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20091029

In which our hero listens to the locals and meets a ghost

The quest for the Honest Scrap continues . . .


The inn in Mordavia is a cheery, bustling place full of happy, friendly people. Except without the cheer. And the bustle. And the happy, friendly people . . .



The music in the inn, barely audible in the background, is Anitra's Dance by composer Edvard Grieg:



The same (a jazzed up version of it) by Regina Carter:


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20091028

The Eyes Have It

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Here is that old question again---it goes way back in time:


Why is it that when a man tells a woman that he wants her . . . she looks down?


Most women do.

In-depth, thought-provoking looks at issues such as this have long been part of a renowned and respected Wulfshead's tradition epitomized by Ben Varkentine's esteemed Philosophy Lectures series [1] [2] [3].

In keeping with the tradition, it is my pleasure to present to you today: Dr. Paul Vehorn!


How to Know if a Shy Girl Likes You -- powered by eHow.com

Dr. Paul Vehorn has a Ph.D and did graduate work in behavior psychology. He has also been a nationwide talk show host on the Sun Radio Network. Dr. Vehorn wrote "Dynamic Dating" and "Boomer Girls, a Woman's Guide to Men & Dating."
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20091027

J'entends le Moulin




Refrain:
J'entends le moulin
Tique, tique, taque
J'entends le moulin, taque.


Mon père a fait bâtir maison
J'entends le moulin taque
L'a fait bâtir à trois pignons
Tique, tique, tique, taque.

Sont trois charpentiers qui la font,
J'entends le moulin taque,
Mais le plus jeun', c'est mon mignon,
Tique, tique, tique, taque.

Qu'apportes-tu, mon p'tit fripon?
J'entends le moulin taque
C'est un pâté de trois pigeons
Tique, tique, tique, taque.

Asseyons- nous et le mangeons
J'entends le moulin taque
En s'asseyant, il fit un bond
Tique, tique, tique, taque.

En s'asseyant, il fit un bond
J'entends le moulin taque
Qui fit trembler mer et poissons
Tique, tique, tique, taque.

Qui fit trembler mer et poissons,
J'entends le moulin taque
Et les cailloux qui sont au fond
Tique, tique, tique, taque.
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KEEP EM COMING BARTENDER


The most we can ask from life is that it takes a day off from kicking us in the ass Bartender.
I worked for years on the unions negotiating committee. Was an officer and active in local politics. Was able to get benefits for my brothers and sisters we never had. Guaranteed work week. Job and benefit protections. Pay parity between male and female workers. Allowed to use accrued sick time to take care of family members.
In one ten minute meeting, the negotiating committee that replaced mine gave it all back. When I asked them what the hell was going on the big union chief said "They can do this. I can't hear you."
I expect and even respect the opposition trying to stick it to us. That's their job. Why my side thought they needed help is beyond me.
One more for the road Bartender.

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20091026

COOL ORWELLIAN LAPD TV SPOT CREEPING FOLKS OUT


An ad released by the Los Angeles Police Department urging the public to participate in an anti-terror snooping program is being described by numerous observers and news sources by a single word: Creepy.

The one-and-a-half minute spot, which can be viewed below, features a multicultural line-up of speakers explaining why they participate in iWatch, a "neighborhood watch for the whole city," as the ad describes it.

"If you see, hear, or smell something suspicious, report it. Reporting is easy. Use the web or the phone," the speakers state. "A single report can lead to actions that can stop a terrorist attack. Think about that. Think about the power of that. Think about the power of iWatch."

And indeed plenty of people are now thinking about the power of iWatch, and many observers are not impressed. Allison Kilkenny, on her TrueSlant blog, says it won't be long before iWatch will be exploited by people for their own purposes.

Tina Dupuy at the media-affairs blog MediaBistro writes that the ad "is universally thought to be creepy and not unlike we've imagined PSA's on Orwell's telescreens to be like."

