I downloaded an Edgeworth sim, as well as a mod that allows you to have an unlimited amount of family members in your sim family,

and my Edgeworth sim won't show up.

Now he can never has my 3,458 children, who will eventually all starve and die :<

WHYYYY?!

A naff come-on

If I said you had an ancient religion

would you hold it against me?

(inspired by parallels between my life and Cohen's ie he is a Jew, I am a Christian and that therefore his religion is more ancient than mine.  Also, he turned to Zen and I to yoga.  I have always felt a profound connection with him but this means nothing.  This is what it means to be a Cohen fan)

I never did believe

I never did believe salvation lay

in following orders

I'm lost now:

Please Leonard

- tell me what to do.

Here's a poem about an incident when Ian Anderson was on TOTP  and the cameraman insisted on knowing what his movements would be.  Anderson insisted on being spontaneous, saying he didn't know what he was going to do until he did it.  That's my kind of guy.

(the lines should be sung to the melody of the first line of Space Oddity ie Ground Control to Major Tom, slowly and with the second line echoing the first)

For Your Comfort and Convenience, Spontaneity has been Removed From this Poem

Camera man to Jethro Tull

camera man to Jethro Tull

what moves will you do here

what moves will you do here

and where will you be now

and where will you be now

at this point in the song

at this point in the song

and where will it all end

and where will it all end

Jethro Tull replies

I don't bloody know

I haven't got a clue

where I'm gonna be

what I'm gonna do

the whole point of the song

the whole point of the song

is to be where you are, now

to be where you are now

and this is where it ends

and this is where it ends

One last thing...

Ladimir and Oestrogen (again)

-  Oh god!  And pat, here he comes like the catastrophe of the old comedy

- Hi, Pat

- No, you dingbat - his name's Mark

- But you said -

- I said he was a catastrophe

- who are you calling a catastrophe?

-  You.  No.  Your entrance.  Like King Lear

- Feline punctuation

- what is?

- Catastrophe

- Oh, ha ha.

Just been up at the chalet for a few days.  So following on from the previous psychosis, more of the same - except it develops and grows.  I see a lot of correspondences between Leonard's life and mine which I never saw before.  I can't list them here - they emerge as I read the poems.

You know that story about the guy who found out one day that he'd been speaking prose all his life?  Well, I've been speaking in poetry for the last few weeks.  There seems little or no division between ordinary thought and the poems I write or invent.

I am bereft and in the wilderness with my art.  And all I know how to do is to keep on asking this, to keep on putting out these communications to the one man who I feel is a kindred spirit.  I don't see anyone else to connect with.

Anyway, here are some poems.

(after seeing Leonard being enrolled in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame - a bizarre experience)

Hall of Fame

To those celebrated people

who were addicted to your name

and never did a line

of Cohen in their lives

(except one)

- let me take you down

I have you in my sights

(a companion piece, about Leonard's reaction)

Caution, Self-Parody Ahead

I watched you rock

with your friends.  I thought

who are you

and what have you done

with Leonard Cohen.

I think you were channelling Hughie Green

Still I expect it was all

the audience merited

(explanatory note)

I don't mean to say

the fans you have gathered

from your last songs

are not worthy

and I alone deserve

that long-distance prize

"class of 1972"

- that is not what I mean.

Cohen's army - you're in it for life!

A poem about writing stuff "on the move" as it were - ie that only by speaking and performing these lines can I nail them.

A Poem on a Page

A poem on a page

is in a sense

an epitaph

It marks the grave

of your heart.

Dear Leonard

You taught me to rehearse your songs until your forehead bleeds - and then do something else entirely.

Dear Leonard

You gave me my best lines

but I had to write them myself

Parker Pen

A lot of men

who make passes

need to remind themselves

just how old

they really are

and a lot of women

really should wear glasses

To Mark

I have committed

marriage

with you

every day of our lives

Finger Poem

to the people at Ambit

who returned my great poem

the flower of my art till then

in my own envelope

in my own handwriting

with my own stamp on it

without even the courtesy

of a fuck-off note

- this note is for you.

