Saturday, April 29, 2006

Saturday Rain and Stuff.

There's an apology of sorts in the comment's area of the previous (attack of the stadiums blog)... Please feel free to read it.

On to other news... It's decidedly "British" in weather today in Minnesota. It's raining to beat the band, and the temps are around 50°F (10°C). Gah. Nice Saturday. Not.

Och weel... I've decided to have a "Linky Day" today (basically 'cause I wrote the "War and Peace" of comments in my own blog comment area. Gah.)

Links:

That's it for today, readers... Thanks for your continued support, and... Your fairness when I am not fair. I learn every day from my readers, and I honestly am humbled.

-- T

Thursday, April 27, 2006

Sorry international readers...

But this blog post is something a BIT closer to home for me...

Warning: Profane language is used in this posting
Do not continue reading if you would be offended by the "C" word or the "F" word... Or occasional OTHER words that may appear.

Warning: TWINS SUPPORTERS
Do not continue reading if you support the Twins. I don't, and I get really angry later in this post. You don't want to read this, it would just piss you off.

You see, our Minnesota "Metrodome" stadium, downtown Minneapolis is 20 years old. And like in the past, when the Old Met stadium was 20 years old... They tore it down.

History, it seems, is due to repeat itself. For some reason... Although there are MANY famous stadia in the United States (Wrigley Field in Chicago being one) that have stood for MUCH longer than 20 years... We seem to HATE it if a stadium turns 20, and if we haven't built a new one yet.

I'm not a talented enough writer to actually convey my scorn, hatred and absolute RAGE in this space.

So... I won't even try. Carl Pohlad is a fucking cunt... And I hope he dies a horrible death by painful parasitical worms.

The Minnesota House of Representatives is peopled by fucking cunts for passing a Stadium Bill.

The Minnesota Senate had better block this fucking stadium bill, or I will call all of THEM fucking cunts too!

Our local columnist Nick Coleman wrote a sufficiently scornful column about what's been happening... So... Read it if you want the quick and the dirty... (Democracy is getting nuked in stadium push) If you don't click there... Here's the quick and the dirty.

Carl Pohlad is the owner of the Minnesota Twins (baseball team). He wants a new stadium. He's a Billionaire. Seriously. And the fucking cunt doesn't want to pay for it. He wants the STATE to pay for it.

The State doesn't WANT to pay for it. So... They have coerced Hennepin County (my home county) to raise a sales tax in order to pay for 3/4ths of the stadium's costs.

In order to raise a Sales Tax in any city/county/or metropolitan area... It's STATE FUCKING LAW that there be a voter referendum on the proposed raise in local taxes.

Carl (the fucking twat) and the rest of the State legislators KNOW that if it goes to the voters, we'd say NO.

Therefore... They've just passed a NEW bit of legislation in the House of FUCKING CUNT Representatives to raise the sales tax WITHOUT voter approval.

An easy vote for the Representatives to MAKE as 83 counties would not HAVE to worry about a sales tax.... Only the one. Mine.

Here's what cheeses me off... All the "Twins supporters" in the Cities and State keep harping on about "Tax money helping to build museums and theatres" and how it's only fair that it helps out with a stadium.

No. see... This is where you Twins fucking twat cunt supporters don't really get it. That's because many of you are uneducated Neanderthals that don't actually understand what a "NON-PROFIT" is... Or the difference between a PUBLICLY OWNED venue versus a Stadium that WE WOULD PAY FOR, and CARL AND THE TWINS WOULD MAKE ALL THE MONEY FROM!

Okay, that was unfair of me. I apologise to any Twins supporter that IS NOT an uneducated Neanderthal. The fact that I have not yet MET one that doesn't, at least vaguely, fit that description, is entirely my fault.

Fucking Hell!

No. I do NOT support the Twins... I want them to leave... They keep threatening, but they never actually seem to work up the fucking BALLS to get the fuck out of my state.

Fucking GO AWAY CUNT BASTARD MINNESOTA TWINS!

I don't fucking want you... Need you... Care about YOU or fucking BASEBALL.

GAHHHHH!!!!!

-- Tuckmac

Tuesday, April 25, 2006

Dreaming of the Lottery or "Tuck's Wish List"

Hi folks... Yeah, I'm updating at 9-ish in the morning (CST).

Why? 'Cause I'm home from work due to personal issues. Well... And also to try to help My Lady, who just had a wisdom-tooth extracted... (I love that word... extracted sounds properly horrible.)

And what have I done this morning (since I woke up at the regular 5:30am time?) I've been daydreaming. That's right...

