This is a song from a few years ago by The White Stripes. I think you'll truly appreciate the lyrics. It describes politics like I've never seen/heard before. Is gospel.
Operation Germinate
Click on the photo to make it larger. I found this photo and the caption reads, "A US Marine dog handler attached to Fox Company 2nd Battalion 3rd Marines takes a break from patrolling beside a field of marijuana during day three of Operation Germinate into the restive Bhuji Bhast Pass in Farah Province, southern Afghanistan, on October 9, 2009."
I googled Operation Germinate and can't find out what exactly the mission is, but judging from this photo and how we typically name this stuff, I would guess we are destroying their drugs. Do you think Obama is sending people into Afghanistan to make them abide by the morals our country holds, that we don't even follow?
I also saw a bunch of photos of Mexican border towns, including TJ, where a naked man hangs from an overpass, a severed head on the hood of a car, someone's actual brains sprayed against the wall where his body is sitting, and other really disturbing stuff that I was going to post on here, but they were just too graphic. You know we cause that right? Sometimes when I can't buy home grown I dare not think where my money is going.
At least I'm desensitized and detached enough like my fellow Americans that these pictures won't ruin my day. We're the rulers of the free world and that doesn't happen here.... Man this drug subject just really really gets to me. I don't know how anyone in the Federal Government can PERSONALLY reconcile their actions and the catastrophic results.
Press Freedom Index
A group based in Paris called Reporters Sans Frontiers compiles an index which measures the freedom of the press in different countries based on questionnaires from hundreds of journalists and experts from around the world.
This is pretty interesting. The US was ranked 40th until Obama got elected and now we are 20th.
This is pretty interesting. The US was ranked 40th until Obama got elected and now we are 20th.
For Starters
I'm running late to go on a field trip, but here is a composting 101 video on vermincomposting I think it is called. Using worms. I did this in middle school and it is the kind of composting I have in mind for my vegetable garden. I want to do another one for more general planting that is just regular composting.
New Use for Blogger
So I had mentioned in the past that I wanted to do something new with the blog. I want to use it to keep track of information for various projects I want to do. I would include websites, photos, diagrams, photos of my progress, and outcomes. I had set up another blog to do just that with everything, including recipes. So, I am getting into compost and gardening right now. After not being able to sleep and an early physical therapy appointment for my grandma, I've decided to stay up all night and I'm going to get started now. I'll go ahead and state my goals, explain my situation, and probably include pictures of the land I have at my disposal.
First thing first. My grandmother had a massive stroke in May. When Obama was at the over exposed Notre Dame commencement thing, I was literally at the hospital across the street with my gram gram. She was moved to a home and after an incident, I will not go into, we moved her to a really nice place near where we live as opposed to where she lived. This is good for many reasons that you don't care about, but the main one being that we live in an extreme lake effect snow belt. I'm literally at the tip of Lake Michigan if you look at it like a large finger.
It is completely normal for the west side of town to get 2 inches of snow and the east side of the same town to get 24". That sounds like it would be a fluke, but it isn't. Why am I telling you this? I have no idea.
We have a huge front lawn, side lawns, a mega-pond with its own ecosystem, a decent sized back yard, and then a field thru a tiny bit of forrest (or extended natural pond ecosystem). My goal is to enhance the field to bring more animals to the area, more animals out of the water, and to make the fox/deer feel a little more at home. Because my grandma is not well and likely won't fully recover (it has been 6 months almost already) I want to make a place that she will love in the spring/summer. Of course I will enjoy it too, so it is not selfless at all. I want to build a path that she can either walk on (if she gets to that point) or can be taken down, from the house to the back field and have it like a giant park. Right now it is undeveloped and we just mow it, so it is a huge field surround by forrest and then some horses, goats, and other stuff like that. I'm going to work on getting photos up. So that is probably the biggest part of my drive. I'd like to have hammocks up back there and stuff so it is a total retreat. BTW, we have a golf cart (this whole neighborhood does) so I can take her back there like that if need be.
I need to learn as much about gardening as possible. In regards to wildlife, soil, sun, and the stuff that will grow in this climate. I suppose I'm lucky to be in the midwest where the climate is ideal for this sort of thing, but I am also cursed being so close to Lake Michigan (2 miles maybe?). The topography here is totally unique. We have sand dunes. I don't know if you've heard of the Indiana Dunes, and frankly I don't know where the sand came from. The Wisconsin Glacier pushed its way down to maybe 5 or 10 miles south of me which has brought a ton of nutrients and has blessed the area outside my zone with extremely fertile soil. The thing is, we are at the edge of where it was so everything it was scraping off the ground as it was moving settled here (probably where the sand came from). We have this weird soil/sand mixture that is better than it is bad, but my point is it is not idea. Then I have a giant natural pond with forrest, I dont' know how that effects the root systems. As far as I know there is beautiful soil beneath the grass and trees. I don't have an bulldozer, so I'll never know. I just noticed I am rambling. In case you haven't noticed, I write like I speak in conversation, so things get away from me.
