The KityKat De-Konstruction Kompany
Yes, that's the name of Elliott's new business. He's getting all his experience at home. He has no other choice, because his sentence, after the guilty verdict came in was 6 months home detention. The tiny monitor around his paw is a constant nuisance; however, he still manages to get the job done. Anything you want on the floor in peices, he's your man. Call 1-800 ELLIOTT for help.


What's going on in the real world?
Abbott and I has dinner with my friend Su yesterday, and watched the Jackie Chan movie "Tuxedo." Very funny.

Kitty Cat Craziness
Last night Elliott spent the entire evening glued to my lap. Purring, grooming and sleeping were the main events. Whereas the night before he was trying out for the staring role in Kitty Cat From Hell
.

Kitty Cat From Hell?
While I tried in vain to carry on a conversation with Abbott, Elliott proceeded to climb the kitchen shelves and sweep breakables off onto the floor with his paw. Today is a new day, and as I write this I hear him efficiently stripping the wallpaper in the second floor hall with his lovely little claws. I sincerely hope this does not foreshadow further destruction and mayhem.

Court Proceeding Excerpt

"In my closing argument for the defense ladies and gentlemen, I must remind you that Elliott was an orphan, his origins are unknown, and in fact if not fiction I herewith stand on my own convictions (no pun intended)."

"The defendant ladies and gentlemen is quite beautiful, but you should not be swayed by his outer continence. What counts here, need I remind you, are his unruly ways. You've heard the testimony; the defendant is well aware of his beauty, and has been warned repeatedly that one day he'll no longer be able to get along on his good looks."

"Objection, your honor, the defendant is not on trial for his good looks; he's been accused of destroying the shot glass with the little pig on it, with maliciousness and forethought. The defense maintains that while he destroyed the shot glass it was not with malicious intent, but rather playful intent."

Gavel banging...
"Order, order, order in the court room. Counsels please approach the bench. Now, what's at steak here... Mr Katz please control your client, or he will be removed from the court room!"

"Elliott sit down, it's not that kind of steak. I'm sorry your honor, my client was confused by your choice of words".

"Now, as I was saying what's at issue is not whether the kitty cat is beautiful, or if he broke the shot glass with the little pig on it, but rather was his action premeditated and malicious? Therefore, I sustain your objection Mr Katz. The jury will disregard the prosecutors last remarks"

"But your honor."

"Don't but your honor me, or you'll find your butt in jail Miss Piggy."

"Ah, yes sorry your honor." Miss Piggy gazed demurely at the floor.

Unbelievable?

Check out the weird, and crazy mind reader; can you figure out how it's done?

Tuesday Too



1.) Is the justice system in the US really fair? Why, or why not?
I'm reminded of an article I read recently in the The New York Times Sunday magazine section on the 4th District Circuit Court. The article was about 3 weeks ago, so it's no longer available free online. The court was "painted" as ultra conservative. But that doesn't necessarily make it unfair? If nine times out of ten this court rules (overruling lower court decisions including monetary awards by jury) on the side of business, or the state, then the process is at the very least skewed. While the country focuses on war, Bush will push through his nominations for even more conservative judges to replace those retiring from the 4th Circuit Court bench. But, you're not talking about the Supreme Court. That's true; however, most cases from the 4th circuit appealed to the Supreme Court are not accepted, and the 4th Circuit Court ruling stands.

2.) In a crisis are you a leader, or a follower? Why do you take that role?
I think it depends on the particular crisis. If I have knowledge that will facilitate/render a quick solution I will take charge. If I'm with someone I trust I might follow their lead rather then assuming the leadership role. Why? Hell, I don't know, after all my degree is in psychology.

3.) Is there some reason for your madness? What is it?
Today "in my neck of the woods" it's the glorious spring weather. Tomorrow it will probably be due to my sunburn.

"Justice is incidental to law and order."
--J. Edgar Hoover

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Tomorrow


Here's what I'm thinking: If anybody has a question that they'd really like people to respond to for the Tuesday Too tomorrow, leave it in today's comment, and I'll include it in the Too. FYI: if you don't know, or have forgotten, I usually post the Too around 5 AM eastern standard time on Tuesday morning.

What else are you thinking?
On Thursday I'm going to be upgrading my laptop to a 20 gig hard drive; I'm excited. 20 gigs on a laptop! However, there always seems to be some glitch in getting data from here to there, so a little bit of breath holding may be required. Saw The Mask yesterday; god I love computer graphics, such amazing stuff. Speaking of movies, they're filming Ladder 49 in my neighborhood this spring. Maybe I'll get a glance at John Travolta in his buffed up state. I fell in love with him in Saturday Night Fever.

