Thursday, December 31, 2009

Osama Bin Laden and the Genie...

I know several "Mean Genie" jokes:

While trying to escape through Pakistan, Osama Bin Laden found a bottle on the sand and opened it.

A female genie rose from the bottle and with a smile said, "Master may I grant you one wish?"

Osama responded," You ignorant, unworthy daughter-of-a-dog! Don't you know who I am? I don't need any common woman giving me anything."

The shocked genie said, "Please, I must grant you a wish or I will be returned to that bottle forever."

Osama thought a moment, then grumbled about the impertinence of the woman and said, "Very well, I want to awaken with three American women in my bed in the morning. So just do it and be off with you."

The genie both annoyed and grateful said, "So be it!" and disappeared.

The next morning Bin Laden woke up in bed with Lorena Bobbitt, Tonya Harding and Michelle Bachmann at his side.

His penis was gone, his knees were broken, and he had no health insurance.. God is good!

HAPPY NEW YEAR !!!

Thursday, December 24, 2009

Woman knocks down pope at Christmas Eve Mass

From the article:

In his homily, delivered unflappably after the incident, Benedict urged the world to "wake up" from selfishness and petty affairs, and find time for God and spiritual matters.

"To wake up means to leave that private world of one's own and to enter the common reality," Benedict said. "Conflict and lack of reconciliation in the world stem from the fact that we are locked into our own interests and opinions, into our own little private world."

Woman knocks down pope at Christmas Eve Mass

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091225/ap_on_re_eu/eu_vatican_christmas

Can't "believe" I totally agree with the pope...
"Leave that private world and enter the common reality"...
yes indeed, excellent advice!  Follow it and you too shall find peace.
-- 
Cheers,

Frish

Sunday, December 6, 2009

To: Black and Decker...tried to send this via your website, but the site wouldn't "send" my message...

We purchased a Black & Decker toaster oven from Target within the last 6 months.
I was ALWAYS concerned about using it, since setting it to toast, for example, meant that the heating elements turned on, EVEN WHEN THE DOOR WAS OPEN, AND it DIDN'T TURN OFF IF THE DOOR WAS OPENED DURING OPERATION. Seems that is "working as designed" but also seems Dangerous and not "fool proof". Well, yesterday I smelled burning plastic during the toaster oven's operation, and discovered that the power cord was beginning to turn from white to a lovely toasty brown color. I unplugged the device before it burned itself to smithereens, tripped a circuit breaker or lit a fire in my kitchen. Not Happy, unbelievably dangerous in regular operation, and now, we're shopping for a toaster oven again. Incredibly poorly designed and low quality product.

And now, your website thwarted my effort to send feedback. (The "send" button for the customer feedback function refused to function!)

My generally low expectations concerning consumer product companies was significantly reinforced thanks to your Toaster Oven.

The date code is 842EH.
-- 

Frish

Thursday, December 3, 2009

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Newest Social Networking Craze

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GET IN ON THE GROUND FLOOR AND join LinkDIN today.
  
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SHOUT OUT GREETINGS to friends.

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Order by December 22 and LinkDIN will guarantee delivery by Dec 24.

HAPPY WINTER SOLSTICE ONE AND ALL...

Friday, November 27, 2009

Zuckerman research on atheists and apostates

Phil Zuckerman is doing research on apostates.
He is seeking apostates to interview.

web site:
http://www.pitzer.edu/academics/faculty/zuckerman/

mail:  phil_zuckerman@pitzer.edu

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/apostate

 Atheism, Secularity, and Well-Being:
How the Findings of Social Science Counter Negative Stereotypes and Assumptions
By PHIL ZUCKERMAN
(Note: This is a rough DRAFT of an essay that is slated to be published in Sociology
Compass in the Fall of 2009).

EXCERPT:

Values, Beliefs, Opinions, and Worldviews

It is often assumed that someone who doesn't believe in God doesn't believe in anything, or that a person who has no religion must have no values. These assumptions are simply untrue. People can reject religion and still maintain strong beliefs. Being godless does not mean being without values. Numerous studies reveal that atheists and secular people most certainly maintain strong values, beliefs, and opinions. But more significantly, when we actually compare the values and beliefs of atheists and secular people to those of religious people, the former are markedly less nationalistic, less prejudiced, less anti-Semitic, less racist, less dogmatic, less ethnocentric, less closeminded, and less authoritarian (Greeley and Hout, 2006; Sider, 2005; Altemeyer, 2003, 2009; Jackson and Hunsberger, 1999; Wulff, 1991; Altemeyer and Hunsberger, 1992, 1997; Beit-Hallahmi, 2007; Beit-Hallahmi and Argyle, 1997; Batson et al., 1993; Argyle, 2000).