The main things I think I need to grow are different kinds of lettuce and salad stuff, tons of tomatoes, corn, watermelon, cantaloupe, strawberries, grapes, blueberries, all kinds of other berries, and then I don't know what else. Potatoes probably. I'm not a foodie, though I've been trying to learn how to cook. I'm currently trying to perfect frozen french toast sticks, but I fuck it up every time. I tried to add ovaltine (can I grow that?!) and it ended up not mixing and then burning the fuck out of the bottom. Yes, I'm still eating them. So, I guess I'm asking you guys right now, what should I grow?
The test garden wasn't tended to very well, because of the sudden health crisis with my grandma. We were able to grow corn, tomatoes, 2 watermelon, lettuce, zuccini (we didn't even eat it), squash (we didn't eat).... It was kind of a failure, but we know that we can grow tomatoes and watermelon. My goal is to basically only use the grocery store for eggs (will not get chickens), bread, milk, and condiments. I'd also like to grow herbs. More for medical benefit than taste, but I'm 100% ignorant about the pharmacology of that stuff. Herbs will likely be a sub-side-project. I am really looking for ideas or pointers for any of this stuff. I don't know your experience at all.
Then, I want to clear out a little bit of forrest (mostly brush, not trees) to get down to the pond. It is so lush that it is impossible as is. Dump a bunch of big rocks for the cold blooded animals to sit on during the day, so my grandma can look. It would also provide habitat for the mink and other weasles. I want to build little artificial caves for the fox to use as dens too. Right now you are thinking, you want to bring more fox in and stuff, but you are going to have a garden full of food to fight over... YES. How do I keep fox, who dig dens into the ground, out of my fenced in garden?
Now there is a ton of left over field... I want to plant wild flowers galore. The area I live in is EXTREMELY diverse for butterflies and plats. I think the dunes (which I basically live in) is the 7 or 13th most bio-diverse habitats on the planet when talking about plants. I'm going to talk more about the animals that live here later with photos. I think I can get a field of hundreds of thousands of butterflies. Realistically. I think flowers and butterflies + deer and fox would make my grandma happy if she is going to be housebound for the most part..... BTW this is the only reason I left my luxury apartment to live in the middle of nowhere. She really has no place to go, and if I didn't do this she would be stuck in a home forever. Its strange though, because she doesn't know me as an adult. The past 10 years I've seen her maybe 5-7 times, because I've been all over the country.
So this all has to be planned out right. I have 7-8 months to figure it all out, and I can get started on making the soil better now. So I am looking into composting. Then I am going to start getting seeds and probably trying to start them all out inside for a few months before planting them (I actually want to get experience in this area for less than reputable reason as well). Don't tell anyone. This all has to be done on the cheap too, because I just lost all of my money in the last month, but it may not be gone. I don't want to share, so don't ask. Basically now I'm probably poor and it is that much more difficult to get this stuff done. When I was writing about how my generation is fucked, that came from personal experience. In case you were wondering why I wrote so much or got so passionate about it. I'm just trying to get proactive and feel less like a victim right now.
As I learn stuff about composting I will post stuff on here. Feel free to ignore it if you like, but the reason I am putting it on here as well as my personal blog is so that I can get ideas from some very smart people and learn from your experience. Then when I start building or converting something into a compost I will take photos and post them. If I run into problems I will post them. You get the idea. How does all this sound? Does it sound interesting? If you have stuff that you don't want that you'd be willing to mail me that might help that would be appreciated too. I know when I try to germinate seeds I will need yogurt cups or something to put the soil in. Stupid little shit like that if you wanted to help. I want to learn how to can and jar stuff to use during the winter too, but that is like a year away.
Please tell me what you think. Let me know if there is any advice you can think of. Do you have experience in anything like any of this? Are there things I'm not even thinking about that I should be, like regarding the wild life - I will not destroy habitat, I promise. If anyone knows how to work with someone who's had a stroke and can't talk well, gets frustrated, and gives up, please let me know. I have a documentary posted on my youtube about music therapy and it lead me to a few things, and I've found that if I get my grandma to hum a song first, she can speak with less frustration for about 45 seconds. It is so frustrating, but 500x more frustrating for her. I have not met her new speech or occupational therapist yet, hopefully that is who i'll be working with this morning.