(Frogs fucked, in case you didn't gather)

Bart Simpson

People busy screaming

jumping up and down

"I didn't do it!"

like some grotesque yellow

two-dimensional character

Mark

Mark hasn't got

"get-up-and-go"

he's got

"sit-here-and-think"

- I like that in a man

Dear Leonard

In 2008

you were everywhere

your name was mentioned in dispatches

Sayings of Sarada No. 2

I like to follow fashion at a safe distance.  You never know when it's going to turn on you.

Leonard

Thank you for sending your spirit

I knew your body was busy

and your mind was mortgaged

tightrope (my aim as an artist)

to stick a joke in

like a knife between the ribs

and crack a serious comment

while you're still laughing

Tightrope no. 2

What I want

is to write

poems that stand up on the stage

and knock you out

on the page

Zeno's Tortoise

It took my whole life

to get to a point

where my whole life

could begin

We regard the published work as a fait accompli, not a work in progress.  You might as well give us a headstone and have done with it.

Simon and Garfunkel

I find my native land

too busy with ideas

the strangling conversation

- it isn't what we planned

Contact

A car slows; I tense

ready for the inevitable disappointment

If they look in my direction

it's only so that they

can tick me off their list

the list of those not invited

to the wedding or the supper

Dear Leonard

I had to teach myself everything

- but you were my best rabbi

(there isn't a t missing at the end of that word.  Reminds me of my favourite Yorkshire joke:

There was a woman who died.  On her headstone they wanted the inscription:

God, she was thine

The headstone came back with

God, she was thin

They sent it back, saying "There's an "e" missing"

At the funeral the inscription read

"Ee, god, she was thin"

(to understand this you have to know that "ee" is a common interjection in Yorkshire meaning "oh", or something like that.)

A verse from my most heartfelt poem to Cohen.  I hope he phones soon, then I can read my poems down the phone to him like he sang his songs all those years ago to Judy Collins.

There ain't no cure for poetry

I'm counting all my loss

but all my lines converge on this

one station of the cross

let me kneel upon the stage

let me play my tiny part

Come and find my corner

Cohen of my heart.

I used to worry about people stealing stuff from this blog but now I don't care any more.  Nobody reads it except for one or two and they won't = and if anyone else does I don't care.  All they'll have is one verse of mine and I can write millions more.  They can't.

I am the wind

I am the wind

you sailed too close to

I ran my fingers through your hair

I huff and puff

- and I blow your house in

Where's my flower?

It wasn't easy being an artist and mother

I had to be a double act

all by myself

Fox news has repeatedly lied to and deceived  their viewers. The need to be stopped IMMEDIATELY. They often portray Democrats as "Flip Flopper's" and "Crazy Liberals". They have even gone to the lengths to Compare Barack Obama to Hitler. The man responsible for the Holocaust which lead to World War 2. They are also racist. Often stating that "Barack Obama is just playing the race card" Take a look at these videos created by Brave New Films.

Video number 1. Entitled 'Fox Attacks Obama Like Kerry' compares clips of Fox bashing Obama to Clips Bashing Kerry.

Video number 2. Called 'THE FOX IS WRONG! Obama' This video shows fake allegations made by Fox and compares them to the real fact.

Video number 3. 'When It Comes to Obama, The FOX is WRONG!' This is the continuation to the video above.

Subhaanal-laahi wa bihamdihi, Subhaanal-laahil-'Adheem.

Glorified is Allah and praised is He , Glorified is Allah the Most Great.

Reference: Al-Bukhari 7/168, Muslim 4/2072.

Quiero que salga bien y saldrá. Al menos esta vez... saldrá bien

Everybody Wants To Be Italian

Bangkok Dangerous

See? I made someone happy! ...well, she doesn't know it's working yet, but I'm sure it'll be a reaction similar to that.

