Larry’s posterous

Larry  //  

Sep 6 / 7:58pm

Things only a Republican could believe

  • Parents who don't want their children to pray in school are Anti-American zealots -- parents who don't want their children to listen to a speech by the President of the United States telling them to work hard and get good grades are noble patriots.

  • Peacefully demonstrating against the country starting an international war is treason -- showing up with automatic weapons to protest healthcare reform is democracy at its finest.

  • Any government official with a desk job should have every action scrutinized -- any government official with a badge and a gun should never be questioned or disrespected. At all. Ever.

  • Questioning the legitimacy of an election because the "winner" was selected by the Supreme Court is sour grapes -- questioning the legitimacy of an election because the winner (by the largest number of votes in American history) is really a Kenyan born Muslim despite all evidence to the contrary is being a vigilant American.

  • Lying about a blowjob is an impeachable offense -- lying about a war is no big deal, really.

  • Investigating a shady land deal involving the First Lady is a matter of National Identity -- investigating the use of torture at the direction of the Executive Branch is a partisan witch hunt.

  • Executing Japanese officers for waterboarding prisoners during WWII shows that we have the moral high-ground on human rights -- waterboarding prisoners of our shows that we have the moral high-ground on human rights.

  • Sitting two rows in front of Jane Fonda in a 1970 anti-war rally is an OUTRAGE! Shaking Saddam's hand in 1983...meh, not so much.

  • Anyone who questions the president during a time of war is giving aide and comfort to the enemy and should be deported...unless the president in question has a (D) next to their name in which case you should undermine them at every turn even if you have to routinely make shit up to do it.

  • Socialism, Marxism, Communism and Fascism are all interchangeable words that mean pretty much the same thing.

  • Anyone who abuses drugs should be locked up indefinitely...unless they are a popular Republican radio host in which case they need your prayers as they recover from the illness of addiction.

  • Health Insurance companies have your best interests in mind and anyone who thinks otherwise is trying to turn America into the Godless heathen nation of Sweden where EVERYONE in the country dies (eventually).

  • Obama is an atheist communist muslim who attended a radical christian church.

  • Believing that human activity could impact the global environment is crazy talk -- believing that an invisible man in the sky personally told George Bush to invade Iraq to fulfill Biblical prophecy is logically sound.

  • The verdict is still out on evolution -- but Jesus Christ returning in our lifetimes is a pretty much a given.

  • The media are unquestionably biased against Republicans -- Talk Radio, The Washington Times, The Weekly Standard, The Wall Street Journal, Rightwing Blogs, Fox News and NewsCorp are not part of the media.

  • The government should have no part in regulating multi-national corporations as they make decisions that impact the lives of millions of people -- government should regulate individuals by determining who they can marry, what kind of intercourse they can have, what they can smoke, how to manage their pregnancy and how to proceed with end of life decisions.

  • Communicating with hostile nations is a stab in the back to our great nation -- Reagan communicating with the USSR during the Cold War was Political Genius.

  • Iran is a mortal threat to our nation and anyone who attempts to talk to them is traitorous scum -- selling weapons to Iran and then funneling the money to start wars in South America is clearly in our National interest.

  • George Bush kept the nation safe after 9-11 (NOTE: the Anthrax attacks, the DC Sniper and Hurricane Katrina don't count. Also, the fact that 9-11 happened on his watch despite receiving a security briefing specifically warning of the attack doesn't count either.)

  • Social Security, Meidcare, public schooling, public libraries, fire departments, police departments and the US Military are as American as Apple Pie -- universal healthcare is ZOMGDEATHPANELSOCIALISM!!

  • George W Bush is a regular 'ole Texas rancher just like you and me despite the fact that he was born in Connecticut, attended two Ivy League schools, bought the Crawford ranch just before running for president, sold it immediately after leaving office and is terrified of horses.

  • The two guys at the center of the Watergate and Iran-Contra scandals are trustworthy voices in discussions of current national policy and should be taken at face-value.

  • "George W Bush is a regular 'ole Texas rancher just like you and me despite the fact that he was born in Connecticut, attended two Ivy League schools, bought the Crawford ranch just before running for president, sold it immediate after leaving office and is terrified of horses." That one is definitely my favorite. The way this child of privilege passed himself off as a regular old guy is worthy of P.T. Barnum.