I think since this is like the longest post ever, that it may be enough for the day. Before anyone even responds I just want to say thank you. If this ends up helping me, it is a whole other purpose that I did not intend for the blog. I made it because Lisa wanted something more personal. I like to just help people out, but now I may benefit from it in real life. It's one of those little things that life throws at you, that was completely unexpected - but in a good way.
First thing first. My grandmother had a massive stroke in May. When Obama was at the over exposed Notre Dame commencement thing, I was literally at the hospital across the street with my gram gram. She was moved to a home and after an incident, I will not go into, we moved her to a really nice place near where we live as opposed to where she lived. This is good for many reasons that you don't care about, but the main one being that we live in an extreme lake effect snow belt. I'm literally at the tip of Lake Michigan if you look at it like a large finger.
It is completely normal for the west side of town to get 2 inches of snow and the east side of the same town to get 24". That sounds like it would be a fluke, but it isn't. Why am I telling you this? I have no idea. We have a huge front lawn, side lawns, a mega-pond with its own ecosystem, a decent sized back yard, and then a field thru a tiny bit of forrest (or extended natural pond ecosystem). My goal is to enhance the field to bring more animals to the area, more animals out of the water, and to make the fox/deer feel a little more at home. Because my grandma is not well and likely won't fully recover (it has been 6 months almost already) I want to make a place that she will love in the spring/summer. Of course I will enjoy it too, so it is not selfless at all. I want to build a path that she can either walk on (if she gets to that point) or can be taken down, from the house to the back field and have it like a giant park. Right now it is undeveloped and we just mow it, so it is a huge field surround by forrest and then some horses, goats, and other stuff like that. I'm going to work on getting photos up. So that is probably the biggest part of my drive. I'd like to have hammocks up back there and stuff so it is a total retreat. BTW, we have a golf cart (this whole neighborhood does) so I can take her back there like that if need be.
I need to learn as much about gardening as possible. In regards to wildlife, soil, sun, and the stuff that will grow in this climate. I suppose I'm lucky to be in the midwest where the climate is ideal for this sort of thing, but I am also cursed being so close to Lake Michigan (2 miles maybe?). The topography here is totally unique. We have sand dunes. I don't know if you've heard of the Indiana Dunes, and frankly I don't know where the sand came from. The Wisconsin Glacier pushed its way down to maybe 5 or 10 miles south of me which has brought a ton of nutrients and has blessed the area outside my zone with extremely fertile soil. The thing is, we are at the edge of where it was so everything it was scraping off the ground as it was moving settled here (probably where the sand came from). We have this weird soil/sand mixture that is better than it is bad, but my point is it is not idea. Then I have a giant natural pond with forrest, I dont' know how that effects the root systems. As far as I know there is beautiful soil beneath the grass and trees. I don't have an bulldozer, so I'll never know. I just noticed I am rambling. In case you haven't noticed, I write like I speak in conversation, so things get away from me.
The main things I think I need to grow are different kinds of lettuce and salad stuff, tons of tomatoes, corn, watermelon, cantaloupe, strawberries, grapes, blueberries, all kinds of other berries, and then I don't know what else. Potatoes probably. I'm not a foodie, though I've been trying to learn how to cook. I'm currently trying to perfect frozen french toast sticks, but I fuck it up every time. I tried to add ovaltine (can I grow that?!) and it ended up not mixing and then burning the fuck out of the bottom. Yes, I'm still eating them. So, I guess I'm asking you guys right now, what should I grow?
The test garden wasn't tended to very well, because of the sudden health crisis with my grandma. We were able to grow corn, tomatoes, 2 watermelon, lettuce, zuccini (we didn't even eat it), squash (we didn't eat).... It was kind of a failure, but we know that we can grow tomatoes and watermelon. My goal is to basically only use the grocery store for eggs (will not get chickens), bread, milk, and condiments. I'd also like to grow herbs. More for medical benefit than taste, but I'm 100% ignorant about the pharmacology of that stuff. Herbs will likely be a sub-side-project. I am really looking for ideas or pointers for any of this stuff. I don't know your experience at all.
Then, I want to clear out a little bit of forrest (mostly brush, not trees) to get down to the pond. It is so lush that it is impossible as is. Dump a bunch of big rocks for the cold blooded animals to sit on during the day, so my grandma can look. It would also provide habitat for the mink and other weasles. I want to build little artificial caves for the fox to use as dens too. Right now you are thinking, you want to bring more fox in and stuff, but you are going to have a garden full of food to fight over... YES. How do I keep fox, who dig dens into the ground, out of my fenced in garden?
