What the…?

Find the Perfect Holiday Gift at Amazon.com Gift Central

Apparently I do everything Amazon tells me. Who knew?

Narnia Attacked

It’s really sad how obvious the DP is about their feelings for Christianity or anything even remotely related. Now they’ve come out against Narnia because its author, C.S. Lewis, is a Christian. And exactly what does that have to do with his stories? Let’s just call it for what it is: religious descrimination. [via Llamas]

Dojo Info 11/14/05

1. I was standing in line at Target…
   “Target can be beat.” -Lileks. Shhh… don’t tell my wife.
2. NCAA rejects Illinois’ appeal of mascot ban
   Political Correctness run amok.
3. Garnett donates $1.2 million to Katrina relief fund
   Great to see that to whom much is given, much is expected in return. Get up KG!
4. First-game grade? Incomplete
   Ouch. Kentucky’s first game was ugly. And not just shag-carpet, 70s lava lamp ugly… I”m talking bright green florid wallpaper ugly. Can you tell I’ve been house shopping?
5. On a drive to the goal
   It’s looking more and more that this will be Rondo’s last year at UK. Let’s make it a royal one.

Rioting in Paris Wrapping Up

In something not reported nearly as much as one would expect, the rioting that began more than two weeks ago in Paris is starting to lessen. Why it’s not being covered, you’d have to ask the DP. With over 1,400 hundred cars set ablaze, I’d consider it noteworthy.

Update: Maybe I’m wrong and it’s not letting up. I found the following quotes, not because they were part of a DP story, but because there are many on the Internet who will publish the truth, no matter how anti-PC it may be.

“Cyber-Rioting In France: ‘We Aren’t Going to Let Up! Are You Stupid?,’” from Der Spiegel:

But just as the Internet has proven useful to those wanting to vent their frustration and anger at the violence enveloping France, others — those involved in the violence — have found the Internet a useful organizational tool. Plans for further attacks have made their appearances in different blogs — like that from “Brahim.” “Nice work people,” he writes. “The cops are petrified of us, everything must burn, starting Monday, the operation ‘Midnight Sun’ starts, tell everyone else, rendezvous for Momo and Abdul in Zone 4 … jihad Islamia Allah Akhbar.”

User “Samir’s” message is just as threatening. “You don’t really think that we’re going to stop now? Are you stupid? It will continue, non-stop. We aren’t going to let up. The French won’t do anything and soon, we will be in the majority here.”

Survivor Guatamala: Week 9

Holy last minute escape Batman! Going into last night’s episode, here are my picks:

Reward: Gary
Immunity: Steph
Voted Off: Bobby Jon
Safe: Gary
Mystery (Who will RECEIVE at least one vote during Tribal Council?): Jamie

Reward? Strike 1, Judd got it with the Arrow Tossing Game o’ Luck.
Immunity came down to the wire and Steph fell off. Jamie gets it. Paladin says, “Oh no!!”

So now, Jamie has immunity so he can’t get any votes, so I lose my Mystery. People are starting to target Gary instead of Bobby Jon so I lose both my Voted Off and Safe. It’s looking like I’m going for the Giant GooseEgg!

Then at the last possible moment, Gary pulls out the hidden Immunity Idol. In the words of Costanza, “I’m back, baby!”

Cindy is like Cream of Wheat. Bland and easy to ignore.

Jamie pulled one of the greatest 180′s in Survivor history. He went from being one notch away from Howard Stern on the a$$ scale, to a monk from the Monestary of Humble Repentance. I watched dumbfounded.

After this whole thing is over, Judd might get approached for sponsorships deals by every 12-step program in the country. If there’s alcohol nearby… lookout!

Lydia marches on. Didn’t you just feel terrible for her when she couldn’t throw the arrow-thingee and was in last place, but Jamie takes her spot so what does she get?!? A fish! “Et tu, Jeff?”

Rafe claims he might “change the game” but I’m thinking once this gets down to The Six, he might be on the Last Train to Clarksville.

Steph is grinning from ear to ear. So this is what winning feels like!

Dannie is living on borrowed time now. Should have one more week, but if she doesn’t start up the uprising talks with Rafe, she’s a goner.

Gary’s only chance is if they hide another Immunity Idol in the woods. He’s history like Britney Spears.

Fantasy Survivor is still happening. I’ll post the updated scores before next week’s show. Good luck!

The Reverse-Jinx and other Chaos Theories

Saw The Sports Guy talking about the reverse jinx in his NBA Preview. Being an expert in this field I’m always on the lookout for additional data on the topic. So I sent in this email.

We’ve got to commission a study about this reverse-jinx thing. Saw you talking about Baron and the Warriors. My brothers and I have been reverse-jinxing since way back in the early 80s and I’m telling you, it works!

It’s not full-proof by any stretch of the imagination but we’re cranking out a steady 2-to-1 against the non reverse-jinx scenarios. Those are fine odds my friend. What I want to know is, do you have a data to support this strategy?

(BTW, the jinx is one of God’s little pets. He lets it run around and wreck havoc because He thinks it’s funny. Just don’t be too brazen because any full-bore attempt to manipulate the jinx can be met with extreme prejudice. I’m just saying.)

I’ll let you know if I learn anything new.

Fantasy Survivor Standings: Week 8

Cyclonic’s lead has actually increased since last week. The man is a force of Survivor guestimation. Can anyone beat this guy? And with his MVP Rafe still racking up points, it’s going to take something major for him to fall back to the pack.

Don’t forget your picks!