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    Sep 1 / 7:21pm

    Baby elephant enjoys a bath

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    Sep 1 / 7:09pm

    Feynman 'Fun to Imagine' 8: SeeingThings

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    Sep 1 / 4:02pm

    Most popular movie titles for 1984 by total votes | imdb

  • The Terminator (1984) 8.1/10 (155708 votes)
  • Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984) 7.5/10 (100276 votes)
  • Amadeus (1984) 8.4/10 (85496 votes)
    ...aka Amadeus: Director's Cut (1984) (USA: director's cut)
    ...aka Amadeus: The Director's Cut (2002) (USA: director's cut)
    ...aka Peter Shaffer's Amadeus: Director's Cut (2002) (USA: director's cut)
  • Ghost Busters (1984) 7.7/10 (75359 votes)
    ...aka Ghostbusters (1984) (UK) (USA)
  • Once Upon a Time in America (1984) 8.4/10 (62067 votes)
    ...aka C'era una volta in America (1984) (Italy)
  • This Is Spinal Tap (1984) 7.9/10 (46155 votes)
    ...aka This is Spinal Tap®: A Rockumentary by Martin Di Bergi (2000) (USA: complete title)
  • Beverly Hills Cop (1984) 7.3/10 (40381 votes)
  • A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) 7.4/10 (37839 votes)
  • Gremlins (1984) 7.0/10 (37223 votes)
  • Dune (1984) 6.5/10 (34759 votes)
  • The Karate Kid (1984) 6.9/10 (31053 votes)
  • Blood Simple. (1984) 7.8/10 (24627 votes)
  • Die unendliche Geschichte (1984) 7.4/10 (22095 votes)
    ...aka The NeverEnding Story (1984) (UK) (USA)
  • Sixteen Candles (1984) 7.0/10 (21688 votes)
  • Romancing the Stone (1984) 6.9/10 (21569 votes)
    ...aka 2 bribones tras la esmeralda perdida (1984) (Mexico)
  • Police Academy (1984) 6.2/10 (20343 votes)
    ...aka Police Academy: What an Institution! (1988) (UK: video title)
  • The Killing Fields (1984) 8.0/10 (20142 votes)
  • Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984) 6.5/10 (20107 votes)
  • Splash (1984) 6.2/10 (19826 votes)
  • Top Secret! (1984) 7.0/10 (18396 votes)
  • Conan the Destroyer (1984) 5.4/10 (18022 votes)
  • Kaze no tani no Naushika (1984) 8.1/10 (17012 votes)
    ...aka Kaze no tani no Nausicaa (1984)
    ...aka Nausicaä (1984)
    ...aka Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1985) (UK) (USA)
  • 2010 (1984) 6.6/10 (15953 votes)
    ...aka 2010: The Year We Make Contact (1984) (USA: promotional title)
  • The Natural (1984) 7.4/10 (15682 votes)
  • Red Dawn (1984) 5.8/10 (14574 votes)
  • Revenge of the Nerds (1984) 6.3/10 (14420 votes)
  • Nineteen Eighty-Four (1984) 7.2/10 (14086 votes)
  • Paris, Texas (1984) 7.9/10 (13935 votes)
    ...aka Paris, Texas (1984) (West Germany)
  • Footloose (1984) 5.9/10 (13930 votes)
  • Bachelor Party (1984) 5.8/10 (12587 votes)
  • Starman (1984) 6.8/10 (12419 votes)
    ...aka John Carpenter's Starman (1984) (USA: complete title)
  • Repo Man (1984) 6.8/10 (10965 votes)
  • Children of the Corn (1984) 5.1/10 (10007 votes)
    ...aka Stephen King's Children of the Corn (1984)
  • The Last Starfighter (1984) 6.4/10 (9597 votes)
  • Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1984) 5.2/10 (9282 votes)
    ...aka Friday the 13th: Last Chapter (1985) (Philippines: English title)
  • The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension (1984) 6.0/10 (9155 votes)
    ...aka The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai (1984) (USA: short title)
  • Body Double (1984) 6.4/10 (8613 votes)
  • Stranger Than Paradise (1984) 7.5/10 (8127 votes)
  • The Bounty (1984) 6.8/10 (7841 votes)
  • Birdy (1984) 7.2/10 (7260 votes)
  • Firestarter (1984) 5.7/10 (7137 votes)
  • Broadway Danny Rose (1984) 7.4/10 (7137 votes)
  • Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes (1984) 6.0/10 (6456 votes)
  • All of Me (1984) 6.5/10 (6384 votes)
  • The Toxic Avenger (1984) 5.8/10 (6313 votes)
  • The Cotton Club (1984) 6.3/10 (6195 votes)
  • Supergirl (1984) 4.0/10 (5894 votes)
    ...aka Supergirl: The Movie (1984)
  • The Muppets Take Manhattan (1984) 6.6/10 (5636 votes)
  • Purple Rain (1984) 5.7/10 (5550 votes)
  • Johnny Dangerously (1984) 5.8/10 (5485 votes)
