The reason there has been a lack of updates on the G.o.D. front is that John and I have been dealing with the logistics of having a band. We having been working on getting our (requested) demo looking and sounding right, as well as getting together bio material. Lucio, director of The Fallen, has agreed to do us some press shots. As the band is planning a foray to the Great British Beer Festival next week, I thought it might be a good idea to have Lucio take a few shots before we hit the biggest pub in the world. The band, minus our Jon Pearce, will be heading off to a showcase gig later this evening at Infinity Club in Mayfair.

Not that we haven’t been doing music at all. John and I co-operated on a new tune on Wednesday night. He started playing and I started singing. This is the way, of course, that we wrote our first song together. I am also collaborating with Mike Painkillers Hendrix on a few songs. This may, of course, result in the bizarre situation of one of G.o.D.’s songs being performed first by another band, as a cover. Not that the unusual is not usual for this band.

One thing that strikes me is that I am looking forward to the time when the band thing is both enjoyable and fun. Right now it’s the former but not much of the latter.

Apparently it’s the custom at Microsoft (at least at the company’s HQ at Redmond, WA) to invite new interns over to the Boss’s house for dinner. The White Housian level of security is somewhat disconcerting, but a good time was had by all.

In ten minutes there was a donut or toroid of geekdom surrounding Bill that was three or four people deep, but after a few minutes I had worked my way to the front and got to spend about two hours standing with him, talking to him, and mostly listening to his responses to other people’s questions.

the blog québécois

Dean has kindly pointed me to this nifty flash game.

Update: There are some nifty games on the I, Robot site as well Sky Captain one.

Update: A game about Eminem. This via the Ghost.

I was puttering around today and heard this on CNN’s Crossfire. Tucker Carlson sets up the guest before the first commercial:

It is time now to convince the voters. Can John Kerry make his case tonight here in Boston? Will he finally tell us what he really thinks or will he take yet another great, bold controversial stand on behalf of children, happiness, and free ice cream?

We’ll ask actor and Boston native Ben Affleck, one of the sharpest men in Hollywood and a friend of the charisma-challenged Democratic nominee.

Later, Affleck with co-hosts Robert Novak and Paul Begala:

AFFLECK: Well, I won’t say it’s bad for the country. A convention like this, I think it’s a hallmark of the modern media age and of modern politics, that people feel like they have to script everything so carefully and they have to craft and control stuff. It’s not—that aspect of it in particular is not to my taste, although, on the whole, I believe it’s been a very successful and innervating and exciting convention.

NOVAK: Innervating. I agree it’s an innervating…

(CROSSTALK)

BEGALA: Yes, innervating.

(CROSSTALK)

AFFLECK: That’s a Bob Novak word of the day on the Internet.

BEGALA: Somewhere, President Bush is saying, Karl, Karl, what’s innervating mean?

Allow me to be of assistance. The word, apparently unknown to Affleck and Begala (not to mention CNN’s transcriber), is “enervating,” and it means,

1. To weaken or destroy the strength or vitality of: the luxury which enervates and destroys nations (Henry David Thoreau).

2. Medicine. To remove a nerve or part of a nerve.

adj. (-nrvt)

Deprived of strength; debilitated.

which seems an adequate description of the Democratic convention.

Novak (and more than likely Carlson, too) knew what the word meant and was preparing to have a bit of fun with it.

I guess that being one of “the sharpest men in Hollywood” is roughly equivalent to being a partisan hack like Begala. But that’s no surprise, is it?

the blog québécois

In a wonderful bit of scapegoating, another family has blamed a computer game for a murder. Wonder if it ever crossed these pin-heads’ minds that this is totally illogical? Or the fact that there are lots of people who plays these games (in fact every other gamer) that don’t go out and stab someone to death. The murderer was an evil little bastard and it’s right that he will go to prison. To condemn all the players of the game as well as its creators for the evil deed is absolutely idiotic.

It is unfortunate a young boy was killed but to condemn a game instead of the perp and his parents is neither useful nor sensible.

The Holocaust is a Zionist Lie Aimed at Extorting the West. Wondering if this bunch talked to David Irving before the wrote this rubbish?

I just received this missive from a fellow Temple of Dagon writer.

If you want to link this one off as an off site link Andrew go for it. It is a short story I wrote titled False Healer. This one for me is one that really plays off my fear of needles and a distrust of hospitals.I wrote this in the momentum of my book that I have in the pre-press stage at Booksurge.com—- a collection of short stories within the horror, Science Fiction and creative nonfiction.