I'm planning on being a lot more productive in the coming year at university, so I'm doing a few things to help me along. The original plan was to use my Moleskine notebook as a planner, but I thought 'Fuck it' and went digital - Google Calendar it is, then. And it seems pretty useful - I've scheduled myself into an hour or two of C++ work every other afternoon until the new semester starts, so it should be fresh in my mind. As far as lectures go, I'm going to try the Cornell note-taking method for a little while, and see how it all works out. I guess it's pretty dependant on how much effort I'm personally willing to put in... can someone buy me a laptop so I can use OneNote instead? kthx.

TRANSCRIPT

Mr. Chairman, delegates, and fellow citizens: I am honored to be considered for the nomination for Vice President of the United States...

I accept the call to help our nominee for president to serve and defend America.

I accept the challenge of a tough fight in this election... against confident opponents ... at a crucial hour for our country.

And I accept the privilege of serving with a man who has come through much harder missions ... and met far graver challenges ... and knows how tough fights are won - the next president of the United States, John S. McCain.

It was just a year ago when all the experts in Washington counted out our nominee because he refused to hedge his commitment to the security of the country he loves.

With their usual certitude, they told us that all was lost - there was no hope for this candidate who said that he would rather lose an election than see his country lose a war.

But the pollsters and pundits overlooked just one thing when they wrote him off.

They overlooked the caliber of the man himself - the determination, resolve, and sheer guts of Senator John McCain. The voters knew better.

And maybe that's because they realize there is a time for politics and a time for leadership ... a time to campaign and a time to put our country first.

Our nominee for president is a true profile in courage, and people like that are hard to come by.

He's a man who wore the uniform of this country for 22 years, and refused to break faith with those troops in Iraq who have now brought victory within sight.

And as the mother of one of those troops, that is exactly the kind of man I want as commander in chief. I'm just one of many moms who'll say an extra prayer each night for our sons and daughters going into harm's way.

Our son Track is 19.

And one week from tomorrow - September 11th - he'll deploy to Iraq with the Army infantry in the service of his country.

My nephew Kasey also enlisted, and serves on a carrier in the Persian Gulf.

My family is proud of both of them and of all the fine men and women serving the country in uniform. Track is the eldest of our five children.

In our family, it's two boys and three girls in between - my strong and kind-hearted daughters Bristol, Willow, and Piper.

And in April, my husband Todd and I welcomed our littlest one into the world, a perfectly beautiful baby boy named Trig. From the inside, no family ever seems typical.

That's how it is with us.

Our family has the same ups and downs as any other ... the same challenges and the same joys.

Sometimes even the greatest joys bring challenge.

And children with special needs inspire a special love.

To the families of special-needs children all across this country, I have a message: For years, you sought to make America a more welcoming place for your sons and daughters.

I pledge to you that if we are elected, you will have a friend and advocate in the White House. Todd is a story all by himself.

He's a lifelong commercial fisherman ... a production operator in the oil fields of Alaska's North Slope ... a proud member of the United Steel Workers' Union ... and world champion snow machine racer.

Throw in his Yup'ik Eskimo ancestry, and it all makes for quite a package.

We met in high school, and two decades and five children later he's still my guy. My Mom and Dad both worked at the elementary school in our small town.

And among the many things I owe them is one simple lesson: that this is America, and every woman can walk through every door of opportunity.

My parents are here tonight, and I am so proud to be the daughter of Chuck and Sally Heath. Long ago, a young farmer and habber-dasher from Missouri followed an unlikely path to the vice presidency.

A writer observed: "We grow good people in our small towns, with honesty, sincerity, and dignity." I know just the kind of people that writer had in mind when he praised Harry Truman.

I grew up with those people.

They are the ones who do some of the hardest work in America ... who grow our food, run our factories, and fight our wars.

