivity, commitment to safety, health and environment, and continuing to extend its significant science and technological achievement. One of DuPonts major strategies is to focus on businesses in which DuPont can build a competitive advantage. In 1993 DuPont aquired ICI’s nylon and ICI aquired DuPont’s acrylics business. This strengthed the companys position in the global nylon business while “trading off” a company that no longer fits its portfolio.

Another major factor in the transformation of the company in the 1990’s was the focus on reducing cost and improving productivity. This was necessary to give the company the flexibility for competitive and grow to market share and earnings. DuPont did this by opening new plants in Singapore, Korea, Taiwan, China, and Russia. In 1994, Conoco joint venture began producing oil from the Ardalin Field in the Russia Artic. This was the first major oil field brought into production by a Russian/USA partnership since the fall of the Soviet Union. DuPont company was very successful in Russia. A further major development was of 156 million DuPont shares from Seagram for $8.8 billion in cash and warrants. This was one of the largest stock redemptions in history.

This large block of shares was redeemed at 13 percent discount to market price. While DuPont later sold new shares, there are 18 percent fewer shares currently outstanding than just prior to the redemption. This resulted in a significant wealth creation for the stockholders. The share redemption was made possible by four years of cost reduction, productivity, and organizational changes that made DuPont strong financially and allowed them to move wise and quickly. DuPont is a company out not only for the interest of themselves but, also for the interest of the world. What has always set DuPont apart is the quality of the people. People commited to making life easier and better for everybody, proud to be a part of an enterprise making “better things for better living.” In the second quarter of 1995, DuPont reported earnings per share of $1.70, up 47 percent from $1.16 earned in the second quarter of 1994. The Net income totaled $938 million, compared to $792 million earned in 1994. Both earning per share and net income increased 27 percent. The third quarter of the 1995 business year led DuPont $1.38 per share earning. This number exceeded the $.95 earned in the third quarter of 1994 by more than 45%. Net income totaled $769 million to $647 million earned in 1994. Sales for the third quarter were $10.2 billion, up 4 percent from the prior year.

The full years earning were $5.61 per share compared to $4.00 per share in 1994. the average number of stock in 1995 dropped 14 percent due to the Seagrams redemption. DuPont is an American based company with good ethics in business, community and the environment. DuPont history in earnings proves that this is a financially stable company. With people’s growing interest in superior goods, Dupont will thrive on that interest and develop superior goods for the 21st century

1. Which famous detective first appeared in the story “A Study
in Scarlet”?

2. Which detective featured in Raymond Chandler’s stories “The
Big Sleep” and “Farewell, My Lovely”?

3. “The Mystery of Edwin Drood” was the unfinished last novel by
which writer?

4. Lord Peter Wimsey featured in detective novels by which
writer?

5. Which detective first appeared in Colin Dexter’s “Last Bus
to Woodstock”?

6. Which American author wrote the detective stories “The Maltese
Falcon” and “The Thin Man”?

7. One of the earliest detective novels was written in 1868 by
Wilkie Collins. What was its title?

8. Detective Albert Campion was created by which writer?

9. Which author of detective fiction also wrote romantic novels
under the name of Mary Westmacott?

10. Adam Dalgleish was created by which writer?

This is the first sentence of this story. This is the second sentence. This is the title of this story, which is also found several times in the story itself. This sentence is questioning the intrinsic value of the first two sentences. This sentence is to inform you, in case you haven’t already realized it, that this is a self-referential story, that is, a story containing sentences that refer to their own structure and function. This is a sentence that provides an ending to the first paragraph.

This is the first sentence of a new paragraph in a self-referential story. This sentence is introducing you to the protagonist of the story, a young boy named Billy. This sentence is telling you that Billy is blond and blue-eyed and American and twelve years old and strangling his mother. This sentence comments on the awkward nature of the self-referential narrative form while recognizing the strange and playful detachment it affords the writer. As if illustrating the point made by the last sentence, this sentence reminds us, with no trace of facetiousness, that children are a precious gift from God and that the world is a better place when graced by the unique joys and delights they bring to it.

