and driving on to the horizon.  Pretty cool…

Not only that, it would, in theory, position the heavy Ag (corn syrup) industries as even more powerful than they are now.  That’s a GOOD THING, as it means that adoption of the technology wouldn’t threaten any current interests.

It’s the news.

Or, in the words of The Onion, “A shattered nation longs to care about mindless bullshit again.”

My stand on the War has probably driven them all away, as I am a libertarian HAWK, but I’m curious as to whether there are any liberal/libertarian positions that still seem compatible between the two philosophies, as Kos and crowd was suggesting late last year and early in 2007.

In addition, what about the change in primary timing?  Is it to Dems’ advantage to have CA, TX, and the other large coastal states have a more important primary role?

Liberals only, pls, at least for a day… I want to see if I’ve scared them all off!

Forwarded article from Ad Astra.

UPDATE:  My back might be starting to heal, too.  It’s now taking only about a 1/2-hour per day of stretching in order for me to touch my toes…

Teaching is starting to get manageable, as the Lesson-Building is reduced to one per week. In this week’s episode, we try to de-program the students from the baldly statis/socialist propaganda of their textbooks regarding the Great Depression…

Also, I’m getting some SEVERE pushback on my Crecy article. Apparently, I hit a real nerve with the publisher’s reviwer, and am now being forced to provide a historiographic review in order to demonstrate that I have the cred to be sitting at the table. Which is hilarious, because anybody who knows me knows that I *don’t* have that cred. Archery issues aside, the Hundred Years’ War is so far out of my specialty it’s not even funny. Though perhaps it should have been, given that linguistically I’m vastly better- prepared for that than for dealing with Taborites. What the hell good does French and Middle French do me studying Central Europeans?

I’m learning all kinds of lessons that will be useful for later stuff, though, since I’m biting off doctoral-size pieces of meat with master’s-level mandibles.

One of my buds is going Active after a long soul-searching. I’m so jealous I could spit, with a bad case of civilian not-doing-my-part-itis. ‘Playing Rasczak’ is a mild consolatia, but not a big one.

On the other hand, somebody’s got to de-program those poor kids.

From the Department of Oww:

The super-super-jumbo Airbus 380 makes its maiden voyage to New York’s JFK airport today, in the hopes that the sight of its awesome mass landing on American tarmac will cause US airlines to overlook the plane’s massive production problems and delays.  Meanwhile, China is announcing that it wants to lose money on a national champion airframe manufacturer too.  Time for a seminar on minimum efficient scales?

FINAL UPDATE:  And, Deer have it!  Yes, it’s a great showing for deer Texas-wide this week, which just goes to show you… the family that crosses the highway without looking in both directions together, hemorrhages together after being violently slapped off the road!

First Place:  Deer, with 45 contestants

Second Place:  Skunks, with 20 little stripey bits

Honorable Mentions:   3 careless vultures, 2 goats, a horse, and 12 assorted unrecognizable smears and/or fluffy bits.

The Pack:

possums – 7, squirrels – 3, raccoons – 5, coyote – 3, dogs – 5, cattle – 1, random skeletons – 2, armadillos – 3, badgers – 2, unidentifiable small birds – 1, “road chunks” – 2, and not least, “woogums the chunky kitty.”

——————-

On Texas roads this week:

4 dead skunks, 2 dead possums, 2 dead squirrels (one tubed, one flat),

1 each: horse (red), deer (bloated), raccoon (stiff), coyote (paste)

3 unrecognizable greasy stains

UPDATE: Skunks are still in the league, but an unexpectedly strong showing by yellow furry dogs has put the race in doubt! Today’s score is as follows…

4 dogs, yellow (some with black spots), 2 coyotes (1 gutted), 1 armadillo, 2 skunks, 2 unrecognizable fluffy smears

1 raccoon, 1 squirrel, 1 baby cow, brown (dessicated), 1 unidentifiable spine (probably cow), 1 skeleton with fluffy bits

1 possum ( juvenile).

UPDATE 2: OH, the HUMANITY! Whitetail have come out of NOWHERE on 190 to take a commanding lead!

3 Skunks, 5 Unrecognizable Fluffy Smears,4 Rabbits (1 skeletal, picked clean, intact except head, 1 fresh, complete with 3 vultures), 1 “Road Chunks”,1 Dog,1 Possum,1 Careless Vulture (!!),1 Skeleton (unrecognizable),1 Armadillo,1 Raccoon,1 unidentifiable small bird (wings upright),2 Badgers (!!), 1 Seated Upright Blackened Dessicated Deer (eww)

**28** other Deer.

UPDATE 3:

Today’s results:

Unrecognizable fluffy smears: 2

raccoons: 2

deer: 15

cat chunks: 1

careless vultures: 2

possum: 3

armadillo: 1

skunk:  11

goat: 2

“road chunks”: 1

Well, it’s Shamqadri, but since he’s currently the Mouth of Sauron, who’s to quibble?

300 does indeed insult Persian civilisation.

It’s meant to, as the entire thing revolves around a story told at Plataea. That may confuse movie-goers who have never heard of said battle, but it’s absolutely 100% in context. The movie is, intentionally, Spartan war propaganda.

Does it take liberties with history? Tons. For starters, I wanted to see the Apple Bearers. I mean, seriously: anybody who extinguishes Babylonian civilization can’t be all that bad, right? Having the Immortals look like bad kung-fu ninja demons out of a comic book, was kind of like watching a movie based on a comic book.

Which is, in fact, what 300 is. So, all in all, I guess my only REAL problem is that they break formation too goddamned much (though, happily, they DO kill off a guy for being lax in obeying orders)…. not that they take liberties with history. For example, the dweeb up in Canada who doesn’t like the movie, yet opens his critique with

History is altered all the time. What matters is how and why.

thus declaring that although he is a Hellenist, he’s primarily a post-modern historian (and boring as all crap, too: his writing screams “look at me, I know jargon!”), and therefore utterly lacking in anything resembling detachment, even if he, too, thinks they break ranks too goddamned much. Which is a pity, because all of his historical critiques are spot, and let me emphasize this, spot-fucking-on, and worth checking out.

So, let me put it this way: if you’re not stupid enough to expect history from Hollywood, and want a simple story where the good guys are good and the bad guys are freaks, in which there’s a ton of bloodshed, it’s a better movie choice than the most of the usual fare.
–Posting will be slow over the weekend, as tomorrow morning I am taking the Bunnywife on a “get me out of this town before I explode” emergency vacation.