Links O' Plenty

FranIAm posts about the newest self-help craze.

Malia Obama is one smart 10 year old.

Bill Wolfrum is still a satirical genius(bonus points for the WKRP reference, Bill).

The Dark Wraith writes a letter quick note to former Senator Bill Frist.

Oh, by the way, in case the aforementioned Dark Wraith stops by, Brian over at Incertus has posted a most excellent (and hilarious) video on "The Ten Principles of Economics". Well, okay, Brian posted it whether or not the Dark Wraith stops by here. I'm not even sure Brian knows who the Dark Wraith is, so it would be pretty strange for him to make posting that vid contingent on DW visiting my blog.

And, if you're wondering why half the blogosphere was pushing hard to make Driftglass the winner in the Best Individual Blogger category for the 2008 Weblog Awards, go ye now and see this post.

Finally, thanks to Sherry, I now know what my word is:

Your Word is "Love"

You see life as possibility to form deep connections with a few people. Relationships are the center of your world, and you always take time to bond with those you love. You are caring and giving. You enjoy helping those you love. And when it comes to romantic love, you feel passionately ... even in a very long term relationship.

What's Your Word?

I'll Swan, I Hain't Never Heered The Like

Missouri Mule, over to the Big Brass Blog, tells it like it is. If you know any Southerners, or, hell, have ever met any real Southerners, you will laugh.

On a semi-related topic, here's Andy Griffith, pre Mayberry days, telling a story:

More In "People Who Write Things..."

I never dreamed I would be saying this, but there’s something absolutely perfect about George W. Bush as a representative both of U.S. power and the conservative political class. He is the end product of years of political image-making: the elevation of the talking point and the attack narrative over actual discussion, the reduction of ideology to its most basic (and stupid) elements, the shallow pseudo-patriotic rhetoric of Reaganist “pride” in country, the equation of naked greed with “principles.” Behold the apotheosis, the final incarnation of the right-wing ideal, summed up with an almost classical concision in one man, one “decider.”

Dashiell, at the most excellent Jonestown, in his retrospective on the Bush Years, titled "The Perfect President". I highly recommend reading the whole thing.

Don't Expect This to Become a Regular Thing

As you regular readers know, I like to post videos fairly often (some might say too often), such as the weekly Random Python on Thursday (which pidomon does on Tuesdays, and Ouyang Dan does on Mondays).

Well, thing is, for the last few weeks, I've hardly been able to watch any of them. Nine times out of ten, I get the "We're sorry, this video is no longer available" message - even though, through other sources, I know that they work. I've tried the (non)help(ful) at YouTube, to no avail.

So, a Question of the Day:

Do you have / have you had trouble with YouTube videos? And, if so, what did you do to eliminate said problem?

Sausage Tuesday Links

Two of the funniest things I've read in a long time:

Dr. Monkey Von Monkerstein did an Easter Post.

Angry Ballerina found something on Facebook.
(pidomon, you must read #12, if you read no other part)

Things I Found on the Internets Lately

First, in the comments on Blue Gal's post, Churning, written by StardragonTheCanadian:

Time to review the Big Picture:
We are engaged in an ancient Hippie conspiracy,going back in time to the first campfires of the human race.
For as long as Civilisation continues,uninterrupted,the twentieth century of the Gregorian calendar will be known as the century when the human race learned to read and write.
The year that I was born,fully 60% of the planet was completely illiterate, which meant that the illiteracy rate was the lowest it had ever been in the history of the world!
Today,70% of all people on the planet can read,write,and do sums,which means that for the first time in human existence,the people who can sit down and read a book,write a letter,or plan a budget,are in the majority.
This small fact,unnoticed,uncelebrated,unheralded,and unsung, changes everything!
Everything which has gone before,presupposes,and requires,the existence of large numbers of uneducated people-who no longer exist.
It's all coming apart for the princes of the world,and they don't know why,nor could this knowledge save them. It is too late.
You won't see any sign of it in the MSM,but the dawn of THe Age of Literacy is already upon us.
Of every creed and none,we are the Church of the Printed Word,Universal and Triumphant,and there is none who will stand before us,and say us nay!
"All things are ready, if our minds be so."Now, soldiers, march away:
And how thou pleasest, God, dispose the day!":)

Wow.



Next, from Quaker Dave:

I would appreciate it very much if all the well-meaning folks (and the not-so well-meaning ones, too) out there who don’t want me to hear what people like Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad have to say would do me the favor of letting my double-major college-educated, Master’s degree-earning, two teaching certificate- using coconut think for itself.

[...]

See, I am an American. And unlike the average Iranian, I have the right to hear things that might offend my government, and more importantly, views which might offend me. Because I can think for myself. That’s one of the things that going to college is supposed to teach you.

read the whole thing at The Quaker Agitator.



Badtux, the Snarky Penguin, has a wonderful comparison of RomneyHillaryCare -v- Medicare For All.


Rana, over at Frogs and Ravens, has a great post about environmentalism (make sure to read the comments).


That is all for now.