Watch out for falling cows....
FINEST KIND CLINIC AND FISHMARKET.... Discussing medicine, culture, and the joys of cooking Pansit.
Friday, November 10, 2006
Headlines below the fold
Two and a half million migrant workers, and probably double that if you count illegals...
The migrant problem has hit Bangkok
Here in the Philippines, the police raided a cloistered convent looking for a communist fugative...the bad news is that they didn't find him, but a lot of people remember that it was things like this that caused Marcos to be booted out, and are sharpening their pens in glee...
You think the moonbat/wingnut wars of the US are bad? Try living here...politics is a blood sport, second only to cockfights in causing violent arguments...
And the most clueless churchman of the day award goes to a Brit who lamented that people should wear white poppies instead of red ones for Rememberance Day tomorrow...because red is the symbol of war, "...there is no redemption in war."
guess he doesn't know that opium comes from white poppies...
Attention Patna tax cheats: Pay up, or they'll send Singing Eunuchs to collect...
Hmmm...wonder if we could get some hairdressers to volunteer to hit tax cheat here in the Philippines...it might work...
The migrant problem has hit Bangkok
Here in the Philippines, the police raided a cloistered convent looking for a communist fugative...the bad news is that they didn't find him, but a lot of people remember that it was things like this that caused Marcos to be booted out, and are sharpening their pens in glee...
You think the moonbat/wingnut wars of the US are bad? Try living here...politics is a blood sport, second only to cockfights in causing violent arguments...
And the most clueless churchman of the day award goes to a Brit who lamented that people should wear white poppies instead of red ones for Rememberance Day tomorrow...because red is the symbol of war, "...there is no redemption in war."
guess he doesn't know that opium comes from white poppies...
Attention Patna tax cheats: Pay up, or they'll send Singing Eunuchs to collect...
Hmmm...wonder if we could get some hairdressers to volunteer to hit tax cheat here in the Philippines...it might work...
May you live in interesting Times
Perusing the blogs and news, there is a lot of confusion in the world press about what this means and about what the Democrats will do, prompting Dante Chinni in the usually sedate Christian Science Monitor to remark that it might have been better if the MSM had discussed some of these issues before the election, not the day afterward.
Well, yes. Maybe we should have heard these issues instead of stories on polls and macaca...
But, as both Lou Dobbs and Mort Kondracke note that the real win was for the moderates, not the far left (Take heed, Nancy Pelosi)...
Terry Mattingly has a summary HERE on what Steven Waldman at BeliefNet calls the loss of the "God Gap":
Democrats will now need to prove themselves worthy of centrist religious voters by altering their views on some social issues and dispelling the image that they're hostile to faith.
As for Iraq, given the negative press, the war is unpopular. Yet the world worries about an American withdrawal, while the Arab press is hoping "American extremism" is slowed (read: defense of Israel).
Yet as Bill Roggio and the latest podcast on Instapundit both point out, a lot of these "changes" in Iraq policy have been in the planning for months.
But in the long run, it will mean the end of the Pax Americana, and a major blow to Israel. That should please the European and American progressives, at least until they notice their cars and buses are going up in flames...And in the wings? China's economic expansion into Central Asia and Africa.
As the saying goes, if you want to curse someone, you bless them by saying "God grant you live in interesting times".
Well, yes. Maybe we should have heard these issues instead of stories on polls and macaca...
But, as both Lou Dobbs and Mort Kondracke note that the real win was for the moderates, not the far left (Take heed, Nancy Pelosi)...
Terry Mattingly has a summary HERE on what Steven Waldman at BeliefNet calls the loss of the "God Gap":
Democrats will now need to prove themselves worthy of centrist religious voters by altering their views on some social issues and dispelling the image that they're hostile to faith.
As for Iraq, given the negative press, the war is unpopular. Yet the world worries about an American withdrawal, while the Arab press is hoping "American extremism" is slowed (read: defense of Israel).
Yet as Bill Roggio and the latest podcast on Instapundit both point out, a lot of these "changes" in Iraq policy have been in the planning for months.
But in the long run, it will mean the end of the Pax Americana, and a major blow to Israel. That should please the European and American progressives, at least until they notice their cars and buses are going up in flames...And in the wings? China's economic expansion into Central Asia and Africa.
As the saying goes, if you want to curse someone, you bless them by saying "God grant you live in interesting times".
Thursday, November 09, 2006
How to write good
....
- Always avoid alliteration.
- Prepositions are not words to end sentences with.
- Avoid cliches like the plague—they're old hat.
- Be more or less specific.
- Placing a comma between subject and predicate, is not correct.