Concerning political orientations, atheist and secular people are much more likely to be registered Independent than the general American population, and they are much less likely to be right-wing, conservative, or to support the Republican party than their religious peers (Kosmin, 2008). Keysar (2007:38) reports that 50% of American atheists are Independent, 26% are Democrat, and 10% are Republican and that 43% of American agnostics are Independent, 22% are Democrat, and 15% are Republican. Greeley and Hout (2006) report that only about 21% of people claiming "no religion" voted for Republican candidates in recent elections. In the 2008 presidential election specifically, 76% of atheists and agnostics voted for Obama, and only 23% voted for McCain (Barna Survey 2008). Grupp and Newman (1973) and Nassi (1981) have found that irreligiosity is strongly and consistently correlated and with liberal, progressive, or left-wing political perspectives, and
 Gay and Ellison (1993) found that -- when compared to various religious groups -- nonreligious Americans are the most politically tolerant, supporting the extension of civil liberties to dissident groups.

As for gender equality and women's rights, atheists and secular people are quite supportive (Hayes, 1995b). Recent studies show that secular individuals are much more supportive of gender equality than religious people, less likely to endorse conservatively traditional views concerning women's roles, and when compared to various religious denominations, "Nones" possess the most egalitarian outlook of all concerning women's rights (Brinkerhoff and Mackei, 1993, 1985; Petersen and Donnenworth, 1998; Hoffman and Miller, 1997). Additional polls reveal that abortion rights are more likely to be supported by the secular than the religious (Gallup, 2006; ABC News, 2001).

Concerning the acceptance of homosexuality and support for gay rights, atheists and secular people again stand out (Linneman and Clendenen, 2009; Hayes, 1995b). When compared to the religious, nonreligious people are far more accepting of homosexuality and supportive of gay rights and gay marriage (Sherkat, Powell-Williams, and Maddox, 2007; Burdette et al., 2005; Lewis, 2003; Loftus 2001, Roof and McKinney, 1987), and are far less likely to be homophobic or harbor negative attitudes towards homosexuals (Altemeyer, 2009; Rowatt et al., 2006; Schulte and Battle, 2004; Aubyn, Maynard, and Gorsuch, 1999; VanderStoep and Green, 1988; Kunkel and Temple, 1992). According to a 2008 Pew Forum survey, 60% of religiously unaffiliated Americans support gay marriage, compared to roughly 26% of Protestants and 42% of Catholics. According to Newport (2008), 76% of Americans who never or seldom attend church consider homosexuality morally acceptable, compared to 21% of
 weekly and 43% of monthly church attenders. Additional studies consistently find that atheists and secular people tend to take a more liberal/progressive stand on a multitude of contemporary social issues (Hoffman and Miller, 1997; Hood et al., 1996; Nelson, 1988). For example, secular Americans were far less supportive of the U.S. invasion of Iraq than religious Americans (Smidt, 2005); only 38% of secular Americans favored invasion compared to 68% of Evangelical Protestants, 57% of Mainline Protestants, and 58% of Catholics, and 47% of Jews. Guth and colleagues (2005) found that only 32% of secular Americans consider the Iraq War justified, compared to 89% of Mormons, 87% of Evangelicals, 73% of Mainline Protestants, and 84% of Catholics. When it comes to the death penalty, atheists and nonreligious people are also markedly less supportive than their religious peers (Beit- Hallahmi, 2007; Gallup Poll, 2004). As for the general treatment of prisoners,
 secular people are much less supportive of retribution and are less likely to favor harsh/draconian sentencing than religious people (Grasmick et al., 1992; Blumstein and Cohen, 1980). A recent survey conducted by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life (2009) found that secular, religiously unaffiliated Americans are the group least supportive of the governmental use of torture. Concerning doctor assisted suicide, non-church attenders are much more likely to support it than weekly church attenders (Carroll, 2007; Stark and Bainbridge, 1996), and support for stem cell research is strongest among the secular (Nisbet, 2005); a 2004 Harris Poll found that 84% of "nonreligious" Americans support stem cell research, compared to 55% of "very religious" Americans. Finally, secular people are much more likely to support the legalization of marijuana than religious people (Gallup Poll, 2005b; Hoffman and Miller, 1997).

The above information reveals that atheists and secular people have very clear and pronounced values and beliefs concerning moral, political, and social issues. As Lynn Nelson (1988:134) has concluded, religiously unaffiliated people "have as well-defined a sense of social justice as weekly churchgoers." But I would go farther. I would argue that a strong case could be made that atheists and secular people actually posses a stronger or more ethical sense of social justice than their religious peers. After all, when it comes to such issues as the governmental use of torture or the death penalty, we see that atheists and secular people are far more merciful and humane. When it comes to protecting the environment, women's rights, and gay rights, the non-religious again distinguish themselves as being the most supportive. And as stated earlier, atheists and secular people are also the least likely to harbor ethnocentric, racist, or nationalistic
 attitudes. Strange then, that so many people assume that atheists and nonreligious people lack strong values or ethical beliefs – a truly groundless and unsupportable assumption.

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

New Apple Product

Apple does it again:

Apple announced today that it has developed a breast implant that can store
and play music.  The iTit will cost from $499 to $699, depending on cup and
speaker size.  This is considered a major social breakthrough, because women
are always complaining about men staring at their breasts and not listening
to them.

