Valerion's Page

"I don't know what 'homophobic' means...."

2008-07-21T15:26:21Z

Oklahoma County Commissioner Brent Rinehart released a campaign "cartoon book" that attacks his rival's stance on accepting homosexuals. The entire interview on CNN is full of Brent Rinehart saying that the country is in a "cultural war" and the few images from his "cartoon book" that we get to see are so preposterous that I have a hard time believing that he doesn't know the meaning of the word "homophobic." He also states that he doesn't care if he misspelled the word "pedophile" as "pedifile."

The CNN interview.

(And if anyone knows how to embed CNN video- despite their lack of an embed code- I would love to find out.)

Two Word Batman Review

2008-07-19T05:53:44Z

Fucking Awesome!

Recommendation: Go see it. Heath Ledger's performance as the Joker was simply amazing, giving this character a whole new perspective. (Although I found some interesting parallels between this and Tim Burton's Batman.) The Joker was over the top and stole the show.

And if you can go see it at the brand new AMC 16 at the Southcenter Mall then you will see it in digital projection.

Added bonus: The Watchmen trailer is at the head of the movie.

Dr Horrible!

2008-07-16T16:12:36Z

Although I truly want one of these: Captain Hammer Shirt!

From Yesterday's PI

2008-07-15T15:06:25Z

There was an article about the local mega-church Mars Hill (six branches now open plus one more coming soon in Olympia serving 7000+ people) in the PI yesterday. The majority of it was an interview with the pastor of the newest branch in Bellevue. At one point the interviewer asked the pastor about why is it the church would not allow women to be pastors and what his thoughts were about California legalizing marriage for gays. His responses were laughable.

Why aren't there any female pastors at Mars Hill?

We believe that's a role God has given to men. He's given roles for women in our church as well, but the office of "elder," we believe, is reserved for men -- for one reason or another. We'll find out (why) in eternity, I suppose.

The thing that makes us successful is the power of God's word, which is the Bible. When we compromise on that, we do damage to what God wants us to do. The power of this church isn't us, it's God. We're really not driving this ship at all.

But we believe that without women, the church wouldn't be able to exist. Women can be deacons. Women can do just about anything in a church. When people check us out, their perception of chauvinism goes away when they realize the high regard we have for women -- the high calling we place on men to care for them.

Your home state of California just legalized gay marriage. What do you think of that?

Um. Well. I think it's interesting. I don't know how to answer that. (Later, not wanting to duck the question, he expanded his answer). I believe God's instituted marriage between a man and a woman.

The rest of the interview can be found here.

valeri0n @ 2008-07-14T07:37:00

2008-07-14T14:50:06Z

Movie meme acquired from tzaddi_93
Here's Entertainment Weekly's list of the top movies of the last 25 years. Go through their list and BOLD the ones you have seen, ITALICIZE those you love/would watch over and over again, STRIKE OUT those you dislike strongly or really would rather never see again.

1. Pulp Fiction (1994)

2. The Lord of the Rings trilogy (2001-03)

3. Titanic (1997)

4. Blue Velvet (1986)

5. Toy Story (1995)

6. Saving Private Ryan (1998)

7. Hannah and Her Sisters (1986)

8. The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

9. Die Hard (1988)

~~10. Moulin Rouge (2001)~~

11. This Is Spinal Tap (1984)

12. The Matrix (1999)

13. GoodFellas (1990)

14. Crumb (1995)

15. Edward Scissorhands (1990)

16. Boogie Nights (1997)

17. Jerry Maguire (1996)

18. Do the Right Thing (1989)

19. Casino Royale (2006)

20. The Lion King (1994)

21. Schindler's List (1993)

22. Rushmore (1998)

23. Memento (2001)

~~24. A Room With a View (1986)~~

25. Shrek (2001)

26. Hoop Dreams (1994)

27. Aliens (1986)

28. Wings of Desire (1988)

29. The Bourne Supremacy (2004)

30. When Harry Met Sally... (1989)

31. Brokeback Mountain (2005)

32. Fight Club (1999)

33. The Breakfast Club (1985)

34. Fargo (1996)

35. The Incredibles (2004)

36. Spider-Man 2 (2004)

37. Pretty Woman (1990)

38. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)

39. The Sixth Sense (1999)

40. Speed (1994)

41. Dazed and Confused (1993)

42. Clueless (1995)

43. Gladiator (2000)

44. The Player (1992)

45. Rain Man (1988)

46. Children of Men (2006)

47. Men in Black (1997)

48. Scarface (1983)

49. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)