- Use youre spell chekker to avoid mispeling and to catch typograhpical errers.
- Don't repeat yourself, or say again what you have said before.
- Don't be redundant.
- Use the apostrophe in it's proper place and omit it when its not needed.
- Don't never use no double negatives.
- Poofread carefully to see if you any words out.
- Hopefully, you will use words correctly, irregardless of how others use them.
- Eschew obfuscation.
- No sentence fragments.
- Never use a big word when a diminutive alternative would suffice.
- Don't never use no double negatives.
- Poofread carefully to see if you any words out.
- Hopefully, you will use words correctly, irregardless of how others use them.
- Eschew obfuscation.
- If you reread your work, you can find on rereading a great deal of repetition can be by rereading and editing.
How to write longer sentences
Nine Easy Steps to Longer Sentences
by Kathy McGinty
by Kathy McGinty
Are you tired of short, direct, and simple sentences that seem to take forever to fill up a page? Are you paid by the word? In either case you can benefit by increasing the number of words in your sentences and the bulk of your writing. And it's easy if you just follow nine simple steps, many of which you may already know and practice...
Step 1: Begin to lengthen your statement by referring to studies, even if you're not aware of any studies. After all, who really cares? And if anyone challenges you, you can protect yourself by weaseling (see Step 5).Studies have found that more night jobs would keep youths off the streets.
Step 2: Replace simple words like more, jobs, night, youths, and streets with multiple syllable words of
Latin or Greek origin.
Studies have found that additional nocturnal employment would keep adolescents off thoroughfares
.......
(Go to link and read the whole thing)
Catholish
How the Catholic Bishops conference would write about making a peanut butter sandwich:
The hungry entity which creates the sandwich must never be instrumentalized as an eater. He or she is an autonomous and relational subject open to the Transcendent. The vertical section of bread constitutes the space of dialogue where the peanut butter must be able to express its pluralist and multifaceted cultural identity. On the other hand, as the Vatican II Council teaches in "Gaudium et Spes", no ingredient must be favored over another. The peanut butter and the honey must maintain their distinct identities, while mutually enriching each other with their values, in a climate of cooperation, solidarity and fraternal dialogue.
The hungry entity which creates the sandwich must never be instrumentalized as an eater. He or she is an autonomous and relational subject open to the Transcendent. The vertical section of bread constitutes the space of dialogue where the peanut butter must be able to express its pluralist and multifaceted cultural identity. On the other hand, as the Vatican II Council teaches in "Gaudium et Spes", no ingredient must be favored over another. The peanut butter and the honey must maintain their distinct identities, while mutually enriching each other with their values, in a climate of cooperation, solidarity and fraternal dialogue.
Engineering terms in plain English
1. A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT APPROACHES ARE BEING TRIED—
We are still clueless.
2. EXTENSIVE REPORT IS BEING PREPARED ON A FRESH APPROACH TO THE PROBLEM—
We just hired three kids fresh out of college.
3. CLOSE PROJECT COORDINATION—
We know who to blame.
4. MAJOR TECHNOLOGICAL BREAKTHROUGH—
It works only so so, but looks very hi-tech.
5. CUSTOMER SATISFACTION IS DELIVERED ASSURED—
We are so far behind schedule the customer is happy just to get it delivered.
6. PRELIMINARY OPERATIONAL TESTS WERE INCONCLUSIVE—
The darn thing blew up when we threw the switch.
7. TEST RESULTS WERE EXTREMELY GRATIFYING—
We are so surprised that the stupid thing works.
8. THE ENTIRE CONCEPT WILL HAVE TO BE ABANDONED—
The only person who understood the thing quit.
9. IT IS IN THE PROCESS—
It is so wrapped up in red tape that the situation is about hopeless.
10. WE WILL LOOK INTO IT—
Forget it! We have enough problems for now.
11. PLEASE NOTE AND INITIAL—
Let's spread the responsibility for the screw up.
12. GIVE US THE BENEFIT OF YOUR THINKING—
We'll listen to what you have to say as long as it doesn't interfere with what we've already done.
13. GIVE US YOUR INTERPRETATION—
I can't wait to hear this bull!
14. SEE ME OR LET'S DISCUSS—
Come into my office, I'm lonely.
15. ALL NEW—
Parts not interchangeable with the previous design.
16. RUGGED—
Too damn heavy to lift!
17. LIGHTWEIGHT—
Lighter than RUGGED.
18. YEARS OF DEVELOPMENT—
One finally worked.
19. ENERGY SAVING—
Achieved when the power switch is off.
20. LOW MAINTENANCE—
Impossible to fix if broken.
