System run by two parties

I've tried to make a real effort this year to steer clear of political topics, partly because nothing has changed even with a new batch of lawmakers, but mostly because, as Beck* might say, there's no point fighting for a lost cause.

But, I recently saw a Venn diagram that so accurately makes the point that I clumsily was trying to make with the popular (by this blog's standards, anyway) The Undeciders post from 2008.

You can go ahead and reread that post if you're feeling nostalgic, or just take a look at this diagram originally posted on The Strategic Retreat (you may have to click to embiggen).


*The post-modern alt-pop-blues-folk singer-songwriter, not the Fox News crybaby.



tagged: Beck, Lost Cause, video, politics, government, Republican, Democrat, two-party system

YouTube Tuesday: The Sunset Limited

I have already set the DVR to record HBO's Feb. 12 premier of Cormac McCarthy's play The Sunset Limited.

Though I'm not a huge fan of Tommy Lee Jones, who stars in and directs the production, I am a big fan of McCarthy's works being adapted for screen. I think it has been done for the most part successfully with his previous works (one of which also featured Tommy Lee Jones).

Here's the official HBO synopsis of the play…

Based on the play of the same name by Pulitzer Prize winner Cormac McCarthy, this searing two-character drama mixes humor and pathos while examining the relationship between strangers who are brought together by desperate circumstances. Set in a New York tenement apartment, the story focuses on two very different men — a deeply religious black ex-con who thwarts the suicide attempts of an asocial white college professor who tried to throw himself in front of an oncoming subway train, 'The Sunset Limited'. As the one attempts to connect on a rational, spiritual and emotional level, the other remains steadfast in his hard-earned despair. Locked in a philosophical debate, both passionately defend their personal credos and try to convert the other.

And here's the official trailer…



tagged: YouTube Tuesday, video, Cormac McCarthy, The Sunset Limited, Tommy Lee Jones, Samuel L. Jackson, drama

Random Photo XLII: Snowhedge

It was sunny the day after the latest blizzkreig, and I was working from home. I opened the bedroom window to let the light in and I saw this really interesting pattern made by snow falling on the low hedge around our backyard patio.

I liked the way the sun highlighted the textures and the sort of fractal pattern of the snowfall.

tagged: Random Photo, snow, weather, nature, fractal, Bush, winter

To do ...

I thought I'd post, as a seed for discussion, a few random items from by bucket list in no particular order.

By the way, I'm really not fond of the term "bucket list."

• See the Grand Canyon
  
• Learn to play the guitar
  
• Visit all 7 continents
  
• Lower my cholesterol
  
• Win a $100-million lottery
• Own a hand-made bespoke suit.
  
• Vacation in Ireland
  
• Bicycle from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico
  
• Invent a sport
  
• Take a computer class
  
• Drive a fusion-powered car (preferably a DeLorean)
  
• Lose 25 pounds

Okay, discuss.

tagged: bucket list, Europe, travel, bespoke, DeLorean, fusion, cycling

YouTube Tuesday: Crime Cops

This video contains about twelve kinds of awesome. I mean, the parody and satire index of this thing is off the charts!

Well done, gentlemen.




tagged: YouTube, Tuesday, video, humor, Crime Cops, parody, satire, pop culture