Thursday, November 19, 2009

Happy Birthday Frishberg!

Unknown Frishberg!

Sunday, November 15, 2009

An Ahimsa ThanXgiving - Fast 2009

Congrats on your decision Augie.


The raising of meat, as destructive to the environment as it is, and the harm it causes to those of us who imbibe, is not disputable.

I have absolutely no problem with those who choose not to eat meat, and there are loads of reasons besides being upset with factory farming, chemicals, and colo-rectal cancer, to be vegan.

However, Humans are Omnivores by nature.  And,  "Human Nature" is precisely the reason we're collectively doomed in a very short time frame...(geologically speaking).

For me, morality is all about the way humans treat each other...far more so than how we treat traditional foodstuff...and our record of how we treat each other is far more deplorable than the fact that we raise chickens in cages so small that they cannot move out of the way of their own defecation.

I don't attribute any "moral superiority" to veganism.

If it feels right to you, do it.

I hold that our trajectory is extinction, and, while one can make less or more impact on the environment personally, I dispute it will make one day's difference in when the last of us walks the planet...

I'm more inclined, daily, to party hearty and die out and, for me, that includes meat in my diet.

There are as many reasons to be a Volunteer as there are Volunteers, and, I'll wager the same holds for vegans.  Regardless, I'll probably see more flames on this note than under the bird come Thanksgiving.

Namaste,
Frish


An Ahimsa ThanXgiving - Fast  2009

Posted by: "augie1015" augie1015@yahoo.com   augie1015

Sun Nov 15, 2009 4:44 am (PST)

An Ahimsa ThanXgiving - Fast 2009

Namaste

Oh, no! Here it comes again!
Those dreaded holidays where Vegans "waffle" (snip)

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Some Weird News about Genetics, Intelligence and "beauty"!

Women with the largest difference of waist and hips are smarter, as are their offspring!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/7090300.stm

Even tho' men are mostly indifferent to such differences!

Which means, it shouldn't be a trait that has "legs" so to speak!

Glad to share something a bit tangential, instead of the serious stuff usually posted here!

Frish
Childfree and happier every day!

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Just some more demographic fun...

In late August, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced that U.S. life expectancy had reached an all-time high, climbing to 77.9 years in 2007.

The U.S. Census Bureau projects life expectancy will exceed 79 years by the year 2015
"Retirees Hit by Longevity Risk." Reuters. Nov 21, 2008. 

Insurance mortality tables indicate that some Americans could even live until the age of 121.
"2001 Commissioners' Standard Ordinary (CSO) Mortality Table." American Academy of Actuaries. June 2002.

Frish

6-year-old girl with brain cancer hid love notes for her parents to find after her death

Holly, thanks for sharing.
http://www.neatorama.com/2009/11/04/6-year-old-girl-with-brain-cancer-hid-love-notes-for-her-parents-to-find-after-her-death/

Just a side note:

I googled the article's name, to see what I might see, and was amazed/amused/concerned about the "right hand column" purchase suggestion:

Year Old Girl

Find Low Prices and Multiple Offers
Year Old Girl
shopping.yahoo.com

Frish

Economist Cover Story - Falling Fertility

http://www.economist.com/printedition/displayStory.cfm?Story_ID=14744915

Yes, the rate at which people, worldwide, are having offspring is declining.  
Articles in the Oct 31st Economist go deeply into why this is happening.

Here's what I object to...
While forecasting anything out 40 years or more is generally suspect, in the case of demographics of humanity it is probably not that far fetched.  However, all of the charts in the article end at 2050...
as if, when population begins to level off at 9BN individuals, there is some magical occurance, and human impacts on the environment are not as great...

"The world might indeed have the right numbers to boost growth and still have too many for the environment. The right response to that, though, would be to curb pollution and try to alter the pattern of growth to make it less resource-intensive, rather than to control population directly."

Okay, so population growth is slowing.  Considerably.  However, it appears that there will be (without some horrendous "culling" thanks to (insert apocalypse de jour)) well over 6BN people on the planet from now until 100 years from now...

No indication of how we're supposed to support that many people, while we eat everything that crawls or grows, or swims or flies, and totally decimate every ecosystem...

From another article on the same topic is this gem:
"...the human race will have to rely on technology and governance to shift the world's economy towards cleaner growth.  Mankind needs to develop more and cheaper technologies that can enable people to enjoy the fruits of economic growth without destroying the planet's natural capital."

It is so easy to proclaim this, and yet, the US for example never even signed onto Kyoto Protocols and the Copenhagen session may be equally rancorous.  At least The Economist editors agree that our current course is untenable...unlike all of the Human Caused Climate Chaos deniers...or those who would deny family planning and condoms to the "third world"...

The idea of "more and cheaper" (in terms of impact on the environment) technologies flies in the face of our very human nature.