  • Cannonball Run II (1984) 4.1/10 (5456 votes)
  • A Passage to India (1984) 7.4/10 (5454 votes)
  • Streets of Fire (1984) 6.4/10 (5030 votes)
  • Tightrope (1984) 6.2/10 (4723 votes)
  • The Company of Wolves (1984) 6.6/10 (4690 votes)
  • Frankenweenie (1984) 7.2/10 (4290 votes)
  • Night of the Comet (1984) 6.2/10 (4259 votes)
  • Stop Making Sense (1984) 8.0/10 (4132 votes)
  • "The Cosby Show" (1984) TV Series 7.8/10 (4102 votes)
  • Moscow on the Hudson (1984) 6.1/10 (4062 votes)
  • The Hotel New Hampshire (1984) 5.8/10 (4055 votes)
  • The Philadelphia Experiment (1984) 6.1/10 (4017 votes)
  • Blame It on Rio (1984) 5.3/10 (3994 votes)
  • The Woman in Red (1984) 5.5/10 (3990 votes)
  • The Ewok Adventure (1984) (TV) 5.2/10 (3913 votes)
    ...aka Caravan of Courage (1984) (TV)
    ...aka Caravan of Courage (2004) (TV) (USA: DVD box title)
    ...aka Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure (1984) (TV) (UK: theatrical title)
    ...aka Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure (2004) (TV) (USA: DVD title)
  • Against All Odds (1984) 5.7/10 (3794 votes)
  • "Transformers" (1984) TV Series 8.3/10 (3651 votes)
    ...aka "Super God Robot Force" (1984)
    ...aka "Tatakae! Chô robot seimeitai Transformer" (1985) (Japan)
    ...aka "The Transformers" (1985) (USA: new title)
    ...aka "Transformer 2010" (1985) (Japan: third season title)
    ...aka "Transformers: Generation 1" (1984) (USA: informal title)
  • Missing in Action (1984) 4.7/10 (3602 votes)
  • "Miami Vice" (1984) TV Series 7.8/10 (3561 votes)
  • Dreamscape (1984) 6.3/10 (3524 votes)
  • Falling in Love (1984) 6.1/10 (3516 votes)
  • Places in the Heart (1984) 7.4/10 (3372 votes)
  • The Ice Pirates (1984) 5.1/10 (3258 votes)
  • Ronja Rövardotter (1984) 7.3/10 (3176 votes)
    ...aka Ronia: The Robber's Daughter (1984) (UK)
    ...aka Ronja Robbersdaughter (1986) (USA)
    ...aka Ronja Røverdatter (2001) (Norway)
  • Runaway (1984) 5.7/10 (3094 votes)
  • Forbrydelsens element (1984) 6.7/10 (3088 votes)
    ...aka The Element of Crime (1985) (UK) (USA)
  • A Soldier's Story (1984) 7.2/10 (2993 votes)
  • Seksmisja (1984) 8.0/10 (2892 votes)
    ...aka Sexmission (1984) (International: English title)
  • A Christmas Carol (1984) (TV) 7.7/10 (2892 votes)
  • City Heat (1984) 5.1/10 (2853 votes)
  • Rhinestone (1984) 2.9/10 (2849 votes)
  • ¿Qué he hecho yo para merecer esto!! (1984) 7.2/10 (2777 votes)
    ...aka What Have I Done to Deserve This? (1985) (USA)
  • The Pope of Greenwich Village (1984) 6.3/10 (2695 votes)
    ...aka Village Dreams (1984) (Europe: English title)
  • Bolero (1984) 2.4/10 (2680 votes)
    ...aka Bolero: An Adventure in Ecstasy (1984)
  • Best Defense (1984) 3.1/10 (2670 votes)
    ...aka Best Defence (1984) (UK: poster title)
  • The Lonely Guy (1984) 5.9/10 (2633 votes)
  • Electric Dreams (1984) 6.0/10 (2600 votes)
  • Cloak & Dagger (1984) 6.1/10 (2594 votes)
  • Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984) 5.5/10 (2515 votes)
  • C.H.U.D. (1984) 4.9/10 (2495 votes)
  • Threads (1984) (TV) 8.0/10 (2453 votes)
  • The River (1984) 6.0/10 (2384 votes)
  • The Brother from Another Planet (1984) 6.8/10 (2372 votes)
  • Crimes of Passion (1984) 5.9/10 (2287 votes)
    ...aka Ken Russell's Crimes of Passion (1985) (Australia)
  • The Razor's Edge (1984) 6.1/10 (2241 votes)
  • "Murder, She Wrote" (1984) TV Series 7.1/10 (2175 votes)
  • The Flamingo Kid (1984) 6.1/10 (2130 votes)
  • Kuai can che (1984) 7.0/10 (2069 votes)
    ...aka Comidas a domicilio (1984) (Spain)
    ...aka Los supercamorristas (1984) (Spain)
    ...aka Million Dollar Heiress (1984)
    ...aka Spanish Connection (1984) (India: English title)
    ...aka Spartan X (1984)
    ...aka Weapon X (1984)
    ...aka Wheels on Meals (1984) (Hong Kong: English title)
  • The Times of Harvey Milk (1984) 8.5/10 (2050 votes)
  • Iceman (1984) 6.0/10 (2031 votes)
  • I didn't realize so many of the great 80s movies I love came out in the same year. Ghostbusters. The Last Starfighter. The Natural. Rhinestone!