Do you ever sit around, and wonder how "wonderful" your life would be if you actually won the Lottery? Well, I tend to do it whenever I'm working a rather horrible job (like the one I have now) thus, I've been ACTIVELY daydreaming for the past three weeks.

SO.... I thought I'd play around on the internet a bit, and find stuff that I'm in LOVE with, and things that I would get if I won the Powerball.

Again... This is all dreaming... But man what fun it can be!

The first thing that popped into my head was this:
Nikon D200, Digital SLR but then, I thought about it... "Tuck, you're dreaming... Dream a bit." So... I then decided that if I won the lotto... I'd probably buy this one: Nikon D2x, Digital SLR.

The second fun thing was the printer I'd need to continue working the way I have been working.
Epson Stylus Pro 9800 Oh... What a beauty. And it prints such BEAUTIFUL Black and White prints... Hmmm.... Black and White....

Numero Tres? What could it be, but a fun way to get around town...
Victory Vegas Motorcycle. Some may ask, "Why not a Harley, Tuck?" To which I answer, "Um..." No, seriously... I LOVE Harley's... They're amazing bikes. However... I have to admit... I'm a bit of a geek. I just can't pull off a Harley. I can't. So... Go for the "New American Motorcycle" the "Victory." I know... Weird but true. I actually LIKE this bike. Och weel.

Number Four?
A Place to LIVE. I messed about on the Internet looking for something nifty to link to, however... I didn't find anything that really "excited" me enough to show you, my readers... So... Nothing here. As to location... That's the hard one. I tend to think "Downtown Minneapolis" when I think of nifty "loft living" or "Condo-owning." However... I spoke with My Lady a few weeks ago, and asked her where we'd live if we won the Lottery. She said... And I'm doing the exact quote here: "Why, Britain, of course." Yeah. Okay. To be honest... The idea of moving back to Britain after spending UNTOLD and UNTELL-IBLE amounts of money on getting My Lady her Green Card for the States, hurts a little bit... But except for that... I wouldn't be against moving back to England. I LOVE England, and I find myself missing it daily. Och weel.

Number Five:
I don't have one.

WHAT????

No, seriously... I've been messing about for the whole morning, and I can't think of any true "wish-list" sorts of things, beyond those four items. I mean... I know I'd go shopping for new clothes, and probably a new car, like a Mini Cooper, or something, pay off my debts, but... To be honest... I am one of those "Romantics" that actually believes that I'll have a bit of a splurge if I won the Lottery, but then... I'd invest most of the money, so I could live simply off the interest accrued.

Okay... So I'm boring. However... Look at it this way...

I'm an artist. My wife is an artist. Both of us would be perfectly happy having enough money to pay our monthly bills, enough for paying off our debt... Enough for travelling a few times a year... Enough to support our artistic practice, but...

Really... What else does one need?

I keep asking the gods for one of two things... First (and most humble) is just for a job that I don't "hate" and that allows me to support myself and My Lady. That's about it. The second thing (and least realistic) is to win the Lotto. However, the fact that I have such simple tastes (basic financial support) my dreams, even when involving the lotto are pretty, well... Cute would be preferable to naïve. But... I'm not going to push it.

What do YOU, my readers, think you'd do if you won the Lotto? Let's say... A small jackpot of $30 Million (or around £15 Million)

Let me know by leaving a comment! Links are cool too!

Ta, readers!
Tuckmac

Saturday, April 22, 2006

Controversial post... Stop reading...

... if you're not in the mood.

Okay, You're still here. Thanks.

Abortion. Oh... Crap... Maybe you're going to stop reading now. You are welcome to do it, and some of the stuff I may say might just really cheese you off... But I just have to do a rant today, sorry. It's been saving for about two weeks.

Gay Marriage. Crap... Now maybe you're going to leave...

Why two really deep topics all in one blog? 'Cause I never get to do this anymore, and I've been just seething for a month to get some of MY views out there. I WELCOME debate, so... If, once you're done reading this, you want to make a comment... I will actually welcome anything you have to say... With THIS caveat:

If you write stuff that I find remotely threatening to me... To another blogger... Or to anyone in general, then I'll take your post off here so fast, you're head'll spin. Why? 'Cause saying crap like: "I'm going to fucking kill you." is not a debate, that's a terroristic-type threat. And I hate that crap.

Okay... Enough Caveats? Good... Let's begin. In any order... No... I'll stick with the above order...