Now there is a ton of left over field... I want to plant wild flowers galore. The area I live in is EXTREMELY diverse for butterflies and plats. I think the dunes (which I basically live in) is the 7 or 13th most bio-diverse habitats on the planet when talking about plants. I'm going to talk more about the animals that live here later with photos. I think I can get a field of hundreds of thousands of butterflies. Realistically. I think flowers and butterflies + deer and fox would make my grandma happy if she is going to be housebound for the most part..... BTW this is the only reason I left my luxury apartment to live in the middle of nowhere. She really has no place to go, and if I didn't do this she would be stuck in a home forever. Its strange though, because she doesn't know me as an adult. The past 10 years I've seen her maybe 5-7 times, because I've been all over the country.
So this all has to be planned out right. I have 7-8 months to figure it all out, and I can get started on making the soil better now. So I am looking into composting. Then I am going to start getting seeds and probably trying to start them all out inside for a few months before planting them (I actually want to get experience in this area for less than reputable reason as well). Don't tell anyone. This all has to be done on the cheap too, because I just lost all of my money in the last month, but it may not be gone. I don't want to share, so don't ask. Basically now I'm probably poor and it is that much more difficult to get this stuff done. When I was writing about how my generation is fucked, that came from personal experience. In case you were wondering why I wrote so much or got so passionate about it. I'm just trying to get proactive and feel less like a victim right now.
As I learn stuff about composting I will post stuff on here. Feel free to ignore it if you like, but the reason I am putting it on here as well as my personal blog is so that I can get ideas from some very smart people and learn from your experience. Then when I start building or converting something into a compost I will take photos and post them. If I run into problems I will post them. You get the idea. How does all this sound? Does it sound interesting? If you have stuff that you don't want that you'd be willing to mail me that might help that would be appreciated too. I know when I try to germinate seeds I will need yogurt cups or something to put the soil in. Stupid little shit like that if you wanted to help. I want to learn how to can and jar stuff to use during the winter too, but that is like a year away.
Please tell me what you think. Let me know if there is any advice you can think of. Do you have experience in anything like any of this? Are there things I'm not even thinking about that I should be, like regarding the wild life - I will not destroy habitat, I promise. If anyone knows how to work with someone who's had a stroke and can't talk well, gets frustrated, and gives up, please let me know. I have a documentary posted on my youtube about music therapy and it lead me to a few things, and I've found that if I get my grandma to hum a song first, she can speak with less frustration for about 45 seconds. It is so frustrating, but 500x more frustrating for her. I have not met her new speech or occupational therapist yet, hopefully that is who i'll be working with this morning.
I think since this is like the longest post ever, that it may be enough for the day. Before anyone even responds I just want to say thank you. If this ends up helping me, it is a whole other purpose that I did not intend for the blog. I made it because Lisa wanted something more personal. I like to just help people out, but now I may benefit from it in real life. It's one of those little things that life throws at you, that was completely unexpected - but in a good way.
Airport Security
I'm not sure how aware people are of the strides being made in the name of security, but the government can effectively see you naked when they please. This technology has been in use for at least a year that I know of. The photo above is one released to the press of a man (obviously) at an airport security check point. I have huge issues with this, and now so does the group Action on Rights for Children. By the way, the image inside the red rectangle is a knife. It seems like something that is easily missed.
In England (we have this technology at our airports too) their TSA workers (equivalent) could potentially have faced criminal charges for doing their job. Now people under the age of 18 do not have to be subjected to this process. It is important to point out that since minors do not have to have a state issued ID that they get lax procedures when showing their boarding pass and can frequently zip in and out of secure areas.
Let's see you have less than honorable intentions, all you need to do is bring a minor. This isn't why I'm posting this really, just an afterthought. I have a problem with my right to privacy and dignity. In all these photos they show unfit people. Well when you are fit stuff hangs and sticks out better and you get a much sharper image. Here it is kind of a blog with grooves, shown from the front. I don't like the idea of some 18 year old kid staring at me naked. Perhaps even calling people over to show them. They could humiliate you. Not only that, but if you are famous you think that they may not whip out their cell phone and sell a picture of your cock to a tabloid?
We all know how the real world works. This picture was taking extra blurry on purpose where detail cannot really be seen. If this is the best it could do, would governments have signed billion dollar contracts if this is what you saw in order to see a knife? A pat down or metal detector would find it a lot easier and cheaper. I would be somewhat concerned about getting x-rays shot at me against my will. What if you are a frequent flyer? What about the other workers that have x-rays being shot at them all day 40 hours a week?
