Well, then.

I’m not a big fan of candy corn, but this is brilliant.

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 14:52:07 -0400

I’m not a big fan of candy corn, but this is brilliant.

Update

Sat, 08 Jun 2013 00:39:50 -0400

Ellie was found wandering along Riverside by a couple out for a walk. They delivered her to SBACC, who then informed my wife that they had her and she was okay. We picked her up around 1 in the afternoon. I’ve mended the fence and Ellie seems to be happy and healthy.

The combination of everything that’s happened with the dog this summer (the attack and now this), the stuff my wife has been going through with her family, the fact that I don’t have a summer job, and my (mostly irrational) fears about transferring down to West Lafayette is messing with my head. The rational part of my brain is telling me I’ll be fine; I’ll et the math placement test squared away, meet with an advisor, get classes scheduled for next fall, move my wife and child down to Purdue, and get on with year two of my renewed education.

The animal part of my brain says that nothing is guaranteed and that anything I place my hopes in can be ripped out from under me regardless of my strategizing or efforts. I kicked ass at WWBW and got laid off. I was grandfathered into GC with expectations of a decent living and found myself working 30 hour weeks at minimum wage [Commissioned sales is horse shit]. My wife’s bakery job fell apart. My cat spontaneously died for no apparent reason. My dog seems hell-bent on removing herself from our lives.

I feel like the importance of continuing (and eventually finishing) my college education has become so paramount that the sheer magnitude of what it would do for my family has essentially jinxed any hope of long-term success. I guess I’ve been fucked over enough times that when I see something genuinely constructive in my life, I have to wonder what the catch is. My rational brain says going back to school was the right way to go. My instincts just scream “You will get screwed” at everything anymore. I wish I could just shut up my instincts and let my inner Spock guide the ship, because the last few years have made it harder and harder to believe that I can provide a better life for my wife and daughter. I just keep getting spooked at scam artists lurking in the shadows.

I let my dog (Ellie) out into the backyard about 2.5 hours ago while I was trying to get my daughter...

Fri, 07 Jun 2013 03:13:40 -0400

I let my dog (Ellie) out into the backyard about 2.5 hours ago while I was trying to get my daughter to sleep. Half an hour later, no sign of Ellie. I get my daughter to bed and check outside. Ellie’s nowhere to be found; a section of the fence surrounding the yard has fallen down. I was out until 2AM scouring the neighborhood for her, both on foot and by car. It’s about 3:10 now, my dog has been missing since half past midnight, I’m tired, I’m worried, and I’m scared that if I go to bed I’ll miss Ellie finding her way home.

This is not what I need right now.

Ten Revelations From Bradley Manning's WikiLeaks Documents

Wed, 05 Jun 2013 19:05:20 -0400

Ten Revelations From Bradley Manning's WikiLeaks Documents:

kylegreggy:

thepoliticalfreakshow:

In 2010, Army Pfc. Bradley Manning was detained in Iraq on suspicion of passing classified U.S. government documents to WikiLeaks. On Monday, after more than three years in military jail, his trial finally began at Fort Meade, Md. The 25-year-old intelligence analyst admitted earlier this year to passing documents to…

In 2010, Army Pfc. Bradley Manning was detained in Iraq on suspicion of passing classified U.S. government documents to WikiLeaks. On Monday, after more than three years in military jail, his trial finally began at Fort Meade, Md.

The 25-year-old intelligence analyst admitted earlier this year to passing documents to the whistle-blowing website, though he denies the charge of “aiding the enemy,” an offense that carries a life sentence or the death penalty. Manning said at a pretrial hearing in February that he leaked information, including diplomatic cables and U.S. military war logs from Afghanistan and Iraq, in order to “spark a domestic debate on the role of the military and our foreign policy.”

Below is a list of 10 revelations disclosed by Manning’s leaked documents that offer insight into the breadth and scope of what he revealed, help explain his motivation for leaking, and provide context for the ongoing trial. The list, in no particular order, is far from comprehensive but encompasses some of the most significant information brought to light by the leaked documents.

During the Iraq War, U.S. authorities failed to investigate hundreds of reports of abuse, torture, rape, and murder by Iraqi police and soldiers, according to thousands of field reports.