50. The Piano (1993)

51. There Will Be Blood (2007)

52. The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad (1988)

53. The Truman Show (1998)

54. Fatal Attraction (1987)

55. Risky Business (1983)

56. The Lives of Others (2006)

57. There's Something About Mary (1998)

58. Ghostbusters (1984)

59. L.A. Confidential (1997)

60. Scream (1996)

61. Beverly Hills Cop (1984)

62. sex, lies and videotape (1989)

63. Big (1988)

64. No Country For Old Men (2007)

65. Dirty Dancing (1987)

66. Natural Born Killers (1994)

67. Donnie Brasco (1997)

68. Witness (1985)

69. All About My Mother (1999)

70. Broadcast News (1987)

71. Unforgiven (1992)

72. Thelma and Louise (1991)

73. Office Space (1999)

74. Drugstore Cowboy (1989)

75. Out of Africa (1985)

76. The Departed (2006)

77. Sid and Nancy (1986)

78. Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)

79. Waiting for Guffman (1996)

80. Michael Clayton (2007)

81. Moonstruck (1987)

~~82. Lost in Translation (2003)~~

83. Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn (1987)

~~84. Sideways (2004)~~

85. The 40 Year Old Virgin

86. Y Tu Mamá También (2002)

87. Swingers (1996)

88. Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997)

89. Breaking the Waves (1996)

90. Napoleon Dynamite (2004)

91. Back to the Future (1985)

92. Menace II Society (1993)

93. Ed Wood (1994)

94. Full Metal Jacket (1987)

95. In the Mood for Love (2001)

96. Far From Heaven (2002)

97. Glory (1989)

98. The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999)

~~99. The Blair Witch Project (1999)~~

~~100. South Park: Bigger Longer & Uncut (1999)~~

ARRRGH!

2008-07-11T02:09:44Z

Well, there is one less stressor in my life. The trip to Chile, for me at least, has been cancelled. The company we are dealing with cannot get me to where I need to be until the 20th of July. This just is not an acceptable date as the time spent down there would have me coming back sometime in the first week of August and that is waaaayyyy too close to the wedding date.

It would have been some damn good money, but no amount of money will make me miss 17 August. sigh

Theremins

2008-07-08T16:04:55Z

thatcaptjim mentioned theremins in a post earlier today and I found this video of a Zepplin tribute band that I had to post.

Enjoy!

valeri0n @ 2008-07-06T23:32:00

2008-07-07T06:36:04Z

There might actually be a bathroom forming in the basement.

For those of you that have seen our basement previously would be amazed to see that there is an actual bathroom there now. Not yet functional, but there is a bathroom. All that is left is hanging drywall, tiling, installing lights and plumbing fixtures sink and toilet.

There might just be a whole completely new basement down there in the near future.

Hey huddyn

2008-07-06T16:43:23Z

I just posted some pics from your wedding onto my flickr account. Thought you might want to check them out.

Forgot to post this a couple of days ago....

2008-07-03T15:57:17Z

Happy One Year, my dear u2rgoddess.

Love you, wildly, madly, truly, deeply, completely.

English quiz

2008-07-02T15:14:09Z

Thanks to touchstoneaf

Most of the questions I got are the ones that tend to hit my buttons in written and spoken English.

Your result for The Commonly Confused Words Test ...

English Genius

You scored 100% Beginner, 100% Intermediate, 87% Advanced, and 100% Expert!

You did so extremely well, even I can't find a word to describe your excellence! You have the uncommon intelligence necessary to understand things that most people don't. You have an extensive vocabulary, and you're not afraid to use it properly! Way to go!

Thank you so much for taking my test. I hope you enjoyed it!

http://helloquizzy.okcupid.com/tests/the-commonly-confused-words-test/

This is just plain stupid

2008-06-30T04:48:34Z

Teacher suspended for using Freedom Writer's Diary as a teaching aid.

The long and short of it is that a teacher was suspended for allowing her inner city students a chance to read a book written by and about other inner city students who used their high school English class as a way to get ahead and g on to college. Not only did the teacher send home permission slips to 150 parents all but one parent said the book was ok for their children to read. The school board disagreed and told her to stop using the book in her classroom. She refused to follow the order and was suspended for 18 months without pay because the school board did not agree with the "coarse language" used in the book. Ironically the book is available in the school's library for check out.

Talk about censorship and going against the will of the parents. If 149 out of 150 parents said their children could/should read the book because of the lesson it teaches then the school board should listen to the parents and not their own high-falutin morals.

A meme

2008-06-28T15:41:27Z

Just because everyone else is doing it.....