Abortion debate:
    Why is it that perfectly normal, liberal-type smart people choose to vote for the Republican's and not the Dem's just because of one fucking issue? Why???? The 'cause of my consternation, is a wonderful lady I met at work... Her name is Janet. I'd guess she's in her mid-to upper 70's, and she's Catholic. In many ways, this lady is a liberal... She's very well educated, she's for social-justice, she complains about the Republicans all the time... Complaining about their platform of tax-cuts/education cuts/arts cuts/immigration attacks/war-mongering/social cuts... Etc... Etc... She goes on and on about Republicans... And yet, get this... SHE VOTES REPUBLICAN! Why? Why, you ask? Because she's Catholic, and thus must morally be Pro-life. Since the Dems are "Pro-Choice" that means that she has to vote against them.

    Gah. Okay... So, here's my thing... And my rant... And to be honest... Just an opinion. However... There's reasons that I left the Catholic Church, and this is one of them.

    Moral standpoints, like "Pro-Life" ideals are very, very good. In all "moral" ways, I'm anti-abortion. I don't like the idea of it. Now... I'll say right now, that I'm also a firm believer in the fact that a bundle of cells, in a uterus is NOT a "Life" yet. Once this bundle of cells becomes a BABY, then it's different... But just 'cause science has progressed to the point that a foetus only has to be five months old, and they can actually keep the bugger alive, does NOT mean that I believe that a foetus is a BABY in very early stages. I have a thing here, if a baby comes out of the womb, and breathes on it's own, and all it has to do is grab a mouthful of mommies teat, and get to work to survive... THEN it's a baby. If a foetus comes out, and every modern-scientific-miracle has to be used to keep the poor thing alive, whilst it finishes MATURING enough to become a BABY, then it's NOT a life! Life is really simplistic in my view... Bacteria is a life... It's able to move about and feed and shit and make NEW bacteria... That's a LIFE... Worms... Born, and eating, and shitting and eventually making NEW worms... LIFE. As we move up the "food-chain" as it were... Little babies take longer to begin the "sex" thing... But all life comes OUT of a womb, and grabs onto mommy's teat, or begins eating stuff choked up from mommy's throat, or what have you... But...

    If it comes out HUNGRY, and is ABLE to eat something... Then, and ONLY then is it a LIFE. The fact that modern medicine is able to create something of an artificial WOMB does NOT mean that the foetus in that crèche is a baby. It's a foetus. It's unable to LIVE...

    This is why I'm firmly against LATE-Term abortion, if that foetus is old enough to survive outside the womb, without a heck of a lot of help from doctors, then, you know what? That foetus has BECOME a baby... And yet... And yet...


    I'm Pro-Choice. Why? Because I'm able to separate a religious and morally ambiguous belief from my more prosaic and liberal viewpoints of a Woman's right to have control over HER OWN BODY. I don't like the idea of the government bending it's knee to the religious-right and legislating control over a human being's decision-making.

    If you're Pro-Life... Stop trying to get the government to do YOUR WORK FOR YOU! Get out on the streets, and get these kids to stop having pre-marital sex... Do NOT try to control their bodies using the law! God DAMN you! Keep your religious and personal decisions in the church pews, and NOT on the Capitol-building STEPS!

    GAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!

    Anyhoo... Here's what REALLY cheeses me off about the "One-issue voter" thing... Morally, and Socially... Republicans do MORE damage to everything around us, than the ONE bloody issue of Pro-Choice Democrats... Just in the Twin-Cities alone there are fathers, mothers, and CHILDREN (whoo... Are you listening one-issue voter) CHILDREN that are starving and dying due to the Republicans GUTTING of our social-safety-net! For that matter... People are dying all over the world, due to America's current gutting of social-programmes. Dying... People... Not a bundle of still-unliving cells... But actual human-beings that live and breathe and have dreams and goals... They are DYING due to the Republicans.

    I hope you realise that you are doing MORE damage to humans by voting for a Republican. I'm sure that whatever god you pray to... You are going against his/her/it's will. Ignoring actual suffering due to your strange and annoying attempt to save a "potential" life is not only wrong... It's abominably stupid and evil.

    Tuckmac... Give us an example, will you, you self-righteous bastard? Okay... I will.... Darfur. America bombed the living hell out of Bosnia due to the genocide going on there... Genocide used to be a serious issue with the DEMOCRATIC president of the United States. He went to war in BOSNIA to save lives... Bush? Is he doing ANYTHING about Africa? No. Why? 'Cause there's not enough FUCKING OIL THERE! It's NOT in his interest to do anything about African suffering... No... He's too busy destroying Iraq, and threatening Iran (due to THEIR oil) to give a rat's ASS about Africa.

    Take THAT fucking pill and swallow it.


Okay... That rant is FAR from over... But I'll stop there for today.

Next... Gay Marriage:
    Several churches have begun fighting back against the "religious-right" for which I am very thankful... However... Again... The issue that's facing Minnesota and several other states in the U.S., is this "Constitutional Ban on Gay Marriage" thing.

