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  <id>urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:bitpig</id>
  <title>Bruce The Psychic Guy</title>
  <subtitle>The Official Online Journal of Bruce Lewis</subtitle>
  <author>
    <name>Bruce The Psychic Guy</name>
  </author>
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  <updated>2009-07-11T12:46:57Z</updated>
  <lj:journal userid="1113965" username="bitpig" type="personal"/>
  <link rel="service.feed" type="application/x.atom+xml" href="http://bitpig.livejournal.com/data/atom" title="Bruce The Psychic Guy"/>
  <entry>
    <id>urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:bitpig:200421</id>
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    <title>special / lol old</title>
    <published>2009-07-11T12:46:18Z</published>
    <updated>2009-07-11T12:46:57Z</updated>
    <lj:music>CHANTEURS.ORG - Artistes disparus de la chanson francophone -</lj:music>
    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;center&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3175/2943006744_bf74073ff4.jpg?v=0" alt="old"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;font size="8"&gt;&lt;b&gt;LOL OLD&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Thank you, God, for giving me another year of life.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;And thanks to all my sweet friends who sent birthday greetings! I love you all!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/center&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;ENDE&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;</content>
  </entry>
  <entry>
    <id>urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:bitpig:199946</id>
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    <title>the happening world / turned upside down</title>
    <published>2009-07-01T20:52:47Z</published>
    <updated>2009-07-11T12:44:00Z</updated>
    <content type="html">Bad news from overseas:&lt;blockquote&gt;&lt;b&gt;Christian Mob Burns Down 100 Muslim Homes in France&lt;br /&gt;&lt;i&gt;Riot Incited via Church Loudspeakers; Mob Throws Acid on Women and Children&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;This morning 100 Muslim houses and mosques were set on fire by local Christians in the city of Clichy-sous-Bois, outside of Paris. The riots were incited by broadcasts from local churches. This incident is similar to a February 1997 attack when thousands of Muslim houses and churches were burned and hundreds of Muslims were injured.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Muslim Relief partners received the news this morning and went immediately to the scene to help injured Muslims. So far 9 burned women and 4 children have been transferred to hospitals for further medical treatment. All of them have been injured by throwing acid on them. Local police have arrived on the scene but the situation is out of control as thousands of Christians have gathered for this purpose.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a name="cutid1"&gt;&lt;/a&gt; THAT WAS A FAKE STORY. HERE IS THE ACTUAL STORY:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;Muslim Mob Burns Down 100 Christian Homes in Pakistan&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;i&gt;Riot Incited via Mosque Loudspeakers; Mob Throws Acid on Women and Children&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;This morning 100 Christian houses and churches were set on fire by local Muslims in the city of Kasur South, east of Lahore, Pakistan. The riots were incited by broadcasts from local mosques. This incident is similar to a February 1997 attack when thousands of Christian houses and churches were burned and hundreds of Christians were injured. ICC partners received the news this morning and went immediately to the scene to help injured Christians transferred to Lahore, renting two mini vans for this purpose. So far 9 burned women and 4 children have been transferred to Lahore for further medical treatment. All of them have been injured by throwing acid on them. Local police have arrived on the scene but the situation is out of control as thousands of Muslims have gathered for this purpose.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;More details to follow. Please call the Pakistani embassy in your country to ask them to protect the Christians in Kasur South. &lt;a href="http://www.persecution.org/suffering/newssummpopup.php?newscode=10386"&gt;Source&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;You guys were all ready to believe the worst of Christians, weren't you? What a surprise -- members of the Religion of Peace burning little kids! That could never happen, right?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;ENDE&lt;/b&gt;</content>
  </entry>
  <entry>
    <id>urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:bitpig:199755</id>
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    <title>tracking with closeups / you can't spell "police state" without...</title>
    <published>2009-06-18T04:13:27Z</published>
    <updated>2009-06-18T04:13:49Z</updated>
    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;center&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;font size="8"&gt;&lt;b&gt;HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MO!&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/center&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Also: &lt;a href="http://psychicguysketchbook.blogspot.com/2009/06/lap-lap-lap.html"&gt;New sketch&lt;/a&gt; over at Psychic Guy Sketchbook.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;ENDE&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;</content>
  </entry>
  <entry>
    <id>urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:bitpig:199444</id>
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    <title>the happening world / salaam</title>
    <published>2009-06-14T20:47:35Z</published>
    <updated>2009-06-14T20:47:35Z</updated>
    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGLs71inn3E&amp;amp;eurl=http%3A%2F%2F"&gt;Move along... nothing to see here...&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;WEITER&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;</content>
  </entry>
  <entry>
    <id>urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:bitpig:199370</id>
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    <title>Writer's Block: Last Meal</title>
    <published>2009-06-10T14:24:39Z</published>
    <updated>2009-06-10T14:24:39Z</updated>
    <category term="writer&amp;apos;s block"/>
    <content type="html">&lt;div class='appwidget appwidget-qotd' id='LJWidget_7'&gt;
&lt;table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td&gt;&lt;div style='border: 1px solid #000; padding: 6px;'&gt;&lt;p&gt;What do you want your last meal to be? &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style='font-size: 0.8em;'&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;input type="button" value="Answer" onclick="document.location.href='http://www.livejournal.com/update.bml?qotd=936'" /&gt; &lt;a href="http://www.livejournal.com/misc/latestqotd.bml?qid=936"&gt;View other answers&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;!-- end .appwidget-qotd --&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The Eucharist</content>