Bold all the things you have done

01. Bought everyone in the pub a drink

02. Swam with wild dolphins
03. Climbed a mountain
04. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
05. Been inside the Great Pyramid
06. Held a tarantula
07. Taken a candlelit bath with someone
08. Said "I love you" and meant it
09. Hugged a tree
10. Done a striptease
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Stayed up all night long, and watch the sun rise
15. Seen the Northern Lights
16. Gone to a huge sports game
17. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa
18. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
19. Touched an iceberg
20. Slept under the stars
21. Changed a baby's diaper
22. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
23. Watched a meteor shower
24. Gotten drunk on champagne
25. Given more than you can afford to charity
26. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
27. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
28. Had a food fight
29. Bet on a winning horse
30. Taken a sick day when you're not ill
31. Asked out a stranger
32. Had a snowball fight
33. Photocopied your bottom on the office photocopier
34. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
35. Held a lamb
36. Enacted a favorite fantasy
37. Taken a midnight skinny dip
38. Taken an ice cold bath
39. Had a meaningful conversation with a beggar
40. Seen a total eclipse
41. Ridden a roller coaster
42. Hit a home run
43. Fit three weeks miraculously into three days
44. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking
45. Adopted an accent for an entire day
46. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
47. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
48. Had two hard drives for your computer
49. Visited all 50 states.
50. Loved your job for all accounts
51. Taken care of someone who was shit faced
52. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
53. Had amazing friends
54. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
55. Watched wild whales
56. Stolen a sign
57. Backpacked in Europe
58. Taken a road-trip
59. Rock climbing
60. Lied to foreign government's official in that country to avoid notice
61. Midnight walk on the beach
62. Sky diving
63. Visited Ireland
64. Been heartbroken longer then you were actually in love
65. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger's table and had a meal with them
66. Visited Japan
67. Bench pressed your own weight
68. Milked a cow
69. Alphabetized your records
70. Pretended to be a superhero
71. Sung karaoke
72. Lounged around in bed all day
73. Posed nude in front of strangers
74. Scuba diving
75. Got it on to "Let's Get It On" by Marvin Gaye
76. Kissed in the rain
77. Played in the mud
78. Played in the rain
79. Gone to a drive-in theatre
80. Done something you should regret, but don't regret it
81. Visited the Great Wall of China
82. Discovered that someone who's not supposed to have known about your blog has discovered your blog
83. Dropped Windows in favour of something better
84. Started a business
85. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
86. Toured ancient sites
87. Taken a martial arts class
88. Sword fought for the honour of a woman
89. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight
90. Gotten married
91. Been in a movie
92. Crashed a party
93. Loved someone you shouldn't have
94. Kissed someone so passionately it made them dizzy
95. Gotten divorced
96. Had sex at the office
97. Gone without food for 5 days
98. Made cookies from scratch
99. Won first prize in a costume contest
100. Ridden a gondola in Venice
101. Gotten a tattoo
102. Found that the texture of some materials can turn you on
103. Rafted the Snake River
104. Been on television news programs as an "expert"
105. Got flowers for no reason
106. Masturbated in a public place
107. Got so drunk you don't remember anything
108. Been addicted to some form of illegal drug
109. Performed on stage
110. Been to Las Vegas
111. Recorded music
112. Eaten shark
113. Had a one-night stand
114. Gone to Thailand
115. Seen Siouxsie live
116. Bought a house
117. Been in a combat zone
118. Buried one/both of your parents
119. Shaved or waxed your pubic hair off
120. Been on a cruise ship
121. Spoken more than one language fluently
122. Gotten into a fight while attempting to defend someone
123. Bounced a check
124. Performed in Rocky Horror
125. Read - and understood - your credit report
126. Raised children
127. Recently bought and played with a favourite childhood toy
128. Followed your favourite band/singer on tour
129. Created and named your own constellation of stars
130. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
131. Found out something significant that your ancestors did
132. Called or written your Member of Congress
132a. Had them write back
133. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
134. ... more than once?
135. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
136. Sang loudly in the car, and didn't stop when you knew someone was looking
137. Had an abortion or your female partner did
138. Had plastic surgery
139. Survived an accident that you shouldn't have survived
140. Wrote articles for a large publication
141. Lost over 100 pounds
142. Held someone while they were having a flashback
143. Piloted an airplane
144. Petted a stingray
145. Broken someone's heart
146. Helped an animal give birth
147. Been fired or laid off from a job
148. Won money on a TV radio game show
149. Broken a bone
150. Killed a human being
151. Gone on an African photo safari
152. Ridden a motorcycle
153. Driven any land vehicle at a speed of greater than 100mph
154. Had a body part of yours below the neck pierced
155. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol
156. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild
157. Ridden a horse
158. Had major surgery
159. Had sex on a moving train
160. Had a snake as a pet
161. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
162. Slept through an entire flight: takeoff, flight, and landing
163. Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours
164. Visited more foreign countries than US states
165. Visited all 7 continents
166. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
167. Eaten kangaroo meat
168. Fallen in love at an ancient Mayan burial ground
169. Been a sperm or egg donor
170. Eaten sushi
171. Had your picture in the newspaper
172. Had 2 (or more) healthy romantic relationships for over a year in your lifetime
173. Changed someone's mind about something you care deeply about
174. Gotten someone fired for their actions
175. Gone back to school
176. Parasailed
177. Changed your name
178. Petted a cockroach
179. Eaten fried green tomatoes
180. Read The Iliad
181. Selected one "important" author who you missed in school and read
182. Dined in a restaurant and stolen silverware, plates, cups because your apartment needed them
183. ... and gotten 86'ed from the restaurant because you did it so many times, they figured out it was you
184. Taught yourself art from scratch
185. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
186. Apologized to someone years after inflicting the hurt
187. Skipped all your school reunions (so far...)
188. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
189. Been elected to public office
190. Written your own computer language
191. Thought to yourself that you're living your dream
192. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
193. Built your own PC from parts
194. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn't know you
195. Had a booth at a street fair
196. Dyed your hair
197. Been a DJ
198. Found out someone was going to dump you via LiveJournal
199. Written your own role playing game
200. Been arrested