This sentence describes Billy’s mother’s bulging eyes and protruding tongue and makes reference to the unpleasant choking and gagging noises she’s making. This sentence makes the observation that these are uncertain and difficult times, and that relationships, even seemingly deep-rooted and permanent ones, do have a tendency to break down.

Introduces, in this paragraph, the device of sentence fragments. A sentence fragment. Another. Good device. Will be used more later.

This is actually the last sentence of the story but has been placed here by mistake. This is the title of this story, which is also found several times in the story itself. As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams he found himself in his bed transformed into a gigantic insect. This sentence informs you that the preceding sentence is from another story entirely (a much better one, it must be noted) and has no place at all in this particular narrative. Despite claims of the preceding sentence, this sentence feels compelled to inform you that the story you are reading is in actuality “The Metamorphosis” by Franz Kafka, and that the sentence referred to by the preceding sentence is the only sentence which does indeed belong in this story. This sentence overrides the preceding sentence by informing the reader (poor, confused wretch) that this piece of literature is actually the Declaration of Independence, but that the author, in a show of extreme negligence (if not malicious sabotage), has so far failed to include even one single sentence from that stirring document, although he has condescended to use a small sentence fragment, namely, “When in the course of human events”, embedded in quotation marks near the end of a sentence. Showing a keen awareness of the boredom and downright hostility of the average reader with regard to the pointless conceptual games indulged in by the preceding sentences, this sentence returns us at last to the scenario of the story by asking the question, “Why is Billy strangling his mother?” This sentence attempts to shed some light on the question posed by the preceding sentence but fails. This sentence, however, succeeds, in that it suggests a possible incestuous relationship between Billy and his mother and alludes to the concomitant Freudian complications any astute reader will immediately envision. Incest. The unspeakable taboo. The universal prohibition. Incest. And notice the sentence fragments? Good literary device. Will be used more later.

This is the first sentence in a new paragraph. This is the last sentence in a new paragraph.

This sentence can serve as either the beginning of the paragraph or end, depending on its placement. This is the title of this story, which is also found several times in the story itself. This sentence raises a serious objection to the entire class of self-referential sentences that merely comment on their own function or placement within the story (e.g., the preceding four sentences), on the grounds that they are monotonously predictable, unforgivably self-indulgent, and merely serve to distract the reader from the real subject of this story, which at this point seems to concern strangulation and incest and who knows what other delightful topics. The purpose of this sentence is to point out that the preceding sentence, while not itself a member of the class of self-referential sentences it objects to, nevertheless also serves merely to distract the reader from the real subject of this story, which actually concerns Gregor Samsa’s inexplicable transformation into a gigantic insect (despite the vociferous counterclaims of other well-meaning although misinformed sentences). This sentence can serve as either the beginning of the paragraph or end, depending on its placement.

This is the title of this story, which is also found several times in the story itself. This is almost the title of the story, which is found only once in the story itself. This sentence regretfully states that up to this point the self-referential mode of narrative has had a paralyzing effect on the actual progress of the story itself — that is, these sentences have been so concerned with analyzing themselves and their role in the story that they have failed by and large to perform their function as communicators of events and ideas that one hopes coalesce into a plot, character development, etc. — in short, the very raisons of any respectable, hardworking sentence in the midst of a piece of compelling prose fiction. This sentence in addition points out the obvious analogy between the plight of these agonizingly self-aware sentences and similarly afflicted human beings, and it points out the analogous paralyzing effects wrought by excessive and tortured self-examination.