But our reaction is why did this take so long? Hello! September 11th 2001 was like eight years ago. It's taken the LAPD this long to ask Angelenos to be on the look out for anything suspicious in regards to terrorism?! What, did they get stuck in traffic for the better part of a decade?


The full story.....

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20091024

Jabberwocky

Jose de Creeft's Alice in Wonderland (click on the photo to enlarge.)


by Lewis Carroll, author of 'Jabberwocky.'

"Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.

“Beware the Jabberwock, my son!
The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!
Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun
The frumious Bandersnatch!”

He took his vorpal sword in hand:
Long time the manxome foe he sought—
So rested he by the Tumtum tree,
And stood awhile in thought.

And, as in uffish thought he stood,
The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,
Came whiffling through the tulgey wood,
And burbled as it came!

One, two! One, two! And through and through
The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!
He left it dead, and with its head
He went galumphing back.

“And, hast thou slain the Jabberwock?
Come to my arms, my beamish boy!
O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!”
He chortled in his joy.

’Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.


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20091019

Do you like Pistachios?

Ahhh.... well then, Click Here to see a 12 second video of me cracking one open. My sincerest apologies for stealing a 10 pound bag of the Wulfshead pistachio stock. Without them I'd never have attempted to try this for it took me quite some time to perfect my technique. ;-)
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20091013

Wulfshead Banned Phrases List



Realization doesn't destroy the individual any more than the reflection of the moon breaks a drop of water. A drop of water can reflect the whole sky.

---Dogen

The very act of observing disturbs the system.

---Walter Heisenberg

God hated reality but realized it was still the only place to get a good steak.

---Woody Allen

'Whatever' tops list of annoying slang
CBC News

The popular term "whatever" topped a list of five most annoying phrases, easily beating "you know," according to a poll by New York.-based Marist College.

The survey found that 47 per cent of Americans were highly annoyed by the slacker term, followed by 25 per cent who were most peeved at "you know."

Other annoying contenders were "it is what it is," with 11 per cent and "anyway," with seven per cent.

If you're not familiar with the phrase "it is what it is," (except from American TV) then there's a good chance you're Canadian.

That's because the two nations do have different slang, even in an era of Tweeting, texting and Facebooking, according to David Stover, president of the Oxford University Press Canada.

Thanks to the internet and the rise of social media, the English language is in a time of terrific change, with texting terms making it into daily conversation, at least among the younger crowd, he said.

The term "emo", is an example, said Stover. Emo is short for emotional in the texting world, but more and more it's making its way into spoken conversation.

But who knows how long it will last. Like the old saying, the bigger they are the harder they fall, the faster a slang term rises the quicker it seems to die, said Stover.

"What lexicographers have found in regard to slang — because of Twitter and Facebook — is that slang tends to bubble up even more quickly, but they last like mayflies. They disappear even faster," said Stover.

So far, annoying terms like "whatever," "like," and even "bootylicious," seem to be here for the long term, said Stover.

"Bootylicious has been around for a while, since 1992. And it's not going away any time soon," he said.

"Human beings are very creative. We tend not to just speak a language, but also play with a language," said Stover.

And besides leaders in popular culture, who are the great producers of new slang?

"Teenaged girls are among the most creative users," said Stover.

Asked why that is, Stover, the father of a teen daughter, joked that a psychologist might better answer the question, but added in all seriousness that it's because teen girls do a lot of talking with each other.

Stover says slang can be annoying but as a language lover, he wouldn't have it any other way.

"Annoyance is in the ear of the beholder," he said. "Repetition can make a phrase annoying but it also makes for a liveliness in everyday life. And you always have the option — if it's annoying just ignore it."

The Marist College poll surveyed 938 U.S. adults.

The five choices of phrases were chosen by people at the poll discussing what popular words and phrases might be considered especially annoying, said college spokeswoman Mary Azzoli.

with files from The Associated Press

http://www.cbc.ca/consumer/story/2009/10/08/consumer-slang-poll.html
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20091009

A MORE DESERVING PRESIDENT


The Nobel Prize Committee's slap in the face of former President Bush has not gone unnoticed. President Obama only bowed to the Saudi Prince. President Bush gave him the kiss of peace on the lips. The Nobel Prize Committee can kiss my peaceful rear end for this travesty!

