Friday, November 28, 2008

Getting the Speech

I finally got to hear the corporate America anti-union speech. And yes, the CEO pulled us all off of the factory floor for 45 minutes to tell it to us. Actually, it was only a small piece of a much larger presentation, but it was still exciting.

He told us how unions destroy every industry they touch and the only reason the big 3 auto makers need a bailout right now is because the unions have bled them dry and that unions were unable to survive outside of the auto industry and its support industries. Because it would be obvious to everyone that the meat packers union is to blame for there being no meat at the grocery stores and that the unions at the breweries have destroyed the profitability of American beer. Not to mention what the sex worker's union has done to this country.

I'm anti-union also. Unions have a hierarchical structure. I'd much rather gather up the suits by the dumpsters, shoot them, and then don't replace them with any leaders. But its real hard to organize people to do that. They find out that it would still be classified as murder (instead of liberation or emancipation) and sour on the idea. Oh, they talk big, but they've got no action.

What really shocked me about the anti-union speech at work? It was clear the CEO truly believed what he said. He wasn't trying to force feed propaganda and lies but just sharing his view point. Of course he was dead wrong and the researchable facts are against him. But facts have never gotten in the way of a strong Belief System.

His speech made me feel a bit Wobbly.

Thursday, November 27, 2008

Epic Race to the Finish

Because not everyone reads both...

I have completed the National Novel Writing Month Challenge for 2008! There is still a lot to be done. Story lines are nowhere near complete. Some back story and character development is in order. I still plan on trying to merge stories with Rolfe to see what we get. That will require lots of rewriting.

Wednesday was an epic writing day. I had been cruising along at about 1,700 words per day through most of the month. I had yesterday off and banged out the last 7,000+ words in one day. I said, "You're down to 3k, save it for tommorrow." Then it was 2k and I figured I should quit and save it for a new day. Then it was 1k and figured I should at least take some time off of it and do something else for a while. Then I hit 500 and there was nothing in the world that was going to stop me. I can write 500 words any time, any where.

And NaNo had made me feel pretty damn good about myself. During the month of November I managed to not only complete a 50,000 word story but podcast 5 times a week, reasonably kept up 2 blogs, installed a dvd drive on the PC, patched 2 copies of WoW, leveled one of my WoW characters, kept up with my homework, taught my two peers how to calculate non-standard thread forms, kept up my full time job and still managed to get out and play pool at the pub and take in the fire strippers at Devil's Point.

My life is so freakin' awesome!

Sunday, November 23, 2008

Change of a Woman's Place

Change!

Are we back to the old conventional wisdom that only women can be secretaries?
Get over it, Clinton haters

For a broad array of editorialists, pundits and kibitzers, as well as anybody else still obsessed with old resentments against the Clintons, the weeks since Election Day have inflicted a profound sensation of cognitive dissonance, as Barack Obama kept naming the friends and allies of his former rival to run his transition and his government. Now with reports that Hillary Rodham Clinton will indeed be appointed secretary of state, those feelings may even induce a stroke here or there.
I thought it was Sarah Palin that caused strokes.

I wonder if Condi Rice has caused any strokes.

While Michelle Obama may cause a few, Elizabeth Kucinich would have caused more. I'm sure both of them have caused more than Laura Bush. Barbara Bush was the anti-stroke causer.

Different strokes for different folks.

Where was I going with this? Oh yeah.

Change! So great to see so much change taking place. Like changing back to a time when being a secretary was women's work and it was okay to admit that the secretary may even induce a stroke here or there.

Friday, November 21, 2008

Listening to Yourself

The whole podcast experiment, especially reading my book, has taught me something I had never accepted about myself.

I have a typically Minnesotan voice. Not the rural Scandawhovian ya sure you betcha Fargo accent. I escaped that. I'm talking about the Hüsker Dü, Bob Mould, Violent Femmes, Hold Steady, Terrence McKenna upper mid-west nasal voice. Especially Terrence McKenna. The guy was six foot four, same height as me, but when I watch videos of him speaking he always seems shorter because of that sharp nasal tone to his voice. He was the world's tallest pixie. (Note pixie not Pixie.)

It can be cute, but never sexy. It rivals New York Jews when you want to be an annoying know it all. Of course it is best when put to use in sarcasm and self defacing humor. As though that's original.

I Was Wrong

I often like to be proven wrong. It is a chance to grow and learn. If you are always right, then you already know everything and no longer have to think. Your brain decays and dies. So yet again, I Was Wrong!



You watch that? Go ahead. That is the short video sequence that proved to me I was wrong about Bush.