The Answer Within

The Paladin brings out this test for his students. If any of you Gakusei can determine the answer, you will show yourself worthy of advancement in the Dojo. Remember also, Google is not the true path to enlightenment, you must find the answer within yourself.

What is greater than God, more evil than the devil? The poor have it, the rich don’t need it. If you eat it, you’ll die?

Ultrasounds Should Be Available

In a commissioned poll, 77% of Americans believe that women seeking abortions have the right to view ultrasound pictures and hear the baby’s heartbeat. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3.55 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. How in the world with abortion proponents respond to this?

Dojo Info 11/9/05

1. Mark Cuban eyes Pittsburgh Pirates
   Cuban is one of those guys that’s just interesting. He’s smart, he’s rich and he’s not afraid to say what’s on his mind. Even still, I couldn’t watch baseball if you randomly shot one of the players with a fiery arrow and build a steeplechase moat around 2nd base.
2. No Tolerance from Gay Activists for People of Faith
   “This morning, between fifteen and twenty radicals entered FRC’s building carrying placards, chanting anti-abstinence slogans, and demanding condom distribution. The protesters, including some from the violent homosexual group ACT-UP, chained themselves to a statue of an American eagle in the FRC lobby.”
3. INXS on VH1
   You can watch INXS’s latest hit Pretty Vegas. Sweet.
4. The Apprentice Star Wars Special
   My hip brother sent me this link.
5. FlightAware
   Want to track a flight? Now you can! Isn’t the Internet cool? Here’s the American flight I took on Monday mornings.

Pushing Graphics to the Breaking Point

Have you seen Quake 4 yet? While good graphics don’t make the game, they sure do help add to the realism. Make sure you have a fairly new computer and a beefy video card or you won’t be experiencing the full-effect. At this site, you can view various portions of game in Virtual Reality (which is really just a fancy name for 360 degrees).

Buy That Ref Some Glasses

Time for a fun little quiz. The place is a Kentucky vs. Auburn football game. All I want to know, “Is this a legal catch?”

Note: The NCAA rule says:

1. If one foot first lands inbounds and the receiver has possession and
control of the ball, it is a catch or interception even though a subsequent
step or fall takes the receiver out of bounds.

Ok, on to the photos.

So what do you think? Apparently, the ref blinked for a really long time because he called it “no catch.”

Judges, Not Parents, Decide What Your Kids Learn

Parents across America should be outraged that these extremists judges have determined the state run school system has more authority than the kids own parents. Of course, we’re speaking about the 9th Circuit Court in San Francisco.

Can you believe their audacity?

The Appeals Court ruled that parents have ‘no fundamental rights to be the sole provider of teaching their children about sex and that they cannot prevent the public school system from teaching their children what it wishes’.

This is just sidestepping this issue because what’s at stake is not that parents have the “sole” responsibility, but the “ultimate” responsibility. It’s a power grab and parents are losing (.pdf). Here’s more from Judge Stephen Reinhardt:

“Schools cannot be expected to accommodate the personal, moral or religious concerns of every parent. Such an obligation would not only contravene the educational mission of the public schools, but also would be impossible to satisfy.”

Well, last I checked, since we live in a Democracy we voted on issues. Why doesn’t that work in California? Answer: Activists judges in this state don’t care about the voice of people. Reinhardt continues by saying parents…

“…have no due process or privacy right to override the determinations of public schools as to the information to which their children will be exposed while enrolled as students.”

Of course not! That would effectively take parents out of the equation and allow agenda minded school boards and certain activist teachers to train up a new generation of leftists. (If you didn’t know, the National Education Association has supported liberal politicians for more than the last 20 years. Every teacher, regardless of their political beliefs, is required to pay dues to the NEA who then decides how to allocate those funds.)

Every parent in California should be taking this issue up with their legislatures. Or, I guess the state could continue to see more and more families leave the state. My wife’s cousin moved his family out of San Diego and came cross-country to Louisville so that he and his wife could raise their children in a better environment. The state is not just in financial trouble, but apparently a larger moral bankruptcy is approaching.

Dojo Info 11/7/05

1. Vagina: An Owner’s Manual
   It’s not what you think, trust me. Dean just wants people to be aware that Seventeen magazine and the like, in the words of Britney, are not that innocent.
2. Democrats defeat election-law aid for bloggers
   Repeat after me, “Democrats want to run your life.”
3. Please Stop Calling Them the “MSM”
   Marty says, MSM + careful consideration = DP. I think he’s right! [via Bacon Bits]
4. Activist Judge Rules Palmdale Parents have no Say in Sex Ed in Schools
   Totally absurd. Prime example of how activist judges are out of control. America needs to fix this.
5. Lundberg Survey: Retail Gas Falls 23 Cents
   My #2 problem with the DP (see above) is that they generally focus on the bad news. Right now it’s like a 80%-20% bad news-to-good news ratio. That’s not good for our health, mental or otherwise. If we could get it to 50/50 we might survive.

Deck O’ Bloggers 2005

Aaron’s is taking nominations from all Higher Beings, Mortal Humans, Playful Primates and Large Mammals to be immortalized (or at least slightly remembered) as a member of this most prestigious deck.

Some of the biggies are already on board but it looks like some vacancies are still open. Head over and see what you think. If anyone chooses to nominate this humble Paladin, I’d be most honored. But custom dictates I may not self-nominate. It would bring much dishonor upon my family and I’d be forced to take my own life by seppuku.

Given the nomination rules, I barely meet the minimum requirements so a lowly blogger like myself could only fit in at the 2 of Spades or Diamonds. I humbly accept whatever fate has in store for me.