Yearly Archives: 2005

Lost for the Lost

I watch Lost religiously, and I actually picked up a few tidbits of information from this article on the show by Paul Scheer.

I didn’t catch that there were six Dharma Initiative science stations around the Island. I didn’t catch the Dharma Initiative logo on the shark, or that ghost Walt was speaking backwards. Ethan Rom, the first “Other” that kidnapped Claire in season one, is an anagram for “Other Man.”
The article itself isn’t very well written, though. It doesn’t give enough detail about the characters (it only highlights two) and it mentions the Dharma Initiative stations at the beginning, and talks about “the hatch” later, without noting that they’re the same thing. It also gets a bit too caught up in narrating and leaves out some pretty gaping details in that narrative. But I’m always interested in juicy bits I didn’t get.
Other stuff I discovered after doing some googling: Jack appears in Shannon’s flashback in the hospital where her father dies. Her father was apparently in the same accident as Jack’s future wife Sarah, whom he saved.

Also, you can see the Orientation video here: The Dharma Initiative. And if you notice the little copyright info at the end, it is to the Hanso Foundation. Screw around on this site for a while, and you’ll discover lots of hidden clues to Lost info. Run your mouse over the picture of Alvar Hanso and you see a mirrored letter pop up. Click on it, and the computer screen that we was in this last episode displays, only the message is : Hello? Hello: Who is this? MOLE. Then we see a cryptic letter displayed. The site contains a ton of information on what the Dharma Initiative was attempting to do, including:

The Hanso Life-Extension Project
The Hanso Foundation Electromagnetic Research Initiative
The Hanso Quest for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence
The Hanso Mathematical Forecasting Initiative
The Hanso Cryogenics Development Imperative
The Hanso Juxtapositional Eugenics Development Institute
The Hanso Accelerated Remote Viewing Training Facility

I gather there are several Disney-owned sites like this one out on the internet, with cryptic information about the show and hidden pages and puzzles.

Also, check out this photo, from the speculation that the DeGroots, the scientists who founded the DI, are The Others.

This is on the Lostpedia wiki, which I’m just now combing over, after having spent quite a bit of time looking through posts at losttv-forum.com.

Continue ReadingLost for the Lost

Training the Iraqi army to do what?

Zbigniew Brzezinski, in an interview with American Prospect makes this incredibly astute observation:

I think our course with the Iraqi forces verges on the absurd: It is all about us training them. The question arises: Training them to do what? If it is a matter of knowing how to use a Kalishnikov in order to kill other people, I think most military-aged Iraqis don’t need our training. If it is a question of training Iraqis so they behave and act like American soldiers, that’s well and good. Except that is not what is needed in the circumstances we will be bequeathing them. What is needed is motivation based on loyalty to the powers that be. That will mean loyalty to various Shiite militias with a clerical connotation and loyalty to the two major Kurdish formations. Plus, perhaps eventually, loyalty to some Sunni militias based on a tribal allegiance. The motivation is not going to be created by American sergeants who are — quote, unquote — “training” them how to behave like American soldiers.

Continue ReadingTraining the Iraqi army to do what?

Monday December 5th hearing on amending the HRO

I will be at this meeting. Please, please, please come with me, or meet me there. If you’ve never been to the city-county building, it’s very easy to find parking; just east of the building, where Market Square used to stand is a parking lot that charges 3 dollars. You can park there easily. I’ll be running in because it’s after work, but meet me when you get there. Please, whether you’re gay or not, come. It’s so important.
On December 5, 2005 at 5:30pm, the Indianapolis City-County Council will hold a public committee hearing on Proposition 622 [pdf description] – the proposed update to the city’s human rights ordinance that includes sexual orientation and gender identity.
The Rules and Public Policy Committee, meeting in the Public Assembly Room (council chambers) will hear testimony on the proposed changes from the community. The meeting will be televised.

Your help is needed!

Attend Monday night’s hearing and ask your friends, family and neighbors to join you. A large public turnout will help ensure the committee’s support.
WHO: City-County Council Rules and Public Policy Committee
WHAT: Proposition 622 public testimony hearing
WHEN: December 5, 2005 5:30pm (arrive early for seating)
WHERE: City-County Building (200 E Washington St – downtown)
Take action now! Take a moment right now to contact the members of the City-County Council and ask them to support equality and fairness for all Marion County citizens.
Or if you’d feel more comfortable contacting councilors directly (just be aware that Patrice Abduallah doesn’t read any of his e-mail):
rboyd@indygov.org
kingro@sbcglobal.net
rgibson@indygov.org
jmsanders@msn.com
angelamansfield@aol.com
jimthod7@aol.com
schneider725@yahoo.com
CainforCouncil@aol.com
PABDUALL@Indygov.org
L8638@aol.com
Greg@GregBowes.org
mgray@indygov.org
jnytes@indygov.org
WD_Oliver@hotmail.com
stalley@indygov.org
sherronfranklin@yahoo.com
esalisbu@indygov.org
mphister@indygov.org
keller@indy.net
mmadams@iquest.net
VABrown2022@yahoo.com
dmmahern@hotmail.com
susieday20@yahoo.com
llan@att.net
m.speedy@sbcglobal.net
lincolnplowman@aol.com
jmilarc@indygov.org