George W. Bush stands alone. He is an individual. He looks like everybody else, but has set himself apart as a man who goes his own way. That is exactly how the average American likes to think of him/herself.

George W. Bush lacks the confidence to truly stand alone, so he lets other people tell him what to do. That is exactly what the average American does.

When George W. Bush stood to lose to his opponent, he didn't lay down and let things run their course. He went to court to get what he perceived as being his. Your average American does the same thing all the time.

He came into office with a grudge against a man and did everything in his power, including lying and slander, to see that Saddam got what was coming to him. That is exactly what the average American does.

George W. Bush drank and fucked his way through college earning an average grade. An average grade like an average American.

George W. Bush paid for everything on credit. Economic signs were bleak, the cards were maxed out, and he kept right on spending. Just like your average American.

George W. Bush was a true representative of the people. His actions may not have been what they wanted. They may not have agreed with most of his policies. But his methods of operation, totally American. All of this revealed in a few moments of video where he stands alone. Unrecognized. Unwelcome. Just like the average American.

I am not an average American and still hate him even more than I hate Reagan. And I really fucking hate Reagan.

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Keeping Busy

My post election lifestyle has been busy. There is NaNoWriMo, of course. I've been keeping fairly well on track with that and finally got a couple thousand words ahead of schedule.

The podcast has been fun and given me a reason to revisit my first book. Today I got done recording and looked at the time marks on the track. Nearly half an hour! The shortest chapter so far was two minutes. Half hour chapter, though. Wow. I guess I really liked that one. It could easily be plucked out of the book and reworked into a short story rejected for publishing by every decent journal in the country. Maybe Penthouse would print it.

And there was the expansion release of World of Warcrack. But no crack until I finish podcasting and writing. Which isn't hard. I guess it isn't that addictive.

Then the homework. It hardly counts as anything. I don't know how they can even pretend to call this a college degree program even if it is just a two year degree. I could have passed this class in middle school. Go back to calling them tech schools and give out certifications instead of degrees. It makes me embarrassed to have a degree when I'm in school with people who couldn't be bothered to complete high school. I feel like I should be doing graduate level work just to wash away this dirty feeling.

After Thanksgiving work is moving me to day shift. I'm not excited about that. Totally ruins my schedule. Right now I wake up when I please, lay in bed, masturbate, and then go about my day. You can't rush masturbation. It's not like I can set my alarm a little earlier to allow for ten to twenty minutes of personal time. Besides, I'd finish and then pass out again. So now I have to wait until lunch. That sucks.

There is still the full time job of not commenting on Obama rumors and giving the lying asshole politician a chance to prove himself first. That one is hard.

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

If You Love America, You Throw Money In Its Hole!


Should The Government Stop Dumping Money Into A Giant Hole?

Fast Food, Fast Writing

Went to Burgerville for some lunch today. It's a great NW spot to get fast food that costs more than going to any of the National chains but serves real food grown in the Pacific Northwest.

After eating I noticed signage all over the restaurant. Turns out, Burgerville is doing their part to support NaNoWriMo. They invite writers to come in, enjoy free WiFi, and work on their novels.

And right now that means seasonal pumpkin shakes. So I can sit, write, have a pumpkin shake, and get fat without having to participate in the getting stupid part of fast food. Yay!

Monday, November 10, 2008

Thursday, November 06, 2008

CHANGE!

You want change? I'll give you change.

Give me a dollar and I'll give you four quarters. Or maybe you'd rather have two quarters, three dimes and four nickels. I could even give you three nickels, six dimes, and a quarter.

Want more change? No problem. In exchange for a fifty spot I'll give you forty singles (show the girls some appreciation) a fiver, ten quarters, three rolls of pennies, and a Sacajawea.

Now that I think about it, if I could get that for every fifty dollars I gave the government, I'd be a very happy man.

It is time for change!

Spot On

Once again, my favorite fake news source gets things exactly spot on.
Nation Finally Shitty Enough To Make Social Progress | The Onion

'The election of our first African-American president truly shows how far we've come as a nation,' said NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams. 'Just eight years ago, this moment would have been unthinkable. But finally we, as a country, have joined together, realized we've reached rock bottom, and for the first time voted for a candidate based on his policies rather than the color of his skin.'

'Today Americans have grudgingly taken a giant leap forward,' Williams continued. 'And all it took was severe economic downturn, a bloody and unjust war in Iraq, terrorist attacks on lower Manhattan, nearly 2,000 deaths in New Orleans, and more than three centuries of frequently violent racial turmoil.'

Said Williams, 'The American people should be commended for their long-overdue courage.'