The interconnectedness and fragility of the chemistry that supports the web of life is ignored, and the results (30, 40, 60 years from now) of our deprecations have been severely discounted (even while the article mentions "consequences of global warming - water shortages, mass migration, declining food levels").

A "clean coal" commercial just aired on my television...From the unabashedly pro-coal http://www.cleancoalusa.org/docs/beyond/ 
"It's clear that meeting America's growing energy demand and keeping electricity supplies reliable and affordable will require the use of American coal. But can we use coal and meet the commitment of reducing greenhouse gas emissions in response to climate change concerns?

In a word - yes!"

The URL says it all "BEYOND" ...........belief!

Frish - child free and grateful for it!

Monday, November 2, 2009

Necrophilia - some thoughts

To Bill Handel as a commentary on his Radio Broadcast of 091030 - "Necrophilia, A Victimless Crime"...

In 1977, my last year in getting a B.A. in Anthropology - ,, I took 4 classes.  I didn't need any more for my major, just 12 units of General Education, at San Diego State University...so, when I registered I looked at the available classes and realized I could go to class on Tuesdays and Thursdays only, giving me a 4 day weekend every week!

I also realized, literally as I reviewed the board of class offerings, that I could write a paper on Necrophilia and turn it into three of the four classes!  And, so...I took:

Black English - That's what Ebonics was called back the, and my professor Shirley Weber was one of the major contributors to the academic study of how the English spoken by afro-americans was related to West Aftican syntax etc.  
For that class, I wrote a paper "The Trickster Character in Black Folklore", all about Br'er Rabbit.

Human Sexual Workshop - As the Prof said, "this is not a lab course, it is academic only"  
I wrote a paper entitled: "Cross Cultural Homosexuality".  The Prof suggested I become a sex therapist...

Sociology of Deviance - When I suggested, about three quarters of the way into the 13 week course, that the deviants we ought to be studying were Rich People, the prof blanched, broke out in a sweat, and did not have a good day...

Sociology of Death - Another fun course, I wrote a paper entitled "Necrophilia"  It was quite a scholarly treatis, and I quoted literary 
references to Necrophilia as diverse as Herodotus, who suggested that the bodies of rich Egyptians (500 BC or so) were sometimes defiled before becoming mummified...and so, the keepers of the mummification process waited 3 days so the body was really ripe...and therefore supposedly not appealing to someone interested in that...all the way to William Burroughs "Naked Lunch" that has a passage that is quite a graphic rendition of Necrophilia.

I'll always be ashamed I only got a A- on that paper, only because the prof was a former Presbyterian Preacher, and he was unable to finish reading the paper, as it made him sick.

Knowing the rules, I turned the Necro paper in to the death class for credit and the Human Sexual Workshop class and deviance class for "extra credit".

Understand, this was WAY before the internet (or Jeffrey Dahmer)...so I had to spend HOURS upon HOURS in a real library to glean nuggets of necrophilia!

Of course, I had two conclusions:
1.  To the true necrophiliac (usually found working in mortuaries, if you wanted to find one), waiting three days makes the body even more desireable.
2.  I also concluded, using all my Anthropological expertise, that Necrophilia is probably a uniquely human behavior and not much else is truly unique to us alone!

Thanks for suggesting that Necrophilia is a "victim-less crime" however, a dead body is as I understand it, is property of it's estate, so, perhaps necrophiliacs are guilty of trespassing!  (but, you are the lawyer after all, enjoy these references...)



Afterword:  There was a female student at school with whom I was more than casually familiar...She was in my first Anthro class, but changed majors to become a Biology student.  She enjoyed going to the mountains and simply sitting quietly, sniffing the wind...in order to discover dead animals...The Sexual Workshop teacher agreed that she may have been a very rare breed, a female necrophiliac!

Cheers, 
Frish

Attached is my West Hollywood Halloween Costume for 2009 (which is very much the same as it has been for almost 50 years!)

Thursday, October 29, 2009

Monday, October 26, 2009

Moishe Plotnik's Laundry

Moishe Plotnik's Laundry


 

 

 

 

.....Moishe Plotnik's Laundry  
        

 


. 
.

Walking through San Francisco's Chinatown, a tourist from the Midwest was fascinated with all 
the Chinese restaurants, shops, signs and banners.  He turned a corner and saw a building with 
the sign "Moishe Plotnik's 
Chinese Laundry."  "Moishe 
Plotnik?" he wondered. "How 
does that fit in Chinatown?"

. 
So he walked into the shop and saw a fairly standard looking Chinese laundry.  He could see that the proprietors were clearly aware of the uniqueness of the name as there were baseball hats, T-Shirts and coffee mugs emblazoned with the logo "Moishe Plotnik's Chinese Laundry."There was also a fair selection of Chinatown souvenirs, indicating that the name alone had brought many tourists into the shop.  The tourist selected a coffee cup as a conversation piece to take back to his office.

Behind the counter was a smiling old Chinese gentleman who thanked him for his purchase in English, thickly accented with Chinese. 