    The idea, is that although it's "Illegal in Minnesota, and against already existing STATE LAW" for two people of the same sex to get married in this state... The crazy religious-right is STILL fighting to get a constitutional amendment against "Same-sex Marriage and its LEGAL equivalents" See... It's that SECOND part that cheeses me off.

    Marriage is between a man and a woman. That's what they keep saying. Now... I've heard lots of "It's in the Bible from Genesis, saying that Marriage is between a man and a woman." Now... Unlike a LOT of Christians... I've actually READ the Bible... And it says LOTS of stuff about "Begetting" in Genesis, but it actually doesn't say a whole hell of a lot (if anything) about MARRIAGE. But I'll let that go for now... I'll even STIPULATE that since most folks here, in this country are very religious... I'll GIVE them marriage. Okay... YOU GOT IT.... You "men and women only club" get marriage. It's yours.

    The problem is the "and its legal equivalent" clause in the words of the amendment.

    Okay, I get the idea that you think homosexuality is a sin. You quote the Bible about it all the time. The fact that the only place that speaks of "homosexuality" is in the OLD-testament and is actually JEWISH is interesting, as Christ (you know... That guy that you name your religion after) was very supportive off ALL people... The poor, the leper, the whore and the TAX-man! I'm pretty sure I didn't read anywhere in any of the gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke OR John about Christ doing the sermon on the mount saying, "The poor shall inherit the Earth, oh... And Gays are evil."

    Yeah... I missed that one... Perhaps you'll be kind enough to show me the spot that Christ raises Lazarus from the dead, and steps out of the room saying, "I've raised this man up... By the way, Gays are evil."

    Hmm... Don't know where that one is either? Okay... Well... If you find anything, let me know.

    Anyhoo... If you get marriage... Can you LEAVE THE OTHER STUFF ALONE?

    Please?

    Look... Gays have a hard enough time, and trying to put language in the Constitution of Minnesota that may remove any rights they actually DO already have, is just plain sick.

    Yeah... I think that we should have "Civil Unions" for gays. I think they should get to file their taxes together, and raise children together, and visit each other in the Emergency Room at the hospital. Okay? I think that's only fair. There are SO many people that keep crowing about "Gay marriage ruining marriage for everyone else." And frankly, I don't get it. How does two men getting "hitched" ruin MY marriage? Seriously? I'm married... And if Jack and Jane want to get married, GREAT! If Jack and Jonathan want to get married too? Great? Where's the problem? Unless you're a wacko nut-job Christian (supposedly) that thinks it's a sin... Then it's a problem.

    Fine... Make it a CIVIL Union (you know, Civil, meaning having to do with LAWS and STATE as opposed to religion) and give Gays the rights to be a COUPLE in the eyes of the LAW instead of a couple in the eyes of GOD. I'm sure most of them would go for that. I know I would.


[pant, pant, pant]

Okay... I'm done for today. I just had to get that off my chest. Thanks.

See ya later..

Tuckmac

Monday, April 17, 2006

Just another Manic Monday...

Oh, oh, ohhhh...

Sorry.... Bangles moment. Man... Susanna Hoffs is hot.



I mean... Really, really hot. I had a huge crush throughout most of the '80's. In fact... I first saw a poster, much like the one above, in Bozeman, Montana when I was a first-year college student at Montana State University. I offered the music-shop owner $100.00 for the poster, and he said that he had paid $300 for it. So... Obviously, I didn't get the poster. But I really LOVED that poster... I almost switched from my "Les Paul" guitar fetish to a Rickenbaker simply because of that poster. I didn't, by the way... Still has to be a Les Paul. Gibson is just better than anything... And FUCK Fender.

Anyhoo... I digress.

Link time!

  • I've been listening to Minnesota Public Radio since I started my job in far off Brooklyn Center... I LOVE talk radio... Anyhoo... Some of the news I'm into today, is due to that station... The Dalai Lama is in Minnesota this weekend. I love him. I wish I were a Buddhist.

  • The Walker Art Center's new build is a year old! (Story)

  • Don't mean to be anti-religion... However, this map depressed me. It looks as though I should move to the far North-West of Arizona to escape weird religious nuts... However, it's pale on the map, 'cause no one actually LIVES there. So... That's out.

  • Bless the Soulforce Equality Riders. Strange thing, is that Bethel actually is ALLOWING them on campus. Hmm... I actually just had my opinions of Bethel College go up a couple of notches... But then, they're still a "Christian College" which means I'm not fond.

  • Bless Britain. I guess it's never too early to start your duty to Queen and country, hmm?


I may, or may not, be back tomorrow... But I'll definitely post something on Wednesday. Till then...