Continue ReadingMonday December 5th hearing on amending the HRO

Oh, no, they did not go there

According to the IndyStar:

Leaders from a dozen African-American churches held a prayer vigil today in the City-Council building in advance of an upcoming vote on a proposal to protect gays from discrimination — a proposal the church leaders firmly oppose.
Taking turns praying by name for each of the 29 members of the City-County Council, the church leaders asked God to help the elected leaders see the danger in the proposal, which they said threatens the very concept of a family unit.
Calling homosexuality a perverse “lifestyle choice” and an “abomination to God” that demands repentence, the church leaders also voiced anger that gay rights activists have likened their struggle to the civil rights movement.
“It is an offense to black people to be used – that the blood of our fathers and our own blood that was spilled on the pathways to civil rights should be used as a lever to get legal license to make their own choices law,” the Rev. Melvin Jackson, pastor at Christian Love Missionary Baptist Church and a participant in the civil rights marches of the 1960s, said after the vigil.
“I lived in it and it’s a lie. We are the sons and daughters of slaves who were held in chains physically and by the laws so that we could not exercise our will. These are people who can exercise their will, but they must not do it under the guise of civil rights.”
The proposal that would ban discrimination against gays in the workplace and the housing market is scheduled for a vote in mid-December.

Wow. I’m so stunned by the blatant homophobia and bigotry that I can’t even collect my thoughts. Unbelieveable that something so filled with hatred could come from the black community.
Let me repeat it so everyone can hear: YOUR RELIGION IS A CHOICE. It’s protected by the HRO, and it’s a choice — if you choose to be Buddhist, or Hindu, or Muslim, or Christian, or Jewish, it’s protected under the law, but it’s something you choose. I personally worship a giant monkey. And I can, because my choice is protected by the HRO.
My homosexuality on the other hand, is NOT A CHOICE. I didn’t pick it. I wouldn’t change it if I could, any more than any black person would deliberately go out and change the color of their skin. It’s a part of me. But I certainly didn’t choose it, any more than the color of my hair, my height, or any other part of me.
I’ve written this a billion times, and I’m writing it again. What makes me gay isn’t my behavior, it’s my feelings. Homosexuality isn’t about behavior, it’s about who you fall in love with and are attracted to. Choice has nothing to do with it.
Of course I could choose to marry a man and have a monogamous relationship with him for the rest of my life. But that wouldn’t make me heterosexual. That would make me a gay woman in a relationship with a man. A miserable relationship that I hated, he hated, and any children we had hated. It would be a destructive mess to everyone concerned. Want proof of that? If you’re heterosexual, picture yourself in a relationship with someone of your own sex. Think you could make it work? Think you would be happy? I thought not. Thousands of gay people have entered into relationships with someone of the opposite sex and can attest to the destruction and misery it causes.
I’m not even going to go into the “Abomination before God” bullshit, because, as I mentioned, I worship a giant monkey, and I don’t care what they hell these ministers are on about. They certainly shouldn’t be allowed to put their religious bullshit into law. I wonder why they got to have access to the city-county building. Can we get access to hold a prayer vigil in favor of Prop. 622? I want to pray to Hanuman about it.

Continue ReadingOh, no, they did not go there

The Senate’s Recent “Open Forum on Decency”

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The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation held an “Open Forum on Decency” yesterday to discussion media standards, including sexual content on cable television channels and satellite radio broadcasting. The forum was hosted by Senator Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) and was attended by executives from radio, television and media outlets to discuss the subject of how to give parents more control over the media content their children are exposed to.
You may know my opinion on the subject from previous rants I’ve posted, especially about censoring cable — I pay good money for that smut and expect it to remain on my television which is attached with mejores IPTV network., thank you. I won’t be the unwilling babysitter of other people’s kids.
This idea struck me as interesting, though: the FCC is reversing it’s previous position and supporting the idea of “al-la-carte” cable where you would get to pick and choose what channels you have on your cable service. That method would allow sanctimonious parents to eliminate MTV and Spike from their cable lineups, a move that is bitterly opposed by the Cable industry, because media companies make money by bundling channels together. For example, Disney owns ESPN, and makes money from having it bundled on your cable service regardless of whether you watch it or not.
Several religious leaders cautioned against the al-la-carte idea, however, saying that people could just as easily go the other direction and eliminate religious programming from their cable line-up, which I guess would be just wrong, in their eyes.
Exactly the leap I made myself; “Cool! I can strike down Faux News!” That bogus station would be the first thing I eliminated from my line-up, followed by the religious channels, home shopping stations, and all sports channels other than ESPN, which I’d have to keep so my girlfriend could watch ice skating.