They love their country, in good times and bad, and they're always proud of America. I had the privilege of living most of my life in a small town.

I was just your average hockey mom, and signed up for the PTA because I wanted to make my kids' public education better.

When I ran for city council, I didn't need focus groups and voter profiles because I knew those voters, and knew their families, too.

Before I became governor of the great state of Alaska, I was mayor of my hometown.

And since our opponents in this presidential election seem to look down on that experience, let me explain to them what the job involves.

I guess a small-town mayor is sort of like a "community organizer," except that you have actual responsibilities. I might add that in small towns, we don't quite know what to make of a candidate who lavishes praise on working people when they are listening, and then talks about how bitterly they cling to their religion and guns when those people aren't listening.

We tend to prefer candidates who don't talk about us one way in Scranton and another way in San Francisco.

As for my running mate, you can be certain that wherever he goes, and whoever is listening, John McCain is the same man. I'm not a member of the permanent political establishment.< br>
And I've learned quickly, these past few days, that if you're not a member in good standing of the Washington elite, then some in the media consider a candidate unqualified for that reason alone.

But here's a little news flash for all those reporters and commentators: I'm not going to Washington to seek their good opinion - I'm going to Washington to serve the people of this country. Americans expect us to go to Washington for the right reasons, and not just to mingle with the right people.

Politics isn't just a game of clashing parties and competing interests.

The right reason is to challenge the status quo, to serve the common good, and to leave this nation better than we found it.

No one expects us to agree on everything.

But we are expected to govern with integrity, good will, clear convictions, and ... a servant's heart.

I pledge to all Americans that I will carry myself in this spirit as vice president of the United States. This was the spirit that brought me to the governor's office, when I took on the old politics as usual in Juneau ... when I stood up to the special interests, the lobbyists, big oil companies, and the good-ol' boys network.

Sudden and relentless reform never sits well with entrenched interests and power brokers. That's why true reform is so hard to achieve.

But with the support of the citizens of Alaska, we shook things up.

And in short order we put the government of our state back on the side of the people.

I came to office promising major ethics reform, to end the culture of self-dealing. And today, that ethics reform is the law.

While I was at it, I got rid of a few things in the governor's office that I didn't believe our citizens should have to pay for.

That luxury jet was over the top. I put it on eBay.

I also drive myself to work.

And I thought we could muddle through without the governor's personal chef - although I've got to admit that sometimes my kids sure miss her. I came to office promising to control spending - by request if possible and by veto if necessary.

Senator McCain also promises to use the power of veto in defense of the public interest - and as a chief executive, I can assure you it works.

Our state budget is under control.

We have a surplus.

And I have protected the taxpayers by vetoing wasteful spending: nearly half a billion dollars in vetoes.

I suspended the state fuel tax, and championed reform to end the abuses of earmark spending by Congress.

I told the Congress "thanks, but no thanks," for that Bridge to Nowhere.

If our state wanted a bridge, we'd build it ourselves. When oil and gas prices went up dramatically, and filled up the state treasury, I sent a large share of that revenue back where it belonged - directly to the people of Alaska.

And despite fierce opposition from oil company lobbyists, who kind of liked things the way they were, we broke their monopoly on power and resources.

As governor, I insisted on competition and basic fairness to end their control of our state and return it to the people.

I fought to bring about the largest private-sector infrastructure project in North American history.

And when that deal was struck, we began a nearly forty billion dollar natural gas pipeline to help lead America to energy independence.

That pipeline, when the last section is laid and its valves are opened, will lead America one step farther away from dependence on dangerous foreign powers that do not have our interests at heart.

The stakes for our nation could not be higher.

When a hurricane strikes in the Gulf of Mexico, this country should not be so dependent on imported oil that we are forced to draw from our Strategic Petroleum Reserve.

And families cannot throw away more and more of their paychecks on gas and heating oil.

