I can haz internetz?

Victory for Zim! I lost my internet connect for no obvious reason sometime late Friday night or early Saturday morning. This was vexing because I didn't have a monitor for my desktop which is what my cable modem and router are hooked up to. It was clear I was going to need to do some monkeying around on said computer so a monitor purchase was in my future. I considered blowing off class to go buy one, then talked myself out of that plan with a promise to hit Fry's on the way back.

Class was incredible. First I got there in time to see eilonwey in the beginner's group, who lured me into doing the Goddess double veil routine with her and Alyne after it. I was very nervous as I haven't danced the thing in years but it was so much fun and I only screwed up a little. She had to dash and I ended up getting a solo class with Alyne which was just a delight. I swear if I didn't already believe in magic I would have after meeting this woman. She's the only person I've ever known who just has to smile or give me a hug to take away all my worries and problems. She's...inspiring, not in an over the top kind of way, not in a way most people would even recognize, but just by being so inherently decent, kind and generous. She just has this aura about her that puts you in mind of someone like the Dalai Lama, a deep well of goodness and spirituality, but at the same time this passion for everything she does.

After class I ran some much needed errands and picked up a reasonably priced monitor at Fry's. A flat panel one too! Got home and showered and tidied up before moonlightnrain showed up for B7 night. We had a nice relaxed evening, which was good as I'd apparently inadvertently poisoned her the night before. Some people apparently react very badly to the chicken substitute Quorn and she would appear to be on that list. Good to know.

Later I watched my Japanese historical drama Furan Kazan which includes this OMG beautiful Buddhist monk/Warrior general character who I just like to stare at for as much of the hour as he appears in. I really must find out who he is and what else he's been in. Then I switched over to Adult Swim to see who'd won the viewer's choice contest and what they'd chosen to watch. Harvey Birdman and Venture Brothers, yee-haw! And my favorite ep of HB to boot (the one with the Jetsons). I don't know who the mystery viewer was but I loved their taste in animated series.

Sunday I slept in nice and late, then ran a few more errands, washed my poor long suffering car, and with the computer gods smiling down upon me benevolently, got my internet up and running again. When in doubt unhook everything and restart it all in the proper order. Sometimes the easiest answers are the correct ones.

Now, regarding this week's episode of Avatar, ( The Headband )

(no subject)

Apparently Tom Friedman has poked his head up out of his hole and failed to see his own shadow, thus allowing him to stop shivering in the dark burrow and pissing himself about the big, bad, scary Muslims who are trying to kill us all:

9/11 has made us stupid. I honor, and weep for, all those murdered on that day. But our reaction to 9/11 — mine included — has knocked America completely out of balance, and it is time to get things right again.

It is not that I thought we had new enemies that day and now I don’t. Yes, in the wake of 9/11, we need new precautions, new barriers. But we also need our old habits and sense of openness. For me, the candidate of 9/12 is the one who will not only understand who our enemies are, but who we are.

Before 9/11, the world thought America’s slogan was: “Where anything is possible for anybody.” But that is not our global brand anymore. Our government has been exporting fear, not hope: “Give me your tired, your poor and your fingerprints.”

You may think Guantánamo Bay is a prison camp in Cuba for Al Qaeda terrorists. A lot of the world thinks it’s a place we send visitors who don’t give the right answers at immigration. I will not vote for any candidate who is not committed to dismantling Guantánamo Bay and replacing it with a free field hospital for poor Cubans. Guantánamo Bay is the anti-Statue of Liberty.

Yeah good luck with that, Tom. You and your fellow cheerleaders have made it nearly impossible for any candidate to seriously even posit such a thing let alone turn it into a viable campaign platform. But beyond that I know on some level I should be happy and relieved that yet another TRUE BELIEVER has finally woken up to reality and put down the Kool Aid but goddammit why did it take him 6 years to regain his testicular fortitude?

Also, Tom, I'd like to point out that 9/11 didn't make everybody stupid, just you and yours. So enough with the "hey we all fell down the rabbit hole for a while, but we're back now!" bullshit. Go straight to hell, Friedman, and I hope it doesn't take you a Friedman Unit to get there.

As usual the RudePundit puts it more succinctly than I:

Discover how, unlike Tom Friedman, the Rude Pundit has never had to offer a massive, embarrassing mea culpa for making a huge faux pas like trusting an oligarchy of inbred retards with the keys to the gun cabinet.

(no subject)

Submitted without comment:

Britsh MPs visiting the Pentagon to discuss America's stance on Iran and Iraq were shocked to be told by one of President Bush's senior women officials: "I hate all Iranians."

And she also accused Britain of "dismantling" the Anglo-US-led coalition in Iraq by pulling troops out of Basra too soon.

The all-party group of MPs say Debra Cagan, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Coalition Affairs to Defence Secretary Robert Gates, made the comments this month.

(no subject)

So I found out my new Japanese drama pretend boyfriend is playing Uesugi Kenshin in Furan Kazan and he's also a fairly big recording star in Japan. Can't say I think much of his music or dancing skills, but my goodness he's easy on the eyes. Here's some vid of him from the series kicking ass and taking names for Buddha:

Watch on YouTube

The only tricky thing with him is that I've occasionally forgotten to read the subtitles because I'm so busy staring at him. It makes following what's going on in the plot a little more difficult, but I don't really mind :)