John Hawkins has a great series of interviews with female bloggers to discuss advantages, challenges, and special slurs they get. The interviews are with Ann Althouse, Kathy Shaidle, Emily Zanotti, La Shawn Barber, and Mary Katharine Ham who has the most challenges since her name is offensive to Islam.
Archive of entries posted on 18th March 2008
A Story, Bit by Bit
Hellbender: Chapter 6 – Concerns of the Gods
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Asmod was at his throne as always. He never moved from it. He never needed to. He was everywhere, and his throne room only was for the convenience of the human mind in needing to believe a being had to occupy a physical space. It was the same as when people would look upwards to pray to the god of old; Asmod simply granted his subject a place to look to.
Robert Darius was still bound to physical form but had transcended the animal existence of being human. He still held the appearance of a man, but he certainly was quite more than one now. His devotion to Asmod had paid off with no longer being attached to a mere mortal form. Thus Darius had no need to have physical proximity to Asmod’s avatar in three-dimensional space to communicate with his ruler, yet he still did so as was custom. “I assume there is no need to tell you this, but the device was stolen.”
Asmod did not limit himself to a purely human form as he felt it limited the perception of him in the human mind. His face was a dispassionate gold mask which titled ever so slightly as if to face Darius. “I am aware.” His voice echoed throughout the room while still not being overbearing. “I am also aware it was not Serpine or Loch who obtained it.”
“They were certainly after it, though. I believe the attack on Shride was merely to cover that that fact.”
“The loss of one city is of no concern. I need to know where the device is.”
It was of some curiosity what made this device so important as to concern Asmod himself, but Darius knew Asmod would tell him what he needed to know. “To know so precisely where we were keeping it points to an inside job. I’m afraid the followers of Elza have infiltrated us again, and it appears they have your device.”
“We cannot let that be.”
Elza was of a great annoyance to Asmod, as Darius assumed she was to all Transcendents. While they tried to build something from this world, it seemed Elza treated it all as a game and used her fanatics to no other end than hindering everyone else. Further complicating things, she had no country, and her followers were hidden all over the world. Her current game was using propaganda to recruit fanatical terrorists, but she was a constantly changing threat. “I’ll need some leeway to deal with her people. Most likely, those responsible are now beyond your borders.”
“Do what you can, but don’t go through Dammon. I don’t need anyone else involved in this.”
This was an even greater curiosity. They often went to Dammon for things that went beyond current treaties with the other Transcendents, so it meant something that Asmod didn’t want him to know of the device… whatever it was.
“I can see your thoughts, Darius. The truth is, even I am not sure of what threat the device may be — if any. It needs to be obtained and studied. It was but good chance we found it first, and now that we know of its existence, we need to possess it until the truth of it known. Also, we need to make sure no other Transcendent knows about it… if possible.”
“I understand. Obtaining the device will be my only priority.”
“Beware that Serpine will most likely task Loch with obtaining it as well.”
Darius shivered. “Loch himself could not be let loose in such a way, could he?”
“Most likely not, but he is treacherous. Be wary of him.”
“I will.” Darius turned to leave.
“One more thing.”
“Yes, lord?”
“There could possibly be another being at play here.”
“What do you mean?”
“Someone powerful like us Transcendents… but not one of us. If you detect his involvement, I need to know.”
At this point, Darius hoped Asmod could see all the questions in his mind. “Is this a great danger?”
“It is a concern. There are too many coincidences as of late, and when strings are being pulled, he is always the one pulling them. We thought he had no interest in this world, but if he is back, that is something we all need to know.”
NEXT
An Idea
The Supreme Court is beginning to hear a case about the Second Amendment (they are looking at the constitutionality of D.C.’s gun ban), and I had an idea for another check and balance against the Supreme Court which sometimes seems like it has too much power. If the Supreme Court makes a decision the other branches don’t like, it should be constitutional for members of the Legislative and Executive branches to wait by the Justices’ cars so they can jump them when they exit the court. That way, Supreme Court Justices can make radical decisions if they want but they’ll know they may have the crap kicked out of them for it.
You may notice a lot of my suggestions for politics is to add more violence to it, but that’s just because there’s so little in it right now and that’s stupid. I wish it legally allowed to beat up a legislator for that oversight.
Wal-Mart Tweaks Store For Terrorists
BAGHDAD (AP) – After Wal-Mart found rousing success by adding Arab-friendly products to their Dearborn, Michigan store, the retail giant has taken this formula across the ocean and opened it’s first terrorist-friendly facility in Baghdad.
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With it’s motto of “Allah Ackbar. Allah.”, the new “Wal-Martyr” store in the heart of Sadr City’s insurgency district caters to the underserved needs of locals who want the convenience of one-stop IED shopping.
“This is great!” said Mohammed Hasan. “I used to have to go downtown to buy dynamite from Mohammed, then across the river to buy fuses from Mohammed, and then to my brother-in-law Mohammed to buy remote control detonators. Wal-Martyr has everything I need, and less travel time means less chance of catching an American sniper bullet with my forehead.”
Aspiring female suicide bomber Fatima Hameed was equally enthusiastic. “I’d resigned myself to meeting Allah draped in some drab, colorless bomb belt, but this store has all the latest designer fashions. Look!” she said, pointing excitedly, “They’ve got Bomby Hilfiger!”
Martyr-to-be Mohammed Salih, however, expressed some concerns. “I think it’s great that the infidel retail establishment is finally following the lead of America’s journalists in assisting with our Holy War, but I find it disturbing that a lot of these goods were manufatured in China. They have no respect for human rights over there.”
Surprisingly, even America’s military supports the new shopping center. “I used to have to run all over the city looking for terrorists to kill,” said Marine Sergeant Lennie “Grits” Purdue. “Now all I have to do is hang out in the parking lot like a cop waiting outside a bar at closing time and shoot them when they come out. Like my friend Gerard says: ‘Fish. Barrel. Bang.'”
State of the Economy
You know what they say: “It’s a recession when your neighbor loses his job, a depression when you lose yours, and an armageddon when Frank J. is unemployed.” Really, if a genius engineer and programmer like me can’t find a job, what chance does anyone else have? I’m this close to becoming a mad scientists and using my tech skills to “show them all.” So, yes, the free t-shirt still goes unclaimed. I’ve gotten a lot of leads, though, from readers, so hopefully something will pan out soon. If you have any other tips or contacts to help me get tech employment in Boise, please e-mail.
In the meantime, I’m going to work on web programming skills since everyone seems to love web programming. Now that my rater seems to be working fine, I need to write some scripts to parse the SQL data for different purposes. So what’s the way to go? A CGI script or something? I’m completely clueless, so please point me in the right direction. I want it to print out information for my own edification as well as make some scripts to generate HTML for things like a “Most Popular Posts This Week” feature. I want to write these from scratch and just need to know what realm in which to start.
And, if I don’t find a job soon, I will begin soliciting tips on being a hobo and what boxes make the best shelters.
Principles for Sale (Cheap)
Waiting for that Obama’s speech on Wright. I wonder if he’ll later have to distance himself from his wife:
“I never in our years together heard her make such statements against America and I would have divorced her years ago if I had.”
He could later use about that same statement to distance himself from the Democratic Party.
UPDATE:
I think he did really well, talking very positively about America while not completely throwing his pastor under the bus. Almost makes me want to take the blue pill and vote for him.
Anyway, there’s plenty in it to pick at, but I don’t think any flaw will overwhelm the speech in its entirety. I just hope news networks will nip in the bud the suggestion that’s Wright’s crap is par for the course with black churches. Obama reinforced that idea, and it’s quite a bit venomous to just let it sit there.