With Russia wanting to control a vital pipeline in the Caucasus, and to divide and intimidate our European allies by using energy as a weapon, we cannot leave ourselves at the mercy of foreign suppliers.

To confront the threat that Iran might seek to cut off nearly a fifth of world energy supplies ... or that terrorists might strike again at the Abqaiq facility in Saudi Arabia ... or that Venezuela might shut off its oil deliveries ... we Americans need to produce more of our own oil and gas.

And take it from a gal who knows the North Slope of Alaska: we've got lots of both.

Our opponents say, again and again, that drilling will not solve all of America's energy problems - as if we all didn't know that already.

But the fact that drilling won't solve every problem is no excuse to do nothing at all.

Starting in January, in a McCain-Palin administration, we're going to lay more pipelines ... build more new-clear plants ... create jobs with clean coal ... and move forward on solar, wind, geothermal, and other alternative sources.

We need American energy resources, brought to you by American ingenuity, and produced by American workers. I've noticed a pattern with our opponent.

Maybe you have, too.

We've all heard his dramatic speeches before devoted followers.

And there is much to like and admire about our opponent.

But listening to him speak, it's easy to forget that this is a man who has authored two memoirs but not a single major law or reform - not even in the state senate.

This is a man who can give an entire speech about the wars America is fighting, and never use the word "victory" except when he's talking about his own campaign. But when the cloud of rhetoric has passed ... when the roar of the crowd fades away ... when the stadium lights go out, and those Styrofoam Greek columns are hauled back to some studio lot - what exactly is our opponent's plan? What does he actually seek to accomplish, after he's done turning back the waters and healing the planet? The answer is to make government bigger ... take more of your money ... give you more orders from Washington ... and to reduce the strength of America in a dangerous world. America needs more energy ... our opponent is against producing it.

Victory in Iraq is finally in sight ... he wants to forfeit.

Terrorist states are seeking new-clear weapons without delay ... he wants to meet them without preconditions.

Al Qaeda terrorists still plot to inflict catastrophic harm on America ... he's worried that someone won't read them their rights? Government is too big ... he wants to grow it.

Congress spends too much ... he promises more.

Taxes are too high ... he wants to raise them. His tax increases are the fine print in his economic plan, and let me be specific.

The Democratic nominee for president supports plans to raise income taxes ... raise payroll taxes ... raise investment income taxes ... raise the death tax ... raise business taxes ... and increase the tax burden on the American people by hundreds of billions of dollars. My sister Heather and her husband have just built a service station that's now opened for business - like millions of others who run small businesses.

How are they going to be any better off if taxes go up? Or maybe you're trying to keep your job at a plant in Michigan or Ohio ... or create jobs with clean coal from Pennsylvania or West Virginia ... or keep a small farm in the family right here in Minnesota.

How are you going to be better off if our opponent adds a massive tax burden to the American economy? Here's how I look at the choice Americans face in this election.

In politics, there are some candidates who use change to promote their careers.

And then there are those, like John McCain, who use their careers to promote change.

They're the ones whose names appear on laws and landmark reforms, not just on buttons and banners, or on self-designed presidential seals.

Among politicians, there is the idealism of high-flown speechmaking, in which crowds are stirringly summoned to support great things.

And then there is the idealism of those leaders, like John McCain, who actually do great things. They're the ones who are good for more than talk ... the ones we have always been able to count on to serve and defend America. Senator McCain's record of actual achievement and reform helps explain why so many special interests, lobbyists, and comfortable committee chairmen in Congress have fought the prospect of a McCain presidency - from the primary election of 2000 to this very day.

Our nominee doesn't run with the Washington herd.

He's a man who's there to serve his country, and not just his party.

A leader who's not looking for a fight, but is not afraid of one either. Harry Reid, the Majority Leader of the current do-nothing Senate, not long ago summed up his feelings about our nominee.