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Bill O’Reilly’s Hit List

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Faux News pundit Bill O’Reilly has been on a rampage on his show lately about “left-wing bloggers” (a term defined as “anyone who disagrees with Bill O’Reilly.”) claiming that they are repeating lies and slander (or saying the word falafel) about him. Bill has been threatening repeatedly over the last few weeks to publish a list of offenders, and the big left-wing blogs have been lobbying to get on the list.
Bill finally ponied up his list, but apparently, he’s too scaredy-cat to actually give publicity to the blogs, because he only names mainstream newspapers that “have regularly helped distribute defamation and false information supplied by far left websites.”

Continue ReadingBill O’Reilly’s Hit List

10 Reasons Why Gay Marriage is Wrong

I’m completely ripping off my friend Bil.
1. Homosexuality is not natural. Real Americans always reject unnatural things like eyeglasses, polyester, and air conditioning.
2. Gay marriage will encourage people to be gay, in the same way that hanging around tall people will make you tall.
3. Legalizing gay marriage will open the door to all kinds of crazy behavior. People may even wish to marry their dogs because they can legally sign the marriage documents.
4. Heterosexual marriage has been around a long time and hasn’t changed at all; women are still property, blacks still can’t marry whites, and divorce is still illegal.
5. Straight marriage will be less meaningful if homosexual marriage were allowed; the sanctity of Brittany Spears’ 55-hour just-for-fun marriage would be destroyed.
6. Heterosexual marriages are valid because they produce children. Homosexual couples, infertile couples, and old people shouldn’t be allowed to marry because our orphanages aren’t full yet, and the world needs more children.
7. Obviously gay parents will raise gay children, since straight parents only raise straight children.
8. Gay marriage is not supported by religion. In a theocracy like ours, the values of one religion are imposed on the entire country. That’s why we have only one religion in America.
9. Children can never succeed without a male and a female role model at home. That’s why we as a society expressly forbid single parents to raise children.
10. Gay marriage will change the foundation of society; we could never adapt to new social norms. Just like we haven’t adapted to cars, the service-sector economy, or longer life spans.

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If Your Life Was a Movie, What Genre Would It Be?

The Movie Of Your Life Is A Cult Classic

Quirky, offbeat, and even a little campy – your life appeals to a select few.
But if someone’s obsessed with you, look out! Your fans are downright freaky.

Your best movie matches: Office Space, Showgirls, The Big Lebowski

Showgirls? Ahem. No.

Continue ReadingIf Your Life Was a Movie, What Genre Would It Be?

Indianapolis’ Human Rights Ordinance

If you have a few minutes to write to your city-county councilors asking them to amend the city’s Human Rights Ordinance to include sexual orientation and gender identity protections (aka Proposition 622), please take some time to do so.
If you’ve been discriminated against, or if you know someone who has (here’s a hint I have) tell them about it and why it’s important to you.
The council needs to hear from you, because the votes to support the proposition aren’t solid, and some councilors are still making up their minds. The right-wing is enlisting support from outside of Indianapolis and Indiana for an email bombing campaign against the change.
Also, take a bit of time to read a couple of responses from councilors. Last year, city countil member Ginny Cain, sent one of her constituents this very telling remark: recounted in full on Advance Indiana: “I will never support something that is meant for destruction of human beings and our civilization.”
And just this morning, Councilor Earl Salisbury, in response to a story from a constituent about discrimination, gave this flippant reply: “So if the laws change does the abuse stop? No more suicides? Promise?”
Yes, including GLBT rights in the HRO will help prevent suicides. It will improve the quality of life for GLBT people, who will be less depressed as a result. The high suicide rate among gay and lesbian and transgendered people is because they suffer from discrimination, not because they are gay or transgendered. The way to reduce the suicide rate is to end the discrimination, and passing Prop. 622 is the first step in doing so.
Another good reason to pass to pass Prop 622 — preventing the massive brain drain that is currently going on in the state of Indiana, by making the state more attractive to people like me — technical people that the city is spending money hand over fist to attract to the city.
Tell the council about your professional field, and how passing the ordinance would make you feel about remaining in the state.

Continue ReadingIndianapolis’ Human Rights Ordinance