  </entry>
  <entry>
    <id>urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:bitpig:199140</id>
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    <title>the bitpig rant / arms around the future, back up against the past</title>
    <published>2009-06-09T07:15:56Z</published>
    <updated>2009-06-09T07:36:35Z</updated>
    <lj:music>WABC-AM -</lj:music>
    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3648/3610341388_8dd4d64264.jpg?v=0" alt="rokkits" width="144" align="Left" hspace="5"&gt;Just came from the &lt;a href="http://www.haikasoru.com/"&gt;Haikasoru&lt;/a&gt; website -- Haikasoru being Viz' new English-language Japanese-SF imprint -- and I can't wait for the first titles to come out.  I love J-SF, and, while I've always found it to be a bit reedy in terms of narrative, I don't read SF for narrative -- I read it for characters and &lt;em&gt;mise-en-scene&lt;/em&gt;. And tits, of course. Fortunately, the Japanese are masters of &lt;em&gt;mise-en-scene,&lt;/em&gt; and have an equal fondness for tits, especially in futuristic settings. But I digress.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;All that being said, however, my love for Japanese SF is primarily based upon the fundamental optimism it displays. Western SF is so very, very dark -- either deliberately, in the case of the tired &lt;em&gt;noir&lt;/em&gt; pastiche of the cyperpunk cliche, or in the glib nihilism of the Singularity set. Indeed, Vernor Vinge's Singularity has itself become, in literary terms anyway, the very Singularity it predicts. By positing a "future" in which the state of things is taken beyond human comprehension by godlike AIs, the Singularity has proven to be a limit past which SF cannot see. What we do see are smirking tales of meaningless things being done by affectless characters who are (or might as well be) 8-bit sprites in some pointless virtual reality game. &lt;em&gt;This&lt;/em&gt; is the future we want the kids to shell out their money for? Oh boy -- a few years from now we'll all be virtual reality ghosts fluttering around vainly in the innards of some supercomputer! Whoopee! Here's my  debit  card, Mr. SF writer -- sign me up for the ride!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Hence the decline of written SF as a living genre in Western literature. A future where humans are irrelevant, virtual, or extinct is no future at all, and the kids (who will, of course, live in the future) won't buy it. That's why the dumb, chick-lit, elfie-welfie, vampy-trampy books are crowding science fiction off the shelves: at least the past has &lt;em&gt;people&lt;/em&gt; in it -- about half of whom have tits. Better to spend one's money on some dumb rehash of the feudal era, or on fantasies of getting your blood sucked out by a Victorian vampire, than on some autistic anti-adventure set in the cool digital Nirvana of the post-Singularity "future".&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Japanese science fiction is different. Japanese SF is almost always set in a future where people -- flesh and blood people -- can live, not in some digital nightmare world &lt;em&gt;à la mode Americiane.&lt;/em&gt; One thing that never fails to charm me is how the future in many Japanese SF works is just modern-day Japan, only with robots and hyperdrives stuck on. Give me space cadets who eat Cup Noodle while learning to pilot their giant robots -- &lt;em&gt;that&lt;/em&gt;'s a future that &lt;em&gt;I &lt;/em&gt;want to visit!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Now, I'm not talking about American Flintstones-Jetsons-style satire here; that sort of man-in-the-grey-flannel-spacesuit stuff was fine back in the '60s, but we're all too old and bitter for that sort of thing now. What I'm talking about here is the very Japanese idea that a given society can allow technology to flower without throwing out the cultural soil from which it sprang. Examples are too many to list; the &lt;em&gt;Gunbuster&lt;/em&gt; franchise is as good example as any. (I would love to see -- or better still make -- a live-action &lt;em&gt;Gunbuster&lt;/em&gt; film...) Unlike the inhuman and nihilistic futures being depicted as inevitable in Western science fiction, Japanese SF assumes that no matter what gadgets we dream up, they are going to be shaped to fit &lt;em&gt;human&lt;/em&gt; needs in a world that &lt;em&gt;humans&lt;/em&gt; can understand. This retro-futuristic spirit is, I think, gives Japanese SF the freshness I enjoy.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;(Bearing this in mind, it's ironic that the Japanese birthrate is far below replacement level; every Japanese child that is never conceived and never born is a vote against the bright future displayed in Japanese SF. We here in the pessimistic USA are at least still having kids...)&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Although it's an anime and not a work of prose, &lt;em&gt;Space Battleship Yamato&lt;/em&gt; is to my mind the quintessential example of the future/past spirit of Japanese SF: the story an ancient battleship, shattered in a fratricidal war, rising literally from the ashes as a sleek starship to save the human race. It is perhaps instructive to consider that when one examines the kanji that make up the name of the leader of the &lt;em&gt;Yamato&lt;/em&gt;'s crew, grim young Sususmu Kodai, one realizes that they add up to something along the lines of "the progression of antiquity". In Japanese SF, everything new is old again. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;So here's to Haikasoru ("high castle" -- get it?) -- hopefully, a fresh breeze of techno-optimism in the deadly, dreary marsh of prose SF.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;ENDE&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;</content>
  </entry>
  <entry>
    <id>urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:bitpig:198802</id>
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    <title>special / kane</title>
    <published>2009-06-04T14:32:51Z</published>
    <updated>2009-06-04T14:32:51Z</updated>
    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;center&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;br /&gt;David Carradine&lt;br /&gt;December 8, 1936 - June 3, 2009&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/center&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;***&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;WEITER&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;</content>
  </entry>
  <entry>
    <id>urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:bitpig:198574</id>
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    <title>continuity / conumbdumb</title>
    <published>2009-06-03T06:04:03Z</published>
    <updated>2009-06-03T06:11:05Z</updated>
    <lj:music>WABC-AM</lj:music>