The purpose of this sentence (which can also serve as a paragraph) is to speculate that if the Declaration of Independence had been worded and structured as lackadaisically and incoherently as this story has been so far, there’s no telling what kind of warped libertine society we’d be living in now or to what depths of decadence the inhabitants of this country might have sunk, even to the point of deranged and debased writers constructing irritatingly cumbersome and needlessly prolix sentences that sometimes possess the questionable if not downright undesirable quality of referring to themselves and they sometimes even become run-on sentences or exhibit other signs of inexcusably sloppy grammar like unneeded superfluous redundancies that almost certainly would have insidious effects on the lifestyle and morals of our impressionable youth, leading them to commit incest or even murder and maybe that’s why Billy is strangling his mother, because of sentences just like this one, which have no discernible goals or perspicuous purpose and just end up anywhere, even in mid

Bizarre. A sentence fragment. Another fragment. Twelve years old. This is a sentence that. Fragmented. And strangling his mother. Sorry, sorry. Bizarre. This. More fragments. This is it. Fragments. The title of this story, which. Blond. Sorry, sorry. Fragment after fragment. Harder. This is a sentence that. Fragments. Damn good device.

The purpose of this sentence is threefold: (1) to apologize for the unfortunate and inexplicable lapse exhibited by the preceding paragraph; (2) to assure you, the reader, that it will not happen again; and (3) to reiterate the point that these are uncertain and difficult times and that aspects of language, even seemingly stable and deeply rooted ones such as syntax and meaning, do break down. This sentence adds nothing substantial to the sentiments of the preceding sentence but merely provides a concluding sentence to this paragraph, which otherwise might not have one.

This sentence, in a sudden and courageous burst of altruism, tries to abandon the self-referential mode but fails. This sentence tries again, but the attempt is doomed from the start.

This sentence, in a last-ditch attempt to infuse some iota of story line into this paralyzed prose piece, quickly alludes to Billy’s frantic cover-up attempts, followed by a lyrical, touching, and beautifully written passage wherein Billy is reconciled with his father (thus resolving the subliminal Freudian conflicts obvious to any astute reader) and a final exciting police chase scene during which Billy is accidentally shot and killed by a panicky rookie policeman who is coincidentally named Billy. This sentence, although basically in complete sympathy with the laudable efforts of the preceding action-packed sentence, reminds the reader that such allusions to a story that doesn’t, in fact, yet exist are no substitute for the real thing and therefore will not get the author (indolent goof-off that he is) off the proverbial hook.

Paragraph.

Paragraph.

Paragraph.

Paragraph.

Paragraph.

The purpose. Of this paragraph. Is to apologize. For its gratuitous use. Of. Sentence fragments. Sorry.

The purpose of this sentence is to apologize for the pointless and silly adolescent games indulged in by the preceding two paragraphs, and to express regret on the part of us, the more mature sentences, that the entire tone of this story is such that it can’t seem to communicate a simple, albeit sordid, scenario.

This sentence wishes to apologize for all the needless apologies found in this story (this one included), which, although placed here ostensibly for the benefit of the more vexed readers, merely delay in a maddeningly recursive way the continuation of the by-now nearly forgotten story line.

This sentence is bursting at the punctuation marks with news of the dire import of self-reference as applied to sentences, a practice that could prove to be a veritable Pandora’s box of potential havoc, for if a sentence can refer or allude to itself, why not a lowly subordinate clause, perhaps this very clause? Or this sentence fragment? Or three words? Two words? One?

Perhaps it is appropriate that this sentence gently and with no trace of condescension reminds us that these are indeed difficult and uncertain times and that in general people just aren’t nice enough to each other, and perhaps we, whether sentient human beings or sentient sentences, should just try harder. I mean, there is such a thing as free will, there has to be, and this sentence is proof of it! Neither this sentence nor you, the reader, is completely helpless in the face of all the pitiless forces at work in the universe. We should stand our ground, face facts, take Mother Nature by the throat and just try harder. By the throat. Harder. Harder, harder.

Sorry.

This is the title of this story, which is also found several times in the story itself.

This is the last sentence of the story. This is the last sentence of the story. This is the last sentence of the story. This is.

Sorry.

