28 December 2001
Society, I imagine, doesn't want individualists—even if many in society do admire individualism.  Society wants leaders & followers.  You've heard the saying, "Lead, follow, or get out of the way."?  What of those who will not follow & aren't smart enough or good enough to lead?  Since it appears that civilization seeks to fill as much of the world as it can, the only two places available to be free may be in prison & in death.

Wow, that's gloomy.

18 December 2001
When I say "economics," I should add this:  Real economics is about a lot more than money.  It's about pretty much everything—every resource in the ecology.  And of course, the real economics isn't nearly so neat & law-abiding as some of the free-marketers who teach economics in the schools would like to pretend.  The true economics is, in fact, part & parcel of the science of ecology.  Those who aren't afraid to take a hard look at hard truth should consider the reality of how political power & the limitations of our physical existence actually govern us.
An awful lot of people advocate various political policies, thinking they're smart enough, educated enough, & wise enough to know what society needs.  But they are naïve about the economic & ecological realities of our existence.  Don't think you understand society just because you've taken sociology.  Far be it from a dropout like me to tell you to take college courses, but learning doesn't need to be accredited.  Study some biology—like ecology, population dynamics, environmental science; study basic economics.  And take the truths you find there to heart.

Here's one to get you started:   You can't sustain a program which attempts to feed all the poor unless you also ensure that the total population remains below a certain level.

16 December 2001
My philosophy:
The first principle of economics:  You can't always get what you want, or even what you need; you get what you can.
The first principle of morality:  You are not alone in the universe; others matter.  And since there is a lot more in the universe that is not you than that is you, it's not that hard for some group of things to be more important than you.
The second principle of morality:  Do not destroy what cannot be replaced.

11 December 2001
It's been thirteen weeks, or three months, today.  I'm finally going to say something on this page about the September 11 attacks & the current war:
1.  I doubt whether anybody knew that an attack of this kind would cause the WTC Twin Towers to collapse.  Yes, I understand the physics now, but hindsight is 20/20, as they say.  I imagine the original idea was simply to crash airplanes with American civilians in an unmistakably intentional way, and take out more than just the passengers in the planes.  The massive structural damage to Manhattan's business district was a bonus the planners of the attack probably weren't counting on.  But I could be wrong.
2.  I'm unclear on the details, but apparently President Shrub has gotten approval from Congress to try American non-citizens in secret trials without recourse to appeal to the Judicial Branch of the United States.  I'm pretty sure this is justified by (a) plain old jingoism, & (b) a poorly-thought-out interpretation of the doctrine of the social contract (that is, if they're not constituents of the U.S. government, the U.S. government supposedly has no responsibility to them).  I suggest that anyone who thinks this is a good idea consider whether you'd like Americans suspected of conspiring to commit crimes against other countries were treated thus in those countries; as without the right to a public trial due to their non-citizenship.  Further, the very demand for secret trials just screams that Shrub & his puppet-master Dick Cheney either don't want to be bothered with the truth in their pursuit of vengeance, or themselves have something to hide.
3.  Any Discordians out there feel like joining a Johnny Walker Lindh Cabal?

5 December 2001
Deep thought of the day:  You owe the past nothing but to protect the future.  Thank you.

Oh, yeah.  The local station did rerun the Buffy musical episode a week later.  It still had a bit cut out of the first number, though.

11 November 2001

So now I've seen most of the musical episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, "Once More with Feeling."  I've found a site with the song lyrics, but a lot of the songs are sung by different characters in alternation, & the site doesn't clearly show who sings what line, so it doesn't make as much sense unless you've seen the episode.  But it is kind of neat that someone did this:     "Once More with Feeling" lyrics

As for why I've seen most, but not all, of the episode:  This episode was longer than normal, & the local station (not a standard UPN affiliate) on which I usually watch the new Buffy episodes couldn't fit it & all their ads into its accustomed time slot.  So they kept the ads & cut off the end of the episode.  Grrrrr. Arrgh.

20 October 2001

I've been gone too long.
Well, of the various online comix listed on my "online comix links" the only ones I check daily are Sluggy Freelance & SinFest.  So, take that page with a grain of salt.
I added another quote to the quotes page today, & there may be more coming.  We'll see.

4 August 2001

I found a rather freaky sports fan picture on msnbc.com, and it got me to thinking.  I don't know how much longer it will stay up, so I've put it on the site here.

25 July 2001

OK, to be fair, sometimes Thomas Sowell says something I respect.  But it worries me that maybe it's not that he's right, but that he and I happen to agree on something.  Maybe we're just both wrong!  Aagh!
But seriously, he does seem to understand the basic principles underpinning the economic realities of our race's existence.  Too bad he seems commited to maintaining the ecologically unstable economy that the United States has accepted as normal.

2 July 2001

I am trying to accept that there is something wrong with me that I can't fix.  Well, maybe "wrong" is the wrong word.  The point is, I am this way.  I am not brave; I am not creative; I am not a genius.  But just because I am none of those things does not make me a moron; it's not an all-or-nothing deal.  The truth of the matter is, I'd rather be sitting here coloring-in other people's drawings than trying to write something myself or take some job that requires me to work outside.  And if you don't understand that, that's okay, 'cos I don't understand you either.  Anyway, I think the only job I can see doing on a regular basis & really enjoying is being a comic-book colorist.  Of course, I may decide in a couple weeks that I'm wrong, but that's what I'm thinking right now.

5 June 2001 OK, I started a section (lo many moons ago) called "comix fiend". With scans even. But now, I have no computer to hook my scanner to (sob!) and am getting online through other computers (thank the college's public access computers! yay!) And I don't feel like updating things so much.... BUT... There is one comic I must plug:

Midnight Nation is a twelve-issue limited series written by Joe Straczynski (yeah, TV fans, the guy who created Babylon 5) and drawn by Gary Frank.  I don't care if you don't read comics!  Go to your local comic shop & ask for it by name!!!!  Seven issues have been released, so it's about halfway done.  Of course it's desirable to start at the beginning, but any of it you can find is worth reading.  It's--how do I describe it?--sort of a horror story, very weird, a bit gory in places, which will turn some people off, but it's so deep and rich and--dare I say profound?--and serious, despite the fantastic premise. Remember the name.  Don't let the comic-shop guy try to sell you some crap like "Outlaw Nation" or something.  If you're not into comic-book art, don't get suckered into something else just for the Gary Frank art.  Midngiht Nation is special.  And yes, much better than the average comic.  So even if you heartily contend that you "don't read cartoons," even if you turn up your nose at all comics, READ THIS COMIC!!! For more information, visit the publisher's site at www.topcow.com, or this fan site: the Midnight Nation Station. Thank you and good day.

30 May 2001

I just read part of a column by Thomas Sowell, GOP propagandist.  He was waxing dismissive about the rights of endangered species, and said something to this effect: "Frogs are a species; a given variety of frog is not a species."  I just had to scream!  Frogs are--off top my head--more like a sub-order!  That is, "Frogs" refers to a group of species similar to each other but as distinct from each other as, for example:
a. the set of non-lemur primates:  great apes, lesser apes, monkeys, and mankind (really a great ape with pretensions)
b. cloven-hooved animals:  antelope, goats, buffalo, deer... would you consider all those a "species", too, Mr Sowell??

People who are this willfully ignorant about biology shouldn't set environmental policy, obviously.  I submit that they shouldn't be syndicated either.  Thomas Sowell should be banned from the newspapers.  "Freedom of the press" is no excuse for damned lies!

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