Thursday, May 31, 2012
Obama at the UN
Book Review : AVSI Judaism - Norman Solomon 7*
I had a bit of an autodidactic spree before starting a degree course and read a few of Oxford University Press' A Very Short Introduction series, and generally they are very good little books, offering a necessarily brief yet reasonably academic view into the topic of each book.AVSI Judaism is the fourth of the religion introductions I have read after Linda Woodhead's Christianity, Eleanor Nesbitt's Sikhism and Islam by Malise Ruthven. Of the four, Woodhead writes clearly and distinctly and stands back from the subject in a proper academic fashion, Nesbitt and Solomon both appear slightly too close to the religion they are describing, and Ruthven's book is in parts a baffling impenetrable collage of concepts, ideology and phrases that left me little the wiser at the end.
Solomon has chosen to write in a very simple style, perhaps the accusation overly simple could be levelled at some points, his use of language does sometimes come across as a kindly old man teaching a class of six year olds. Never the less, Solomon explains the tenets, practices and history in a clear and succinct style, albeit shaded by obvious proximity to and love of his subject.
The ongoing tension and clashes between Jewish Israel and the Muslim Middle East are obviously hard to describe for anyone who has a vested interest, and I feel that Solomon did not manage to stand back far enough from this difficult part of the subject. Solomon talks about the Jewish military concept of tohar ha-nesheq with its demand that soldiers must take care to avoid collateral damage and civilian casualties, but he does not make it clear whether he thinks that Israel's armed forces embrace this concept.
In other places Solomon's love for Judaism shines through, especially in the chapter on home life. These points aside though, it is a good description of one of the world's great religions, easy to read and understand and gain a basic understanding of the subject in hand.
Facebook...A Gateway To Cowardice
Happy Friiiiiiiiiday Bitches and welcome to the weekend on I’m With Stupid!!
Oh what a week it has been and let me tell you…if past is prologue, I have one fucked up future on my hands. Or, possibly not. Or…well, you decide.
I have many pet peeves, but one reared its ugly head last night, and by that, I mean, late last night which pissed me off, because I write in the moment and had to stay topical so I had to…
Erase my initial post and…oh sorry…Delete my initial post, and start over.
Anyhoo…
Something transpired over an innocuous Facebook post yesterday, that sent me into a tizzy. And, if you don’t know what a tizzy is…
It is a state of heightened, what the fuckness. Anyway, a chick that I was close to up til’ some TWENTY-SEVEN years ago, commented on my Facebook page over a picture I posted.
Her response was funny and was in keeping with, her penchant for comedy, which proceeded a few more funny comments which were posted by others and then…?
Her comment was gone.
My old High School girlfriend deleted her comment. It pissed me off. It made me angry, and most importantly…
It made my most funny comeback to HER comment look as though I was talking to myself. I hate that!!
The deletion of her comment made me angry because it revealed to me, something that I had always known.
People are fucking dicks.
And the worst thing?
People who are the closest, or at least used to be the closest, are the biggest dicks of all.
The chick who deleted her comment, gave me some lame excuse that it wasn’t worded well, and that’s why she did it.
Well, ten minutes after she typed that, and a like later, she “discovered” that. Gimme a break. She just doesn’t want to cause waves within her relationship. And seriously, that’s fine, and if that is what it takes, have at it.
However…
If you are in a relationship with a person who doesn’t understand that women and men have been, will be, and can be friends with people from their past, present, and future in spite of their opposite gender, than really, do you really want to be part of their less than complex mentality?
I strike the theme with my friend as an example, but have seen it all too many times in others.
If a person loves you, they love you.
If they don’t? They don’t. It really is that simple.
A person can try to keep away other assumed suitors, interlopers, and tempters and temptresses, but in the end?
She loves you, and you love her; or you don’t.
In the meantime, there’s no reason to label a person who would like to talk to an old buddy, a threat.
Cheers!!
neshobadude@yahoo.com
@mattmaniws
Oh what a week it has been and let me tell you…if past is prologue, I have one fucked up future on my hands. Or, possibly not. Or…well, you decide.I have many pet peeves, but one reared its ugly head last night, and by that, I mean, late last night which pissed me off, because I write in the moment and had to stay topical so I had to…
Erase my initial post and…oh sorry…Delete my initial post, and start over.
Anyhoo…
Something transpired over an innocuous Facebook post yesterday, that sent me into a tizzy. And, if you don’t know what a tizzy is…
It is a state of heightened, what the fuckness. Anyway, a chick that I was close to up til’ some TWENTY-SEVEN years ago, commented on my Facebook page over a picture I posted.
Her response was funny and was in keeping with, her penchant for comedy, which proceeded a few more funny comments which were posted by others and then…?
Her comment was gone.
My old High School girlfriend deleted her comment. It pissed me off. It made me angry, and most importantly…
It made my most funny comeback to HER comment look as though I was talking to myself. I hate that!!
The deletion of her comment made me angry because it revealed to me, something that I had always known.
People are fucking dicks.
And the worst thing?
People who are the closest, or at least used to be the closest, are the biggest dicks of all.
The chick who deleted her comment, gave me some lame excuse that it wasn’t worded well, and that’s why she did it.
Well, ten minutes after she typed that, and a like later, she “discovered” that. Gimme a break. She just doesn’t want to cause waves within her relationship. And seriously, that’s fine, and if that is what it takes, have at it.However…
If you are in a relationship with a person who doesn’t understand that women and men have been, will be, and can be friends with people from their past, present, and future in spite of their opposite gender, than really, do you really want to be part of their less than complex mentality?
I strike the theme with my friend as an example, but have seen it all too many times in others.
If a person loves you, they love you.
If they don’t? They don’t. It really is that simple.
A person can try to keep away other assumed suitors, interlopers, and tempters and temptresses, but in the end?
She loves you, and you love her; or you don’t.
In the meantime, there’s no reason to label a person who would like to talk to an old buddy, a threat.