Cheerio!

-- Tuckmac.

Sunday, April 16, 2006

I love Sundays, and cofffee, definitely coffee... I Love...

That stuff! LOVE IT

Yesterday was a fabulous day. I mentioned it before, but the thing about a full-time job, is that you truly DO enjoy your weekends more. My Lady and I had a wonderful day, and I'm sincerely hoping for yet another wonderful day today.

After sleeping in (what a blessed thing, a pillow can be) we both woke up to a quiet house. That's right... My mother (Fi's nemesis just kidding, sorta) is house-sitting this weekend for an old friend. It's amazing how quickly our "marriage" improves with the lack of an audience. Not that our marriage is rough, but there are more "I love yous" more "you're beautifuls" and we seem to enjoy doing things for each other even more.

Case in point: My Lady was bored with my "newspaper" reading on the back deck. So... She went in and cooked breakfast. It was gorgeous (I mentioned that yesterday, actually) but then after showering, I did the dishes. Why? 'Cause that's what you DO when the other person cooks! Anyhoo... She worked on some design work she's doing for her parents back in Scotland (money is good) and I began working on a "talk" that I'm giving at my old University about Graduate school.

After working on things that we actually enjoyed working on... We decided to do a cook-out barbecue on the deck. We have an old fashioned Weber grill... And I'm pretty damn fabulous cooking outside... (Slight digression follows:)

I'm going to try to paraphrase an old quote from the rather horrific show "Friends:" "Men build FIRE. Men cook MEAT. Men pee on fire to PUT IT OUT." - Chandler Bing.

But it's true... (Not the peeing of course) but there's something about the upbringing of an American male, where we tend to be damn good at cooking on a grill outside. Actually... I've come to understand that this skill is dwindling in our population. You see... Back when I was a kid, Mothers cooked. The ONLY time you would see a guy cooking was when he was on the deck/porch burning all sorts of varieties of bloody meat. I came from this background... My father (whom I have a few unsolved issues) did do a FEW nice things... One of them was to teach me how to cook on a Weber. Things have changed lately... Men actually cook in the kitchen... (I'm one of them) Although my wife and my mother are both very good cooks... I've been told by many that I'm the best amateur cook they know. You'll notice I'm not so full of hubris that I say "amateur CHEF" 'cause that's silly... However, I do have a knack, and supreme enjoyment for cooking in the kitchen... I experiment with sauces, pastas, roasting and sautéing, baking and frying... I LOVE it. But no matter how enjoyable I find cooking indoors... There's something magical about the process and ritual involved in cooking on a grill. The cleaning of the grill, the meticulous stacking of the charcoal briquettes, the lighter fluid (usually too much) in order to get the proper "whoosh" of flame as you light the grill, the wire-brush scrubbing of the grill once it's reached an optimal temperature... The articulation of the vents to allow for proper cooking temperature... The movement of the meat and veg on the grill to ensure compete and safe cooking temperatures without allowing the meat and veg to get "toooooo" chargrilled to the point where it actually resembles the charcoal below it... All of these things are magical to me.

End of digression... Hope you're still here:

Anyhoo... We made burgers and brats on the grill... (Yeah, TURKEY, not real... I'm still a strange "health-nut" sort of fellow) And My Lady made a wonderful salad with greens and avocado and a light vinaigrette... All in all, it was wonderful..............

Finally... We watched two videos. The first... The Squid and the Whale, which is quite possibly one of the more disturbing and surreal depressing films I've seen in a very, very long time. Good though. Then we watched North Country, with Charleze Theron. Um... Again... Fairly depressing... With a few scenes from which I'm still recovering... But again... Extremely GREAT as a film. I suggest to my readers that you try to see both of these films...

Anyhoo... Then, we went to bed late. It was glorious. The entire day was glorious and amazing and with bright swirlly lights.

I hope you'll forgive the "Cheese Sandwich Blog" today... (I just recently learned that term from Diablo Cody)

I'm sure very few of my readers actually cared to read a blow-by-blow account of a Saturday in Minnesota... However, I'm sure that there were at least a FEW interesting asides contained within the post today.

Finally... I found a "silly blog-thing" over at Chris Cope's Blog

You Belong in Dublin

Friendly and down to earth, you want to enjoy Europe without snobbery or pretensions.
You're the perfect person to go wild on a pub crawl... or enjoy a quiet bike ride through the old part of town.


And unlike him... I freaking HATED Dublin, and I'm a bit upset with the outcome of the quiz.

Tomorrow back to work. Gah. Wish me luck, folks... I'm going to need all the well-wishing that exists on Earth to get through this job.