He said, quote, "I can't stand John McCain." Ladies and gentlemen, perhaps no accolade we hear this week is better proof that we've chosen the right man. Clearly what the Majority Leader was driving at is that he can't stand up to John McCain. That is only one more reason to take the maverick of the Senate and put him in the White House. My fellow citizens, the American presidency is not supposed to be a journey of "personal discovery." This world of threats and dangers is not just a community, and it doesn't just need an organizer.

And though both Senator Obama and Senator Biden have been going on lately about how they are always, quote, "fighting for you," let us face the matter squarely.

There is only one man in this election who has ever really fought for you ... in places where winning means survival and defeat means death ... and that man is John McCain. In our day, politicians have readily shared much lesser tales of adversity than the nightmare world in which this man, and others equally brave, served and suffered for their country.

It's a long way from the fear and pain and squalor of a six-by-four cell in Hanoi to the Oval Office.

But if Senator McCain is elected president, that is the journey he will have made.

It's the journey of an upright and honorable man - the kind of fellow whose name you will find on war memorials in small towns across this country, only he was among those who came home.

To the most powerful office on earth, he would bring the compassion that comes from having once been powerless ... the wisdom that comes even to the captives, by the grace of God ... the special confidence of those who have seen evil, and seen how evil is overcome. A fellow prisoner of war, a man named Tom Moe of Lancaster, Ohio, recalls looking through a pin-hole in his cell door as Lieutenant Commander John McCain was led down the hallway, by the guards, day after day.

As the story is told, "When McCain shuffled back from torturous interrogations, he would turn toward Moe's door and flash a grin and thumbs up" - as if to say, "We're going to pull through this." My fellow Americans, that is the kind of man America needs to see us through these next four years.

For a season, a gifted speaker can inspire with his words.

For a lifetime, John McCain has inspired with his deeds.

If character is the measure in this election ... and hope the theme ... and change the goal we share, then I ask you to join our cause. Join our cause and help America elect a great man as the next president of the United States.

Thank you all, and may God bless America.

<<<Previous Image Next Image>>>

Here is the song of the day. It tabbed me from the back of my heart three times today, and it really left a mark. Spend time with your loved ones, while you can…

Always Be My Baby

David Cook

We were as one babe
For a moment in time
And it seemed everlasting
That you would always be mine

Now you want to be free
So I'm letting you fly
Cause I know in my heart babe
Our love will never die
No!

You'll always be a part of me
I'm a part of you indefinitely
Girl don't you know you can't escape me
Ooh darling cause you'll always be my baby
And we'll linger on
Time can't erase a feeling this strong
No way you're never gonna shake me
Ooh darling cause you'll always be my baby

I ain't gonna cry no
And I won't beg you to stay
If you're determined to leave girl
I will not stand in your way
But inevitably you'll be back again
Cause ya know in your heart babe
Our love will never end no

You'll always be a part of me
I'm part of you indefinitely
Girl don't you know you can't escape me
Ooh darling cause you'll always be my baby
And we'll linger on
Time can't erase a feeling this strong
No way you're never gonna shake me
Ooh darling cause you'll always be my baby

I know that you'll be back girl
When your days and your nights get a little bit colder oooohhh
I know that, you'll be right back, babe
Ooooh! baby believe me it's only a matter of time

You'll always be a part of me
I'm part of you indefinitely
Girl don't you know you can't escape me
Ooh darling cause you'll always be my baby
And we'll linger on
Time can't erase a feeling this strong
No way you're never gonna shake me
Ooh darling cause you'll always be my my baby....

You'll always be a part of me (you will always be)
I'm part of you indefinitely
Girl don't you know you can't escape me
Ooh darling cause you'll always be my baby
And we'll linger on (we will linger on....)
Time can't erase a feeling this strong
No way you're never gonna shake me
Ooh darling cause you'll always be my baby

Always be my baby

Sniff… Sniff… Until Tomorrow…

I can't forget the new promo vid either.