Cheers!!
neshobadude@yahoo.com
@mattmaniws
On Nationalism, A Rebuttal
On Nationalism
रजनीकांत के दामाद संग रोमांस करेगी सोनम
मस्ककली गर्ल सोनम कपूर अब रजनीकांत के दामाद धनुष के साथ रोमांस करती नजर आएंगी। सोनम आगामी फिल्म रांझना में अभिनेता धनुष के साथ काम कर रही हैं। Read More
सन्नी लियोन की फिल्म जिस्म-2 अभी प्रदर्शित भी नहीं हुई है, कि इस फिल्म के प्रदर्शित होने से पूर्व ही सन्नी को यहां के> आफर शुरू हो गए। सन्नी भारतीय मूल की सिख परिवार से ताल्लुक रखने वाली कनाडा में जन्मी है। वह खुद को पंजाबी मानती है। सन्नी को बालीवुड की फिल्मों में काम करना रास आया है। तभी उसने अब जल्द ही हिंदी भाषा सीखने की ठान ली है। Read More
आइटम सॉन्ग का ऑफर नहीं
सोनाक्षी सिन्हा का कहना है कि उन्हें आइटम नंबर से कोई प्रॉब्लम नहीं है, लेकिन उन्हें अब तक ऎसा कोई प्रस्ताव नहीं मिला है। Read More
भारत बंद में पथराव-आगजनी,कई प्रदेशों में रेलें-बसें ठप,आमजन परेशान
नई दिल्ली। एनडीए द्वारा पेट्रोल मूल्यों में भारी वृद्धि के विरोध में गुरूवार को आयोजित 12 घंटे के भारत बंद का देशभर में व्यापक असर दिखा। भाजपा शासित कर्नाटक के अलावा महाराष्ट्र और पश्चिम बंगाल में पथराव, आगजनी और सडकें जाम किए जाने की सूचना है। दिल्ली में बंद का ज्यादा असर तो नहीं हुआ लेकिन कई जगहों पर यातायात जाम किया गया। Read More
इस सप्ताह बॉक्स ऑफिस पर अकेली राउडी राठौर
आईपीएल तमाशे की वजह से बॉलीवुड ने कोई बडी फिल्म प्रदर्शित नहीं की। आईपीएल के तमाशे की समाप्ति के बाद पड रहे पहले शुक्रवार को निर्माता संजय लीला भंसाली की प्रभु देवा के निर्देशन में बनी और अक्षय कुमार के एक्शन से सजी फिल्म राउडी राठौर का प्रदर्शन होने जा रहा है। Read More
A Suggestion
Pretty much every week I get advertising fliers and letters from various food companies that promise better prices, better products and of of course the current most favoured buzz word of the ad-man, solutions, solutions, solutions. Well here is a solution I would actually like.
Next week we have a double bank holiday. Bank holidays are times when many catering businesses and quite busy, Christmas, New Year, May Day, and of course this bank holiday for the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. All of the food companies, who spend so much time and effort trying to persuade the catering industry how wonderful they are, will be closed for the bank holidays. This means that we have to take our deliveries for fresh food for Monday and Tuesday (and perhaps Wednesday if it is food for breakfast/lunch service) on Saturday, or even Friday if it is one of those 'solution' based companies whose solution is not to work on a weekend.
My solution then is for the food supply industry to be more flexible, get their arses into gear and deliver food when we actually need it. It isn't just a question of freshness, although I gather some butchers are warning customers not to order fresh chicken products as they would fall outside the 5 day safety margin. It is often a question of refrigerated storage, many catering businesses simply do not have enough cold space to carry goods for a busy 4-5 day period.
I'm going to give Lishman's of Ilkley a plug here. Lishman's will be open on Tuesday, which is vital to me as I have a large order placed with them, which I could not possibly carry in my cold storage over the weekend. So thanks to David for opening, and thanks to Stuart and the team who will be making hundreds of burgers and sausages for me on Tuesday morning, I appreciate the effort, thank you.
Next week we have a double bank holiday. Bank holidays are times when many catering businesses and quite busy, Christmas, New Year, May Day, and of course this bank holiday for the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. All of the food companies, who spend so much time and effort trying to persuade the catering industry how wonderful they are, will be closed for the bank holidays. This means that we have to take our deliveries for fresh food for Monday and Tuesday (and perhaps Wednesday if it is food for breakfast/lunch service) on Saturday, or even Friday if it is one of those 'solution' based companies whose solution is not to work on a weekend.
My solution then is for the food supply industry to be more flexible, get their arses into gear and deliver food when we actually need it. It isn't just a question of freshness, although I gather some butchers are warning customers not to order fresh chicken products as they would fall outside the 5 day safety margin. It is often a question of refrigerated storage, many catering businesses simply do not have enough cold space to carry goods for a busy 4-5 day period.
I'm going to give Lishman's of Ilkley a plug here. Lishman's will be open on Tuesday, which is vital to me as I have a large order placed with them, which I could not possibly carry in my cold storage over the weekend. So thanks to David for opening, and thanks to Stuart and the team who will be making hundreds of burgers and sausages for me on Tuesday morning, I appreciate the effort, thank you.
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Factoid
 |
| Norman Mailer |
"A factoid is a questionable or spurious (unverified, false, or fabricated) statement presented as a fact, but with no veracity. The word can also be used to describe a particularly insignificant or novel fact, in the absence of much relevant context. The word is defined by the Compact Oxford English Dictionary as "an item of unreliable information that is repeated so often that it becomes accepted as fact".
Factoid was coined by Norman Mailer in his 1973 biography of Marilyn Monroe. Mailer described a factoid as "facts which have no existence before appearing in a magazine or newspaper", and created the word by combining the word fact and the ending -oid to mean "similar but not the same". The Washington Times described Mailer's new word as referring to "something that looks like a fact, could be a fact, but in fact is not a fact".
Factoids may give rise to, or arise from, common misconceptions and urban legends." - Wikipedia
Jay's Imaginary Friend
Hola weirdoes! I struggled to come up with a blog topic for today, but can’t come up with anything. So, I’m simply going to post some of the conversations I’ve had with my imaginary friend who will be referred to as “IF” from here out.
IF: “I dunno. Give me a name if you want.”
Jay: “How bout …. Wait. Are you male or female?”
