Skateboarding to the Left, to the Right

I should never have commented on the jumping skateboard boys. Now that I've commented, I'm seeing them everywhere. They're even vanishing on me!

Last night I came around the corner and there was a couple of boys doing the traditional skateboard straight-up jump, failing to make a nice landing, as usual. I got right to the garage, got my cell phone out, I was going to snap a picture of them through the garage window, and they were gone. Within 30 seconds! I went running to the front door and out. I looked up the street, down the street, across the street, and even over on a different street. But they had vanished. It was weird.

Since then, I saw another kid somewhere else today, doing the flipping into the air thing, without success. And lastly, so far lastly, I happened to be looking across the road and there was two more boys (or maybe it was one) flipping it into the air, then tipping it up at a 45 degree angle.

They're everywhere!

More Skateboarding

I chanced to observe another earnest kid, a teenager, working at his skateboard. Kind of hunching, hulking over it, his head down, eyes trained on the board, then doing his best to flip it up in the air, turn it over, or whatever.

It looked like an unsuccessful attempt, but I only could see one attempt while driving by.

Skateboarding

I saw something amazing today, something I'm glad I lived long enough to see. And in a way I saw it twice, but let's just go with the first one first:

I saw a kid on a skateboard who seemed to be using it as a means of transportation. That is, he was going from here to somewhere else, in a straight line, on a course that, if pursued, would get him there.

This is amazing for obvious reasons. As we all know, skateboards were apparently made for simply standing on and trying to flip over, or to jump curbs. That's about all you ever see anyway, kids endlessly trying and failing, trying and failing, then occasionally succeeding, to flip it over and remain upright.

The other incident -- and this isn't as rare -- was a kid on one of those two wheel skateboards, which must be fairly new -- new to me -- and he also was going from one place to another. But these look like they're designed more for getting around, and they look like they ride in a smoother way.

Later in the day, then, my normal sensibilities were restored, when I was driving along and saw a kid with a skateboard. He waited for me to pass, then I looked in the rearview mirror in time to see him standing on it and trying to flip it over. Of course he failed.

Gitmo: Nice Play to Live

Senility Alert #7452:

During a question-and-answer session with Walter Isaacson today, Sen. John McCain said Guantanamo Bay is “one of the nicest places in the world to live in.”

Let's see, a detention camp, barbed wire, a little cell, no way out... Yes, that sounds most pleasant.

Spiritual/Political Absurdities

We find it hard to believe these things are being discussed as though any of it makes any rational sense whatsoever:

John McCain's campaign ad "The One" has generated a lot of buzz regarding the "Left Behind Series." Political commentators are comparing McCain's portrayal of competitor Barack Obama with the blockbuster apocalyptic series' depiction of the antichrist. But even the series authors Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins don't think Obama is the antichrist. What may have been created as a farce has generated a firestorm of controversy on the internet.

"I can see by the language he uses why people think he could be the antichrist," adds LaHaye, "but from my reading of scripture, he doesn't meet the criteria. There is no indication in the Bible that the antichrist will be an American."

The article goes on to consider seriously the fictional Antichrist character of the "Left Behind" books, as though there could be any clue there about Obama. Look through history; the track record on identifying "the Antichrist" is so far a big fat zero.

This is simply stunning stuff for the ignorance of it all. If there's ever a book called "The Decline and Fall of the United States of America," by one of Gibbon's descendants, there will surely be a chapter on this kind of thing!

UPDATE: The actual truth, of course, is that Ronald Reagan faked his death, and is even now in an underground lair in California, directing world events. He is the true Antichrist, twisting knobs at a big media console, planting devious thought seeds in every enemy of the good. He wears a helmet sort of like the one Ming wears in Buck Rogers movies.

Horray for Mike Myers!

McCain featured Dana Carvey and Mike Myers in a scene from Wayne's World ("We're not worthy") in one of his scurvy ads.

Myers' people called and threatened McCain with legal action unless they took it down. They did, and released an edited version.

What really is wrong with this twerp, McCain? Can't he be a serious candidate, and let us know his serious plans for the country? What positive reason would anyone have to vote for him? He's simply worthless in every way.

Horray for Mike Myers! Except if I have the bucks these guys have, I don't threaten, know what I mean?