    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;&lt;center&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3658/3591702646_f132573d8f.jpg"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Typical table scene from A-Kon 20. L-R: Doug Smith, self, Marty Alice, Mundee, Hans.&lt;/center&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Massive Sketchbook update over at &lt;a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/plymouthbelvedere/"&gt;the Flickr site,&lt;/a&gt; featuring lotsa shôjo-style art, Heck, it's worth a look.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;ENDE&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;</content>
  </entry>
  <entry>
    <id>urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:bitpig:198176</id>
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    <title>special / live from the party pipe</title>
    <published>2009-05-26T06:25:26Z</published>
    <updated>2009-05-26T06:25:26Z</updated>
    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;img src="http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j126/PlyBel/hans1.gif" border="0" alt="Party Hard Hans"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;ENDE&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;</content>
  </entry>
  <entry>
    <id>urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:bitpig:197941</id>
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    <link rel="self" type="text/xml" href="http://bitpig.livejournal.com/data/atom/?itemid=197941"/>
    <title>special / memorial day 2009</title>
    <published>2009-05-24T04:30:29Z</published>
    <updated>2009-05-24T04:33:28Z</updated>
    <lj:music>The Navy Hymn</lj:music>
    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;center&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;big&gt;&lt;big&gt;&lt;big&gt;&lt;i&gt;In Memoriam&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/big&gt;&lt;/big&gt;&lt;/big&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2108/2526498284_a95d71ed21_m.jpg" /&gt; &lt;img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2076/2525678293_1075290675_m.jpg" width="190" /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;big&gt;&lt;big&gt;&lt;big&gt;Franklin Patric Willeford&lt;/big&gt;&lt;/big&gt;&lt;/big&gt; &lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;HN3 USN&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2183/2526498122_35690a132b_m.jpg" /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;NAVY CROSS&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;March 17, 1943&lt;/b&gt; (Lawton OK) &amp;#151; &lt;b&gt;December 14, 1968 &lt;/b&gt;(Quang Nam, Republic of Vietnam)&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Vietnam Memorial&lt;br /&gt; Panel 36W, Row 021&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2235/2525678387_c5dd05f5a0_m.jpg" /&gt;&lt;/center&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;Citation&lt;/b&gt; &lt;/b&gt;The President of the United States takes pride in presenting the Navy Cross (Posthumously) to Franklin Patric Willeford (3537852), Hospitalman, U.S. Navy, for extraordinary heroism on 14 December 1968 while serving as a Platoon Corpsman in Company C, First Battalion, Fifth Marines, FIRST Marine Division (Reinforced), Fleet Marine Force, in Quang Nam Province, Republic of Vietnam. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;As Hospitalman Willeford&amp;#39;s platoon was participating in a company-sized sweep through an area, the lead element came under intensive automatic-weapons fire which wounded and trapped one Marine in very close proximity to one of the enemy bunkers. Seeing his comrade fall and subsequently receive another hit from a grenade, Hospitalman Willeford unhesitatingly left his position of relative security and moved forward to the side of the mortally-wounded Marine. Hidden from the enemy positions by the tall grass in the area, he found the Marine bleeding severely and in no condition to be moved. Hospitalman Willeford raised himself up and into the grazing zone of hostile fire in order to administer a heart massage and mouth- to-mouth resuscitation, continuing his desperate attempts to save the Marine until all hope of life had expired. Only then did he begin the slow return through the fire-swept zone to the trench line, bringing with him the body of his comrade. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;As his platoon again started through the area, the enemy opened up with intensive small-arms and automatic-weapons fire, wounding and trapping the three lead Marines. When two Marines started to move out of the trench line to retrieve the casualties, one was mortally wounded and the other critically wounded. Disregarding the intense danger, Hospitalman Willeford again moved forward to aid his fellowman. Finding the first Marine mortally wounded, and realizing the impossibility of trying to move him back to a secure area, Hospitalman Willeford stayed with the Marine, rendering what aid and comfort he could, until the Marine succumbed to his injuries. After he had informed the remainder of the platoon that the Marine had died, he proceeded deeper into the fire zone toward the second Marine, and drew fire from an enemy bunker a short distance from the wounded man. With full knowledge that the enemy was now concentrating their fire upon him, Hospitalman Willeford forged his way through the tall grass to the wounded Marines&amp;#39; side and began administering aid. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;While treating the fallen Marine, Hospitalman Willeford was also struck and mortally wounded. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;His courageous actions were an inspiration to all who observed him and were in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service. &lt;p&gt;&lt;i&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.homeofheroes.com/valor/1_Citations/07_RVN-nc/nc_19rvn_usn.html"&gt;Authority: Navy Department Board of Decorations and Medals&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;br clear="all" /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;ENDE&lt;/strong&gt;</content>
  </entry>
  <entry>
    <id>urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:bitpig:197702</id>
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    <title>the happening world / this is how they'll get me</title>
    <published>2009-05-21T22:49:28Z</published>
    <updated>2009-05-24T04:27:58Z</updated>