At what point do they just ask us to remove all of our clothes? A few years ago I used to fly to Miami, Chicago, Indianapolis, LA every month. I went thru at least 6 security check points every 2 weeks, and honestly used to get mistaken for a model. I was a really good looking gay guy who took care of myself. I frequently got separated from the line at LAX specifically and frisked (randomly). It was uncomfortable and always felt sexual. The fact that I was a regular and they were the same employees each time made it worse. I'm sure that I am being somewhat paranoid, but the newer technology is surely too invasive. I'm kind of wondering why this isn't something being talked about in our country.
Here is the article that accompanied this image from Daily Mail: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1221111/Nude-X-ray-scans-scuppered-child-porn-fears.html?ITO=1490
Blackhawk Down
Can the IOC change their mind about sending millions of foreign nationals to Rio? Make it Spain, I'll let the Chicago fantasy go. They brought down a helicopter! Here is the intense article in its entirety from watoday.com. hese are actual pictures from what happened. This is scary to me, because if I went to Rio chances are high I will be on busses and a chopper or two.
At least 12 people have been killed and a helicopter downed in fierce clashes between gangs and police in Rio de Janeiro weeks after the city won its bid to host the 2016 Olympics.
Two policemen were killed and two were wounded when their helicopter was shot down by drug gangs in running battles in the slums of northern Rio, said military police commander Mario Sergio Duarte. During exchanges of fire with police at the weekend, eight gang members lost their lives and six were wounded, including two civilians, a policeman and three gang members, a Public Security Secretariat official said.
Nine buses were also set on fire in other neighbourhoods close to a shanty town known as Morro dos Macacos, in retaliation for a police operation aimed at controlling heavy gun battles between rival drug gangs in the area.
Rio's win to host the 2016 Olympic Games, the first to be held in South America, is a serious challenge for a city plagued by endemic urban violence. About 6000 people were murdered here last year alone.
On Saturday, the dramatic clashes erupted as gangs in the neighbouring shanty of Morro do Sao Joao tried to invade Morro dos Macacos and seize control there, officials said.
A police helicopter pilot was then hit in the leg by gunshots and had trouble landing. The aircraft exploded shortly after landing and only two policemen - including the pilot - were able to get out in time. Two other passengers died.
After the helicopter crashed a new gunbattle erupted between gangs and more than 100 policemen, backed by Special Police Operations Battalion troops and an armoured vehicle.
''I have never heard so many gunshots in my life,'' a 15-year-old girl who lives in Morro dos Macacos told the G1 website of the Globo media network.
Bus driver Fabio Nascimento said 15 masked men armed with guns and pistols had ordered him to step out of his vehicle and evacuate passengers, declaring: ''Get out, get out, we are going to light it on fire.''
The president of the Organisation of Lawyers of Brazil in Rio denounced the parallel network of power in the city where in some areas gangs hold more control than authorities.
''This power humiliates, kills and blows up the pillars of the republic. How far will they go?'' asked Cezar Britto.
The organisation's Rio chief, Wadih Damous, criticised the lack of investment in the hundred or so slums that surround Rio, charging that it is ''no longer acceptable that Rio has neighbourhoods ruled by gangsters''.
In May 2007, shortly after taking power, Rio de Janeiro state governor Sergio Cabral ordered a massive offensive against organised crime.
Stephen Fry in America Whole Episode
If you watch please tell me what you think. If you'd like the rest of the states, let me know. If you want to see the endangered species version of this show, with the lemurs, let me know. I think you'll sincerely enjoy this.
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
Rahm
So he is all over the news today. Is it possible to totally despise someone even though you agree with their message of the day? I can't help but to take sides over the whole Rahm v Dean rivalry. I will never trust this man. I will never like him. Actually he is downright nasty looking (not physically). His demeanor turns me off. If he was Joe Shmoe on the street and he carried himself this way, I would despise him instantly too. You know how the french have that word for the indescribable quality that exists in some people's charisma? He has the opposite of that. He is a natural villain. In fact it is hard to tell who I dislike more him or John Fucking King.
My mind has been getting increasingly negative lately. That can't be healthy right? Here is a video where I obviously agree with Rahm, but I agree on principal. I think he agrees because of politics.
Also I'm uploading full episodes to some of that Stephen Fry stuff I've been talking about lately. I'll put those up as soon as they are all processed.
My mind has been getting increasingly negative lately. That can't be healthy right? Here is a video where I obviously agree with Rahm, but I agree on principal. I think he agrees because of politics.
Also I'm uploading full episodes to some of that Stephen Fry stuff I've been talking about lately. I'll put those up as soon as they are all processed.