Disclaimers (take two, they’re small…):
And if you believe that…

d) None of the above.

[This is the most recent version of a “timeline” I’m working on to show famous
(and infamous) moments in the history of the North American continent in
regards to the freedom enjoyed by individuals. Any corrections, additions,
etc., are highly welcomed and encouraged.]

Descent Into Hell, or,
Moments in American History: Statism v. Freedom

[Note: I note violations of rights in that the action violated rights, or
that it violated certain sections of the Constitution. Note that I do not
endorse the Constitution, and view it as a collectivist usurpation over all
individuals. Just so you know. :)]

[pre-1400’s; Indian “legislation” and justice system — need more on this!]

[1492-1776; colonial — need more here too!]

1676 – Bacon’s Rebellion [here too!] [okay, the detail starts now, honest…]

1775 – Beginning of War for Independence. Congress begins issuing
fiat paper and claiming it to be lawful money.

1776 – Declaration of Independence.

1779 – Congress passes the $200,000,000 mark in amount of paper “money”
printed since 1775.

1781 – Articles of Confederation adopted.
– Alexander Hamilton: “A national debt, if it is not excessive, will
be to us a national blessing. It will be a powerful cement of our
union.” Spoken like a true Federalist (i.e., closet collectivist).
– Congress asks for permission to levy a duty of 5% on all imported
goods (to pay off the principal and interest of war debts); the
amount asked for is limited, but the grant is to be of indefinite
duration. Rhode Island refuses ratification.

1787 – Constitution usurps Articles of Confederation as government edict,
showing the tendency of Constitional Conventions to exceed their
original mandate. The statists (Federalists) score quite a coup
here; the Constitution creates a government much larger and more
powerful than before, and with powers of taxation far beyond the
original pitiful claims of the British Crown.

1791 – United States Bank formed, with a 20-year charter. Thomas Jefferson
writes “Against the Constitutionality of a National Bank”.

1794 – Whiskey Rebellion. Protest by farmers over corn liquor tax suppressed
by overwhelming force under the command of Dictator George Washington.
All but two farmers are acquitted by juries, and George “graciously”
pardons them.

1798 – Alien and Sedition Acts; violate 1st Amendment; establishes 1st half
of 4th plank of Communist Manifesto (“Confiscation of the property
of all emigrants and rebels”).

1801 – On Thomas Jefferson’s recommendation, the federal duty on liquor
is abolished.

1811 – Charter of United States Bank expires.

1816 – Second United States Bank established, again with a 20-year charter.

1825 – The Thomas Jefferson, 10 Wheat. 428. The Supreme Court states that the
federal admiralty jurisdiction is subject to the same restrictions as
under English law, that is, to the high seas and rivers only as far as
the ebb and flow of the tide extend. 27 years later, they will reverse
this, opening the door to a tidal wave of statist incursion…

1832 – Worcester v. Georgia (6 Pet. 515). The State of Georgia violates
federal treaties to exercise unlawful jurisdiction over the Cherokees,
and instead of stepping in, President Jackson compels the “voluntary”
removal of Indians (the infamous “Trail of Tears”). When the Cherokees
file suit in order to obtain a judicial remedy, the Supreme Court
holds that the Constitution bars Georgia from extending its laws over
Indian lands, and rules invalid the arrest and imprisonment by the
state of two missionaries working with the Cherokees. Georgia defies
the Court and refuses to release the imprisoned missionaries. Jackson
is reported to have said that John Marshall had made his decision, now
let him enforce it, but this may be only apocryphal. Even so, it
accurately describes Jackson’s apathy, further confirmed by his
statement that “The decision of the supreme court has fell still born,
and they find that it cannot coerce Georgia to yield to its mandate.”

1835 – During these two years, the national debt is a mere $38,000, down

1836 – from over 91 million in 1820. Interest: ZERO.