Smiles and cute little furry kittens... (Screaming in agony as they're dropped from an overpass into rush-hour traffic - Poor kittens!)

-- Tuckmac

Saturday, April 15, 2006

What am I doing on a Saturday?

Having a REALLY nice day off.

There's something to be said about having a "full-time" really crappy job. You suddenly REALLY enjoy weekends, that much more. I woke up this morning at around 7:30am to let the dog out... I promptly went back to sleep. My Lady and I finally hauled our bums out of bed around 11:00 am. Since then, My Lady has made Sausage Butties for us for breakie (They were GORGEOUS, by the way). I've since, showered, shaved and shat, in addition to doing the dishes from our meal.

We've also spent a good portion of the morning outside. I want to apologise to my British readers, by the way... I've been making a big deal out of the 20-24°C temps that we've been enjoying here in the Twin Cities. Just so you all know... Our recent spate of delightful weather is out of character for a Minnesotan April. Normally we'd be around 14°C for the regular high... So, yeah, we're having rather bizarre yet wonderful weather. I'm sure it won't actually last, but until it goes away, we're going to enjoy.

Okay... Links... Yeah, yeah, I know... But there's a reason. First... I found this blog the other day, and I HAVE to share a specific "entry" with you... Hatesexy. Why this particular posting? It's perhaps dating myself... However, I've never seen a better collection of "music" from my rather happy youth all end up in someone else's blog... I hope you find the humour, and the delight that I did from this collection.

Now for the "list" of fun-ness: (Yes, I know that isn't a word... Deal.)

  • The Webby Awards This is an annual award thing, for the internet... You can sign up, and vote for your favourites out of the previously nominated choices for various catagories. What I've done below, is list several of MY personal favourites, and linked to them.

  • Of course, Google bought the fugger... But this is a wonderful thing... "Web-based" wordprocessor. Writely

  • Due to My Lady and Shem Booth discussing "Synaesthesia" on Motif Radio last week... I thought THIS particular link was apropos: The Colour of Sound

  • 'Cause it's strange: Justcurio.us a site that asks questions. Hmm....

  • My personal "favourite" political blogger is up for a Webby! BAGnewsNotes is a "visually" based blog about politics... I just LOVE this place!

  • We Make Money Not Art I like it simply for the title, really...

  • Great downloadable toy from Google? Google Earth

  • Lastly: Watch artists' work! Interesting site idea! ArtisanCam



Well... I'm going to end this fun wandering... And go update my "Photoblog" site. Cheerio!

-- Tuckmac

Thursday, April 13, 2006

Quick "linky" one today.

Okay... I just got out of work about an hour and a half ago... And unfortunately, with me at WORK at a rather boring job... I don't have any really nifty stuff to share with you... So...

It's a "Linky" day!


I am getting the afternoon OFF tomorrow from work, so I'll hopefully have something to actually TALK about then. Till then...

Adíos!

Tuckmac

Monday, April 10, 2006

Hmm.. Nice weather... I forgot what this is like.

No offence against Britain... But WOW! How I missed nice weather!

I came out onto the back deck with my laptop today at 6:30pm (CST) and...

It was 78°F (25.5°C).

Can you bloody well BELIEVE IT???

Man... I've missed nice weather... It's meant to rain tomorrow... So I'm trying to enjoy this as long as I can. I am out on the deck with a nice stiff Irish whiskey... A pack of fags (cigs, to you Yanks - Get your minds out of the gutter!) and my computer... How much more can a guy ask for??? I ask you? Really?

Ah... Life.

Well... Um... Yeah. So, like... I went to work today.

That's it.

And I'm ending this entry now... I am almost out of whiskey... So...

Here's a fun link, to give you SOME reason for coming here... And it's dedicated to my British friends, dealing with tonnes of rain in the forcast:

Gene Kelly "breakdances" to Singing in the rain.

Ciao!

--T

Sunday, April 09, 2006

Hmm... Sunday Blog

Hi readers. I know that very few of you (if any) actually read my Blog on a Sunday. However, I also realise that my blogging is bound to be a bit sparse in the next few weeks, as this project that I'm working on is insane. I'm not going to kvetch any more about it... It's a job. I'm happy.

Anyhoo... To catch you up on the inane details of my life.

I work in Brooklyn Center which is on the other side of the Twin Cities from Bloomington. It's a haul, as they say... And the rush-hour traffic is horrific.

I did get a chance to go out and make some more photos yesterday... So... Make sure you check out my photo-blog in the next couple of weeks to see my newer pics... Tucker's Photo-Blog

Fiona worked very hard last week... At the The Soap and also on getting the newest programme of Motif Radio on-line. I wasn't really involved in any REAL production for this episode, but you can hear my "honeyed tones" reading several "bits" for the show. She's also been slaving away in the studio, and after a brief trip to the art-supply store yesterday, Fiona is now crafting a mould that she's going to use to make "telephone" thinggys... For an upcoming performance piece.

