Music: Eric Idle - Galaxy Song

(I've been thinking of this tune again lately. Flash animation via MMD.)

Press: 24's Jack Bauer - marquee de Sade?

"Am I crazy, or is attacking torture by lobbying the producers of 24 almost as ridiculous as trying to make nuclear-power plants safer by urging the producers of The Simpsons to stop letting Homer play with plutonium in the lunchroom of the Springfield nuke plant?

For those of you who haven't had the pleasure of watching 24, here's a bit of background: The Emmy-winning show depicts the amazing adventures of agent Jack Bauer, who specializes in stopping terrorists from blowing up America. Nearly every week, terrorists torture Jack, or Jack tortures terrorists, or both. In one episode, the president orders a Secret Service agent to torture his national security adviser, whom he suspects of treason.

[...] Not surprisingly, 24 is very popular in the Bush administration."

(I don't like 24 anymore.)

Press: Live well and endure - HC

"Go to lunch, says Garrison Keillor. Take a friend with you. Talk. Tell jokes. Enjoy yourself. Do not, he says, eat at your desk, like a horse with a feed bag."

Email: Camping as retreat [EH]

[Hurricane Katrina and ice storms] are disaster situations that don't compare to camping -- it sucks to be at home without power or water or heat -- though camping skills might help people survive those disasters better. The thing about camping is you have to love it to be good at it and if you're not then you'd better be with someone who is (knows what he is doing and has good gear) or you will be miserable. When I was in college I learned that camping brought out my impatience -- so I could better pray through and master it.