Interesting piece in today’s Guardian, trashing, almost, Fahrenheit 9/11 as little more that intellectually-bankrupt dishonest emotional masturbation. Although not in such terms.

‘Moore’s defenders say that, if not factually correct, then his film is in some way “essentially” true.’

Just like the pictures in the Mirror were ‘representative’ of events. At least Piers Morgan went…

This should touch off a few arguments. I’d vote for anything on the Woodstock album, myself.

the blog québécois

A Washington, D.C., lobbying organization that played a major role in Vermont becoming the ninth state to adopt a medical marijuana law appears to be on a record-setting spending spree. The Medical Marijuana Policy Project on Monday declared that it spent nearly $218,000 during the first half of 2004. That amount approaches the highest known complete-year spending total in Vermont lobbying history. Lobbyists for the Policy Project were constant visitors to the Vermont State House this past winter. Their efforts bore fruit in May when the Legislature legalized the use and possession of marijuana by people suffering from AIDS, cancer and multiple sclerosis. Gov. James Douglas opposes the medical use of marijuana, but allowed the initiative to become law without his signature. ... ‘We understand it was a significant amount of money, but it was worth it,’ said Nancy Lynch, spokeswoman for the Policy Project’s Vermont office..” (07/27/04)

This bit of smoking news comes via Rational Review.

John’s master list is up over at Right Wing News. Below you will find my submitted list, they are in no particular order.

Jesus Christ
Mohammed
Solomon
Hitler
Edison
Luther
Emperor Constantine
George II (of England)
Moses
King Edward (Norman king who invaded England)
Aristotle
Marx
Adam Smith
King James
Oliver Cromwell
Winston Churchill
Ronald Reagan
Margaret Thatcher
Napoleon
Leonardo Davinci

We knew stealing that music was wrong. Stealing is never OK. But, it was just too easy. So we told ourselves we were just “sharing” the music, because everyone knows that sharing is a good thing.

But then we learned what we were really doing. We heard our favorite recording artists telling us that our “sharing” is really shoplifting and piracy. We were stealing from the musicians and singers we love!

What to do? What to do? It’s never too late to make amends.

the blog québécois

There is no BoMS this week as their host has gone AWOL.

However we got a good Bonfire going with a nifty theme of Trash TRS-80s. I have used the bloody things and even programmed on em’. Fond memories? Well not exactly, but it works well for a Bonfire theme!

Good ole’ Cuthie has hit two with his blog. Long may he continue!

Not to be outdone but the CoV CoV.

The new government’s message to Al Queda. We surrendered; now go kill Italians, please!

Being cowardly isn’t very pretty, now is it?!

Update: An al Queda have issued a statement echoing this sentinment,

Someone has pointed out to me that this Leftist version of what Fascism is has been much reproduced on the net. It seems to be widely accepted as gospel among Leftists.

Andrew: The last time I saw people directed to this site was by some pillock on Blogcritics. He decided that we should judge all posters and commenters on BC by this list. In short, he wanted everyone but his ilk to be seen as a fascist.

Needless to say it is a totally bigoted coverup. The author mentions 14 characteristics of Fascism without including any mention of the fact that it was both socialist and an offshoot of Marxism! What frauds Leftists are. In a way I understand them, though. They desperately need to deny that Fascism was Leftist. It would do them enormous harm if everybody came to realize that ALL the great totalitarian regimes of the 20th century were Leftist!

To help set the record straight I have put up copy of the site concerned with a redirect on it to point to a more truthful account of the matter. I have done the same for another deceptive Leftist site that is not so widely referenced. The two “revised” sites are: here and here.

the girl’s got family
she needs cash to buy aspirin for her pain
everybody’s good enough for some change
—live

It seems a certain Democratic nominee-wannabe has caught the evil eye of . . . The Bitter Waitress:

Tipper’s Name: John Kerry

Restaurant: Chart House

Where it happened: Alexandria, VA

Total bill / Tip amount / Percentage: $262.60 / $0.00 / 0%

What happened:

June 5, 04 Kerry, his wife, 4 unknown suits – We were happy to seat them in a semi-private area and gave them the same excellent service as we would give anyone – then got stiffed!

I seem to recall Hillary Clinton doing the same thing while running for the Senate. Ah, yes, here it is.