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    Sep 1 / 3:25pm

    Italian Locusts

    Filed under  //  books  

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    Sep 1 / 8:28am

    Robots with Friggin Laser Beams on their Heads! | Trossen Robotics Blog

    This doesn't seem like a very good idea.

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    Aug 31 / 3:16pm

    Who gets to decide what you want? | Seth's Blog

    When George Washington was a teenager, did he really, really, really want a car?

    Unlikely.

    In order to want something, you probably need to know it exists. But my guess is that it surely helps if you've been marketed to.

    One definition of happiness is wanting the things you're likely to get (or, conversely, not wanting the unattainable). One definition of marketing is persuading the world it wants what you have, regardless of whether they can afford it or not.

    We don't hesitate to motivate employees by marketing them the benefits of being promoted, even if they all can't possibly get this. We don't hesitate to tease kids by marketing every conceivable unattainable Christmas gift at them, relentlessly.

    Teenage girls are taught what to want by magazines and by peers.

    Patients are taught what to want by doctors who prescribe new tests. And doctors are taught to do that by lawyers eager to sue if they don't. Imagine going home and saying, "the doctor wanted to give me another test, but I said no..."

    This cycle of assigned wants is going to get a lot worse before it gets better. The game theory demands it.

    And so, once again it seems to come down to a personal decision. If you decide what you want (instead of letting someone else decide for you) perhaps you could choose the things that would actually bring you and your loved ones the satisfaction you can live with.

    Having just purchased a new car, this is all ringing very true.

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    Aug 30 / 6:13am

    Two weeks of polyphasic sleep

    A few months back I stumbled onto a blog chronicling an experiment with polyphasic sleeping.  Polyphasic is the term used to describe different methods of breaking up one's sleep schedule into smaller parts, mainly consisting of naps throughout the day, and in some cases a slightly longer period of "core" sleep during the night.  In the process, total sleep time can be cut down, sometimes to as little as 2-3 hours in a 24-hours period.  Way too enthusiastic, I leapt into it the very next day, without really thinking through the implications for things like my job and my marriage.  A few days later, after having her own peaceful slumber irreparably smashed at 4:00AM for three days in a row, my wife put her foot down.  It was also hard trying to find a quiet place and time to nap at work.  I was basically a zombie for the better part of a week, with nothing to show for it.  The experiment was a failure.

