Author Archives: John Wallenfeldt

You know what tomorrow is

Well, the media is warming itself up for who knows what tomorrow. Funny thing is, there are a lot of well-intentioned people who will probably say and do a lot tomorrow for all the wrong reasons. And isn’t that probably the saddest part about this whole situation: that we really haven’t learned as much as we should have? Then again, maybe I’ll be proven wrong and the day will be without a ton of flag-waving and forgetting the fact that we are remembering regular people who got shoved into the front lines of a conflict between psychopaths and the rest of the world. For some more perspective on this, I read this article earlier today which somewhat delineates thoughts I hope have crossed your minds.

Also on the subject, some clearing of the air about things you may think about 9/11. On a broader scope, this article from the New York Times points out the international perspective; which, while you may or may not want to care about it, still exists.

I had some social commentaries about ridiculous news articles I’ve read recently, but it can wait for a couple days.

Opus returns!

Berkeley Breathed is coming back on November 23 with a comic strip appropriately called Opus. Hopefully it will get syndicated so we can all read it.

In other news, the RIAA has decided to feed on poor kids living in public housing. Of course, they aren’t picking on individual people because they are money-grubbing fascist punks; its because they care.

Anyone tired enough of recent events to want to go to Mars? NASA may be looking for you soon.

Your humorous moment of the day. And now, for your humorous insight of the day (ok, its a few days old):

Gotta love an underdog

You see, sometimes reading the bad press about you gets you mad. This lets you do stuff you normally couldn’t. Today’s object lesson is the Houston Texans, who beat out Miami in what should not have been a close game. At least, that’s what the talking heads kept telling Miami. And for a first, no sacks on David Carr. Go figure.

If you can’t tell I managed to catch a baseball game, parts of three football games, and a really exciting finish to an IRL race today whilst puttering about writing cover letters and making dinner (beef Stroganoff FYI).

We enjoy living here and all, but I sure wish these job prospects would liven up. That’s alright though; I have another three weeks of contract work to look forward to so all is not lost. It just isn’t all it should be. That, and Leslie’s job keeps her busy seven days a week. Not the challenging and rewarding kind of busy she was looking forward to either. More of the “lots of paperwork and people who don’t want to do their jobs” kind. Those are my words, not her’s. I just make the observations and feed them to you.

To finish on a lighter(?) note, an editorial cartoon from Joe Heller at The Green Bay Press-Gazette about our lovely gas prices.

Maybe he should stick to reading other people’s lines….

Johnny Depp, making the most of the fact that we collectively have made him millions of dollars, decided to slam his home country today. You know, you don’t have to like our leadership or the way a lot of this country works. But do not enjoy the benefits of being an American citizen while ripping it to make your current home gush with joy at having you live there. Granted, I’m no blind-to-reality super-patriot type myself, but sometimes its better to keep your uninformed opinions to your damn self. I should have waited to rent Pirates of the Caribbean.

Other stuff….

Great idea…incredibly stupid idea.

News that will age you in under a minute.

And for comic relief, a game courtesy of Matt Darland. You’ll find it either disgustingly addicting or horrifically annoying. I made it into March last night.

Leaving…On A Jet Plane…

Alright, stop imagining my singing voice. Trust me, its better that way. Alright, we are soon off to Ohio for the weekend for Leslie’s family reunion in the Dayton-ish area. We’ll be back late Monday. Should be a lot of fun.

A lot of the link topics have been of a serious nature of late. Relax, this entry is all in good fun.

For today’s offering, we have a quiz called Programming Language Creator or Serial Killer, courtesy of Craig Trible. Even if you score high on this, remember that you had to think about it a couple times.

Leslie has contributed a link concerning the dangers of drinking in excess. Yes, it will make you shudder. (And yes, it’s comedy people.)

Plus, who said playing computer games was bad for you? Not the BBC.

Updates and Move-in stuff

Update: I almost forgot to mention this. I have a two-week temporary job at Bally Gaming filling in for someone at their help desk there. Its not a permanent gig but I can at least be doing SOMETHING for a few days. Wish me luck and all that.

Our building is filling up with students. One of the guys who moved in next door to us is really, REALLY loud. Hopefully he’ll find the error of his ways soon. Or just move somewhere else….

Okay, an update to that ludicrous lawsuit against Al Franken. It has been basically laughed out of court as it should have. And then there’s this odd story, which still seems like someone’s idea of a joke to me, but it appears to be real.

If you are familiar with the trashy web trend of having people vote for pictures of you, ala Amihotornot and that nonsense, Ned Bronson linked me to Amigovernorornot.com, which is a pretty squirrelly take on the idiotic California rebellion-of-the-grumpy. My favorite pick thus far?

And yes, that link has potentially offensive stuff at play too so once again, you were warned.

A champion for common sense

A movie critic from Kansas City tries to explain reality to the movie industry. I doubt she’ll succeed, but let’s wish her the best anyways.

And I haven’t linked any Dave Barry stuff for awhile, but here is what we’ll just call the Back to School edition.

And in a tie-in to yesterday’s idiot parade, we bring you “people who should stick to waving protest signs.” I may be cruel in your eyes, but I care a lot more about history than I do a duck. Not that I particularly like liver, but I don’t ever plan on stopping anyone from eating it; though I may stop you from cooking it in our kitchen.

Other stuff:

Democracy in action?

From Australia, a humorous look at SWAT hand signals (yes, its off-color and you HAVE been warned).

Last but not least, are you about to have a blackout? A link for the paranoid.

Free Willy?

It seems that Keiko, the killer whale from the Free Willy flicks doesn’t want to go to the wild after all. More here.

Speaking of creatures who missed the point, here are some tales about stupid neighbors, race-baiting Bush websites (original and “corrected” – check the middle pic on the bottom – editions), and oversized little leaguers just to round out the mix of madness. (For more on the original version of that “tasteful” website, go here.)

Just because I can, a little more invective, courtesy of August 9th’s Doonesbury:

Doonesbury cartoon

And yes, we are fine…the flooding was on the other side of town.

After today, NIMBY be damned I’m thinking

The first thing on my mind, of course, was “Glad I’m not there.” So far all those folks without power in the NorthEast seem to be muddling through okay, and that’s good news. I swear, its like there is a determined effort to make the rest of us think New Yorkers are actually polite. Go figure.

Well, I was gonna link this story anyway, but while it was humorous to begin with; I’d really like to see all these snobs whine about their “backyard” being sullied after today’s events. Good luck you dopes.

Unfair and prickly

So, I’m trolling through the job ads this morning and then bounce over to CNN to check on the news (yes, that IS entertainment for me). Anyways, our unofficial government news agency FoxNews is suing Al Franken because they don’t like the title of his book – nor likely the content of it either. Just goes to show how whiny people get when you give ’em a little power.

Some of you may have come across that nasty MSBlaster/LoveSan worm. Hopefully you do not have it on your computer, but if you do, come on back after your computer reboots.

You back yet? Okay, take a visit over to this link, which will give you directions on where to get your relevant Windows updates. I will give you to quick links to McAfee and Norton’s advice as well. Good luck out there.