    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/21/us/politics/21obama.html?_r=1&amp;amp;pagewanted=print"&gt;&lt;i&gt;The New York Times&lt;/i&gt;, 21 May 2009&lt;/a&gt;:&lt;blockquote&gt;President Obama told human rights advocates at the White House on Wednesday that he was mulling the need for a “preventive detention” system that would establish a legal basis for the United States to incarcerate &lt;a href="http://wnd.com/images/dhs-rightwing-extremism.pdf"&gt;terrorism suspects who are deemed a threat to national security&lt;/a&gt; but cannot be tried, two participants in the private session said. [ ... ] Human rights advocates are growing deeply uneasy with Mr. Obama’s stance on these issues...&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;[ ... ]&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;[O]utsiders who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the session was intended to be off the record, said they left the meeting dismayed.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;They said Mr. Obama told them he was thinking about “the long game” — how to establish a legal system that would endure for future presidents. He raised the issue of preventive detention himself"...&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;“He was almost ruminating over the need for statutory change to the laws so that we can deal with individuals who we can’t charge and detain,” one participant said. “We’ve known this is on the horizon for many years, but we were able to hold it off with George Bush. The idea that we might find ourselves fighting with the Obama administration over these powers is really stunning.”&lt;/blockquote&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Is this the "change" or the "hope"?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;***&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;ENDE&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;</content>
  </entry>
  <entry>
    <id>urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:bitpig:197618</id>
    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://bitpig.livejournal.com/197618.html"/>
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    <title>the happening world / onigiri, nigi ni-gi</title>
    <published>2009-05-17T00:37:41Z</published>
    <updated>2009-05-17T03:46:39Z</updated>
    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Lots of new photos added to &lt;a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/plymouthbelvedere/" target="_blank"&gt;das Flickrpage&lt;/a&gt;. A couple of new  sketches at the &lt;a href="http://psychicguysketchbook.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"&gt;Sketchbook&lt;/a&gt;, too.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;***&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2263/3537989620_c77b57cafd_o.jpg" alt="Sword of Destiny" align="Left" hspace="8"&gt;While we were out and about today, someone stole the Sword of Destiny from our front yard. For six years it has stood guard over Chez Lewis; today. someone came in my yard, pulled it from the flower bed, and made off with it. The skull-shaped pommel fell off in the north side of our yard as they ran away, so I know they were headed northward on our street as they made their getaway.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I always told myself that the day the sword was stolen would mark the day our neighborhood started to go downhill. That day has come. The neighborhood looks the same as ever. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Maybe this was just a fluke, It is, after all, only a cheap, stainless steel flea-market sword -- an ironic yard ornament, and little more.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;But all I know is that some son of a bitch came in &lt;em&gt;my&lt;/em&gt; yard, and took something that belonged to &lt;em&gt;me&lt;/em&gt;. If they did it once, they'll do it again -- and maybe they won't stop at a cheap, flea market sword next time.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;My eyes are open. If I see my sword anywhere in the neighborhood, in someone else's hand or in their flower bed, that someone's going to get an ass-whipping. And if I see anyone come in my yard without permission or a warrant -- well, let's just say they'll find out the hard way how strongly I feel about the sanctity of private property.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Fucking parasites.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;WEITER&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;</content>
  </entry>
  <entry>
    <id>urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:bitpig:197303</id>
    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://bitpig.livejournal.com/197303.html"/>
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    <title>continuity / dragging it back</title>
    <published>2009-05-14T05:09:19Z</published>
    <updated>2009-05-14T05:13:26Z</updated>
    <lj:music>www.1650oldiesradio.com -</lj:music>
    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2438/3530434682_760fecd375.jpg?" width="108" align="Left" hspace="8"&gt;Sorry it took so long to post. We got back from ACen safe and sound, but I was beat when I left, and by the time I got back I was just spent. Then of course it was back to work, and with deadlines looming and the necessary little chores of life to handle I had to work late... and even so didn't finish on time. I turned everything in safe and sound today, of course, and the net effect on production will be nil, but my supervisor got bitched out on my behalf today and the shit will roll downhill tomorrow in the form of a meeting about "scheduling and prioritization".  And I'm operating on two hours' sleep in the last 48 now, and I need to draw but can't, and BAWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In other words, I'm being a whiny cunt, Please forgive me, all. I'll be better after a few hours' kip.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Speaking of whining, Toddler W. Toddler has suddenly become deathly afraid  of water. He used to love bath time, and often let me wash his hair without even noticing, but now he freaks out after a minute or two of getting in the tub, and I mean major freakout -- screaming, crying, saying "I scared, I scared" and clinging to me in sheer terror.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;WTF? Anybody else's kids go through this?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;And to top it off &lt;span class='ljuser' lj:user='ichigo_babe' style='white-space: nowrap;'&gt;&lt;a href='http://ichigo-babe.livejournal.com/profile'&gt;&lt;img src='http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif' alt='[info]' width='17' height='17' style='vertical-align: bottom; border: 0; padding-right: 1px;' /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;a href='http://ichigo-babe.livejournal.com/'&gt;&lt;b&gt;ichigo_babe&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt; lost her job today, out of the blue. Double WTF?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;On the brighter side, we had a kickass time at ACen this year. I made some great &lt;a href="http://www.misakorocks.com/"&gt;new friends&lt;/a&gt; and had the time to hang out with the old ones for a change. We even got to see the new &lt;em&gt;Star Trek&lt;/em&gt; movie, which I liked. Con season 2009 continues, with A-Kon on the horizon. Go Team Lewis.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;ENDE&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;</content>
  </entry>
  <entry>
    <id>urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:bitpig:197057</id>
    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://bitpig.livejournal.com/197057.html"/>