Cokie Roberts Thinks Hawaii is "Foreign"

A tip of the hat to "Hope Reborn's" diary at Daily Kos, with some great pictures.

John McCain has been trying to paint true American Barack Obama as "foreign," and now he's getting some help from Cokie Roberts. Obama was born in Hawaii and went there for his vacation. He has family there. She calls this a bad move, because Hawaii is "foreign."

So, one of the United States is actually foreign? 50 states, right? 50 stars on the flag, right? All about the same size? Not 49 regular stars and one tiny one with an asterisk. This is absurd.

"Hope Reborn" has some great pictures, videos, and things, including one of a memorial to Pearl Harbor. You might recall, Pearl Harbor wasn't "foreign" in 1941. We went to war right after it was attacked.

Cokie, such a tool.

First to Know

I'm going to be "the first to know" who Sen. Obama chooses to be his running mate. True story.

Barack Obama is about to make one of the most important decisions of this campaign -- choosing a running mate.

You have helped build this movement from the bottom up, and Barack wants you to be the first to know his choice.

This is going to be exciting, I hope. I'll be walking around with this knowledge and everyone will be going, "So who was it?" But of course I can keep a secret, so my lip's zipped.

If I ever choose to reveal it to the world, please check back here because this is where I will post it, if I ever do.

Or, I guess -- and this won't be as fun for me -- you can click the link and also be the "first to know."

8-8-8

How big a deal is 08-08-08? I guess it isn't really a big deal.

Unless Nostradamus said something about it. Did he?

It's just a nice coming together of digits, with several arbitrary elements. But it's OK. Eight has to be one of the fattest feeling numbers, plump on the bottom, equally plump on top. It's a very feminine number, the curvy look. What other things could be said for it? It seems like the number of "too much" or "an added bonus." If you think of seven as the number of completion -- which is the way it's referred to a lot -- eight is one more, therefore a bonus.

You can roll in on all eights, flip 'em over and roll back out!

The Polyphonic Spree

Have you ever heard the song, "Section 10 (A Long Day)" by The Polyphonic Spree?

I had never heard it before, and was listening to the album while writing a blog post. Since I'm basically concentrating on writing that -- the article "I'm Withholding Judgment," on John Edwards having or maybe not having a love child -- I'm not paying strict attention to this track playing in my earbuds.

It's fine as background, then I start to notice that it's going on for a while, and that it's a lot of prolonged, mechanical sounding tones played without a lot of variance and melody. So I look at the CD cover and it's timed at 36:30! That's interesting.

There's like 26 or 29 people in this group, but I don't think they all had a part in this track.

It doesn't sound like a track for listening to if you're just listening to songs. But if you're doing something else, it's kind of a nice! I heard the whole thing, which might not happen that often.

McCain AWOL Since April, Wants Congress to "Work"

Let's see, if you're a senator who hasn't been at your job in Congress literally since last April, and it's now August, maybe you're the last guy who should be insisting that Congress get back to work!

The Next Cheney

The Democratic party is getting ready for John McCain's veep pick. There's a website in advance of the announcement, called "The Next Cheney."

Included there is a rogue's gallery of some of the possibilities. Whether any of them would ever live down to Dick Cheney's abysmal standards, I hope we never have to find out. It's a scary prospect, though, something best left to stories told around the bonfire at Halloween.

And speaking of Halloween, there's an interesting quote over there that really just about puts the last nail in the coffin of whatever was left alive of McCain's judgment. "With a little more luck, I might have been able to ask you to be my Vice-President." — John McCain to Dick Cheney, 10/23/01.

Please join me in a horrified cry: "God forbid that John McCain ever becomes president!"

Don't falme me pleas

That's funny, a pathetic little nothing of a diary, by Joan Evan.

But this part makes it worthwhile, a true LOL moment:

"Don't falme me pleas"

Merry Christmas

Well, it's August! So let me be the first to wish you a Merry Christmas.

It is a blessed time of year, certainly, and it revives the ancient hope that all of us have, of "Peace on Earth, good will toward men."

And it also has its fun side -- no big secret there -- since most of us have great memories of what we're going to get, what Santa has put in our little sock, and of the family meal and gathering. And who can forget visions of sugarplums?

May all the joy of the holidays be yours this year, from my family to yours! Merry Christmas, everyone!