There were 109,032 “violent deaths” recorded in Iraq between 2004 and 2009, including 66,081 civilians. Leaked records from the Afghan War separately revealed coalition troops’ alleged role in killing at least 195 civilians in unreported incidents, one reportedly involving U.S. service members machine-gunning a bus, wounding or killing 15 passengers.

The U.S. Embassy in Paris advised Washington to start a military-style trade war against any European Union country that opposed genetically modified crops, with U.S. diplomats effectively working directly for GM companies such as Monsanto.

British and American officials colluded in a plan to mislead the British Parliament over a proposed ban on cluster bombs.

In Baghdad in 2007, a U.S. Army helicopter gunned down a group of civilians, including two Reuters news staff.

U.S. special operations forces were conducting offensive operations inside Pakistan despite sustained public denials and statements to the contrary by U.S. officials.

A leaked diplomatic cable provided evidence that during an incident in 2006, U.S. troops in Iraq executed at least 10 Iraqi civilians, including a woman in her 70s and a 5-month-old, then called in an airstrike to destroy the evidence. The disclosure of this cable was later a significant factor in the Iraqi government’s refusal to grant U.S. troops immunity from prosecution beyond 2011, which led to U.S. troops withdrawing from the country.

A NATO coalition in Afghanistan was using an undisclosed “black” unit of special operations forces to hunt down targets for death or detention without trial. The unit was revealed to have had a kill-or-capture list featuring details of more than 2,000 senior figures from the Taliban and al-Qaida, but it had in some cases mistakenly killed men, women, children, and Afghan police officers.

The U.S. threatened the Italian government in an attempt to influence a court case involving the indictment of CIA agents over the kidnapping of an Egyptian cleric. Separately, U.S. officials were revealed to have pressured Spanish prosecutors to dissuade them from investigating U.S. torture allegations, secret “extraordinary rendition” flights, and the killing of a Spanish journalist by U.S. troops in Iraq.

In apparent violation of a 1946 U.N. convention, Washington initiated a spying campaign in 2009 that targeted the leadership of the U.N. that sought to gather top officials’ private encryption keys, credit card details, and biometric data.

Although Manning’s disclosures totaled some 720,000 records—the largest security breach in U.S. history—the leak still amounted to less than 1 percent of the almost 77 million documents reportedly classified by U.S. government agencies in 2010. The soldier’s actions are at the center of an ongoing debate about a spike in extreme state secrecy in the U.S. since Sept. 11—an issue regularly covered here on Future Tense—that has resulted in several aggressive leak investigations and surveillance of journalists. During the first day of Manning’s trial, the government accused the soldier of indirectly assisting al-Qaida and leaking the information to “gain the notoriety he craved.” Manning’s defense attorney described him as “young, naive, but good intentioned,” passing documents to WikiLeaks in a bid to “make the world a better place.”

Manning’s trial is expected to last through the summer.

Wow wow wow. I’m aligned more with the hero side of Manning than traitor.

The stupidest thing the government could do at this point is to turn Bradley Manning into a martyr.

leontheanarchist: THE GODS - CREATING THE ANGELS (RUSH IN...

Wed, 05 Jun 2013 08:21:22 -0400

leontheanarchist:

THE GODS - CREATING THE ANGELS (RUSH IN STUDIO/MAKING OF:”CLOCKWORK ANGELS”)

alejadnro: Fiona Apple wrote this letter back in 2000 to a...

Tue, 04 Jun 2013 18:15:51 -0400

alejadnro:

Fiona Apple wrote this letter back in 2000 to a 16-year-old gay fan, in response to a letter sent earlier by him soliciting Fiona’s support on behalf of his high school’s Gay-Straight Alliance

I love Fiona Apple.

ohmylookwhatyouvedone: EPICNESS

Thu, 30 May 2013 12:40:36 -0400

ohmylookwhatyouvedone:

EPICNESS

liberalsarecool: The GOP hates students, loves their debt...

Wed, 22 May 2013 18:40:39 -0400

liberalsarecool:

The GOP hates students, loves their debt payments.

Fucking hell. It’s like Congress is trying to make the country stagnate.

pipud: ut4ps: Race matters. Must reblog. Well, that’s...

Sat, 04 May 2013 15:29:19 -0400

pipud:

ut4ps:

Race matters.

Must reblog.

Well, that’s fucked up.

andhowprogisthat: Opeth - Demon of the Fall (Record Store Day...