I've not worked on "art" much this week, due to the job, however... I am working on a piece for a new "art-magazine" created by a good artist and friend, Abi. (You can check out HER "web-presence" here)

Now for a funny picture... Fiona working in the studio (actually, it's in MY studio) on Motif Radio last weekend... Recording a typewriter noise:



Okay... Now for a bit of other fun stuff... (There's a bit of irony in that statement, by the way)

A long and drawn-out argument about the Twin-Cities' media outlets can be found here, written by Mike Mosedale. Good on you, Mike... Good on you.

Okay... So the problem with "Impeaching Bush" is this... Cheney's next. So, really... We have to impeach both Bush and Cheney... But then the Speaker of the House is put in charge. Hastert is as big an ass as both Bush and Cheney seem to be. Bloody hell... The U.S. is in serious trouble. But Damn do I love Vermont. I could actually move there, if it weren't so bloody far away from Minnesota. Nope... If the Republican's get back into office after BUSH, then Fi and I are moving back to Britain... Even if this A-hole is in office by then.

Gah... My entire world is falling apart!!! Gods... Please help us... PLEASE!

-- T

Friday, April 07, 2006

Um... Wow.

All right... Obviously...

Tuckmac working is a time-waster.

I've been missing my blog ALL WEEK, practically. And frankly... I'm just going to have to figure out a new system. You see...

(I'm under a confidentiality agreement so there's not much I can go into)

But I'm scoring standardised test essays for a particular southern state, here in Minnesota... For a big "scoring" company.

The folks that run this company are actually rather nice to work for... However, the job is really difficult.

I've just been through three days of training... (Basically learning what this 'southern state' wants us to look for in the papers) and then we read "scanned" handwritten documents on a computer screen, and then mark the essay with the appropriate marks.

The problem is trying to figure out the bloody appropriate marks... It's not an easy job. The quote of the week?

I asked a fellow employee (who's been doing this sort of job for years) if he could tell me what the job was "like." You know... I was trying to get the "feel" of it. Anyhoo... This is gorgeous:

"It's an intellectual sweat-shop"

Yep... That just about sums it up.

And on that happy note... I'm going to get off the computer (as I've been staring at one for the past eight hours, trying to decipher student's writing on a scanned image.

Gah.

Smiles,
T

Tuesday, April 04, 2006

Ugh.

Dudes and Dudettes...

Man... Having a job SUCKS!

Well... Okay, that's a bit rough, but... GAH!

Okay... I'm going to be scoring standardised test essays... Right now, I'm in "training" which consists of spending about three thousand years learning to score the way they WANT you to score, rather than the way you normally would (as a former teacher).

It makes sense. As we're meant to give (on a scale of 1 to 4) 4's to people who don't seem to be able to write at ALL.

I mean, seriously... What happened to our educational system here in the U.S.?

It's appalling.

Och weel... It's a job. I don't know how long this "temp" job is going to last... It's meant to run for four to six weeks... But there may be "another" set of essays to grade after this "current" project... So I may be able to extend the run longer.

Heck... I'm getting PAID. So... I really can't complain.

I'm sorry to my "British" readers, as I'm writing this a bit after 6:00 pm (CST) and thus it's midnight in Britain... However... You'll just think I didn't blog today, and read this tomorrow which is really just fine too... No more "uploads" during the day... Not for this "working stiff."

That's all for today folks... My apologies, but I'm knackered.

Love ya!
--T

Monday, April 03, 2006

Okay, addendum today...

Arrgh...

All right... I already posted today (see below) but I couldn't help but to post again in order to allow a brief rant:

Reading the Washington Post today, and came across this article:
'War' on Christians Is Alleged
Conference Depicts a Culture Hostile to Evangelical Beliefs


The biter for this one? Tom DeLay (yeah, that one) said this little doozy:
    In a luncheon speech yesterday, DeLay took issue with the "chattering classes" who think there is no war on Christians.

    "We are after all a society that abides abortion on demand, that has killed millions of innocent children, that degrades the institution of marriage and often treats Christianity like some second-rate superstition. Seen from this perspective, of course there is a war on Christianity," he said.

I mean, come ON... First off a douche-bag like DeLay speaking about his "faith" and pretending to be a good Christian, just cheeses me the fuck off... But beyond the vehicle for this particular piece of horse-manure, I mean... I mean...

GAH!!!