The tourist asked, "Can you tell me how this place got a name like "Moishe Plotnik's Chinese Laundry?" 
 

The old man answered, 'Ah..Evleebody ask me dat.  It name of owner.'

Looking around, the tourist asked, 
'Is he here now?'

'It me, Me him!' replied the old man.

'Really?  You're Chinese.  How did 
you ever get a Jewish name like 
Moishe Plotnik?'

. 
.

It simple' said the old man. 
'Many, many year ago I come to 
thes country.  I standing in 
line at 'Documentation Center 
of Immiglation.'Man in front of me was Jewish 
man from Poland.'

'Lady at counter look at him 
and say to him, 'What your name?'

He say to her, 'Moishe Plotnik.'

.

Then she look at me and say, 
'What your name?' 
  
  I say, 'Sam Ting.'

 

 

 

Sunday, October 18, 2009

Regarding reactions to my Holocaust Deniers post...

(LES, WROTE THE FOLLOWING AND THEN DECIDED IT would JUST INITIATE A FLAME WAR SO I DECIDED NOT TO SENT TO THE GROUP LISTS...BUT HAD TO SHARE SO HERE YOU GO!)

I am so glad my recent thread "Holocaust Deniers" concerning MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCE regards not having children caused such a great number of reactions.

The Holocaust to which I referred is the only Holocaust that is capitalized...but all of the events that subsequent posters referred to certainly and simply reinforce my decision not to have children (a decision I made in 1962).  

And no one even mentioned the HUTU-TUTSI CONFLICT  or Pol Pot...

However, and I'm rather disturbed by this...
"I'd have to add to the voices here pointing out that the horror of attempted
genocide continues to this very moment, most notably in Occupied Palestine."

"Occupied Palestine" is what is known by all those who live by the rule of law as the sovereign nation of Israel.  How that came to be certainly is a subject of great debate actually, but, it is clear the Israel is a nation recognized by the overwhelming majority of other nations, and has a seat in the United Nations.

Are the Israeli's doing the "right" thing, to make the lives of those in Gaza and the West Bank uncomfortable/impossible/and or deadly?  Do they react to attacks in ways that are contrary to the "law of war"?  Probably they do...however, they also are continuing to have rockets and suicide bombings and other inappropriate and violent actions taken against Israel by those in the affected areas...and they are surrounded by 100's of millions of people living under governments that choose not to recognize Israel's right to exist as a Jewish state. 

However, there is NO genocide proceeding there.  If the Israeli's really were killing Palestinians as the Nazis killed Jews there would not be any Palestinians left.

Another poster tried to equate the Dresden fire bombing with "genocide" once again totally off the mark..

This may well be a heinous war crime as Dresden was in no way a military target and hundreds of thousands of  Civilian Germans were destroyed.  (See Slaughterhouse 5, Kurt Vonnegut).

Hey, there is evidence that the Japanese were ready to surrender BEFORE the atomic bomb drops, which also are a valid subject for those who know about the rules of war.

PLEASE NOTE AND BEFORE YOU TRY TO COMPARE OTHER CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY WITH THE HOLOCAUST...

THE ENTIRE NAZI MILITARY INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX WAS CREATED AND FOCUSED WITH A PRIMARY GOAL TO ERADICATE JEWS FROM THE WORLD.  PERIOD.

as one well researched tome on the topic.

Although I am Jewish by heritage, I am not a Zionist, far from it.  I am the Fearless Leader Emeritus of the Los Angeles Brights, and therefore accept no supernatural concepts as anything more than fairy tales.  Life is the inevitable outcome of the chemistry of the Earth...http://www.americanscientist.org/issues/feature/2009/3/the-origin-of-life/1 and there is no such thing as an "afterlife".  

However, I know better than to argue this with those who do yearn for an afterlife...and choose to believe that such a thing can/does exist...

I am not an Israeli apologist either...the Palestinians who were displaced have valid grievances against the Israelis and those ought to be adjudicated.  And, the Palestinians ought to recognize the state of Israel, and they all ought to attempt to reduce the violence in that part of the world...

To "equate" what is happening in the Gaza and West Bank with what the Nazi's were up to is so far off the mark that those who espouse such views "are beyond the reach of reason"...as I suggested regards those who deny the Holocaust.

Just had to rant...and am more happy everyday that none of my kids can blame me for the rapidly retreating Glaciers around the world, which will result in the Death Of Billions...sooner than almost anyone even imagines...
-- 
Cheers,

Frish

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Holocaust Deniers

Got a pretty horrendous email today from a friend who felt the need to share pics of the holocaust with me "so we shouldn't forget".

Just another reason I didn't have children...

1. Partly because I had to see those pictures in religious school on Saturdays for 10 years.

2. Partly because if people could do those things to other people I didn't want to put my kids at the risk of it happening to them.

Those who deny the Holocaust are beyond reach of reason.
...much like those who believe in god...

To be Polanski-ed!

I've shared the latest of my short stories here, with the working title of "Pranks by Boys".