Obama's victory is being called the most significant change in politics since the 1992 election, when a full-scale economic recession led voters to momentarily ignore the fact that candidate Bill Clinton had once smoked marijuana. While many believed things had once again reached an all-time low in 2004, the successful reelection of President George W. Bush—despite historically low approval ratings nationwide—proved that things were not quite shitty enough to challenge the already pretty shitty status quo.
As a racist conservative prick of a co-worker said, "I'll give him a year or two in office before I pass judgement."

We've come a long way, baby.

Wednesday, November 05, 2008

Must... Stop... Commenting...

Not saying a word.
BBC NEWS

Because Obama may turn out to be less red in the practice of his presidency than his words and aspirations would imply.

For example, on that windfall tax (on oil companies) - which much of the Labour Party would love to see imitated here - there's already been a strong hint from Obama's advisers that it's on hold, following the collapse in the oil price.
Nope, not saying anything. Nothing. Nothing at all.

History Made

The time has come for me to admit that President elect Obama beat me out. I couldn't even carry my home state or my adopted home state. Not a big surprise. I was trying for the anarchist crowd. Registered voters among the anarchists are hard to find. Even when you find them, trying to convince them that they should vote for someone, anyone, is even harder. After all, it ain't easy maintaining your anarchist street cred. I put my own in jeopardy just to run.

To all of you who were worried that my choice to not turn on my own campaign and vote for the lesser evil was somehow going to spoil the election, I hope you are happy to be wrong. I believed you last time and was wrong. I ignored you this time and was right.

Four years ago I heard the cries of people, upon hearing election results, that the time had come to move to Canada. America was doomed. Tonight, within minutes of hearing the election results while at work, I once again heard people saying the time had come to move to Canada. Obama had won. America was doomed. In both cases these people were right. America is doomed. I see the election of Obama as a minor deceleration of the decay. Like rust on the frame of your old car, you can do all you want to slow the process, but the outcome is inevitable. Thank you Mr. Obama for allowing me a little more time to keep on fisting the rotting corpse of the American dream.

I do feel honored to have been a part of this historic election. Yes, history has been made. The chips were stacked to make it nigh impossible for anything other than a historic evening. But as I pointed out to my parents, in the history of Western civilization, electing someone of African descent to the highest office is far more ground breaking than electing a woman. It is especially more ground breaking than electing a woman to the second highest office. This is a monumental occasion.

My final hope for the evening is that I'm wrong about this guy.

Tuesday, November 04, 2008

Election Day

Is it over yet? Can I start claiming election fraud and start up my government in exile?

Monday, November 03, 2008

Environmental Policy

Apparently my campaign manager can't remember my environmental policy. Not that it matters much now, but here goes.

A typical presidential campaign has a gigantic carbon footprint. Jet all over the place with your entire entourage to campaign and hold rallies. Canvasers driving from neighborhood to neighborhood. Loads and loads of paper ad campaigns. Energy wasted on e-mails and phone calls. Tons of resources thrown into election day itself. And if you demand a paper ballot, you are once again creating more waste. Electronic voting systems are also horrific with all the hazardous materials used in their manufacture. The voter's guides in Oregon are the size of magazines and mailed to every registered voter. What a waste.

Save the environment. Don't vote.

And burn aborted fetuses for fuel.

Let's Be Sirius

Bloody hell! It's the day before Black Tuesday. How is the campaign doing?

Honestly, I got my ass whooped. Time to start looking ahead to 2012. Or maybe a Portland Mayoral run in 2010. If Extremo the Clown can run, so can I.

I have picked out one area where I utterly failed my campaign. Besides my campaign manager thinking that I was a crackpot and refusing to vote for me. The real problem was in the branding.

I tried to peddle this:



Nobody understands that. A minority will recognize the anarchy sign and even most of them will get confused as hell by the red white and blue 13 star theme. The whole patriotic Anarcho-American thing should have been a reserve graphic. I loved it too much and it was my own damn fault for pushing it.

What I should have been pushing was this:



I thought it was only mildly amusing. I was wrong. This was the one that Joe (with) the Plumber (crack) liked. This was the one the folks at the bars liked. This was the one even the queers liked. Yes, the raised fist, inverted star, that field of blue on the candy cane stripes. Immediately recognizable, familiar, comfortable, no one had to think about it. Then they read the phrase and always burst out laughing at how inappropriate it seemed. Never mind that it stated my intentions quite clearly. Every element was lifted from pop culture. That should have been a sign that it was a winner.

It will definitely take center stage for the 2012 campaign. Until then, keep on fisting the American dream.