Saturday Night Fever, how old are you anyway?
None of your business; however if you're really interested I've probably said it somewhere already. Maybe I better put that search engine back on my site. I saw Saturday Night Fever when it first came out. It was part of perhaps the best Christmas I ever had. My lover and I went "up the road" with friends to the Zoo in Salisbury MD, then to the movie, and topped it off with dinner at a Chinese restuarant. I love the fact that Chinese holidays are different then the holidays I celebrate. My absolute favorite food is an Ethiopian dish called Kitfo; I think I told you that somewhere else too. I really must put that search engine back.

"Intel has announced its next chip: the Repentium."
--Anon.

Getting archives back
I swear; the next time I post it will not be this boring crap on getting things right, or not.

Hallalooyahhhhhh!

Back in the swing, "just" had to choose new template, publish, go back and paste into template my old/updated template, and publish again. *sheech* One positive thing came out this [crapola]; I've got blogrolling going here now.

Trying out blogrolling

Out of frustration, I've implemeanted blogrolling. Prior to this I spent 2 hours on the net trying to figure out blogger/pyra's api stuff, soap, etc on set template. AAAAAaccccck! I sure hope this works, because if it doesn't I'll be looking for alternative publishing. FYI: I can't use Moveable Type, because barrysworld doesn't have Perl. So that said and done, here goes.

*Censored screaming and shouting*
The ******* thing still does not work.

Blogger Frustration

Testing to see if I can publish at all.
So I can publish, but nothing changes on the right side of my template no matter what I do over there. GRRRR! *pounding head on table*. How can it continue to publish without going through my template? Damnit!
And another thing, something I've done has now allowed Netscape 4x to list the archive files, which I've never been able to make happen *holding head in hands*.


Boy now you've gone and done it!
Hmmm... as a last resort I've changed my template on my host server, and will now try to publish here with blogger. If all goes well that will mean for some reason Blogger is ignoring the right content tags on my template.

Well?
Nope that doesn't work, which means blogger is reading and overwriting the right content tags, but it won't accept the changes to the template I've made. The changes exist in the template itself, but don't publish. Clueless in Baltimore? Anybody got any suggestions?

New Stuff

I'm adding my friend Susana's site (Chimera Cucina) to my hot blogs list on the right. Go check out her "crazy kitty" and his mystical accoutrements. Cruising around reading the answers to yesterday's Tuesday Too revealed folks in the middle, folks on one side, and folks on the other. I'm not surprised. One article I came across that very much captured my interest, and raised my question level is here from Julie.

What else is happening?
On Thursday I'll be getting some pictures of ruins in Italy taken by a friend. I saw them last week, and I got very excited about using them for paintings. And speaking of ruins, the mayhem and destruction in my neighborhood continues at an astonishing rate. There is one last stand of 6 row houses still to come down on 33rd St. and that's it. Soon what were once large homes with huge beautiful gardens running an entire city block will be the Giant and the parking lot.

I thought you said you were adding your friend to the list on the right?
Well maybe it's time for me to do the blog roll thing, because I'm having a hell of a time trying to make that happen. I don't think it's me; I think it blogger having a fit for whatever reason. I'll have to tackle this later. I'm also trying to change Julie's Chaotic Neutral to it's new name Neoluddite.net.

Tuesday Too


1.) Where do you stand on the eve of war, and why? If you wrote about this already, point to your post.
Recently (see post below) I've been struggling with not having a position, but leaning toward NO WAR. I do not want the United States to be the aggressor, but at the same time I'm frightened of doing nothing as dictator regimes arm themselves with powerful weapons. Then I ask myself, if it's the weapons I/we are afraid of, why not North Korea? And "all it took" for 9/11 was a handful of men with box cutters? Yes I know, it seems I've always got more questions than answers. They are not actors; real people will be fighting and dying on both sides. FYI: are you interested in what Bill Clinton said today in the Guardian?

2.) Has your position caused arguments with friends or family?
No my position, or lack there of to firmly land on one side, or the other has not caused any rifts as of yet

3.) Is there some other issue that has you grinding your teeth? What is it?
The destruction of the victorian houses in my neighborhood to make room for a Giant.

"Mankind must put an end to war, or war will put an end to mankind."
--John Fitzgerald Kennedy

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Link

The King of Hearts

I saw The King of Hearts yesterday. It's probably been 20 years since I last saw this movie.

So what?
I posted (see post) not too long ago about feeling guilty that I had not taken a position on the war. The movie reminded me how insane war is, but can I take a position based on an old movie, set in World War I that's based on fiction, not fact?