1836 – Establishment of the Independence of Texas

1837 – Charles River Bridge v. Warren Bridge (11 Pet. 420) is decided. In it,
the Taney Court states that where the rights of private property
“conflict with those of the community”, the latter must be paramount.

1841 – “Dorr Rebellion”; royal governor declares martial law, calls out the
militia to suppress lawful Republican elections and goes running to
the Federal government for promises of military backing. President
Tyler, expressly recognizing the charter government as the rightful
government of the state, confirms that he will use armed force if
provoked, causing the “rebellion” to die out. A few years later, in
Luther v. Borden, the Supreme Court says whether the government is
Republican in nature or not is a “political question” (sound
familiar?), that the guarantee in the Constitution of “a Republican
form of government” is to be provided by Congress. Another case of
charging the fox to watch the henhouse…

1845 – Annexation of Texas (oh well, it was fun while it lasted, huh?)

1845 – New York State prohibits the public sale of liquor.

1847 – New York State repeals the prohibition on public sale of liquor.

1848 – Child Labor Act says children may only work with State approval

1852 – The Genessee Chief v. Fitzhugh [12 How. 443]. A damage suit is brought
in federal court under an 1845 statute which extends federal admiralty
jurisdiction to the Great Lakes and connecting navigable waters. This
reverses the 1825 “The Thomas Jefferson” case.

1857 – Dred Scott decision says “niggers ain’t got no rights”. This
decision can be generally explained as overwhelming fear on the
part of most of the idiots in the country that if blacks have
rights, that includes the right to keep and bear arms. Guns in
the hands of the darkies, oh gosh, we can’t have that! (Of course,
there are plenty of other factors at work here; for example, many
of those early gun-control [people-control] laws only outlawed
CHEAP guns… i.e., ones that the Joe Sixpacks, the poor folks of
that time, could afford…to the effect that only rich people could
afford to own firearms when those laws were enforced.)

1868 – 14th Amendment; removal of allodial land titles, allowing only
“equitable interests” in land and property; creation of new class
of “citizens” without rights, only privileges; establishes 1st plank
of Communist Manifesto (Abolition of property [rights] in land)

1870 – Hepburn v. Griswold [8 Wall. 603]. A bare majority declares the Legal
Tender Acts unconstitutional…a grace period all too brief. On the
very day the decision is announced, President Grant appoints two new
Justices [Strong and Bradley] who are known to support the Acts. After
they take their seats, the Court again permits argument on their
validity, in the Legal Tender Cases [12 Wall. 457 (1871)]…and of
course, Justices Strong and Bradley, plus the Hepburn dissenters, make
up a new majority.

1887 – Interstate Commerce Commision Act; establishes 1st half of 6th
plank of Communist Manifesto (Centralization of the means of
communication and transport in the hands of the state)

1890 – Sherman Anti-Trust Act makes it illegal to go into business. (No
matter what sort of person you really are, as far as any *real*
people are concerned, the more money you make, the more of a
bastard you are… crude populism at best, liberal guilt for the
majority of boomer-age folks, and easily manipulated rhetoric
practically pre-made by politicians as justification for ANY sort
of horrid law, as long as they can convince the sheeple that only
“the bad guys” (i.e., rich people) will get screwed. And of course,
in the long run, *everyone* gets screwed. And pretty royally,
at that.)

1894 – Democratic-Populist Congress passes a law taxing income, but
exempting incomes of less than $4,000; it is widely attacked as a
deterrent to thrift and ownership of property.

1903 – Coca-Cola switches from cocaine to caffeine

1906 – Food and Drugs Act

1908 – Aldrich-Vreeland Bill “authorizes” Secretary of Treasury to issue
$500 million of federal notes to banks free of charge, as well as
paying them interest on the securities upon which the circulation
of notes is based. Debate on the Bill is limited to three hours,
and members are permitted to see it only if they agree in advance
to support it.

1909 – Prohibition of importation of opium.