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Some say it's premature




That's what hope is about...




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20091007

Praying for Armageddon?

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I know what you are thinking...

When did Christianity become such a culture of death?

Actually, The World Aflame is not what you think, and the author has more in common with Neil Gaiman's Sandman than with Choronzon---or the end-times Apocalyptic Fundamentalist Christians (hard to tell them apart from Choronzon, these days) .


Choronzon and Dream - A hope in Hell (Neil Gaiman)

In truth, there is very little I really know about the blogger other than the blog itself. The author sure strikes me as a person of refined taste, though. And a passionate soul.

I don't know how serious our bartender is with this honest scrap award business but I submit that The World Aflame belongs onto the list.

The Wulfshead sure could use some of that fire.

I would have invited the author over, but The World Aflame has no email listed.
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The choice is Life

Via Quidnovi, via Tom Bombadil:

"A strange security results when death is so close a companion. It can be felt while crunching along a beach, a skeleton walking on skeletons with the time machine turning in step, wavefalls and footfalls. A gleeful levity at being so brief, at feeling so exempt."
---James Hamilton Paterson, Sea Burial

"Life is the laugh of the actual in the face of nothing. There is so much to sense, think, and emote about, so much life to endure, such fullness of good and bad---and all of it, suddenly, nothing. Only laughter fits the gap. And he laughs luminously with the great swell of being nothing."
---A.A.Attanasio, Solis


THE ENDLESS WAVE



Saint Anthony knew what ailed the world;
He could see the skull under the mask.
And he thought up long answers to very short questions
Less clever men never would ask.

Yes, Saint Anthony knew what ailed the world,
Though the world didn't know she was sick.

"Shall eternity break like an endless wave?
Can a candle flame burn on a circular wick?
Shall the beast never die that consumes its own tail
Like a dog with gangrene to lick?"

Yes, Saint Anthony looked for a cure for the world,
But in truth he ailed alone.

So off went the Saint in Saint Anthony's boat,
With a bird who played deaf for a fee.

(Melancholy had rusted the preacher-man's throat;
May it never infect you and me!)

And Saint Anthony hoped his parish'ners could be
Bigger fish in a much bigger sea.
(…)
Be assured---any dreamer's a prophet
Who dreams of a house in the sky
Or paradise.

May belief be the slave of aesthetics
And the prettier doctrine apply
Where doubt arise.

For remember---all nightmares are fiction,
And any foreboding a lie
To children's eyes.

And why would the world be more perfect
Than anything else made of clay---
Like you and I?

For the saint is less blessed than the gardener,
Whose husbandry makes of the earth
A paradise.

The naïve---who embellish his garden
Like innocent blossom---are worth
More than the wise.

Both the text above (extracted from "Saint Anthony's Vocation" and "Choose your own Dream") and the illustration ("The Endless Wave", which its author calls a Tomograph, a 3-dimensional scenes created using a variety of real elements mixed with hand painted cutouts) are from Patrick Woodroffe's amazing collection, Hallelujah Anyway.

Its extraordinary images explore and celebrate the border between reality and illusion; a realm of wild wonders and bizarre beings, brought to life through a combination of paint, etching and highly unconventional photographic techniques.

Published: 1987 (currently out of print)
 


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20091005

Excuse Me, but there's a Tear in my Beer

Actually, I do believe I've spoiled my beer with salt. Bartender, may I have another? On second thought, make it something stronger & keep them coming. I'd very much like to drown my sorrows today. Apologies for being a downer (so unjinlike!) but I've a tragic tale to tell...


I am utterly & completely devastated so I've decided to get toasted. Will someone please make sure I get home okay?