IF: “I’m whatever you want me to be. Also, I saw that you originally wrote “mail” instead of “male.” What a dumb ass.”
Jay: “You’re female”
IF: “Oh that’s rude.”
Jay: “I’m gonna pretend you have a great ass then.”
IF: “I hate being objectified like that.”
Jay: “Hey! If my imaginary friend is female, does that make me gay?”
IF: “No, it makes you lonely in addition to crazy.”
Jay: “Oh, okay.”
IF: “And kind of pathetic.”
Jay: “That’s enough, thanks.”
IF: “And sensitive.”
Jay: “Oh look!
IF: “Nice! I’d let her lick my fudgsicle.”
Jay: Me t… What the fuck does that mean?”
IF: “You know, my …. ‘fudgsicle’”
Jay: “But you’re female. You don’t have a ‘fudgsicle.’”
IF: “Okay, I’d let her lick my banana split!”
Jay: “What. The. Fuck?”
Jay: “You know what I need?”
IF: “A life?”
Jay: “Well, that and something else.”
IF: “To lose weight?”
Jay: “Totally uncalled for!”
IF: “A personality?”
Jay: “You’re the worst fucking Imaginary Friend ever!”
IF: “Hey, you created me.”
Jay: “I wish I hadn’t.”
IF: “That’s another thing you need.”
Jay: “What?”
IF: “A better imagination.”
Jay: “You know what? Fuck you.”
IF: “Well, somebody is a little touchy.”
Jay: “Cunt.”
IF: “Damn! You went right for the C-Word?”
Jay: “You deserved it.”
IF: “Did not.”
Jay: “You’ve been nothing but mean to me all night.”
IF: “I didn’t know you were so touchy.”
Jay: “I’m the only person who has an imaginary friend who is a meanie.”
IF: “Ha! You suck.”
Jay: “I think I’m going to create a better Imaginary Friend.”
IF: “Oh really?”
Jay: “Another chick, but a nice one. A ½ Asian and ½ Latina babe.”
IF: “Hey now! That’s actually kind of creative.”
Jay: “Yeah it is … Bye!”
IF: “Asshole.”
Jayman
Jayman3768@gmail.com
@Jayman_IWS
In other news, on I’m With Stupid we celebrated Matt-Man’s 25th Wedding Anniversary today. Matt talked about his wedding and some of the early days of marriage, we took calls from a couple of goofballs, and then we talked about some of the keys to a long and loving relationship. It was deep, thoughtful and humorous all at once. Check it out!
Listen to internet radio with Im With Stupid on Blog Talk Radio
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Thuggin' It with Bryce Firestone IV
What is up..? And word to you urban sprayers of paint, and collectors of beer cans, and “down with it” baubles.
My name is Bryce Firestone IV, and I am the official ne’er-do-well type thug of I’m With Stupid.
Don’t allow my deaf jam, yet finely coiffed, and well-appointed good looks fool you. I am down with the thuginization of America and her hip hop, gangster sub-culture.
I am here to let you know that I, Bry-Fi as my posse calls me, am such a damn thug, that I make the photog that The Biebs pummeled upon, seem like the guy who got Britney Spears drunk and still was cohabitationally rebuked from her ubiquitous vagina.
Anyway, or as I say on the mean, yet artfully landscaped boulevards of Pepper Pike, Ohio…
“Listen upward my raw, yet cherished blokes and mates!!”
I, this past Saturday, graduated from Orange High School, which is one of the premier public High Schools in the United States.
Sure, my less than adequate, yet more than fiducially capable mother and father, wanted me to attend a private secondary educational facility, but I said unto them in the summer of 2008...
“I break dance with the ones who sat with me in the limo; I want to continue to immerse my gray matter in proximity of my posse of Jared, Evan, and Danforth.”
My years in school have been beyond compare.
Beginning with my first step into Moreland Hills Elementary School at age six, until I, with nobility and a menacing, thug-like fashion, at the age of eighteen, walked across the stage of Orange High School in order to collect my High School diploma, have always been known as, “the cool guy.”
The ladies love my Adonis-like body and my Ovid-like oratory, while the men respect and envy, my dastardly Cassanova-type charades and devil-may-care, Churchilian hi-jinx.
Ha…What’s a thug life lover like me to do? I’ll tell you what.
My mother and father wanted to buy me a Volvo XC60 for graduation. Ha, I and my thug lifestyle said to the parental units…
“If you loved me, you would buy your favorite progeny and thug something a little less Neil Patrick Harris, and a little more Charles Sheen.”
Who won that debate? Yours truly…Bry-Fi.
The Bry-Meister is now tooling around the mean streets of Pepper Pike, Ohio in a bad arsed, SAAB 95. I am the Wayne Newton of Northeast Ohio, my friends.
I am Bry-Fi…King Thug.
And to put an exclamation point on my living on the edge behavior?
My mother, father, and grandfather wanted to send me to their alma mater, Ohio Wesleyan. Ha!!
Those Methodists have no madness going on. So…
I am going to grunge it out and thug it out the only way I know, and that is to matriculate at a Lutheran school and wear an off the rack suit while doing so.
You see...ever since Martin Luther, those Lutherans have been off the hook!!
Wittenberg University here I come, and listen Mom, Dad, and Grandfather…
I know you want me to major in Finance and minor in Banking, but my thug lifestyle and spirit won’t allow me to do that.
My free spirit is calling upon me, Bry-Fi, to major in Micro-Economics and minor in Macro-Economics.
Ha...
See what I did there with the irony of my major and minors? I truly am a hilarious, randy thug of shall we say, unmarried morality.
Oh Boyz in the Hood!! My SAAB 95, my bad arsed thuggery, and my off the rack suit, so disavow you relics. So bring on the Lutheran lifestyle, and bring on the thug that is Bry-Fi.
Cheers!!
Bry-Fi
neshobadude@yahoo.com
@mattmaniws
My name is Bryce Firestone IV, and I am the official ne’er-do-well type thug of I’m With Stupid.Don’t allow my deaf jam, yet finely coiffed, and well-appointed good looks fool you. I am down with the thuginization of America and her hip hop, gangster sub-culture.