    Kind of.  It did give me a taste for what it would be like to have an extra 3-4 hours per day, and for the past few months I haven't been able to shake the idea that it *could* work, if I could only get the details right.

    So I'm trying it again, with a few small but important tweaks.  Once I talked to them, the people at work seemed fine giving me a quiet corner in the back room for 20 minutes in the afternoon.  The manager even brought in his spare futon and made a little napping loft for me and others to use.  Earplugs also help.  And I nudged my core nighttime sleep so that I get up around the same time as, or later than, my wife.  Coming to bed at 2:00AM doesn't seem to bother her (I've actually been doing that for years), as long as my alarm doesn't go off while she's still sleeping.  Below is the schedule I've been following:

    Core sleep:         1:30AM - 6:00AM             4.5 hours
    Nap:                    12:30PM - 12:50PM         20 minutes
    Nap:                     7:00PM - 7:20PM            20 minutes

    In practice, I'm sometimes not in bed till 2:00AM, and for the naps I've been giving myself 30 minutes for now so that I have time to settle in and get comfortable.  It comes out to about 5 hours of sleep a day.  This schedule is called the Everyman, because it's supposed to be easier for people with regular lives and responsibilities to adapt to.  In contrast to the Uberman schedule, which consists of six 20 minute naps throughout the day, every four hours with clockwork precision, and no core sleep.  An Uberman I am not. 

    This last week brought some gnarly sleep deprivation, particularly from about 11:00pm - 1:30am.  The rest of the day I could keep myself awake by reading or writing or doing work on the computer.  The Wii came in handy too.  But after 11:00pm staring at a page or a computer screen wasn't cutting it, and on a few nights it came down to pacing and splashing cold water on my face for an hour or two.  From what I've read, week two is usually the worst week for those adapting to the Everyman, and I think I've begun to turn a corner.  It's 12:45 on Saturday night and I feel a little fatigued, but over all not bad.

    I'll try to write another update next week.  Hopefully the nights of near-narcolepsy will be completely behind me by then.

    Filed under  //  polyphasic  

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    Aug 23 / 10:38pm

    George Eastman House Charlie Chaplin Series (all four color photos)

    Zoller, Charles C.   American (1854-1934)
    DESCRIPTIVE TITLE: Portrait of Charlie Chaplin
    ca 1917-1918
    color plate, screen (Autochrome) process
    3 1/4 x 4 in.
    Gift of Mr. & Mrs. Lucius A. Dickerson
    82:2027:0024
    Portrait of Charlie Chapl Zoller, Charles C.   American (1854-1934)
    DESCRIPTIVE TITLE: Portrait of Charlie Chaplin
    ca 1917-1918
    color plate, screen (Autochrome) process
    3 1/4 x 4 in.
    Gift of Mr. & Mrs. Lucius A. Dickerson
    GEH NEG: 48979
    82:2027:0025
    Portrait of Charlie Chapl Zoller, Charles C.   American (1854-1934)
    DESCRIPTIVE TITLE: Portrait of Charlie Chaplin
    ca 1917-1918
    color plate, screen (Autochrome) process
    3 1/4 x 4 in.
    Gift of Mr. & Mrs. Lucius A. Dickerson
    GEH NEG: 48978
    82:2027:0026
    Portrait of Charlie Chapl Zoller, Charles C.   American (1854-1934)
    DESCRIPTIVE TITLE: Portrait of Charlie Chaplin
    ca 1917-1918
    color plate, screen (Autochrome) process
    3 1/4 x 4 in.
    Gift of Mr. & Mrs. Lucius A. Dickerson
    GEH NEG: 48980
    82:2027:0027
    Portrait of Charlie Chapl

    Here's all four in the series.

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    Aug 23 / 10:35pm

    George Eastman House Charlie Chaplin Series

    Portrait of Charlie Chapl

    Just weird...

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