What is it with these cheapskate Tribunes of the People?

the blog québécois

Call me a fox-chomping Capitalist running dog, but I couldnt resist an ironic chuckle at the news of the heroin induced death of Private Eyes founder’ daughter.

Since the 70s this mags attacked any official brave enough to call for such wacky ideas as law and order, punishment of criminals and real immigration control. Has Mr Ingrams perhaps seen his chickens come home to roost. Reap what you sow, and all that.

Could a moment of doubt have crossed the well fed upper class Socialists, as they buried this poor girl, on the merits of moral-free society.

Did mourners perhaps wonder, if only for a moment, if perhaps locking up criminals and immigrant drug importers, might be better than attacking those who would like to. Just an idea.

Heres the joke in the story.

If only she had lived in horrible, backward, Christian, Republican Texas, (where jails are full and drug dealers scared), shed probably be organising an anti-war march now and calling dad to support Kerry, not drugged and dead. George W managed to cut crime by 50% in 4 short years, here in Blighty we enjoy the worst crime rates in Europe, and every year it gets worse.

The BBC/Guardian/Private Eye has remained strangely tight lipped on George’s success in this area. Though I understand it is against more prisons.

Parents in Texas know drug dealers dont get British justice, they get Texas justice, which is why drug use keeps falling, year after year.

So Private Eye continues its on its merry way, hating Bush, hating Israel, hating the Police, hating the Tories; usual Leftie stuff.

But I wonder if Mr Ingrams considers his achievements over the last 40 years, which
have buried his daughter, along with tens of thousands like her, and turned Britain from a relatively peaceful, law abiding, happy country; to a state so diseased with crime and drugs that several million of its citizens are preparing to emigrate.

Or perhaps Mr Ingrams has joined the exodus.

If he’s looking for a relatively safe, low-crime, drug-free area, perhaps he should consider Texas. I believe the previous Governor was rather good on drug issues.

Cat Stephens, that lovable, cuddly 70’s singer, who called for Rushdee’s assassination (nice bloke), was given 1hr by fawning BBC (who else?) presenter Whispering Bob Harris.

As we know, the Left has never known a homophobic, misogynistic, racist, terror loving author-killer it didnt want to apologise to.

Try to build a wall to stop your kids being dismembered while buying Pizza, and the BBC goes nuts. Try to get an author killed for writing a book and the Beeb goes all romantic. Don’t you love the Left.

Cat fills us in on his conversion to Islam..while swimming in Southern California of course.

Cat almost drowned in dangerous surf which swept him out to sea. Calling out ‘Help me Allah’, (to be read in Charton Heston voice) verily a wave did come unto him and
did bring him unto to the shore.

Like so many millions, Cat loves Islam, but chooses not to live in a Islamic country. Strange that. When Britain is a poor, corrupt, brutal dictatorship like most Islamic countries, will he move on. Bob didnt ask.

OK, here’s the moral of the story.

I was swimming in California, in almost the same spot, (just down from Malibu) around ‘84, and yes I too almost drowned due to strong and dangerous currents. I went under a few times, drank sea water, hit the stony bottom, & barely managed to keep afloat. Eventually, a wave came along and swept me ashore.

It wasn’t Allah, God, or the spirit of Worzel Gummidge. I wasn’t inspired to cast of the shackles of democratic freedom and embrace a culture that keeps most of its adherents poor and oppressed. I just went back the beach, had a beer, and forgot about it, until today.

Cat renounced music and is now working with immigrants fleeing Islamic dictatorships, to change Britain from a democracy into the same theocratic dictatorship they fled from. Can’t see the logic in that myself.

Alas, dear reader, no religious conversion occurred when I drank sea water.

If God wants me as a Rushdee-killing, dictator lovin sunbeam, he’ll have to do better than a friendly wave.

Continued from Cuthie’s comment section:

They are trapped in a void between the Tories and UKIP. There will be tactical voting about the European issue. They have to be convinced that their local Tory candidate will be sound on the issue of the referendum.

I find activist friends of mine being more selective in whom they will help. They are much more likely to help individual candidates they like rather than the party as a whole. I, for instance, will do nothing to help cretins like Gummer and his wet ilk.

It used to be when I mentioned this tactic to my British right-of-centre type friends that they were appalled. People went on about “the party” and helping any Tory helps them all, etc. However, I believe Tory activists are becoming like their American counterparts where they help the right-of-centre candidate of their liking. Selective activism is an effective way to get the point across.

I even know of former/current Tory activists who helped UKIP in certain areas where the Tories had no chance/the Tory was dripping wet.