Enjoy and let me know if you think they might try to Polanski me...

Hey, did I just coin a term?  or is "to be Polanski-ed" already twittered around the world?

Thursday, October 8, 2009

Always nice to print for you...

MY CUSTOMERS LOVE ME...

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Troy
Date: Thu, Oct 8, 2009 at 3:21 PM
Subject: RE: Always nice to print for you...
TO: FRISH

Hi –

Thank you so much for all of your help.  As you saw this year, things were a little hectic, especially with our communication.

I received the booklets and was impressed with the service that I am accustomed to receiving through working with you.

I look forward to the next time.

Troy

From: Frish 
Sent: Wednesday, October 07, 2009 11:19 AM
To: Troy
Subject: Always nice to print for you...

 

Troy:

I know we were down to the wire on this last one…

And, our last conversation was so focused on how much time we had to get it done!!!

 

I suspect all turned out well, and I thank you for the business…

 

Frish

 

Monday, September 28, 2009

Sponsor Stu for The Military Religious Freedom Foundation!

To those copied...my friend Stuart Bechman is completing his first year as president of the board of Atheist Alliance International.  Last Tuesday he bowled as a sponsorship event.
So, it's too late to buy a cents/dollars per pin felled option, but never too late to contribute!
 
Stuart:
I tried to put you at your goal, but perhaps my math isn't so good...
I copied this from the website after it registered my contribution....

Fundraising target:

$1,000
So far I have raised: $999.50

I'm still laughing.
 
Frish
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Stuart Bechman  
Sponsor Me for MRFF's Bowl-For-Our-Troops Fundraiser!
 Dear Frish,

I am writing to you because I know you care about church-state separation in this country, and that you are shocked and dismayed at how our US military has become the overseas proselytizing arm of the Christian Right over the past twenty years.
 
Mikey Weinstein and the Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF) is the prominent organization in the United States that is standing up to this abuse of our military and demanding a restoration of that institution to upholding the First Amendment values that were the foundation of our Constitution and our Republic.
 
But MRFF can't carry out its great work without your support.  MRFF is holding a Bowl-For-Our-Troops Fundraiser THIS COMING TUESDAY, September 22, at various venues across the country.  In southern California, that event is happening at the JEWEL CITY BOWL in Glendale, California from 7-10pm.  I will be joining MIkey, his wife Bonnie, and actor and activist Ed Asner in raising money for Mikey and his foundation to protect our First Amendment rights.
 
We're looking for additional bowlers and sponsors for this event.  If you can join us, we ask that you find ten friends who will sponsor you at $0.06 per pin or $12 per game.  If you can't join us but want to support me as I Bowl for the Troops, I ask that you sign up at my FirstGiving webpage:  

http://www.firstgiving.com/stuartbechman
 
Help me raise a minimum of $300 for the MRFF this coming Tuesday.
 
You can find out more details about this event at: http://www.militaryreligiousfreedom.org/bowling/
Help us restore our military to the proud professional force it once was!
Upcoming Events
MRFF Bowl For The Troops Fundraiser
Jewel City Bowl
135 S Glendale Ave.
Glendale, CA 91205
Thanks for Your Sponsorship! See You in the Lanes! 
-Stuart

Thursday, September 24, 2009

ding dong schoolyard - Snippets from Traffic School!

In Minnesota, when I learned how to drive, traffic school was available as a remedy for some traffic infractions, including speeding...it was known as "ding-dong" school.  The following are from an actual online "ding-dong" school!

The split second before your head hits the windshield isn't the time to remember to fix that malfunctioning safety belt. 

----------
The key is to drive defensively, which means defending yourself as you drive.
----------
Scan ahead and think ahead for hazards or potential hazards. By looking ahead, you allow yourself the opportunity to see hazards early
----------PlanAHEAD's Motto!  (inside joke, shareholders only!)

Glass bottles, nails, and other sharp items can be detrimental to your tires.
----------wins the "duh" or perhaps the Homer Simpson "D'oh!" Award...

Backing up is definitely not the time to mistakenly hit the throttle.
--------too bad the D'oh Award's been awarded!

Preview
  • When the level reaches beyond this, to 0.25 and 0.40, you'd better call an ambulance because the average person will be in a coma.
     
  • Levels of 0.45 and up, you'd better call the police; the average person will be dead. 
'nuff said...

Everyone else is driving along a freeway at 55 mph while the person on LSD is drifting along a beautiful street lined with flowers in full bloom.
(Well, if "everyone else" is on the freeway, the Acid Head is only being safe, on that flowery residential street!)

The existence of bicyclists on the road is cause for concern when you are driving. As with pedestrians, they can be seriously injured in any impact with a vehicle.
------------

Congratulations!

You passed the final exam!

You got 48 questions correct.     

Friday, September 11, 2009

What kind of humanist are you?

What kind of humanist are you?

