Liberties Fading

Interesting article on Salon: Ten Ways Americans have lost their freedom.

Sobering and more than a little bit scary.

And seems true as far as I can see.

Sweet, Sweet, Long Weekend

August winds to a close with a Friday, a payday, and a long weekend ahead (thank you Labor Day!).

Three days of sleeping in. Oh that's going to be glorious.

Now the goal is to track down someone with BBC America who has made a recording of the premiere of Season Seven of "Doctor Who".

Well, actually, that goal has been potentially-realized. So yay!

Here's hoping for a smooth, drama-free weekend.

B.S. by any other name

I love this Yahoo headline: FACT CHECK: Ryan takes factual shortcuts in speech

"Factual shortcuts". The new term for "lying through his ass". Nice. Thanks Yahoo!

Nax-tastic

Once upon a time, I had disposable income that I could throw into cool shiny tool things.

Yes, I was thinking something along the lines of "zombie apocalypse". Don't judge.

Anyway, as I mentioned in the past, I got my greedy little hands on a Crovel and jumped up-and-down in glee at the time.

Yes, I still have it and it's in my bag of stuff for when California's faults snap and I'm dealing with radioactive mutants (assuming I'm not one of them) or whatever weird crazy fantasy pops up before the commercial break.

Okay, I need to watch less TV. Moving on.

The folks at Gear Up Center have a new... um... thing. the Nax.

Per the site: "THE NAX combines the dynamic qualities of a kukri knife, machete, and hatchet in one single solid piece of precision forged, high carbon steel."

And it looks awfully purdy.

To say I want one is not adequately communicating the utter lust I feel for this thing right now.

It's way the hell outside of my budget, alas, but it's so shiny and ninja-esque.

Bet it would make short work of zombies and radioactive mutants right-quick!

I waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaants it!!!!!

A little of this...

Martial arts has officially started. Had a promotion ceremony last night. It was a bit of a hoot. Nice to see so many hard-working students get their next level in the style.

I promoted as well, but it was less of a big deal, all things considered. Not really a monumental or epic leap in the ranks. Felt anticlimactic on my end, but I wasn't really expecting to feel any different, so I'm not sure "anticlimactic" is the right word. Maybe "meh"?

I find my relationship with my martial arts club to be a funny one. I'm not a particularly athletic person by nature or inclination, nor am I a joiner of groups. So I find it difficult to "bond" with club-mates/classmates in the same manner that I have difficulty shooting the shit over sports events and the like.

Thus, I like the instruction parts of class, but am rarely inclined to participate in social aspects, tournaments, and all that fun stuff. I find such things awkward and weird.

Dunno. Guess it's not all that noteworthy, but I find it odd.

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The moon is full this fine morning. Its glowing eye was always just off to the side as I pedaled in to the office.

I love mornings and evenings with a full moon. Justifies the howling and all that.

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The long weekend can't get here fast enough.

Snippets of this and that

Had an encounter with a crazy person the other morning as I rode in. Some random guy in raggedy attire who was screaming at the voices in his head or whatever.

The big walking stick in his hand made me take notice of him (and decide on a one block detour to avoid interpersonal interactions).

Ah the joys of urban living.

It's always this one city, too. Every time I cross into the city limits, there's some crazy person out and about who seems to pose some kind of a threat. Good freakin' times.

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Episode three of Pond Life is up.

I will admit I laughed so hard that I cried.

And I now have a new catchphrase to mutter to random people.

I'll refrain today so as not to spoil things for people who haven't seen this clip yet.

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Back to martial arts soon. The break was nice, but I need the exercise.

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So apparently ABC has greenlighted a S.H.I.E.L.D. tv series helmed by Joss Whedon.

I'm more than a little bit excited by that prospect.

Skills

There's a few things I'm comfortable saying I can do:

1. Make my own pasta sauce.
2. Bake something from scratch (mainly cookies or brownies).
3. Fix my garbage disposal with a trusty screwdriver.
4. Swear creatively (see #3 above).