Colorless Green Ideas

Sweet, Sweet Randomness

Hoy! It's been quite a while since last update, I know. But things happen, and people are lazy. I'm lazy.

2500 hits!
So I was going to update this when I got 2000 hits. But it got pushed out of extremely short term mind, plunging indefinately into the murky depths of the quagmire that is my memory. Then one day I just happened to glance at the little counter-majiggy, and to to my surprise ( and great elation ), it was over 2500.

So, this party is for you, 2000. Better late than never, and all that, right?
Any excuse to eat cake, I say.

I doubt I get this much traffic. I can probably attribute it to 8 - 10 people loading me up a bunch of times...though I'd like to think that wasn't the case. Leave some comments all you people, damn you!

Hrrm, "loading me up..."
That's a Matthew Good cue right there....hrrm. Choices, choices. 98 songs, and every single one of them is fucking awesome. Matt, you are a national treasure. I've settled on "Blue Skies Over Badlands," the best damn 8 minute, 14 second song in the WORLD. Moving on!

Bright Eyes Owns

For the past 2+ weeks I have been captivated by Bright Eyes' latest double-releases, I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning, and Digital Ash in a Digital Urn. I would give anything to have a quarter of this kid's raw talent and amazing ambition. He's barely older than myself, and has 7 critically acclaimed albums under his belt.

His melodies are incredible, the kind that reappear in your head days later and incite you to listen to the song over and over again. His lyrics, while simple and relatable, are somehow wildly poetic and abstract. His quavering voice is raw and abrasive, but contains a depth of emotion that other singers can only wish for.

These albums are simply essential listening.

Obligatory Impassioned Political Commentary

Here's the part where I lose the majority of my readers. Damn you, you apathetic sheep.

In light of Canada's recent ( and excellent ) decision to stay the hell away from America's Ballistic Missile Defense plan, I decided to write my foreign policy term paper on the failings of BMD and its dangerous implications. In doing my research I've come across a myriad of facts and bits of information that have left me much more fearful of our future than I once was. Some info I pulled from my sources:

A report released in January of 2003 by the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation in Washington stated that the cumulative cost of a “layered” missile defense system - including boost-phase, mid-course, and terminal defenses as called for by the administration - could go as high as 1.2 trillion dollars .

Between 1976 and 1999, 17 high-altitude interceptor trials have been conducted, designed to test various interceptors and their ability to destroy incoming ballistic missiles. Of those 17 tests, only 3 interceptors were able to hit their targets, and of those, at least one was a qualified success.

The most recent tests, conducted on December 15, 2004 and February 14, 2005, have both been failures.

China, Russia, and North Korea have all warned the U.S. that implementing a Ballistic Missile Defense system will result in a new nuclear arms race. Other nations believed to be stepping up nuke research and production include India, Pakistan, Libya, and Iran, among others.

An intercontinental ballistic missile ( ICBM ) strike is the least likely form of attack that a "rogue" state would resort to.

I quote from a document published in 2000 by the Project for a New American Century: "Building an effective, robust, layered, global system of missile defenses is a prerequisite for maintaining American preeminence. Unrestricted use of space has become a major strategic interest of the United States."

I conclude, as many others before me have, that BMD is not about defending the United States, but about taking that first vital step toward achieving and maintaining global military dominance through the weaponization of space. There is a superpower showdown between the U.S. and China fast approaching, and the U.S. desperately wants that upper hand.

Unfortunately, due the amazing popularity of ignorance in North America today, as well as the absurd level of media censorship, this bit of information would seem like a crackpot conspiracy theory to most. For some reason, people think their lives cannot be reduced to a dollar value. They have been, and they will continue to be. For some reason, people think that they live in a happy liberal-idealist playground, where democracy and institutions will save us all. If only it were like that.

Anarchy and survival rule the day, and in such a system, having weaponized space on your side definately tips the scales.

We've seen the imperialism already, with the "liberation" of Iraq. How many more people have to die in the name of a democracy that does not exist before we come to our senses? Whatever happened to the seperation of church and state? Nevermind that, just fly the flag in the front yard. Doesn't it feel good to be patriotic?

I've been having trouble sleeping at night...

posted by Sylpheed @ 1:27 AM