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 07:58:15 -0400

andhowprogisthat:

Opeth - Demon of the Fall (Record Store Day Live 2013)

1. Write a pulverizing, brutal death metal song.

2. Rework it as a middle-eastern sounding acoustic piece with harmonized vocals instead of death growls.

3. It still works.

This is why I fucking love Opeth.

If you’re the kind of person who honestly thinks “it has no mojo” is a valid...

Sat, 20 Apr 2013 22:25:16 -0400

If you’re the kind of person who honestly thinks “it has no mojo” is a valid criticism of a guitar, go fuck yourself with a BC Rich headstock. It’s a meaningless, arbitrary criticism that people use to give a air of legitimacy to a dislike based on personal taste. It is the same thing as claiming that it lacks swag. Seriously, fucking stop.

link-to-the-past: The Legend of Zelda 3DS (2014) {x} Thank...

Fri, 19 Apr 2013 13:15:32 -0400

link-to-the-past:

The Legend of Zelda 3DS (2014) {x}

Thank you Nintendo.

fuckyeahmastodon: Hi, my name is Bill and I’m sitting on a...

Fri, 19 Apr 2013 13:12:19 -0400

fuckyeahmastodon:

Hi, my name is Bill and I’m sitting on a stool with this guitar.

That is the best picture of any member of Mastodon ever.

wilwheaton: (via HijiNKS ENSUE – A Geek Comic - Make It So / As...

Thu, 18 Apr 2013 07:52:36 -0400

wilwheaton:

(via HijiNKS ENSUE – A Geek Comic - Make It So / As You Wish)

ourvaluedcustomers: To his boyfriend…

Wed, 10 Apr 2013 08:20:31 -0400

ourvaluedcustomers:

To his boyfriend…

goddamntoothbrush: vodkaofthegods: apophatic: iheartchaos: We...

Thu, 04 Apr 2013 22:08:33 -0400

goddamntoothbrush:

vodkaofthegods:

apophatic:

iheartchaos:

Weird Al and Huey Lewis parody the Huey Lewis scene from American Psycho and it’s more or less the best thing ever

I am so glad I lived long enough to see this happen. This is beautiful.

Wow. Huey is flawless.

I’m in love again.

This is the funniest thing I’ve seen all night.

No comments. Just enjoy.

disneypixar: “Finding Dory” is coming to theaters November...

Tue, 02 Apr 2013 13:25:35 -0400

disneypixar:

“Finding Dory” is coming to theaters November 2015.

*ahem*
…Deep breath…

YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Photo

Mon, 01 Apr 2013 17:26:30 -0400

Hooray!

Sun, 31 Mar 2013 14:55:03 -0400

Hooray!

"For readers interested in learning more about how not to be labeled as registered sex offenders, a..."

Mon, 18 Mar 2013 13:21:52 -0400

“For readers interested in learning more about how not to be labeled as registered sex offenders, a good first step is not to rape unconscious women, no matter how good your grades are. Regardless of the strength of your GPA (weighted or unweighted), if you commit rape, there is a possibility you may someday be convicted of a sex crime. This is because of your decision to commit a sex crime instead of going for a walk, or reading a book by Cormac McCarthy. Your ability to perform calculus or play football is generally not taken into consideration in a court of law. Should you prefer to be known as “Good student and excellent football player Trent Mays” rather than “Convicted sex offender Trent Mays,” try stressing the studying and tackling and giving the sex crimes a miss altogether.”

- Mallory Ortberg, laying waste to fools on GAWKER, today, regarding CNN’s offensively lovey-dovey coverage of the two high school football stars who were convicted on Sunday of sexually assaulting a blacked-out drunk 16 year old girl from a neighboring town at a party, and then sharing pictures of her on the internet.

More details HERE.

I think it’s reasonable to say that, given the football culture of Steubenville, OH and the notorious difficulty of proving sexual assault even when the victim REMEMBERS WHAT HAPPENED, it is likely that what these jocks did to this other human would have become simply a dark part of Steubenville high school folklore, were it not for the digital trail of photos, tweets, and texts that the bystanders and assaulters themselves put out into the world.

SO THANK YOU, NERDS, FOR INVENTING SOCIAL MEDIA.

And thank you, Mallory and Manhattan snark-media for reminding some people—including CNN, apparently—what personal responsibility actually means.

That is all.

(via areasofmyexpertise)