I am here to let you know that I, Bry-Fi as my posse calls me, am such a damn thug, that I make the photog that The Biebs pummeled upon, seem like the guy who got Britney Spears drunk and still was cohabitationally rebuked from her ubiquitous vagina.
Anyway, or as I say on the mean, yet artfully landscaped boulevards of Pepper Pike, Ohio…
“Listen upward my raw, yet cherished blokes and mates!!”
I, this past Saturday, graduated from Orange High School, which is one of the premier public High Schools in the United States.
Sure, my less than adequate, yet more than fiducially capable mother and father, wanted me to attend a private secondary educational facility, but I said unto them in the summer of 2008...
“I break dance with the ones who sat with me in the limo; I want to continue to immerse my gray matter in proximity of my posse of Jared, Evan, and Danforth.”
My years in school have been beyond compare.
Beginning with my first step into Moreland Hills Elementary School at age six, until I, with nobility and a menacing, thug-like fashion, at the age of eighteen, walked across the stage of Orange High School in order to collect my High School diploma, have always been known as, “the cool guy.”
The ladies love my Adonis-like body and my Ovid-like oratory, while the men respect and envy, my dastardly Cassanova-type charades and devil-may-care, Churchilian hi-jinx.
Ha…What’s a thug life lover like me to do? I’ll tell you what.
My mother and father wanted to buy me a Volvo XC60 for graduation. Ha, I and my thug lifestyle said to the parental units…
“If you loved me, you would buy your favorite progeny and thug something a little less Neil Patrick Harris, and a little more Charles Sheen.”
Who won that debate? Yours truly…Bry-Fi.
The Bry-Meister is now tooling around the mean streets of Pepper Pike, Ohio in a bad arsed, SAAB 95. I am the Wayne Newton of Northeast Ohio, my friends.
I am Bry-Fi…King Thug.
And to put an exclamation point on my living on the edge behavior?
My mother, father, and grandfather wanted to send me to their alma mater, Ohio Wesleyan. Ha!!
Those Methodists have no madness going on. So…
I am going to grunge it out and thug it out the only way I know, and that is to matriculate at a Lutheran school and wear an off the rack suit while doing so.
You see...ever since Martin Luther, those Lutherans have been off the hook!!
Wittenberg University here I come, and listen Mom, Dad, and Grandfather…
I know you want me to major in Finance and minor in Banking, but my thug lifestyle and spirit won’t allow me to do that.
My free spirit is calling upon me, Bry-Fi, to major in Micro-Economics and minor in Macro-Economics.
Ha...
See what I did there with the irony of my major and minors? I truly am a hilarious, randy thug of shall we say, unmarried morality.
Oh Boyz in the Hood!! My SAAB 95, my bad arsed thuggery, and my off the rack suit, so disavow you relics. So bring on the Lutheran lifestyle, and bring on the thug that is Bry-Fi.
Cheers!!
Bry-Fi
neshobadude@yahoo.com
@mattmaniws
ग्लैमरस होने से कुछ नहीं होता : रिया सेन
अपना सपना मनी मनी, शादी नं. 1, कयामत जैसी फिल्मों में ग्लैमरस अदाएं दिखा चुकी रिया सेन मानती हैं कि ग्लैमरस छवि से कोई असर नहीं पडता। फैशन वीक में आई रिया नौका डूबी नाम से बनी फिल्म का जिक्र करते हुए कहती है कि इसमें उनकी बहन राइमा सेन भी उनके साथ थी ओर दोनों ने काफी एंजॉय भी किया। Read More
मुम्बई। बॉलीवुड अभिनेत्री रवीना टंडन गायिकी के क्षेत्र में उतर रही हैं। रवीना दो भाषाओं में बनने वाली फिल्म "गिन लिया आसमान" में गाना गाएंगी। इसके साथ ही रवीना श्रीदेवी, करीना कपूर एवं प्रियंका चोप़डा जैसी अभिनेत्रियों की पंक्ति में आ जाएंगी, जिन्होंने गायिकी में भी अपनी प्रतिभा के जौहर दिखाए हैं। Read More
फिल्म शंघाई के आइटम नम्बर इम्र्पोटेड कमरिया के लिए डांस करने वाली ब्रिटिश मॉडल स्कारलेट मेलिश विल्सन का कहना है कि वह बॉलीवुड को ऎश्वर्या राय से जोडकर देखती है। Read More
बुढापे को रोकने वाली चॉकलेट
ज्यादातर लोगों को चॉकलेट खाना पसंद होता है। पहले हुए कई शोधों में स्पष्ट हो चुका है कि चॉकलेट से कई तरह के फायदे होते हैं लेकिन वैज्ञानिकों ने एक नई तरह की चॉकलेट बनाई है। Read More
Book Review - South: The Story of Shackleton's 1914-1917 Expedition - Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton 10*
Back when men were men. At the outbreak of WWI Shackleton had outfitted two ships and crews to try a continental crossing of the Antarctic. He offered to halt the expedition but was ordered to continue by Winston Churchill. Famously, the crossing never took place. What did happen was an increasingly desperate fight to survive by the two ship's crews on opposite sides of the polar continent.
The book is largely made up of extracts from Shackleton's own diary and the diaries of some of the other expedition members, worked together into a strongly coherent narrative. Shackleton charts the problems faced by his (the Weddell Sea) side of the expedition. His ship, the Endurance, became stuck in sea ice in January 1915 where it drifted slowly across the Weddell Sea until it was crushed and sank in November of the same year. Shackleton's crew camped on the moving ice until April of 1916 when their ice floe broke apart and they were forced into the salvaged ship's boats to make a harrowing five day sea voyage to the dry land of Elephant Island.
Shackleton exhibits huge compassion for the suffering of his men. The rationing, the constant extreme cold and atrocious weather, the poor rations (including periods where the men were doing the backbreaking work of hauling sledges, after the deaths of the dogs, on rations of a single biscuit and a mug of cocoa a day), frostbite, boredom, ennui, scurvy, snow-blindness, exhaustion - the range of problems thrown against the men seems almost insurmountable, and yet, through it all, Shackleton keeps his group together working hard for each other's survival.