1913 – Federal Reserve System (theft through control of ‘money’ supply),
together with the “16th Amendment” (direct income theft); establishes
2nd plank of Communist Manifesto (A heavy progressive or graduated
income tax) and 5th plank (Centralization of credit in the hands of
the state, by means of a national bank with state capital and exclusive
monopoly).
– 17th Amendment; violates Article 4, Section 4 of Constitution which
guarantees “A Republican form of Government”

1914 – Harrison Narcotic Act; controls sale of opium and its derivatives

1916 – Estate tax; establishes 3rd plank of Communist Manifesto (Abolition
of all right of inheritance)

1917 – War controls, tax increases

1919 – 18th Amendment (Volstead Act; alcohol prohibition)

1924 – Heroin manufacture prohibited

1930 – Federal Bureau of Narcotics established
– FDR elected; promises to reduce to taxes by 25%; ends up raising
taxes by 3,000%. One of his first acts is the Gold Reserve Act,
giving him the “authority” to devalue the dollar, impound all gold,
turn it over to the Federal Reserve, and prohibit citizens from
owning it. In effect, the bill transfers title to the gold to the
Fed, and makes the U.S. Treasury the gold’s actual physical
custodian.

1933 – Prohibition repealed (yeah, big deal… we just stole all your money,
now we need you to all get really, really drunk and not notice…)
– House Joint Resolution 133 (goodbye gold standard! hello, alcohol!
hardly miss the gold yet? you’ll forget about it soon, anyway…)

1934 – The Communications Act; establishes Federal Communications
Commission; establishes 2nd half of 6th plank (Centralization of the
means of communication and transport in the hands of the state)

1935 – Socialist Insecurity Act (more income theft)

1937 – Marijuana Tax Act

1942 – WW2 controls & taxes [more detail!]

1949- A few years after victory in World War II, the Department of Defense was created. America never again won a major conflict. Instead it fought three wars – Korea, Vietnam and Gulf – to a stalemate and was reduced to bombing and invading tertiary countries such as Granada, Panama and Afghanistan.

1964 – “Johnson slugs”

1965 – LBJ created the Department of Housing and Urban Development. A few years later America’s cities were ravished by riots and went into a long decline. No new major housing programs on the scale, say, of the VA or FHA programs were ever created again. Further, HUD became a center of fiscal corruption second only to the Department of Defense.

1968 – Public Law 90-269 (goodbye silver!)

1970 – Racketeering Influenced Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) enables
seizure of property without due process; with Sedition Act,
establishes 4th plank of Communist Manifesto (Confiscation of
the property of all emigrants and rebels)

1972 – Complete split of FRN’s from gold by Richard Nixon

1979 – the Department of Education was created, following which the quality of American public education has continued to decline to the point that it is now relies on George W. Bush for ideas.

The new Department of Homeland Security undoubtedly follow in this pattern

[1972-present: need more!]

Still need to add:
– [ Hoover’s New Deal & Smoot-Hawley tariffs? ]
– [ FDR’s taxes & 2nd amendment infringement & prohibition phase 2? ]
– [ Title 17 Health and Safety Code — zoning/public school taxes?
This is other half of 1st Plank, along with 14th Amendment ]
– [ Post-1972 developments in the “War on (Some) Drugs” ]
—————————————————————————-
Planks of Communist Manifesto not yet added to above:

7) Extension of factories and instruments of production owned by
the state; the bringing into cultivation of wastelands, and the
improvement of the soil generally in accordance with a common plan.
90’s version: Anti-Trust Acts; Dept. of Commerce & Labor; Dept. of
Agriculture; Dept. of Interior (Bureau of Land Management, Forest
Service, Bureau of Reclamation, Bureau of Mines, National Park
Service, Fish & Wildlife Service)
Accomplished: est. 1902; 1903; 1862; 1849.

