The Back of Tuor's Head

Another Reason to vote for Kerry:

Whenever I'm caught between two evils, I take the one I've never tried. -- Mae West

Please, Please! No more Bush!

Anyone else notice we have JFK vs. George W? Weird.

Please Apple, Please fix our window widgets. I'm asking nicely.

… Well, not really, but I should

An interview with Bill Maher.

Perhaps an even better interview with Jon Stewart on PBS' Bill Moyers.

If you missed it on Fark, then you might want to check it out in VIDEO or TRANSCRIPT.

Jon Stewart handed the hosts of Crossfire their arses on a platter. It really is best in video.

They expected some complacent celebrity guest hawking his book, and ended up regretting it. Jon presented a message that needed to be heard -- the media has shirked its responsibility to the People.

The heart is right here:

STEWART: You know, the interesting thing I have is, you have a responsibility to the public discourse, and you fail miserably.

CARLSON: You need to get a job at a journalism school, I think.

STEWART: You need to go to one.

The thing that I want to say is, when you have people on for just knee-jerk, reactionary talk...

CARLSON: Wait. I thought you were going to be funny. Come on. Be funny.

STEWART: No. No. I'm not going to be your monkey.

I am not a fan of Kerry.

That said, I fuckin' hate Bush. The lesser of two evils, I guess.

Mae West always said that given two evils, she would always choose the one she hadn't tried before. I hope that feeling pervades.

Not that I don't likes him in some ways. Kerry certainly gives off the persona of an intelligent man. Especially in the debates -- he is always writing notes and is very well-spoken and intelligent.

However, it would be wonderful to have a candidate passionate about the issues. Someone not only eloquent in debate but all relied up and intense. Kerry is so mild.

Well, I guess I can't get everything without running myself.

Well, I was trying to get people to go to Spruce Knob WV this weekend since we get a 5-day weekend, but the club is too small (~12 people each week, half are regular) to generate enough interest in going away for a few days. I have to say I'm a bit disappointed.

I'm wrestling weather to take the 3-4 of us down who may be interested, or to stay here, maybe see if I can make it up to a wedding of an old friend of mine. Who knows.

What's really frustrating is how I can plan something for weeks and everyone comes up with plans, but on a moment, suddenly I am leading babes through hellfire. How do I harness that?

In a nation where the poor and old cannot afford health care, where the economy is falling apart, where 15% of people live below the poverty line, where hundreds of thousands are homeless, and where the entire mass media system is owned by only six mega-media conglomerates;
in a nation with the world's highest crime rate and worlds's largest prison population;
in a nation where half of all marriages end in divorce, where 25% of kids under 12 live in poverty, and where the gulf between the rich and poor is growing everyday;
in a nation that supports dictatorships in Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Turkey;
in a nation where the government is plagued by corruption and fascism and 40% of the homeless are veterans;
in a nation with one of the world's highest teen suicide and stress rates – you're telling me our biggest problems are terrorism and drugs?

- Corey Cananza

What is the hold that Lewis Carrol's books have on us? Everyone from great artists like The Beatles to hacks like American McGee have found inspiration from these stories.

They have been retold many times – Jeff Noon's Automated Alice, Disney's cartoon, and many to follow. Adult themes seem to follow in many homages, like the obvious drug references in White Rabbit.

I have wallowed through an Alice deluge, like I do from time to time. Except for the videogame (I'm not vary partial to First Person Shooters), I have looked around for more wherever it seems to appear.

To me, there are two obvious themes that run deep through the genre: Moving from childhood to adulthood & the illogical logic of every character encountered. I am sure you could find several more.

Wonderland has, as far as I'm concerned anymore, become a genre of itself. Many children's cartoons and shows have done wonderland themes. Comic books bring them in over and over again. Can't you see shades of Wonderland in several Batman villains, especially the Joker?

Thank the graces that it has at least passed into the public domain, to be shaped again and again by the culture that has assimilated it.

A couple of years ago I was in the Anime Club. We had a nice president, Sue, but she was for the Club having a float in the parade. (Sue was a great person, and the fallout of why she didn't get re-elected is a lot of hurt feelings, mainly having to do with most of the club being pro-hentai and her being against it.)

Anyway, what it comes down to is that Homecoming, in most places, is a Jock/Greek affair. This is no different at IUP.

I walked along my first year, and after that pretty much swore off it. The non-Jock/Greek crowd was very small. I just didn't want to deal with getting up at ten in the morning and walking past a bunch of drunk and indignant people.

I did help out the next year, when we made a "Tokyo Tower" float, and a bunch of them walked in the parade. It was actually quite good, and I felt that if they were going to walk, then the least I could do was offer some time to stuff the crepe paper into the chicken wire.

After that year, Anime pretty much fell apart for me. Meetings moved a bit and were hard to keep up with, most of my friends had gone, and I was getting more involved with other meetings and school work. I did, however, end up with a craving for Tenchi Muyo!

Of course another positive was that several of the people I knew were part of the Megatokyo crowd, and I got to party with Piro and Largo one year at Katsucon. Somehow we ended up playing in the fire hydrants in Baltimore.

The point is, SOTO is planning on walking this year. I hope things go better for them, IUP has made the first tentative steps into the 21st Century by acknowledging that there are campus clubs outside of Greek Life. It may well be a few more years before this spreads into a full support of clubs, but it is at least a spin in the positive direction.

It seems also that the Greek community is evolving too. The "Animal House" mentality is going away and being replaced with a more positive aura. Part of this is just the national crackdown against drinking and hazing, and part is the whole realization in many Universities across the nation that it's the education not the sports that really draw most of the students.

Well -- Good Luck to SOTO, and any other club making their tentative steps into the Homecoming celebration, and remember not to drink too much this weekend.