We are still clueless.
2. EXTENSIVE REPORT IS BEING PREPARED ON A FRESH APPROACH TO THE PROBLEM—
We just hired three kids fresh out of college.
3. CLOSE PROJECT COORDINATION—
We know who to blame.
4. MAJOR TECHNOLOGICAL BREAKTHROUGH—
It works only so so, but looks very hi-tech.
5. CUSTOMER SATISFACTION IS DELIVERED ASSURED—
We are so far behind schedule the customer is happy just to get it delivered.
6. PRELIMINARY OPERATIONAL TESTS WERE INCONCLUSIVE—
The darn thing blew up when we threw the switch.
7. TEST RESULTS WERE EXTREMELY GRATIFYING—
We are so surprised that the stupid thing works.
8. THE ENTIRE CONCEPT WILL HAVE TO BE ABANDONED—
The only person who understood the thing quit.
9. IT IS IN THE PROCESS—
It is so wrapped up in red tape that the situation is about hopeless.
10. WE WILL LOOK INTO IT—
Forget it! We have enough problems for now.
11. PLEASE NOTE AND INITIAL—
Let's spread the responsibility for the screw up.
12. GIVE US THE BENEFIT OF YOUR THINKING—
We'll listen to what you have to say as long as it doesn't interfere with what we've already done.
13. GIVE US YOUR INTERPRETATION—
I can't wait to hear this bull!
14. SEE ME OR LET'S DISCUSS—
Come into my office, I'm lonely.
15. ALL NEW—
Parts not interchangeable with the previous design.
16. RUGGED—
Too damn heavy to lift!
17. LIGHTWEIGHT—
Lighter than RUGGED.
18. YEARS OF DEVELOPMENT—
One finally worked.
19. ENERGY SAVING—
Achieved when the power switch is off.
20. LOW MAINTENANCE—
Impossible to fix if broken.
Miscellaneous headlines
Most of the US papers are talking politics...ho hum..
Look at the good news The EVIL Republicans were going to steal the election by messing up voting machines... not....
Well, no one is complaining now...hmmm...wonder why.
Was there aLibertarian backlash? we report, you decide.
Rumsfield Resigns...prozac sales in Arlington plummet...
Bashir, the Indonesian cleric behind the Bali Bombings, tells his followers not to bomb themselves in Indonesia...go do it in the Philippines instead.
Gee, thanks a lot.
On the other hand, some good news: the oil spill is cleaning up and the Tourists are back in Guimarras.
Attention Manolo: BoingBoing has a link to a fashion show on what to wear at zero gravity; although after looking at designs I think I'll just keep on my jeans and teeshirt with a baseball cap to keep my hair down...
And the Anchoress posts a link to OPERA...that should put you to sleep...
Look at the good news The EVIL Republicans were going to steal the election by messing up voting machines... not....
Well, no one is complaining now...hmmm...wonder why.
Was there aLibertarian backlash? we report, you decide.
Rumsfield Resigns...prozac sales in Arlington plummet...
Bashir, the Indonesian cleric behind the Bali Bombings, tells his followers not to bomb themselves in Indonesia...go do it in the Philippines instead.
Gee, thanks a lot.
On the other hand, some good news: the oil spill is cleaning up and the Tourists are back in Guimarras.
Attention Manolo: BoingBoing has a link to a fashion show on what to wear at zero gravity; although after looking at designs I think I'll just keep on my jeans and teeshirt with a baseball cap to keep my hair down...
And the Anchoress posts a link to OPERA...that should put you to sleep...
21 Lines to make you smile
21 lines to make you smile
1.. My husband and I divorced over religious differences.
He thought he was God and I didn't.
2.. I Work Hard Because Millions On Welfare Depend on Me!
3.. Some people are alive only because it's illegal to kill them.
4.. I used to have a handle on life, but it broke.
5.. Don't take life too seriously; No one gets out alive.
6.. Beauty is in the eye of the beer holder.
7.. I'm not a complete idiot -- Some parts are just missing.
8.. Out of my mind. Back in five minutes.
9.. NyQuil, the stuffy, sneezy, why-the-heck-is-the-room-spinning medicine.
10.. God must love stupid people; He made so many.
11.. The gene pool could use a little chlorine.
12. Consciousness: That annoying time between naps.
13.. Ever stop to think, and forget to start again?
14.. Being "over the hill" is much better than being under it!
15. Wrinkled Was Not One of the Things I Wanted to Be When I Grew up.
16.. Procrastinate Now!
17.. I Have a Degree in Liberal Arts; Do You Want Fries With That?
18.. A hangover is the wrath of grapes.