Parts of the tale are so epically British that you can't help but feel a swell of pride for a nation that produced men like these. "The Endurance sank, but we saved the pennant of the Royal Yacht Club." Signs are important of course, and when throwing away almost of of their personal possessions after the sinking, Shackleton knew the importance of keeping just a few items, the pennant, an encyclopaedia, the men's pipes, that would remain as a tiny measure of normality and home comfort in the dark days ahead.
When everything seemed almost lost at the Elephant Island camp, with some of the men finally submitting to the throes of depression, Shackleton and a volunteer crew launched the ship's boat, the James Caird, a vessel slightly larger than a sailing dinghy and sailed 800 miles to South Georgia, arriving there due to the excellent navigational skills of the Endurance's captain Frank Worsely. This voyage alone, through freezing, storm swept, mountainous souther ocean, would be enough for a heroic survival story, and upon landing on the wrong side of South Georgia the men still have to make a long and dangerous march in order to reach the whaling station and raise help.
The conditions faced by the crew of the Aurora across the continent in the Ross Sea were no less incredible. The crew here followed in the tracks of Captain Scott, laying food and fuel depots for Shackleton's party to find as they crossed the continent. The Aurora was ripped from its moorings and drifted, badly damaged, until the crew nursed it to New Zealand. As Shackleton was organising the rescue for the Elephant Island team, so the Aurora's crew organised a rescue for their comrades on the ice near Ross Island.
South is a tremendous tale of survival against the odds, of what people can do when faced with extremis, when lying down and giving up would have been far easier than struggling on, for day after day, month after month. It is an inspiring read, uplifting in its own way, and illuminates well how these men were the products of the era they lived in - after being rescued every man fit to serve signed up for military service in WWI.
South is currently available for free download from Amazon.
The book is largely made up of extracts from Shackleton's own diary and the diaries of some of the other expedition members, worked together into a strongly coherent narrative. Shackleton charts the problems faced by his (the Weddell Sea) side of the expedition. His ship, the Endurance, became stuck in sea ice in January 1915 where it drifted slowly across the Weddell Sea until it was crushed and sank in November of the same year. Shackleton's crew camped on the moving ice until April of 1916 when their ice floe broke apart and they were forced into the salvaged ship's boats to make a harrowing five day sea voyage to the dry land of Elephant Island.
Shackleton exhibits huge compassion for the suffering of his men. The rationing, the constant extreme cold and atrocious weather, the poor rations (including periods where the men were doing the backbreaking work of hauling sledges, after the deaths of the dogs, on rations of a single biscuit and a mug of cocoa a day), frostbite, boredom, ennui, scurvy, snow-blindness, exhaustion - the range of problems thrown against the men seems almost insurmountable, and yet, through it all, Shackleton keeps his group together working hard for each other's survival.
Parts of the tale are so epically British that you can't help but feel a swell of pride for a nation that produced men like these. "The Endurance sank, but we saved the pennant of the Royal Yacht Club." Signs are important of course, and when throwing away almost of of their personal possessions after the sinking, Shackleton knew the importance of keeping just a few items, the pennant, an encyclopaedia, the men's pipes, that would remain as a tiny measure of normality and home comfort in the dark days ahead.When everything seemed almost lost at the Elephant Island camp, with some of the men finally submitting to the throes of depression, Shackleton and a volunteer crew launched the ship's boat, the James Caird, a vessel slightly larger than a sailing dinghy and sailed 800 miles to South Georgia, arriving there due to the excellent navigational skills of the Endurance's captain Frank Worsely. This voyage alone, through freezing, storm swept, mountainous souther ocean, would be enough for a heroic survival story, and upon landing on the wrong side of South Georgia the men still have to make a long and dangerous march in order to reach the whaling station and raise help.
The conditions faced by the crew of the Aurora across the continent in the Ross Sea were no less incredible. The crew here followed in the tracks of Captain Scott, laying food and fuel depots for Shackleton's party to find as they crossed the continent. The Aurora was ripped from its moorings and drifted, badly damaged, until the crew nursed it to New Zealand. As Shackleton was organising the rescue for the Elephant Island team, so the Aurora's crew organised a rescue for their comrades on the ice near Ross Island.South is a tremendous tale of survival against the odds, of what people can do when faced with extremis, when lying down and giving up would have been far easier than struggling on, for day after day, month after month. It is an inspiring read, uplifting in its own way, and illuminates well how these men were the products of the era they lived in - after being rescued every man fit to serve signed up for military service in WWI.
South is currently available for free download from Amazon.
Monday, May 28, 2012
We're Kind of Boring
Hola kids! As many or most of you know, I had a little family reunion to attend over the weekend. So, I thought I should come in here today and report back to everyone on how things went. The only problem is, there’s really not much to report. I mean, we went over to Yellville and hung out with everyone and had a nice time but that’s about it. There’s nothing all that exciting happening like there is with so many other families.
There weren’t any domestic disputes either. You know, husband and wife having a little disagreement because Mom let the kids have an Orange Crush and dad is mad because MY GOD they already had a Grape Shasta with their chips and salsa just 4 hours ago. Those are always fun because they rarely start over something important but they end with them going downstairs or into the garage and yelling at each other. And while they’re doing that the whole rest of the family sits in awkward silence because we can all hear them.
There was no “girl drama.” This usually ends with a female age 13 to 40 stomping off in a huff to one of the bedrooms and burying her face in the pillows crying cause she’s very sensitive and someone has hurt her feelings. The reasons for this can range from the silly personal insult to something very serious like someone saying “You know, Justin Bieber is a HUGE tool.” Girls are touchy. (Okay, for some families this where the whole “She was touched in her happy place by the creepy uncle, but we won’t get into that.”
And we don’t have Herb Tarlek’s or Jeff Lebowski’s. (Although I really have been tempted to do either one from time to time, but never have.) Anyway, we don’t have any really weird family members who show up in a polyester suit with a white belt and white shoes or their PJ’s. No really obnoxious uncle or cousin, who talks really loud, tells really inappropriate jokes in front of children and gets super sloppy drunk and pees his pants.