Why not?
I suppose there are some with less logical reasons, who insist one way, or the other. However, perhaps I should watch another film from "the other side," before rendering my final verdict.

Can't you just make up your own mind about it?
It's the making up part that bothers me. And then as I read over this post I see the word remind. What the hell does that mean? re: mind? as in calling this to your attention? or re a prefix signifying back. Back of my mind all along, and I might add in back of what exactly? What is behind my mind?

Don't you think we make everything up?
I think we are responsible for what has meaning in our lives. We imbue with meaning those things that are important to us, but as to how they became significant in the first place, I lose my place.

Yes I think you've lost your place alright; you're veering off topic.
Not really, the topic is how, or why we "make up" our minds.

"One's mind has a way of making itself up in the background, and it suddenly becomes clear what one means to do."
--A. C. Benson

Where did those victorian houses go?
The Giant food store chain bought a huge parcel of land in the Waverly district of Baltimore. The parcel includes property running from 32nd Street North to 33rd Street, and stretches three blocks to the East. Four large old victorian homes are/were on Gorsuch Ave. Click on the images to see the before, and fall of the last standing home.


Link

Something to get excited about
I dreamt last night of many blogger type tools, some of which already exist, and other which do not. The only thing is, this morning I can't remember what they were. Yesterday I heard about a job opening with requirements that I meet, except that I don't know anything about ASP driven sites. Well as my geekier friends know that's a microsoft [thingamybobbie]. Oh, and excellent written communication is also a requirement.

And you're going around saying thingamybobbie?
It's microsoft, so it's a bit complicated. I've taught myself Flash, Photoshop, HTML and taken classes in C and C++; however, it seems ASP development comes out of Visual Basic which I don't know. One thing I've learned is there is a difference between ASP and ASP.NET. Anyway, enough of that. What I wanted to tell you was that my searching around on the web for ASP information is what I think led to dreaming about blogger tools/applications.

But who cares if you can't remember them?
I'm hoping they might pop back into consciousness over the next few days, as I try to learn something about ASP using Dreamweaver MX.

Why Dreamweaver?
Because that's what I have, and I think it's comparable to Adobe GoLive, which is what was used to generate the existing site. Also, I don't think it's reasonable to figure I can get myself up and running on VB, in just a couple of days. However, if I spend some time on Dreamweaver I might be able to come off as knowing something about ASP.

What's else is new?
I helped my friend Su set up her blog over the weekend; please stop over there and give her the "hi sign."

Tuesday Too


1.) What's your take on this article from the New York Times today?

"...Several privacy and security experts said that Mr. Kapor's decision was significant and was indicative of the kinds of clashes between security and privacy that could become increasingly common." (The New York Times, March 10, 2003) Mitchell Kapor is/was from Groove. I posted about the stability and security of Groove software not too long ago. I see his decision to resign as a flag/signal of the erosion of rights we take for granted. Somewhere Chad had a good post on rights, and just what are they anyway? If you are here Chad point to that post. Do I have a right to privacy? Do I have a chance to say I'd rather not give it up, even for the "good of the country?"

2.) Network television is swimming in "reality" shows. You are the creator of the latest show to hit the circuit. Give a brief description of your show. Sarcasm welcomed.

We've come full circle from Joe Millionaire to Married by America. I created Married to Dwarfs; a show full of enchantment and magical growth hormone injections.

3.) What do you really wish you were doing today?

I'd rather be painting. I'd rather be having a second cup of coffee, with cream which I've run out of.

"There's a very fine line between a groove and a rut; a fine line between eccentrics and people who are just plain nuts."
--Christine Lavin, Prisoners of their Hairdos

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Link

Moving?
I stayed with my parents in their retirement community condo last night. Standing out in the parking lot smoking (no you can't smoke here) this morning, I saw a large, yellow moving van pull up. My first thought was, are they moving in, or moving out? But, then I realized people only move in here. If the person that lived here is moving out, it's not under their own power, because the living has stopped. The move outs are conducted by loved ones and friends.


You are so morbid.
No not really, I'm just saying/seeing how it is; although it's true I do tend to notice things about dying.

So, I'm standing there finishing my cigarette scanning the side of the truck, and the advertising screams out "Moving by Sudden Death," but then just as my eyes are popping out of my head, I see that it really says, "Moving by Suddath."