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    <title>continuity / here we go 'round again</title>
    <published>2009-05-07T16:44:38Z</published>
    <updated>2009-05-07T16:44:38Z</updated>
    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Convention season 2009 begins today. Next stop, Anime Central. Here we go again, gang!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;See y'all in Chicago!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;ENDE&lt;/strong&gt;</content>
  </entry>
  <entry>
    <id>urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:bitpig:196802</id>
    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://bitpig.livejournal.com/196802.html"/>
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    <title>continuity / another hazy, lazy, saturday</title>
    <published>2009-05-02T16:05:50Z</published>
    <updated>2009-05-03T04:27:20Z</updated>
    <lj:music>Japan-A-Radio - Japan's best music mix! -</lj:music>
    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Busy Saturday here at Chez Bitpig. Mommy, Maamaw and Baby are off to Uncle Basil's for haircuts, then we all meet at the parish at 1:45 p.m. for our friends' wedding and reception. Then it's errands, followed by another friend's baby shower this evening, and hopefully a nap at some point in between.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Ah, the comforting tedium of quotidian, middle-class life...&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;***&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Is it wrong to think (platonically) that &lt;a href="https://www.shop.kotenha.com/ec-classic/photo/jacketcdj/4109020927.jpg"&gt;Takumi Mitani&lt;/a&gt; of &lt;em&gt;Okaasan to Issho&lt;/em&gt; is insanely cute? Those winsome Japanese...&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;***&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Speaking of Japan, I applied for a job there this week. It's really not the right job for me, and the pay certainly isn't what you'd like, but the benefits package is really good, and I need to go live in Japan for a while to complete my education. However, the odds of me getting the job are extremely low, so I'm not going to let it occupy my thoughts. May God's will be done.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;***&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I hate weather like we're having now: overcast, humid, dreary. I wish it would either get hot or cold, rainy or sunny. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;ENDE&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;</content>
  </entry>
  <entry>
    <id>urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:bitpig:196401</id>
    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://bitpig.livejournal.com/196401.html"/>
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    <title>the happening world / kuma</title>
    <published>2009-05-01T04:33:39Z</published>
    <updated>2009-05-02T15:55:19Z</updated>
    <lj:music>Japan-A-Radio - Japan's best music mix! -</lj:music>
    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Admit it... we all knew that &lt;a href="http://pedobearplush.com/"&gt;this day &lt;/a&gt;would come...&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;***&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;ENDE&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;</content>
  </entry>
  <entry>
    <id>urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:bitpig:196118</id>
    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://bitpig.livejournal.com/196118.html"/>
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    <title>the happening world / he's a righteous man</title>
    <published>2009-04-30T03:22:16Z</published>
    <updated>2009-04-30T15:42:39Z</updated>
    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Fort Worth ISD has just announced a &lt;a href="http://www.myfoxdfw.com/dpp/news/health/Flu_Fears_Close_More_Schools"&gt;full shutdown&lt;/a&gt;. That's 80,000 students spead over 180 campuses. The school district says it will reopen 8 May.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Cleburne ISD, just south of Fort Worth, closed down yesterday.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;***&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.cdc.gov/swineflu/psa/audio/swineflu_preparedness30.mp3"&gt;New PSA&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;***&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;From the CDC site &lt;a href="http://www.pandemicflu.gov/plan/individual/index.html"&gt;pandemicflu.gov:&lt;/a&gt; &lt;br /&gt;&lt;blockquote&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Social Disruption May Be Widespread&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;• Plan for the possibility that usual services may be disrupted. These could include services provided by hospitals and other health care facilities, banks, stores, restaurants, government offices, and post offices.&lt;br /&gt;• Prepare backup plans in case public gatherings, such as volunteer meetings and worship services, are canceled.&lt;br /&gt;• Consider how to care for people with special needs in case the services they rely on are not available.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Being Able to Work May Be Difficult or Impossible&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;• Find out if you can work from home.&lt;br /&gt;• Ask your employer about how business will continue during a pandemic. &lt;br /&gt;• Plan for the possible reduction or loss of income if you are unable to work or your place of employment is closed.&lt;br /&gt;• Check with your employer or union about leave policies.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Schools May Be Closed for an Extended Period of Time&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;• Help schools plan for pandemic influenza. Talk to the school nurse or the health center. Talk to your teachers, administrators, and parent-teacher organizations.&lt;br /&gt;• Plan home learning activities and exercises. Have materials, such as books, on hand. Also plan recreational activities that your children can do at home.&lt;br /&gt;• Consider childcare needs.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Transportation Services May Be Disrupted&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;• Think about how you can rely less on public transportation during a pandemic. For example, store food and other essential supplies so you can make fewer trips to the store.&lt;br /&gt;• Prepare backup plans for taking care of loved ones who are far away.&lt;br /&gt;• Consider other ways to get to work, or, if you can, work at home.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;People Will Need Advice and Help at Work and Home&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;• Think about what information the people in your workplace will need if you are a manager. This may include information about insurance, leave policies, working from home, possible loss of income, and when not to come to work if sick. (A Business Pandemic Influenza Planning Checklist is available at www.pandemicflu.gov/plan/business/businesschecklist.html.)