19.. Stupidity is not a handicap. Park elsewhere!
20.. The trouble with life is there's no background music.
21.. The original point and click tool was a Smith and Wesson.
The email of the day from Col. Updraft
1.. My husband and I divorced over religious differences.
He thought he was God and I didn't.
2.. I Work Hard Because Millions On Welfare Depend on Me!
3.. Some people are alive only because it's illegal to kill them.
4.. I used to have a handle on life, but it broke.
5.. Don't take life too seriously; No one gets out alive.
6.. Beauty is in the eye of the beer holder.
7.. I'm not a complete idiot -- Some parts are just missing.
8.. Out of my mind. Back in five minutes.
9.. NyQuil, the stuffy, sneezy, why-the-heck-is-the-room-spinning medicine.
10.. God must love stupid people; He made so many.
11.. The gene pool could use a little chlorine.
12. Consciousness: That annoying time between naps.
13.. Ever stop to think, and forget to start again?
14.. Being "over the hill" is much better than being under it!
15. Wrinkled Was Not One of the Things I Wanted to Be When I Grew up.
16.. Procrastinate Now!
17.. I Have a Degree in Liberal Arts; Do You Want Fries With That?
18.. A hangover is the wrath of grapes.
19.. Stupidity is not a handicap. Park elsewhere!
20.. The trouble with life is there's no background music.
21.. The original point and click tool was a Smith and Wesson.
The email of the day from Col. Updraft
Ay yay yay yay no no NO NO
Manila INQ 7:
Breaking News / World
You are here: Home > News > Breaking News > World
2008 race for the White House begins
Breaking News / World
You are here: Home > News > Breaking News > World
2008 race for the White House begins
Wednesday, November 08, 2006
elections, we have elections
CNNInt is rejoicing (nope, no press bias, move along folks).
The Republicans are in deep funk. Well, too many of their leaders were clueless, so that's what the election is all about (not necessarily the war, despite the spin...if it was about the war, Mark Foley's three year old scandal would have been ignored...the left wing of the Democratic party had to play the homophobia card...the bad news is that gay marriage lost partly due to these stories).
I'm really not up on some of the races, but the press seems not to realize it is the year of the Blue dog Democrat, not the left wing Democrats.
For example, what state could be more conservative than Oklahoma? But Gov Henry trounced his opponent. But four of the five congressmen elected were Republicans...
People vote local issues and personality.
For example, although the spin is that Casey beat Santorum over the war, it is actually because Casey is a prolife, working class, pro gun Democrat, and was popular with the union folks, whereas I never understood how someone as conservative as Santorum got elected in the first place. (Yes, Santorum claims he's working class, but he looks like a manicured gigolo...and I say this even though personally I like him for his support of politically unimportant human rights causes).
And if Webb wins in Virginia, ditto. I like Webb. If he objects to the war in Iraq, I suspect it is based on hard logic, not fluffy ideological bias.
And what about Lieberman? Independent.
Ditto for a lot of the governor's races, since Governors tend to be more pragmatic than the party's ideologues.
So I'm not especially unhappy about the results, given the denseness of a lot of Republicans, unless of course Pelosi uses her post to politicize the war; and also there is a question about the judiciary appointments will never go thru.
Hopefully there will be enough centerists in the Democrats to stop the left wing hijacking of that great party; but if the kos wing takes over, the revulsion will let Guilliani will win over Hillary in 2008...
The Republicans are in deep funk. Well, too many of their leaders were clueless, so that's what the election is all about (not necessarily the war, despite the spin...if it was about the war, Mark Foley's three year old scandal would have been ignored...the left wing of the Democratic party had to play the homophobia card...the bad news is that gay marriage lost partly due to these stories).
I'm really not up on some of the races, but the press seems not to realize it is the year of the Blue dog Democrat, not the left wing Democrats.
For example, what state could be more conservative than Oklahoma? But Gov Henry trounced his opponent. But four of the five congressmen elected were Republicans...
People vote local issues and personality.
For example, although the spin is that Casey beat Santorum over the war, it is actually because Casey is a prolife, working class, pro gun Democrat, and was popular with the union folks, whereas I never understood how someone as conservative as Santorum got elected in the first place. (Yes, Santorum claims he's working class, but he looks like a manicured gigolo...and I say this even though personally I like him for his support of politically unimportant human rights causes).
And if Webb wins in Virginia, ditto. I like Webb. If he objects to the war in Iraq, I suspect it is based on hard logic, not fluffy ideological bias.
And what about Lieberman? Independent.
Ditto for a lot of the governor's races, since Governors tend to be more pragmatic than the party's ideologues.