See you are morbid.
What does sudden death mean? Sudden means unexpectedly, or unforeseen. We have a syndrome called sudden death syndrome in infants and young adults meaning death unexpectedly in otherwise healthy individuals. In some way all death is unexpected. Yes, we all know the saying about "...death and taxes," but even when we've been though the experience of losing someone we love, we forget. Maybe getting older increases our awareness of it's inevitability. My parents are more aware of it, but mostly I don't want to see. Sometimes I see it when I don't want to, like this morning. My unconscious mind showing me the last horizon: yours, mine and their's.

Diet?
Now I know I'm in trouble; I actually clicked on one of those [spammails] to lose weight in my sleep. Are you dreaming now? Just because it felt like spring yesterday, I'm imagining myself putting on shorts, or rather trying to put on the shorts, but they won't fit!

Testzone Testing
Yes this is a test; it is only a test. You may need to adjust the volume of the sound on your computer. What you are listening to is a description of a lucid dream.

Do you think this Audblog software will catch on, or "fade away?"


audblog audio post

Spelling

Spelling, who gives a flying *%&*!, about that?
For some strange reason, I do. I hate it when I read one of my posts with a typo, or find I've forgotten to run it through some kind of spell check. Since I don't have blogger pro, I usually run my post through my mail program, before I publish, or if it's one word I'm unsure about I type it into google, and it comes up with the correct spelling as an alternative. The last month I've been getting to my mail through Mozilla, and quite frankly the spell check stinks [pu].

So?
I don't know, I guess I'm just rambling, trying to get a threat going, but failing miserably.

What's really going on?
I'm taking a painting and a drawing class this semester, or rather I'm supposed to be taking them, but for reasons ranging from back aches to just plain old procrastination, I have fail to show up for class. Thus at this point I have no other recourse, but to withdraw. Hmmm... I'm withdrawing from drawing; that should count for something. I found the quote below on Leah's blog yesterday, which gave a brief moment of relief.

"Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your life and try to love the questions themselves like locked rooms or books that are written in a foreign tongue. The point is to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps you will gradually, without noticing it, live your way some distant day into the answers."
--Rainer Maria Rilke

However, upon refection I find my circumstances don't really qualify. This is really about the BIG QUESTIONS of life, not the nagging sticky attic door that was never locked in the first place. I will not be fooled by my own propensity to elevate the trivial to the spectacular.

Tuesday Too

1.) Do you know about GeoURL? Check it out to find your neighbor's blog, or the web page of a restaurant near you. Find your house with a satellite photo map, and put your self in the database if you're so inclined.

I haven't added mine yet, because the whole idea spooked me; maybe I'm just a wee bit paranoid?

2.) How many times have you redesigned, or chosen a new template for your blog/journal, and are you content with your current look?

Only once, and I'm content enough not to fool with it for quite some time.

3.) From The New York Times February 11, 2003: "...The federal appeals court in St. Louis ruled yesterday that officials in Arkansas can force a prisoner on death row to take antipsychotic medication to make him sane enough to execute. Without the drugs, the prisoner, Charles Laverne Singleton, could not be put to death under a United States Supreme Court decision that prohibits the execution of the insane." The prisoner referred to was convicted of murder, and sentenced to death for in 1979. You've probably already heard about this, but what do you think/feel about it?

This is a difficult topic, and I'm almost tempted to delete the question, because I have more questions than answers for this. Was he insane when he committed the murder, and if so why wasn't he found not guilty because of insanity? However, even if he was not insane then, but now is, it seems to me there is something fundamentally wrong with using medication to enhance the mind, in order to end it. On the other hand...

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Signs of Spring?
The long time broken third floor window glass (one of my early attempts) is about to come apart entirely, even after many futile fixes/attempts to make it last till spring. It makes me think of Duchamp's Large Glass in some funny way; however, the accidental cracking of his glass worked in his favor.

This year it has been hard to remember that winter is not all there is, but tiny crocus shoots, popping through the remains of the blizzard in my postage stamp backyard, remind me that's not so. I'm sure most of the blizzard in Baltimore ended up in my basement last weekend brought in by the thaw, accompanied by the drum beat of torrential rain. This weekend the water level was manageable/ignorable (only about a half inch coming in through the cement basement floor.

"Art is a step from what is obvious and well-known toward what is arcane and concealed."
--Kahlil Gibran

No Swimming?

What?
This sign I encountered while trying to enter my thoughts this morning. Mist sliding over the rippling circles of water. The crocodile is a very old species. They were here long before Lacan and Derrida.

What do they have to do with crocodiles?
It's more to do with signs than crocodieles, and did you know crocodiles have ears? Unless you can swim silently, you will be at risk. These waters are extremely dangerous. Please obey the signs.

"If language is the condition of the unconscious, the unconscious is the condition of linguistics."
--Jacques-Marie-Émile Lacan