Hedonistic Humanist

You are one of life's enjoyers, determined to get the most you can out of your brief spell on this glorious planet. What first attracted you to atheism was the prospect of liberation from the Ten Commandments, few of which are compatible with a life of pleasure. You play hard and work quite hard, have a strong sense of loyalty and a relaxed but consistent approach to your philosophy. You can't see the point of abstract principles and probably wouldn't lay down your life for a concept, though you might for a friend. Something of a champagne humanist, you admire George Bernard Shaw for his cheerful agnosticism and pursuit of sensual rewards, and your Hollywood hero is Marlon Brando, who was beautiful (for a while), irascible and aimed for goodness in his own tortured way. You adored the humanist London bus slogan ("There's probably no God, now stop worrying and enjoy your life") and are delighted that wild young comedians like Stewart Lee, Christina Martin and Ricky Gervais share your full-blooded rejection of religion. Sometimes you might be tempted to allow your own pleasures to take precedence over your ethics. But everyone is striving for that elusive balance between the good and the happy life. You'd probably better open another bottle and agree that for you there's no contest.

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

A most frightening paragraph...

From this article:

This is the "offending" paragraph:

"So far Dr Ausubel and his colleagues have managed to test around 37,000 compounds using their new method, and they have found 28 that have antibiotic properties. Their most exciting discovery is that some of these substances work in completely different ways from existing antibiotics. That means entirely new types of resistance mechanism would have to evolve in order for bacteria to escape their effects."

I wonder who can describe and quantify the probable and the unintended consequences of having supposed "dominion" over bacteria...

The nightmare scenario:  Some "lowly" bacterium that had fixed (insert trace mineral here) into the food chain no longer exists;  It didn't have a defense to some antibiotic; that arrived, without anyone's intention, nor invitation; downstream from the water treatment plant; that doesn't treat the new pharmaceuticals; that now travel without resistance; from toilet to bay; and then things got bad.

Frish

Another in my collection

Leaner with little to no space between it and the curb.

Monday, August 31, 2009

Here's my most probable "disease"


Benign Positional Vertigo
Frish's abstract of the research on web: "the most common form of vertigo, goes away in a few days or weeks, and may or may not recur."

Monday, August 24, 2009

I made a referral...

Client needs a 72 page trade show delegate trade book front to back designed and laid out by Friday 8/28.

Roy is one of the three designers I shared with my client.

Client's reaction:  "Roy was an idiot primadonna who likes to chase away work."

From a dating site...Q&A

The one thing Christie is most passionate about:

  • Various charities, animals esp.dogs, theater, traveling
                                        and, especially, not reading the question before answering.

Saturday, August 15, 2009

Marko Evening - quick video

August 14, 2009

Universal City Walk - free concert -  "Martha and the Motels"

Martha is singing.

Marko is directly in front of Martha, (the guy with the grey Jew-fro under the neon guitar!)

He asked for her pick, and obtained it, to add to his guitar pick collection!


A Marko Evening

Here are the results of a recent Friday Evening with Marko
1. LACMA for jazz event (woman in shorts singing, was very impressive)
2. The Broad Museum for the House Crashing Into House sculpture Take No Pictures
3. A quick run through LACMA<
(Smiling guy is Marko)
4. Out to Universal - Powder was the first group and they did performance art and rocked out
Pink hair, trapeze act and other performance art, really good rock and roll all at once.
5. The second group was a Rock band from the 70s, still playing the odd venue! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweet_(band)

Overall, a very nice Marko evening, as they go...

Drinking: Less than usual, none actually
Traffic incident: There was none! No traffic that is!!!

Sunday, August 9, 2009

Is the recession over, I ask again?

Here's a photo of part of a job I have in the shop at the moment.

You are looking at a few pallet loads of paper, that already has been printed upon, and die cut (but only "die kissed" so the "waste" paper still needs to be removed, during the cutting process, so the sheets are still rectangular).  The tallest stacks are about 5000 sheets apiece, each sheet has 16 final pages when they're cut out.  So, that's 80,000 pages of paper on a pallet.  The job requires about 5 MILLION final pages...that's a lot o' pallets!

This particular job is 44 pages (40 pages plus cover) and there are 11 different versions.

We have already completed 6 versions that were 36 pages plus cover.

In total, we'll be manufacturing about 130,000 of these catalogs...

I love bio-tech firms...

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

2009's answer to the Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band


Great article, and so true...the picture there?  Now, PICTURE A THIRD WOMAN STANDING ON THE UPSIDE DOWN GIRL'S UPPER LEGS...

Powder is the group.  Let's see what I can find in a hurry here:

Wow, from 3 years ago, and still going strong.  Most muscular woman I've ever seen.  She was ripped, when singing and when performing...


Lumps o' coal

Sunday, August 2, 2009

The world and how it's going

Go to this site. http://www.breathingearth.net/  Run your cursor over the map.  Scroll down to learn more.

No other population of anything living, ever in the history of the planet, has had our out of balance birth vs. death ratio.

Saturday, August 1, 2009

Is the worst of the recession over??? ... people shopping, tourists gawking...