So I'm not especially unhappy about the results, given the denseness of a lot of Republicans, unless of course Pelosi uses her post to politicize the war; and also there is a question about the judiciary appointments will never go thru.
Hopefully there will be enough centerists in the Democrats to stop the left wing hijacking of that great party; but if the kos wing takes over, the revulsion will let Guilliani will win over Hillary in 2008...
Hyperpolitics: did DOAP get it right?
Watching the US elections from 10 000 miles away (FYI: CNN was talking Monday as if everyone hated Bush and was going to vote him out, and they were discussing why. Earth to CNNInt: The election was Tuesday. )
It's starting to remind one of the Philippines, where a dozen people each election are shot arguing politics, and my niece was threatened with death simply because she was a poll worker.
It's early AM here, but no hard news yet, so I am surfing film sites, and came across a good review of the controversial film "Death of a president"...LINK...
I expected, and not for no reason, for it to be an exhortatory "let's assassinate the bastard" film, a wish-fulfillment fantasy of Bushitleretardespot aka Dubya McChimpburton finally getting what murdering, torturing liars deserve....What I saw was a formally brilliant film, one that uses the conventions of the History Channel special (by coincidence, I've been watching them a lot recently) to create a gripping thriller to the point of the crime and then an interesting police procedural thereafter -- a structure rather like Akira Kurosawa's great film HIGH AND LOW.....
I won't see it, but it makes you wonder how many reviewers actually saw the film...
It's starting to remind one of the Philippines, where a dozen people each election are shot arguing politics, and my niece was threatened with death simply because she was a poll worker.
It's early AM here, but no hard news yet, so I am surfing film sites, and came across a good review of the controversial film "Death of a president"...LINK...
I expected, and not for no reason, for it to be an exhortatory "let's assassinate the bastard" film, a wish-fulfillment fantasy of Bushitleretardespot aka Dubya McChimpburton finally getting what murdering, torturing liars deserve....What I saw was a formally brilliant film, one that uses the conventions of the History Channel special (by coincidence, I've been watching them a lot recently) to create a gripping thriller to the point of the crime and then an interesting police procedural thereafter -- a structure rather like Akira Kurosawa's great film HIGH AND LOW.....
I won't see it, but it makes you wonder how many reviewers actually saw the film...
Philippines the 121st most corrupt country in the world
The Good News: The Philippines is the 121st most corrupt country in the world...
The Bad news: The Philippines has a corruption score of 2.5 (0 being highly corrupt, 10 being honest).
The Good news: The Philippines just signed the UN Convention against corruption. So we are solidly against corruption here...
The Bad News:"...Senate Finance Committee Chairman Franklin M. Drilon yesterday deplored the failure of the Office of the Ombudsman to improve the country’s corruption perception index despite the increased budgetary support from the Senate..."
It's all smoke and mirrors, folks...
The Bad news: The Philippines has a corruption score of 2.5 (0 being highly corrupt, 10 being honest).
The Good news: The Philippines just signed the UN Convention against corruption. So we are solidly against corruption here...
The Bad News:"...Senate Finance Committee Chairman Franklin M. Drilon yesterday deplored the failure of the Office of the Ombudsman to improve the country’s corruption perception index despite the increased budgetary support from the Senate..."
It's all smoke and mirrors, folks...
Tuesday, November 07, 2006
The Iron Chef US Style
We don't have the food network, but we do get the Iron Chef.
Now there is an "Iron Chef America" show LINK
Did you know there is Food network Blog ? And they have all sorts of recipes
And they have lots of videos of how to cook...check out the one on fried turkey...or the one on the incredible Turducken...YUM Y'ALL...
(Headsup from the nutty Freepers)
Now there is an "Iron Chef America" show LINK
Did you know there is Food network Blog ? And they have all sorts of recipes
And they have lots of videos of how to cook...check out the one on fried turkey...or the one on the incredible Turducken...YUM Y'ALL...
(Headsup from the nutty Freepers)
Essays, we have essays
If you don't know aboutEJECT EJECT eject, YOU SHOULD...
He has a news essay up. They are usually worth downloading and reading slowly.
He has a news essay up. They are usually worth downloading and reading slowly.
The Anchoress also has a long essay, and OneHandClapping has a short essay that links to THIS long essay.
We just got home from Manila (twelve hour trip for Lolo's new hearing aid and a couple rice and capiz lamp deliveries), so I am too tired to write an essay. So you are spared a rant.
My opinion? an ineffiecient corrupt government is better than one that follows ideology over reality. And bullies don't usually respond to kumbaya sung by pacifists.
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