&lt;br /&gt;• Meet with your colleagues and make lists of things that you will need to know and what actions can be taken.&lt;br /&gt;• Find volunteers who want to help people in need, such as elderly neighbors, single parents of small children, or people without the resources to get the medical help they will need.&lt;br /&gt;• Identify other information resources in your community, such as mental health hotlines, public health hotlines, or electronic bulletin boards.&lt;br /&gt;• Find support systems—people who are thinking about the same issues you are thinking about. Share ideas.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Be Prepared&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Stock a supply of water and food. During a pandemic you may not be able to get to a store. Even if you can get to a store, it may be out of supplies. Public waterworks services may also be interrupted. Stocking supplies can be useful in other types of emergencies, such as power outages and disasters. Store foods that:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;• are nonperishable (will keep for a long time) and don't require refrigeration&lt;br /&gt;• are easy to prepare in case you are unable to cook&lt;br /&gt;• require little or no water, so you can conserve water for drinking&lt;/blockquote&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;ENDE&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;</content>
  </entry>
  <entry>
    <id>urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:bitpig:196073</id>
    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://bitpig.livejournal.com/196073.html"/>
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    <title>the happening world / baby can you dig your man?</title>
    <published>2009-04-28T05:29:24Z</published>
    <updated>2009-04-28T05:29:24Z</updated>
    <lj:music>JRadio.Net - New Christian Japanese Radio -</lj:music>
    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;lj-embed id="10" /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;ENDE&lt;/strong&gt;</content>
  </entry>
  <entry>
    <id>urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:bitpig:195775</id>
    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://bitpig.livejournal.com/195775.html"/>
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    <title>the happening world / shimmy shimmy</title>
    <published>2009-04-27T08:22:09Z</published>
    <updated>2009-04-27T08:26:25Z</updated>
    <lj:music>.977 The Oldies Channel -</lj:music>
    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Medium-sized &lt;a href="http://psychicguysketchbook.blogspot.com/2009/04/atoras-that-shrugs-shoulder.html"&gt;Sketchbook update&lt;/a&gt; now up. Contains the characters from my next comic strip (if all goes well), &lt;em&gt;Atoras That Shrugs The Shoulder&lt;/em&gt;. You can also see the sketches at &lt;a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/plymouthbelvedere/sets/72157594165493424/detail/"&gt;my Flickr site&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;***&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Speaking of art:&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/kyungduk/2953512649/"&gt;Magibon fan art! &lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;***&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Note to all:&lt;/strong&gt; No need to panic, but this flu that's going around is no joke. Remember to &lt;strong&gt;wash your hands frequently&lt;/strong&gt; and &lt;strong&gt;avoid putting your fingers in your orifices&lt;/strong&gt; -- it's not only a good way to avoid getting sick, it's just good manners!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;ENDE&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;</content>
  </entry>
  <entry>
    <id>urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:bitpig:195377</id>
    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://bitpig.livejournal.com/195377.html"/>
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    <title>the happening world / bill mauldin is laughing in heaven</title>
    <published>2009-04-25T04:21:43Z</published>
    <updated>2009-04-25T04:21:43Z</updated>
    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2255/2232424366_b622fe0004.jpg?v=0"&gt;&lt;blockquote&gt;“I’ve been laid off,” reads the headline on the blog of cartoonist Ted Rall, president of the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists. Rall, an editorial cartoonist for Universal Press Syndicate, has served as editor of acquisitions and development at United Media for the past two years.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;[ ... ]&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;“So if you're a creator who was hoping to pitch me something, I'm sorry -- I can't help you anymore,” he adds. “If you need a cartoonist, a writer, or an editor, or anything else, please drop me a line. I need work, and fast.” [&lt;a href="http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/departments/syndicates/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003964933"&gt;Full Text&lt;/a&gt;]&lt;/blockquote&gt;Instant karma, Teddy! Being an unemployed ex-cartoonist is a bitch even in a good economy. In a recession? Well, I guess you could always &lt;a href="http://newsbusters.org/static/2007/07/2007-07-14TedRall.gif"&gt;join the Army&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;***&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;WEITER&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;</content>
  </entry>
  <entry>
    <id>urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:bitpig:195078</id>
    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://bitpig.livejournal.com/195078.html"/>
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    <title>the happening world / whaddaya mean, you're not pure evil?</title>
    <published>2009-04-23T02:46:39Z</published>
    <updated>2009-04-23T05:09:23Z</updated>
    <lj:music>www.1650oldiesradio.com</lj:music>