Most everyone is this family is so laid back and unassuming that things like this don’t result in any great stories to tell. Nobody pries into anyone’s private life. There’s not any (or much) gossipin’ going on. No (or not much) judging. No interventions. We’re all just so boring.
I see so many blog posts and status updates from people about family drama and excitement that happens at their get-togethers and I’m always just amazed. Hell, I even envy some of those people because they have something fun and interesting to tell everyone about.
Anyway, it was a nice and pleasant day and it was great seeing everyone. Ho-Hum.
Jayman
Jayman3768@gmail.com
@Jayman_IWS
Sunday, May 27, 2012
Memorial Day 2012: Here's To The Dead, Not The Ratings And Poll Grabbing Undead
Happy Memorial Day from IWS!!
Okay wait…um…
Somber Memorial Day from IWS!?
Neither salutation seems to fit, um…
Anyhoo, it is Memorial Day, and millions of Americans across our great nation are celebrating this day in the form of can’t miss Sealy Mattress Sales, drunken cookouts, and watching septuagenarian Shriners drive around in tiny, tiny cars on Main Street U.S.A.
It’s the one day a year when, barring a new war, that Lee Greenwood gets some of his long lost fame, and relevance back, and actually gets some air play outside the mothball smelling stages of Branson, MO.
Do I sound bitter about Memorial Day and our Armed Forces? Do I sound as though I am some suffering bowl of Liberal succotash? Do I sound like an anti-military hater?
Well my friends…I am not. Not in the least.
Hell, in 1987 I tried to enlist into the Air Force and was stricken down by an unwillingness on the government’s behalf of accepting a 22 year old man who was nearly legally blind and had a case of bronchitis into their armed services. Petty fuckers.
Indeed, some see me as some type of Liberal Chucklehead who hates the military, and wants nothing to do with it to the point where I hate Memorial Day.
You know what I would like to say to people like that?
“Y’all can kiss my red, white, and blue ass, bend down and suck my Manifest Destiny dick, and go self-asphyxiate your own, sunshine patriot asses, because I am a REAL American, and I know what Memorial Day is all about.”
Memorial Day began as a day to honor the dead who fought in the Civil War, and then grew to a day where we, as Americans, honor the dead of every war in which this nation has offered her men and women.
And now?
Ever since 9/11, EVERY fucking day consists of a “thank you for your service“, “let’s honor the men and women who serve”, and “thank you for defending us” type of thing from every radio and TV outlet and host in this nation.
Those words have become meaningless, and today, Memorial Day 2012 we will hear those empty, ratings, and poll approving words said yet again, in an attempt by each cable network and candidate trying to prove that THEY are the most patriotic. Ha…
FOX News doesn’t give a shit. No politician gives a shit. Most Americans don’t give a shit.
FOX News will fly the flag above a LIVE soldier. A Politician will shake the hand of a LIVE soldier, and the rest of America will shake the hand of LIVE family member or neighbor as they cook burgers on the grill.
Sadly…that is what media, political, and neighborly types think of Memorial Day these days.
Let me say to all of you…
FOX NEWS? Memorial Day is about the fallen soldiers, not the ones that you use in order to make yourselves look like you care.
Candidates? Having a picture taken of yourself with a drunken crew from the VFW 1068 on Memorial Day doesn’t make you more of a candidate.
And Americans?
If you spend your day cooking out with friends and family, you are closer to what this day is about than the other freaks.
You are celebrating the right to assemble. The right to happiness. The right to get as drunk as you want and fall into a grill as long as others aren’t hurt.
That is what those who gave all died for, and THAT is what this day is about.
It’s not about anybody and everybody who has served or will serve, it is about those marvelous bastards and bitches who left it all on the field of battle.
It is a day for the dead, so that we may live.
Cheers!!
Matt-Man
neshobadude@yahoo.com
@mattmaniws
Annnnnd….Jayman and I kicked off Summer yesterday with one helluva good IWS Radio Show. We talked cookouts, Memorial Day, and Jay’s Family Reunion, it was a hoot, so check it out:
Okay wait…um…
Somber Memorial Day from IWS!?
Neither salutation seems to fit, um…
Anyhoo, it is Memorial Day, and millions of Americans across our great nation are celebrating this day in the form of can’t miss Sealy Mattress Sales, drunken cookouts, and watching septuagenarian Shriners drive around in tiny, tiny cars on Main Street U.S.A.
It’s the one day a year when, barring a new war, that Lee Greenwood gets some of his long lost fame, and relevance back, and actually gets some air play outside the mothball smelling stages of Branson, MO.
Do I sound bitter about Memorial Day and our Armed Forces? Do I sound as though I am some suffering bowl of Liberal succotash? Do I sound like an anti-military hater?
Well my friends…I am not. Not in the least.
Hell, in 1987 I tried to enlist into the Air Force and was stricken down by an unwillingness on the government’s behalf of accepting a 22 year old man who was nearly legally blind and had a case of bronchitis into their armed services. Petty fuckers.
Indeed, some see me as some type of Liberal Chucklehead who hates the military, and wants nothing to do with it to the point where I hate Memorial Day.
You know what I would like to say to people like that?
“Y’all can kiss my red, white, and blue ass, bend down and suck my Manifest Destiny dick, and go self-asphyxiate your own, sunshine patriot asses, because I am a REAL American, and I know what Memorial Day is all about.”
Memorial Day began as a day to honor the dead who fought in the Civil War, and then grew to a day where we, as Americans, honor the dead of every war in which this nation has offered her men and women.
And now?
Ever since 9/11, EVERY fucking day consists of a “thank you for your service“, “let’s honor the men and women who serve”, and “thank you for defending us” type of thing from every radio and TV outlet and host in this nation.
Those words have become meaningless, and today, Memorial Day 2012 we will hear those empty, ratings, and poll approving words said yet again, in an attempt by each cable network and candidate trying to prove that THEY are the most patriotic. Ha…
FOX News doesn’t give a shit. No politician gives a shit. Most Americans don’t give a shit.FOX News will fly the flag above a LIVE soldier. A Politician will shake the hand of a LIVE soldier, and the rest of America will shake the hand of LIVE family member or neighbor as they cook burgers on the grill.