Maybe the recession is lessening, here are two quick, informal and unofficial indicators.
I live in West Hollywood, "Beverly Hills Adjacent" (some Real Estate Marketer's Dream).  
Experienced two similar incidents today...

INCIDENT ONE: Filled up the car with gas at Olympic and Robertson.

(BTW, this is a really cool looking gas station with fairly inexpensive gas. It is all stainless steel sculptural pillars and roof, keeping the Sun shaded over the highest tech pumps imaginable. They even dispense moist towels and "plantable postcards" (for free) next to the pumps!).
Finished gassing up, I pull onto Robertson, and waited at the red light, facing north. A very large foreign model rather new SUV pulls up along side, and a 30 something woman with designer sunglasses, well quaffed hair and make up, lowered her window and asked: "Where are the shops on Robertson?"

I could see a rather intent heavy set and mustachioed husband driving, and a 5-7 year old daughter in the back...the car dwarfed all of them and I had to look up to speak with her.

I asked, since there are shops all along Robertson after all, "You mean the fancy ones?".

She said, "Yes, the fancy ones!", in a heavy Middle Eastern accent.

"Just about a mile or less ahead" redundantly pointing in the appropriate direction.

She thanked me, the window rose to contain the cool air inside, and they proceeded north when the light changed...I watched the two females disembark a few moments later at the appropriate portion of Robertson...Dad obviously assigned the mission to park the Urban Assault Vehicle.

INCIDENT TWO:
Later in the day, taking my "frisbee walk" (I use Beverly Hills as my Frisbee golf course), I was asked, by two young tourists in a small beat up car, "Where is Rodeo Dr.?"

I let them know it was 5 or so blocks straight ahead, again pointing redundantly in the appropriate direction, and added, "Take a left to get into the craziness".

The male driver laughed out loud, and his female passenger sat back, without a smile.

Got the feeling the visit to Rodeo (that's Row Day Oh, not Row Dee Oh...an entirely different street about 3 miles away, near a Target not a Tiffany's (LOL)) was more her idea than his, and they gave the appearance that they'd have trouble paying for the parking meter on Rodeo, but hey, I felt just like the Boy Scout (without the "god-fearing homophobia") that I am!

It never ceases to astound that strangers are quite comfortable asking me things...regardless of where I am in the world.

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

The Moon and some Haiku

I didn't start talking until many months after what was deemed "normal" at the time.

I was also being raised by my six-years older sister.  I'm sure she did her share of translating my oral and physical communication, so I had less motivation to have my vocalizations be generally recognizable.

At around age 3, when I did start talking, I spoke in complete sentences, and, I started with:

"I want to be the first boy on the moon"  (Circa early 1958)

Any vocal deficiencies I appeared to suffer from have given way to my capability to share a truly  exquisite aural experience.

People have told me
My voice is enchanting...
Hope I satisfy.

------------------------
On My Alternate Life

Exists only in
grey matter between my ears....
flows out my fingers...

Furries vs. Planties

One of my weirdest first dates was with a woman who confided, during a sushi dinner, that she was into "kink".

Not to seem put off, surprised, or otherwise intimidated, and, knowing there are many types of "kink", I asked if she was into "Plush" (by which I meant "Furry", as portrayed in the comic attached), which I would consider kinky but harmless...

No, she assured me her interest in me was that I was much bigger than she was and therefore could definitely inflict pain.

---Check Please---

Friday, July 24, 2009

Jimmy Carter - He's giving up religion for women!

To give the human friendly world even a paltry chance, this needs to happen everywhere soon...

Frish
"Fearless Leader, L.A. BRIGHTS, Emeritus"
Population Non-Contributor - no one blames me

((Yes, I know that's funny.))

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Mad Cow Disease, it may not be just from cows anymore!

"...according to the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease article, there are several reasons to be concerned about fish spreading mad cow to humans. "


I find hope in that someone is actually trying to do something proactive about a possible vector for BSE.

It's gerontological in provenance, but universal in consequence. 

I lived in the U.K. pre-Mad Cow culling of the beef livestock.  
Been 20 years, about enough time to exhibit symptoms...

I don't know about me and I expect my clone lacks prions.
...but, if it's not one thing, it's another (apologies to Gilda)

Cheers,

Frish

Monday, July 20, 2009

The last line can be "The Bottom Line".

Here's the literal "bottom line" from an AP story on Y!ahoo

"An Indian official told Clinton that India won't accept limits on its greenhouse gases."

"We have met the enemy and he is us" - all respect and credit to Walt Kelly for "Pogo's Observation".

From nearer the top of the article:
"The G-8 summit members in Italy agreed to limit the planet's average temperature rise to 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) above levels recorded 150 years ago."

They neglected to suggest how this could, or would be done, however.

Top UN climate expert faults G-8 goal without deed
By JOHN HEILPRIN, Associated Press Writer – Mon Jul 20, 2009 7:00 pm ET  (about 6.5 hrs ago, sorry I am not more current...)

My review, above, "turns the story on it's head" if you will.  Frish