It was the winter of 2005. I was stuck in a terrible marriage with no fast end in sight. I was not the brassy jin you know today. I was quiet, lonely & thanks to the wasband, very secluded. I had lost my wonderful Black Tri Australian Shepherd 'Bella' 2 months prior at the young age of 5 to a seemingly heart related birth defect. I couldn't stand the quiet any longer.

Enter the eccentric Golden Retriever breeder that fell jinto my lap. I was never one for touting breeders as my philosophy was always to shun the profit of animal sales. They aren't pets to me, they are companions. Ahhh... but this gent was different & jinto my life he brought a gorgeous red/golden on the night before Xmas Eve. 

She wasn't even 2 months old- far too young to be away from her mother so I knew she needed extra special care. I raised her on a holistic vegetarian diet much like my own, with mass quantities of research into all the additional things she needed to grow into a strong healthy pup, of course. I named her Brioche after the traditional French eggy breakfast bread because her fur was the sheen of a fresh baked fluted boule.

I swore I would do everything right this time round so she'd live a long & happy life. In fact, no spaying for her as I thought one day I might have adequate living space for a batch of mini Brioche's... *sigh*

She grew to be strong, healthy & very very very happy. She got me through the rest of the marriage & I made sure I retained custody of her in the divorce. She was kind, gentle & utterly selfless. She was my familiar. Anyone who met her was absolutely stunned by her intelligence & love. She radiated love.



...and now she's gone. Didn't even make it to her 4th birthday. I had to make the decision to put her to sleep this past Saturday eve. It was the hardest thing I've ever had to do in this lifetime. 

She had started limping about 2.5 months ago & I assumed she took a tumble down the stairs when I wasn't home. I don't even care to speak of the incompetent vet who originally misdiagnosed her. *sigh*

It got worse & last Tuesday I tried a different vet. He seemed hopeful that it was operable & we brought her in on Wednesday for the surgery. The results came in on Friday morning. A very rare form of terminal, untreatable, blood bourne cancer found mostly in goldens (hereditary). He suspected she only had a few days to live. Evidently they were amazed she had lasted this long without it filling her body. They didn't come out right & say it... but it was inferred that how I raised her had something to do with how amazing she still looked. She didn't look sick at all... except for the massive rear leg.

She went peacefully in my arms & she looked so damn beautiful, so unbelievably perfect. Yet now I've a terrible void in my heart and a normally stoic jin, under any & all trying circumstances, can't seem to stop the tears from filling all of your beers.



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THE SOLDIERS OF GLENN BECK: BEWARE THE EVANGELICAL RED GUARD


I have long maintained that religious extremism in America is every bit as dangerous as terrorism, and that it is, in fact a form of terrorism. The following analysis should make your hair stand on end:

Over the last 30 years Evangelical fundamentalists have managed to do what Chairman Mao failed to do with his Red Guards: indoctrinate a whole generation of evangelical people to see their own society as the enemy and act like subversives from within the culture. These people are as anti-American as Al-Qaeda. The "Christian Reconstruction" movement is working for theocracy. Reconstructionism (of which Gary North is one leader) says that the law given for the political and legal ordering of ancient Israel is intended for all people at all times.

Reconstructionist leader David Barton gives a definition:
"The Christian goal for the world is the universal development of Biblical theocratic republics, in which every area of life is redeemed and placed under the Lordship of Jesus Christ and the rule of God's law."
Frank Schaeffer also warns:
Those who say that the Religious Right and the far right have lost their power are looking through the lens of rule-obeying democratic liberalism. They don't understand that their opponents will always carry the proverbial lead pipe in his or her back pocket. To the progressives who think that the Religious Right and the right wing has lost its power I say this: You're correct when it comes to political facts (for the moment) of the last election, but you're dead wrong when it comes to the way revolutions work.

Who are Glenn Beck's foot soldiers? In effect what we have is a group of indoctrinated people who have never actually lived in America because they were brought up deliberately cloistered from it by their parents and churches. Because they are legally "Americans" they can move freely around our democracy trying to destroy it working within the United States. Today they are acting like a fifth column, no, they are a fifth column. Some of them have not just seceded metaphorically, there is even a growing movement for states to secede literally.