    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;And as we bring this day's broadcast to a close, let's all close our eyes, lean back in our chairs, and listen as Sir Jimmy Savile and Jonathan King present our national anthem:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;lj-embed id="9" /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;***&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;From today's &lt;a href="http://bluelori.blogspot.com/"&gt;&lt;em&gt;Lori's Latest&lt;/em&gt;:&lt;/a&gt;&lt;a name="cutid1"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;blockquote&gt;As a black man, I love it when ignorant white women like Janeane Garofalo speak for all blacks. It's thrilling to me that Janeane would take time out of her busy Hollyweird life to protect me and my peeps -- the downtrodden, the oppressed... the lowly Negro.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;For her efforts, I thank Garofalo, and anoint her Janeane Garofalo: White Chick Protector of the Lowly Negro.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Who better than she to offer such protection? Garofalo, after all is an American hero! And I bet you were wondering who could possibly replace the likes of Barbara Streisand or Susan Sarandon…Madonna?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Garofalo is so in touch with the black condition, that she is uniquely qualified to assess and understand my people's "condition." Her intimate knowledge of blacks allows her to interpret how blacks think, and then translate "black-think" for the rest of America. "Cuz Lawd knows, we kaints do dis for ourselfs."&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;[ ... ]&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The irony of Garofalo's comments is that they point directly at her own racist party: the Democrats!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I am always amazed at how well Democrats argue the tenets of racism…against themselves. The party that founded the Ku Klux Klan has the nerve to proselytize to Republicans about racism... &lt;/blockquote&gt;[&lt;a href="http://bluelori.blogspot.com/2009/04/janeane-garofalo-white-chick-protector.html"&gt;MOAR LOL&lt;/a&gt;]&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;***&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;A surprising (to some) story from today's AP feed via &lt;em&gt;the Huffington Post&lt;/em&gt;:&lt;a name="cutid2"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;blockquote&gt;Kevin Roose managed to blend in during his single semester at Liberty University, attending lectures on the myth of evolution and the sin of homosexuality, and joining fellow students on a mission trip to evangelize partyers on spring break.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Roose had transferred to the Virginia campus from Brown University in Providence, a famously liberal member of the Ivy League. His Liberty classmates knew about the switch, but he kept something more important hidden: He planned to write a book about his experience at the school founded by fundamentalist preacher Jerry Falwell.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Each conversation about salvation or hand-wringing debate about premarital sex was unwitting fodder for Roose's recently published book: &lt;em&gt;The Unlikely Disciple: A Sinner's Semester at America's Holiest University&lt;/em&gt;.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;"As a responsible American citizen, I couldn't just ignore the fact that there are a lot of Christian college students out there," said Roose, 21, now a Brown senior. "If I wanted my education to be well-rounded, I had to branch out and include these people that I just really had no exposure to."&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;[ ... ]&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Roose's parents, liberal Quakers who once worked for Ralph Nader, were nervous about their son being exposed to Falwell's views. Still, Roose transferred to Liberty for the spring 2007 semester.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;He was determined to not mock the school, thinking it would be too easy _ and unfair. He aimed to immerse himself in the culture, examine what conservative Christians believe and see if he could find some common ground. He had less weighty questions too: How did they spend Friday nights? Did they use Facebook? Did they go on dates? Did they watch &lt;em&gt;Gossip Girl?&lt;/em&gt; [ ... ] He lined up a publisher... and arrived at the Lynchburg campus prepared for "hostile ideologues who spent all their time plotting abortion clinic protests and sewing Hillary Clinton voodoo dolls."&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/04/22/kevin-roose-infiltrates-l_n_190124.html"&gt;Instead, he found...&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;Check out the comments on this story by the &lt;i&gt;HuffPo&lt;/i&gt;'s tolerant, liberal readers. LOL...&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;***&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;ENDE&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;</content>
  </entry>
  <entry>
    <id>urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:bitpig:195004</id>
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    <title>the happening world / you're just like a dream</title>
    <published>2009-04-22T03:36:15Z</published>
    <updated>2009-04-22T04:55:35Z</updated>
    <lj:music>The Cure "Just Like Heaven"</lj:music>
    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3480/3176474612_d6bc6fe451.jpg" align="left" width="144" hspace="8"&gt;A very happy 21st birthday to &lt;a href="http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=718736191&amp;amp;ref=name#/profile.php?id=1059100169&amp;amp;ref=nf"&gt;Sammy Harte&lt;/a&gt; -- possibly the sweetest human being ever to live.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I can't believe it's me posting this instead of &lt;span class='ljuser' lj:user='mundeemo' style='white-space: nowrap;'&gt;&lt;a href='http://mundeemo.livejournal.com/profile'&gt;&lt;img src='http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif' alt='[info]' width='17' height='17' style='vertical-align: bottom; border: 0; padding-right: 1px;' /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;a href='http://mundeemo.livejournal.com/'&gt;&lt;b&gt;mundeemo&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;, but&lt;br /&gt;&lt;center&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;font size="8"&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORc5Td_T6og&amp;amp;feature=related"&gt;HAPPY 50TH BIRTHDAY&lt;br /&gt;ROBERT SMITH&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/center&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a name="cutid1"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Admission:&lt;/strong&gt; I was never really a fan of the Cure, but they made two or three singles that are absolutely top-notch. As for Robert Smith -- yeah, he's old (six years older than me), but he sure aged better than Morrissey...&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;***&lt;br /&gt;Friendly robot space traveler Cassini just mailed in the latest snaps from Saturn. &lt;a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1172205/Saturn-close-Sensational-cosmic-images-bring-ringed-planet-life.html"&gt;PREPARE TO HAVE YOUR MIND M-FING BLOWN&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;***&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;ENDE&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;</content>
  </entry>
  <entry>
    <id>urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:bitpig:194589</id>
    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://bitpig.livejournal.com/194589.html"/>
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    <title>the happening world / a visually-impaired arboreal rodent</title>
    <published>2009-04-17T05:14:41Z</published>
    <updated>2009-04-17T05:16:09Z</updated>
    <lj:music>JRadio.Net - New Christian Japanese Radio -</lj:music>