Another quote from the article:
    To many of the 400 evangelicals packed into a small ballroom at the Omni Shoreham Hotel, it was a hard but necessary look at moral relativism, hedonism and Christophobia, or fear of Christ, to pick just a few terms offered by various speakers referring to the enemy

Moral relativism? Hedonism?? and Christophobia???

Christophobia, the fear of Christ. That's a new one on me, when discussing AMERICA! For crying out loud...

I find it interesting that I am treating Christians like the "Jews of the 21st Century" (also from the article). Please... I don't think that that's a fair assessment. I mean, Hitler was actually WRONG to kill Jewish people... I'm not so certain we should...

Just kidding... I'm not going to finish that thought. But you know where I was going.

Folks... I was raised as a good little Irish-Catholic boy. I went to Catholic Schools... I was baptised, confirmed, Catholic.

Christ is a good friend of mine... I really like the guy, I prayed to him for 25 years of my life. The fact that I've stopped praying to Christ isn't 'cause I've become a hedonist, nor is it because I'm morally relativistic. No, it's 'cause of the damn Christians.

When my mother worries that I've "fallen away" from the Church (bless her) I keep trying to explain my reasoning... But simply it's this: If you read the Bible, I mean... Really, read, the, Bible... You will start to see just what's wrong with organised religion today.

Christ (in speaking with the Pharisees) said: There are but two commandments... Love God before all other things, and Love your neighbour as yourself.

Love.

That's it, folks... Love. That's Christ's message to the planet Earth. And what do we get from our churches?

Constitutional Amendments on Gay Marriage (banning it) Where's the love?
War in Iraq is a Crusade against the Muslim Heathen... Where's the love?
Helping the Poor? Na... Euthanasia is more important to argue about. Where's the love?
Abortion is evil (ban it) But to hell with the mother... Where's the love?

I could continue.

Again, I'm finding myself having to defend those of us that don't go to a church... Don't believe in spreading OUR particular brand of "religion" to others through force... Believe that God/god/Yahweh/Allah/Krishna are all elements of the same universal beauty...

Man. I'm just so cheesed off...

I don't have "Christophobia" I have "Christianophobia" and hopefully you'll understand the semantic difference.

--- Tuckmac

MAN....What a deal.

Sorry... That was very "Minnesotan" of me... "What a deal." "Heckuva Deal" "That's a bad deal, you have there."

Deal... One of the more versatile words in the Minnesotan lexicon.

Anyhoo, hello readers. It's a glorious Monday in Minnesota. The sun is shining, after a long day of soaking rain yesterday... The rivers are at "flood stage" Weather.

Some random guy was shot on the street this weekend, downtown Minneapolis. And it was actually random. Some nut-job with a gun just started firing into a crowd on the street!

My Lady drove to the The Soap Factory in N.E. Minneapolis for the first time by herself yesterday. (Again, she's from Britain, and driving in Minnesota on the other side of the road, and trying to figure out a grid-system is actually a bit of a bear). And whilst driving, the rear-tire (tyre) blew out. Thus making for a nice saga of the tire thing... All day yesterday. (The car's at the local garage today)

And... In even MORE personal news: I'm feeling like death. Well, not actually THAT bad I suppose... But I've been having the traditional "Tuckmac Tummy Complaint" for the past couple of days. And I'm starting my job tomorrow morning. Gah. I'm hoping that I feel better tomorrow. Especially as I have to get up and leave the house by 6:30 am! Gah! When one's been sleeping in, till 8:30am every day for four months... I have a feeling tomorrow is going to be one hell of a rude awakening. (Pun intended.)

Smiles readers... Wish me luck!

-- T

Saturday, April 01, 2006

Nothing's really happening... Thus:

Funny "link" day:

Okay... So, if you're vaguely internet-savvy, or if you just troll around occasionally... You've probably heard/seen/watched the Saturday Night Live "short film" entitled "Lazy Sunday" or "Narnia Raps" or the "Chroni-WHAT-cles of Narnia." (You can find the video by going HERE and going to the "videos" and scrolling down a bit... Sorry, no direct link.)

Anyhoo... I found a nice "British" piece by two kids from Cambridge that is actually BETTER than the original. "Lazy Sunday: UK Narnia Rap"

I just watched it again... And I'm still laughing. I'm pretty sure that even Yanks will get the humour.

Okay... So some of my Yank readers, and even a few friends from the UK may remember me going on and on about "Muhna-Muhna" like doing things like singing "Menomonee - Do-do-do do do." Well... Here's the original clip of the Muppet Show's Muhna-muhna.

By the way... You can see tonnes of funny clips going to Devil Ducky

Okay kids... That's all for today. Hopefully you'll get a smile.

-- T