Today the right wing America haters actually are doing to America what no "illegal" immigrants ever do: work to overthrow our democracy and replace it with a theocracy. The home-schooled, privately educated brainwashed horde are an antidemocratic, fundamentally anti-American political movement. For a start they do not accept the results of the last election.
Read the full story...

Cross posted at MadMikesAmerica
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20091004

Feathers in the wind




The original Korean title is Git (feather).

It goes something like this:



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20091003

Oh, that's not *right*......


It is entries like this that cause The Wulfshead to be banned by the Athens City School's Content Filter Service.
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20091001

City Park Swans

Swans mate for life and in City Park New Orleans we had two mated pairs of white swans and a mated pair of black swans. Over the last couple years there has been one white offspring and one black one. In the last month or so these two solos have found each other and now you never see them apart. Can't wait to see what happens when these two produce offspring (assuming that they can). We may soon have creole swans - we already have creole ducks. In the post Katrina evolutionary pressure cooker our different species of ducks started cross breeding to produce an amazing variety of new creole ducks! Ain't life grand!
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Is There Anything To Eat?


Leda And The Swan, by Peter Paul Rubens

Often drunk and seldom sober
falls like the leaves in October.

---old saying

Dry your barley land in October,
Or you’ll always be sober.

---even older saying

Lack of money is the root of all evil.

---George Bernard Shaw

Hungry Men Love Larger Ladies
By: Tom Jacobs

A man's image of the perfect romantic partner varies depending upon whether he is feeling hungry. That's the conclusion of a newly published study, which finds peckish males prefer females who are heavier, taller and older. http://www.jsecjournal.com/Articles.htm

The research, published in the Journal of Social, Evolutionary and Cultural Psychology, confirms and expands upon two previous papers: a 2005 study that concluded heavier women are preferred in cultures with scarce resources, and a 2006 British study that found hunger influences judgments of female physical attractiveness.

The latter report, in the British Journal of Psychology, concluded that males with empty stomachs preferred heavier females. The new study refines that earlier research, suggesting that what hungry men find appealing isn't stored fat per se, but rather the aura of maturity that larger, taller and older women embody.

A research team led by psychologist Terry F. Pettijohn II of Coastal Carolina University conducted two surveys of 162 and 166 undergraduates, respectively. The students were approached just before or after eating dinner at a campus dining hall, and asked to assess their hunger level on a scale of one to 10.

The undergrads were asked specific questions about their ideal romantic partner, including the fantasy figure's height, weight and age. They were also asked to choose between two sets of personality traits: One that included words such as "strong, mature, independent, competent," and another that featured such terms as "warm, naïve, kind, agreeable."

Ravenous males described a perfect partner who was relatively older, taller and heavier. The differences between their perfect 10 and that of satiated men were relatively small — less than one year in age, and less than 1 inch in height — but they were statistically significant and consistent across the two surveys.

The women's description of their ideal hunk did not vary significantly depending upon their hunger level. "However, hungry females preferred males with mature personality characteristics over non-mature characteristics," the researchers write.

The researchers explain this using evolutionary psychology. According to the "environmental security hypothesis," a term Pettijohn introduced in a 1999 paper, "interpersonal preferences may partially depend on how secure or insecure individuals feel regarding their surroundings at any given time." They note that earlier research found Playboy centerfold models tend to be older, heavier and taller "during historical periods of threat."

Hunger is, of course, an indicator of threat: The body needs food! "Hunger signals the need for nutritional input, which is a signal of resource scarcity," the researchers write, "and should lead the individual to engage in behaviors and show preferences in line with that state of scarcity or threat."

http://www.miller-mccune.com/news/hungry-men-love-larger-ladies-1497

"Peckish males?" Hmmm, never heard that one before. "Peckish" apparently is a synonym for "hungry," more commonly in Britain. I'll leave inevitable lewd commentary to other patrons. Miller-McCune magazine is out of California somewhere, and available online and at newsstands.
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