On hold AGAIN!!!

2008-06-28T02:17:49Z

Grumble.... My trip to Chile continues to be on hold until the company we are going to be assisting gets the last of the logistics figured out for us to transport over $100,000 worth of portable x-ray and other equipment there and back again. grumblegrumblegrumble....

Nasty Bad Pagans

2008-06-27T16:15:18Z

thanks to moon_goat for this.

On Wednesday Kathy Lee Gifford during a live broadcast of the Today show called Pagans "nasty, bad." If you wish to help petition an on air apology then follow the link to the care2 site.

No more Arctic Ice Cap?

2008-06-27T15:39:48Z

Could happen this summer.

Jedi Meme

2008-06-26T15:29:14Z

oh yeah!

Stolen from rebelprivateer

how jedi are you? :: by lawrie malen

Fremont Solstice Parade

2008-06-24T15:50:11Z

Ok, The pics of our friends at the Solstice Parade are up.

Chile

2008-06-23T20:29:15Z

The trip is a go. Currently scheduled to leave some time on Thursday and expected return is anywhere from ten days to two weeks.

Time for bag packing.

For jibb

2008-06-23T14:22:24Z

Here is a pic for you.

So Long to the Class Clown

2008-06-23T14:04:10Z

CNN Article.

Your acerbic wit and wonderful play on words will be missed as well as your astute observations and cracks on the government and organized religions. You gave many of us much to laugh at over the years. Farewell George Carlin. May you entertain on the other side of the veil.

Dice

2008-06-21T23:36:09Z

Take the quiz at dicepool.com

Only Japan...

2008-06-19T15:42:52Z

for now.

3D TV

http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/biztech/06/19/hyundaitv.ap/index.html

Vying for a Darwin Award

2008-06-19T15:16:35Z

Officer bitten by "laughing" alligator

VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. -- Three Central Florida deputies are being reprimanded after an officer was bitten and hospitalized by an 8-foot alligator.

Deputy Keith Baughman, 39, responded to calls of a large alligator loose in the parking lot of the Brightside Apartments located on Caribbean Street in May.

Baughman and other deputies found the alligator roaming the area.

Witnesses said the deputy threw a towel on the alligator, jumped on its back and tried to wrestle it. Baughman was thrown off the back and then bitten, witnesses said.

"His pants ripped up and blood was gushing out and everything," witness Carlos Martinez said. "He started limping away and the alligator was laughing at him. The dude then shot it twice in the head.

"The Volusia County Sheriff's Office said a second officer, Deputy Jason Stickles, 27, shot the alligator repeatedly.

"I said, 'Don't shoot it,'" witness Jasmin Harris said. "Just wait until the animal people come out. I don't know why they shot it in the first place. They shouldn't have jumped on it. That wasn't their job."

The alligator was hit but did not die and continued to roam the apartment complex.

A trapper eventually came out and killed the animal with a bang stick.

Officials said Baughman and the other officers received the reprimand for not following policy.

Watch Local 6 News for more on this story.

I am....

2008-06-19T04:08:59Z