8) Equal liability of all to labor for the national debt;
establishment of industrial armies, especially for agriculture.
90’s version: “Two income families” (inflation, nat’l debt);
Women’s Suffrage; Affirmative Action; Socialist Unions; Int’l
Workers of the World
Accomplished: Women in workforce since 1920’s (19th Amendment);
Civil Rights Act of 1964; est. 1869; est. 1905.

9) Combination of agriculture with manufacturing industries;
gradual abolition of the distinction between town and country, by
a “more equitable distributiuon” of the population over the country.
90’s version: National Farmers Alliance and Industrial Union
Accomplished: 1870-1900’s (Title 17 “zoning”)

10) Free education for all children in public schools, abolition of
children’s factory labor, combination of education with industry.
90’s version: State run, tax financed schools; socialized
“progressive” education; Child Labor Act (children only work with
state approval); abolition of private education.
Accomplished: Horace Mann (1837-1848); John Dewey (1870-1910);
est. 1848.

(Props to Mr. Beck for his additions)

Do you know that you can’t find a transcript of the spells used in the script of the movie Willow? I looked. Can’t be found. Gonna have to watch it to figure it out.

1. What kind of animal is a cottontail?

2. A caribou is the same kind of animal as a reindeer: is this
true or false?

3. Is a sea cucumber an animal or a plant?

4. “Invertebrate” describes an animal that hasn’t got what?

5. How many pairs of limbs do crabs and lobsters have?

6. What is the world’s tallest mammal?

7. What is the proper name for the Australian laughing jackass?

8. On which islands would you normally find Darwin’s finches?

9. If an animal is described as “macrocephalic”, what does this
mean?

10. Which animal can be defined as “A primate of the genus Papio
which is characterized by the presence of a dog-like muzzle,
a short tail and callosities on the buttocks”?

I now have a pig buddah to adorn my monitor. It up there with my Amon Ra platelet, and my laptop gargoyle.

I’m in my post-migraine depression now. THe pig made me think of all kinds of stupid things when I sat down at my desk this morning.

SSDD.

So someone IMmed me that my LJ takes too long to download because of all the political comics I post on it. This is what I have to say to them:






Email is down.
Time for a relatively short recap of recent events:
Halloween was great fun, had a blast, must make a point of haning out with Pete and Laila more on non-worknights (for them anyhow). Went to MD. Had a good time. Decided that dogs have more energy than they were meant to have. Discovered that the new raid function on EQ will foil my powerleveling plans. Decided I really miss Ken and his family. Decided that the Smithsonian is not as cool as I remmeber it, as compared to the Museum of Natural History in NY. Further discovered that the Smithsonian has no sense of the usefullness of autmated phone messages, which could very easily illuminate the fact that there will be no 6:15 or 8:15 showings of StarWars Episode 2 on IMAX due to some charity function taking place that day. Remembered how poorly I fit on twin-sized bed. Reminisced on the fact that I think I was 15 the last time I slept on 2 Twin sized beds pushed together like 1 big bed. I Further decided that Interstate 95 sucks ass. I re-discovered (yet again, for the who knows how manyith time) that New Jersey sucks the mold off a necrophiliac’s ballsack. Discovered that 83 North to 78 East is a much prettier/more laid-back ride than chugging through the gut of the aforementioned state in question.

Decided that not being able to check your email when you really need/want to sucks more tremendously than I remember it.

1. What pseudonym is used by pop star Reginald Kenneth Dwight?

2. What pseudonym was used by the British novelist Mary
Ann Evans?

3. What pseudonym is used by British singer Harry Rodger Webb?

4. What was the real name of the writer who called himself
George Orwell?

5. Margarita Carmen Cansino was the real name of which American
film star?

6. Which Russian revolutionary’s real name was Lev Davidovich
Bronstein?

7. What pseudonym was used by the French writer Henri Beyle?

8. Dino Paul Crocetti was the real name of which American
singer?

9. Which British-born film comedian’s real name was Arthur
Stanley Jefferson?

10. Which 16th-century Italian painter’s real name was
Jacopo Robusti?