The Tory Party can no longer rely on drone-like activists. Activist abuse has been a major problem in the Tory Party since the Major years, and the grass-roots now suffers as a result. Hopefully the new CCO will help auger in a new attitude towards what it means to be a political party. The Tory Party needs a new raison d’tre, or it will surely wither and die.

Update: Janet Daley makes a similar point rather well.

He is not very happy about the state of affairs in New Zealand. Their attitudes are turning positively French in their view towards Israel and Jews. Paine is rather relieved he is now an Australian citizen.

They chatted to Glenn (naturally), but the knock-on is that Michele is getting interest from mainstream media. Congratulations to a rather good blogger and a firm favourite of mine. Rumour has it that Andrea’s blog made it on briefly, as well. At least the US networks are actually going to popular blogs, unlike those daft sods who wrote the recent Parliamentary report on Blogging and only managed to find one blog with anything like decent traffic.

we don’t need no education
we don’t need no thought control
no dark sarcasm in the classroom
—pink floyd

Traffic was unusually heavy over the weekend. While I start cleaning up the 1500+ spam comments that some jerk dumped on me, amuse yourself by contemplating the rich irony of this:

Palestinian businessmen have made millions of pounds supplying cement for Israel’s “security barrier” in the full knowledge of Yasser Arafat, the Palestinian leader and one of the wall’s most vocal critics.

A damning report by Palestinian legislators, which has been seen by the Telegraph, concludes that Mr Arafat did nothing to stop the deals although he publicly condemned the structure as a “crime against humanity”.

I mean, it’s almost like the Palestinian Authority is . . . corrupt or something.

the blog québécois

Trouble de Ville
Steven Denton
PHD Publishing

The publisher describes this book as quirky, and for once, that is not synonymous with rubbish. This is a wonderful and rather amusing murder romp in the South. The daft cast includes part-time lesbians, happy-clappy loon preachers and their followers, internet porn-merchants, internet racist merchants, and an “alternative” book-store. The book is fast paced, edgy, and laugh out loud funny with a twist of the noir. That type of book where you find yourself reading just one more chapter at 4am. Denton has produced one of the most enjoyable pieces of contemporary fiction I have read in a rather long while. I, for one, look forward to his next foray into fiction.

Rating: 5/5

I think you could do worse than download the latest from the Painkillers as a soundtrack.

The debate between Jenny McCartney and Will Cummins in the Sunday Telegraph continues apace. I am positive that Will Cummins is a psuedonym for someone… Murray maybe? After all Murray wrote a piece for me of a similar bent. If you remember correctly my former blog partner pulled the piece regarding it as offensive.

Meanwhile Peter features a story unreported in the mainstream media.

Good to see that Red Ken was careful about who he was seen welcoming.

Those addle-pated Labour MPs that want to muck about in the U.S. presidential election should stick their heads where the sun don’t shine, as they say in the States, and keep all other body parts out of what is none of their business. Just imagine the hew and cry that would develop if even one Republican congressman came to the UK to campaign against Labour.

From the U.S. electorate: Stay Home, Wankers !!

And, of course, being a politician (on the left), he gets it wrong.

doctor, my eyes
tell me what is wrong
was I unwise to leave them open for so long
—jackson browne

I don’t often (well, actually, never) write about health care because the subject bores me to tears. I believe the medical term is lachrymotic tediumosis.

Nevertheless, I got involved in this comment thread at QandO, and I thought you might enjoy reading it. Or at least, weeping along with me.

In response to this:

Because many in the “health care is a right” club believe that our multi-payer, quasi-private insurance scheme is hopelessly inefficient and leads to ever-increasing administrative costs, and that a single-payer system will contain costs through mythical gains in efficiency.

I wrote this:

Seems at least one Syrian expert has found “evidence” that the Bush family are Jewish converts to Christianity. Even better they were Ashkenazi.

Even if this is true…my response is: so bloody what?

Re: Safe from anti-Semitic attacks in Dorset
Date: 24 July 2004

SIR - It is commendable that Michael Halpern, a Jew, (Letter, July 22) is concerned about the Palestinians. But their plight does not condone the increase in violence against Jews in France, including arson attacks on synagogues and the razing to the ground of Jewish schools.

From:
Jeremy Sharman, London N20

For the Eurosceptics that is…

My trouble is, being the musical type that I am, every time I see Mandelson I think of the Barry Manilow song.