Sadly…that is what media, political, and neighborly types think of Memorial Day these days.
Let me say to all of you…
FOX NEWS? Memorial Day is about the fallen soldiers, not the ones that you use in order to make yourselves look like you care.
Candidates? Having a picture taken of yourself with a drunken crew from the VFW 1068 on Memorial Day doesn’t make you more of a candidate.
And Americans?
If you spend your day cooking out with friends and family, you are closer to what this day is about than the other freaks.
You are celebrating the right to assemble. The right to happiness. The right to get as drunk as you want and fall into a grill as long as others aren’t hurt.
That is what those who gave all died for, and THAT is what this day is about.
It’s not about anybody and everybody who has served or will serve, it is about those marvelous bastards and bitches who left it all on the field of battle.
It is a day for the dead, so that we may live.
Cheers!!
Matt-Man
neshobadude@yahoo.com
@mattmaniws
Annnnnd….Jayman and I kicked off Summer yesterday with one helluva good IWS Radio Show. We talked cookouts, Memorial Day, and Jay’s Family Reunion, it was a hoot, so check it out:
Using History
"If history is the judge to which we appeal, then it can also find against us. It can highlight our mistakes by reminding us of those who, at other times, faced similar problems but who made different, perhaps better decisions" - Margaret MacMillan, (2009) The Uses And Abuses Of History, London, Profile Books."A cockroach in the concrete, courthouse tan and beady eyes
A slouch with fallen arches, purging truths into great lies
A little man with a big eraser, changing history
Procedures that he's programmed to, all he hears and sees
Altering the facts and figures, events and every issue
Make a person disappear, and no one will ever miss you
Rewrites every story, every poem that ever was
Eliminates incompetence, and those who break the laws
Follow the instructions of the New Way's Evil Book of Rules
Replacing rights with wrongs, the files and records in the schools" - Lyrcis to Hook In Mouth by Megadeth, written by Dave Mustaine.
Saturday, May 26, 2012
Babe of the Week Charlize Theron
South African Stunner Charlize Theron is the IWS Babe of the Week this week.
Ms. Theron started out as a fashion model, but quickly proved that she had great acting skills too. She was first noticed in The Devil’s Advocate, but really burst on the scene after winning an Academy Award for Monster in 2003.
Charlize was nominated again for an Oscar in 2005 for her brilliant performance in North Country.
Next week her latest movie Snow White and the Huntsman, where she stars alongside Kristen Stewart will be released and it’s already getting great reviews from people who have pre-screened it. She has also recently adopted a baby boy! And now, on top of all these other great blessings, she’s IWS’ Babe of the Week! Congrats Charlize!
Friday, May 25, 2012
Matt Said...Jay Said XL
Matt titkellem ... Jay titkellem; inti tisma.
(via Twitter)
Jay: No show prep phone call this week…all of my family is coming in for a big reunion this weekend.
Matt: Uh-huh…Are you sure that’s all that is going on here?
Jay: Yeah, why?
Matt: Perhaps you are really avoiding our weekly call because you are cracking wise with somebody else?
Jay: No. I swear.
Matt: Okay.
Jay: How could I do that to you and your fragile ego?
Matt: Damn right, wait…wh--
Jay: Anyhoo. Since I’ll be tied up with family all weekend, we need to do a show that requires very little show prep.
Matt: The Many Sides of Mitt Romney?
Jay: Ha…that would take forever with all the sides he has, has had, and will have.
Matt: True.
Jay: How about The Rachel Maddow Show…Love Her or Hate Her?
Matt: TOO easy.
Jay and Matt: HATE HER!!
Matt: Memorial Day Weekend is this weekend. We could do something on that.
Jay: We could kick-off the unofficial start to summer with hot weather tips and shit.
Matt: Cool. We could do grilling and cookout tips.
Jay: Since I will be in the midst of one, talk about family reunions.
Matt: Indeed…We could talk about the scantily clad women in their summer fashions.
Jay: Which you see even more of at typical vacation destinations.
Matt: I think we’re set.
Jay: Oh I know we are.
Matt: Hey?
Jay: What?
Matt: Did you say that you are holding your big family reunion in Yellville, AR?
Jay: Yeah why?
Matt: That’s not a real city is it?
Jay: Well, it’s not a city; it’s tiny, but that is the official name of the burg in which my family and I will be partying away.
Matt: Ha…That’s funny.
Jay: Oh it’s a cool little place. You should bring Schmoop down sometime for the annual Turkey Trot Festival. Bring the wife and kid too.
Matt: Oh you’re a funny fucker, aren’t ya?
Jay: Hee Hee. Sometimes.
Matt: Okay. I think we’re good to go. See you on IWS Radio this Sunday at Noon ET, Jayman.
Jay: We’ll be kicking off summer through the goal posts of life.
Matt: True Dat.
(via Twitter)
Jay: No show prep phone call this week…all of my family is coming in for a big reunion this weekend.
Matt: Uh-huh…Are you sure that’s all that is going on here?
Jay: Yeah, why?
Matt: Perhaps you are really avoiding our weekly call because you are cracking wise with somebody else?
Jay: No. I swear.
Matt: Okay.
Jay: How could I do that to you and your fragile ego?
Matt: Damn right, wait…wh--
Jay: Anyhoo. Since I’ll be tied up with family all weekend, we need to do a show that requires very little show prep.
Matt: The Many Sides of Mitt Romney?
Jay: Ha…that would take forever with all the sides he has, has had, and will have.
Matt: True.
Jay: How about The Rachel Maddow Show…Love Her or Hate Her?
Matt: TOO easy.
Jay and Matt: HATE HER!!
Matt: Memorial Day Weekend is this weekend. We could do something on that.
Jay: We could kick-off the unofficial start to summer with hot weather tips and shit.
Matt: Cool. We could do grilling and cookout tips.
Jay: Since I will be in the midst of one, talk about family reunions.
Matt: Indeed…We could talk about the scantily clad women in their summer fashions.