    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Some good news, for a change:&lt;blockquote&gt;President Barack Obama, along with Vice President Biden and Secretary LaHood, announced a new U.S. push today to transform travel in America, creating high-speed rail lines from city to city, reducing dependence on cars and planes and spurring economic development. The President released a strategic plan outlining his vision for high speed rail in America. The plan identifies $8 billion provided in the ARRA and $1 billion a year for five years requested in the federal budget as a down payment to jump-start a potential world-class passenger rail system and sets the direction of transportation policy for the future. The strategic plan will be followed by detailed guidance for state and local applicants. By late summer, the Federal Railroad Administration will begin awarding the first round of grants &lt;/blockquote&gt;&lt;a name="cutid1"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;[ ... ] The President, Vice President and Secretary of Transportation are urging states and local communities to put together plans for a network of 100 mile to 600 mile corridors, which will compete for the federal dollars. The merit-driven process will result in federal grants as soon as late summer 2009.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;President Obama’s vision for high-speed rail mirrors that of President Eisenhower, the father of the Interstate highway system, which revolutionized the way Americans traveled [ ... ] The plan identifies two types of projects for funding. One would create new corridors for world-class high-speed rail like the kind found in Europe and Japan. Another would involve making train service along existing rail lines incrementally faster. Under the plan, high-speed rail development will advance along three funding tracks: &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;• Individual Projects. Providing grants to complete individual projects that are “ready to go” with completed environmental and preliminary engineering work – with an emphasis on near term job creation. Eligible projects include acquisition, construction of or improvements to infrastructure, facilities and equipment. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;• Corridor programs. Developing entire phases or geographic sections of high-speed rail corridors that have completed corridor plans, environmental documentation and have a prioritized list of projects to help meet the corridor objectives.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.fra.dot.gov/us/content/31"&gt;EVEN MOAR&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The funding and construction of transportation infrastructure is a legitimate function of government. Examples include the National Road, the Erie Canal, the Transcontinental Railroad, the various Federal Highways, and the entire commercial aviation industry, which has never made a profit independently and which would not exist had it not been for the U.S. Post Office. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I applaud President Obama for this proposal.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;ENDE&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;</content>
  </entry>
  <entry>
    <id>urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:bitpig:194307</id>
    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://bitpig.livejournal.com/194307.html"/>
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    <title>the happening world / smile when you say that, janet</title>
    <published>2009-04-15T03:39:42Z</published>
    <updated>2009-04-15T04:53:09Z</updated>
    <lj:music>JRadio.Net - New Christian Japanese Radio -</lj:music>
    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;&lt;i&gt;Assessment: Rightwing Extremism: Current Economic and Political Climate Fueling Resurgence in Radicalization and Recruitment&lt;/i&gt;, IA-0257-09, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, 7 April 2009:&lt;blockquote&gt;Rightwing extremism in the United States can be broadly divided into those groups, movements, and adherents that are primarily hate-oriented (based on hatred of particular religious, racial or ethnic groups), and those that are mainly antigovernment, rejecting federal authority in favor of state or local authority, or rejecting government authority entirely. It may include groups and individuals that are dedicated to a single issue, such as &lt;em&gt;opposition to abortion&lt;/em&gt; or immigration. [&lt;a href="http://wnd.com/images/dhs-rightwing-extremism.pdf"&gt;Full Text (PDF 1.9MB SFW)&lt;/a&gt;]&lt;/blockquote&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I guess I am a right wing extremist.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;***&lt;br /&gt;Racism is alive and well in Bloomington, Ill....&lt;blockquote&gt;A 19-year-old Bloomington man was charged Monday after police said up to a dozen teenagers blocked the street near Oak and Mulberry early Saturday afternoon and harassed a woman in her car.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Brett Lane, 19, of the 900 block of West Olive Street, was charged with aggravated battery, court documents said.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The woman, 24, was driving near Mulberry and Oak streets a few minutes after noon while on her way to visit her brother, 34, who lives in the 500 block of North Mason Street, police said. When the brother came up and asked the group to let his sister’s car through, he was jumped by four or five teens, police said.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;While the man was beaten, others in the mob threw rocks, bricks and debris at the sister and two of the brother’s roommates, police said.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The woman’s brother had an open head wound on his forehead, police spokesman Duane Moss said. There were no reports of ambulances at the scene, but victims may have gotten medical help later, Moss said.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Some screamed racially derogatory names, Moss said. One person yelled, “This is our neighborhood... [&lt;a href="http://www.pantagraph.com/articles/2009/04/14/news/doc49e3cff8d6d54928171033.txt"&gt;full text&lt;/a&gt;]&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;ENDE&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;</content>
  </entry>
  <entry>
    <id>urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:bitpig:194191</id>
    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://bitpig.livejournal.com/194191.html"/>
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    <title>the happening world / ten go le go</title>
    <published>2009-04-14T02:22:18Z</published>
    <updated>2009-04-15T03:29:47Z</updated>
    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1yRifXI7sYQ" title="link to lego yamato"&gt;OMG ShamWOW&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;ENDE&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;</content>
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