Jay: Which you see even more of at typical vacation destinations.
Matt: I think we’re set.
Jay: Oh I know we are.
Matt: Hey?
Jay: What?
Matt: Did you say that you are holding your big family reunion in Yellville, AR?
Jay: Yeah why?
Matt: That’s not a real city is it?
Jay: Well, it’s not a city; it’s tiny, but that is the official name of the burg in which my family and I will be partying away.
Matt: Ha…That’s funny.
Jay: Oh it’s a cool little place. You should bring Schmoop down sometime for the annual Turkey Trot Festival. Bring the wife and kid too.
Matt: Oh you’re a funny fucker, aren’t ya?
Jay: Hee Hee. Sometimes.
Matt: Okay. I think we’re good to go. See you on IWS Radio this Sunday at Noon ET, Jayman.
Jay: We’ll be kicking off summer through the goal posts of life.
Matt: True Dat.
पेट्रोल: 7 दिन बाद कम हो सकते हैं दाम, कारों पर 50 हजार तक छूट
नई दिल्ली। पेट्रोल की कीमत में बढोतरी के खिलाफ देश में शुरू हो चुके राजनीतिक बवाल और साथ ही जनाक्रोश की लहर से दबाव में आई केंद्र सरकार मूल्यवृद्धि से जनता को कुछ राहत देने की संभावना तलाश रही है। Read More
बिपाशा का मुजरा
बे बे्रक के बाद बिपाशा बसु फिर से एक नए अंदाज में नजर आएंगी। इससे पहले बिपाशा अपनी "जोडी ब्रेकर्स" में दमदार आइटम गीत बोलते हुए नजर आई थी। Read More
हिम्मतवाला नहीं मिलने से जैकलीन नाराज
श्रीलंकन ब्यूटी जैकलीन फर्नोडिस इन दिनों अपने खास दोस्त साजिद खान से नाराज है, क्योंकि साजिद में इतनी हिम्मत और दम भी नहीं है कि वे जैकलीन को हिम्मतवाला के बनने वाले रीमेक में हीरोइन का रोल दिला सके। Read More
Thursday, May 24, 2012
You Might Be An Asshole If ...
Hola sweet, thoughtful and considerate people! In the spirit of Jeff Foxworthy’s very old and tired “You might be a redneck if …” jokes, here are some ways to know if you are an asshole:
If you’re wearing headphones and I can still hear your music, you might be an asshole.
If you have auto play music player on your blog, you might be an asshole.
If you throw trash out the window of your car while driving, or worse, while in a parking lot that has trash cans available, you might be an asshole.
If you wear sunglasses inside even though you have no eye problems or medical reason to do so, you might be an asshole.
If you never say “please” “thank you” or “excuse me” you might be an asshole.
If you push the “disabled button” on a door going into a store and you aren’t disabled, you might be an asshole.
If you walk into a store and stop right there holding the door open while looking to see what they have and there are people standing behind you trying to get into the store, you might be an asshole.
If you are climbing the stairs of an escalator even though there are also stairs that you could have taken, you might be an asshole.
If you’re standing in line at a fast food place and when you finally get up to the counter and are asked what you would like you finally look up at the menu and say “Uhhhhh … Let me see what you’ve got,” you might be an asshole.
If you text people while the movie is running in the theater, you might be an asshole.
If you randomly add a pic of a really hot chick just to get a few extra cheap hits on your blog posts, you might be an asshole.
If you walk around with a scowl on your face and never smile and say “Hola” to people, you might be an asshole.
If you refuse to let anyone use your bar of soap, you might be an asshole.
If you are talking on your cell phone while going through the checkout at the store, you might be an asshole.
If you are consistently late to meetings or social outings, you might be an asshole.
If you try to get on an elevator, bus or train before others can get off, you might be an asshole.
If you sit in your car in front of an apartment building with the stereo blasting away AND/OR constantly revving the engine, you might be an asshole.
If your kid is screaming and crying or running around bothering other people in a restaurant or other public place, you might be an asshole.
If you don’t put the shopping cart in the cart corral or take it back into the store, you might be an asshole.
If you turn left from the right turn lane (or right from the left turn lane), you might be an asshole.
If you don’t cover your mouth when you cough, sneeze or yawn in public, you might be an asshole.
Okay, there are a bunch of good examples of assholism. I’m sure there are hundreds more, so feel free to leave some others in the comment section if you like. And anyone who doesn’t comment (or listen to I’m With Stupid Podcast) is definitely a gaping asshole!
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
पेट्रोल के दामों में आग तो फूटा लोगों का गुस्सा, झारखंड में लूटा पेट्रोल पंप
नई दिल्ली। गुरूवार सुबह-सुबह उठते ही देशभर में लोगों को बुरी खबर मिली। आधी रात से ही पेट्रोल के दामों में भारी बढोतरी कर दी गई। यह वृदि्ध भी संसद सत्र खत्म होते ही की गई है Read More
आईपीएल कॉट्रोवर्सी में फंसी गौहर खान
मॉडल और डांसर गौहर खान भी आईपीएल के कॉर्टोवर्सी में फंस गई हैं। हाल ही में जोहल हमीद से ल्यूक पोर्मसबैक ने छे़डछ़ाड की थी। जोहल का मंगेतर साहिल पेरीजादा एक व्यापारी है और इसने कुछ साल पहले इसने गौहर के साथ डेटिंग की थी। Read More
अक्सर मीडिया की सुर्खियों में रहने वाली वीना मलिक को पहली बार किसी फिल्म में अहम रोल के लिए चुना गया है। आम तौर पर फिल्मों में आइटम नंबर या फिर एक-आध सीन में नजर आने वाली वीना मलिक इस फिल्म में आइटम नंबर तो करेंगी, लेकिन इस फिल्म की कहानी उन्हीं के इर्दगिर्द घूमेगी। अगले महीने शूटिंग फ्लोर पर जा रही फिल्म "दाल में काला" में वीना मलिक के अलावा जैकी श्रॉफ, राजा चौधरी शक्ति कपूर और बॉबी डार्लिग अहम् रोल में है।Read More
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