|
|
|
Welcome to mistersite.net, home of... well, something unique, I hope. Be sure to check out all those lovely links to the left to see who I am, what I do, and what I like. Read my blog too... it's right under this paragraph. And leave a comment, so I know you've visited.
NL Division Series Game 1: Cubs 4, Braves 2.
AL Division Series Game 1: Twins 3, Yankees 1.
The dream is getting closer to reality.....
What a happy day.
posted by jimmy at 20:40 -
Read comments here!
A response....James G. Gilmore V, M.A.,
ProBush.com appreciates your request to be added to the ProBush.com Traitor List™.
At this time we are accepting applications for citizens interested in being featured on the ProBush.com Traitor List™.
You can find more information by following this link. http://www.probush.com/traitor_slot.htm
In some cases we may ask for your social security number to "confirm" your US Citizenship.
ProBush.com appreciates your dedication to the first amendment and freedom of speech.
ProBush.com does not engage in public debates or forums at this time.
ProBush.com values your freedom of expression, and we hope you value ours as well.
ProBush.com does not respect your right to privacy and all emails and correspondence sent to ProBush.com is the property of ProBush.com.
ProBush.com authorizes you (James G. Gilmore V, M.A.) to reproduce this correspondence on and only on www.mistersite.net.
ProBush.com encourages you to visit the ProBush.com poster store.
Best Regards,
Editor - ProBush.com, Inc. Hmmmm.... not exactly the response I was looking for, but very intriguing nonetheless... it seems that if I want to make their "traitor list" I have to donate to their organization, which doesn't state how they would use the money. I'm not down with that. So it looks like I'm going to have to settle for not being on the list, but knowing in my heart that I am indeed a traitor. Even more disappointing is their unwillingness to engage in public debate. I should like to see how they defend their peculiar view of treason and balance it against the Bill of Rights. Ah well, disappointment happens.
Honestly, I'm still having a tough time deciding whether they're serious or whether this is a uber-Swiftian attempt at satire. Again, the line between utter stupidity and sheer brilliance is a thin one (as it was in Dude, Where's My Car?). If they're serious about all their opinions, then they have chosen to express them in a way that makes them come off as uneducated and rather dim-witted. If this is satire, then it's just about as brilliant a piece of satire as I've ever seen.
And I would think it was undoubtedly satire if not for two things: (1) the lawsuit by former Senator Abourezk against the site (which admittedly could be a stunt), and (2) the fact that there really are people out there who believe the same things as these people, which is really rather sad if you think about it. Read the letters column in any major newspaper after an editorial criticizes GWB (the Chicago Tribune is a good one for this) and you'll find at least one letter saying that GWB is the best leader and president we've ever had, and that anyone who disagrees or criticizes him (a) does not support our troops, (b) is aiding and abetting the "enemy," and (c) is a traitor to his or her country and leader. Say what you will about Clinton fanatics, but I never saw charges of treason leveled by any of his supporters against his detractors. Nor, come to think of it, can I remember a time when criticism of a president was equated with treason. Perhaps it happened before I was born.
Why is this happening in America? Why are our president's supporters so rabid? I think it's because GWB has established a state religion of sorts: a hybrid form of evangelical Christianity and hero-worship. He has continually used religious language and religious imagery to describe his "war on terror"; the word "crusade" comes to mind here. He also has claimed, if I'm not mistaken, to have been told by God to go to war against Iraq (which, if true, would be the first recorded instance of such an event since... well, since ancient Israel.) To his supporters, GWB has framed himself as a modern David, leading his armies into battle against the Hittites or Amorites... despite the fact that, while America was fighting its own Goliath in Viet Nam, GWB was playing hooky from the Texas Air National Guard.
And like any state religion, the Bushlims are engaging in persecution of the heretics, this time through Grand Inquisitor John Ashcroft and USA PATRIOT (I, which has been used *gasp* on non-terrorists, and the proposed II, which is even more insidious), through Don Rumsfeld's insistence that antiwar protestors are "aiding and abetting the enemy," through the incitement of the grassroots rank-and-file to make them intolerant of any criticism of the president, and willing to boycott (read: "burn as a witch") any who dare suggest that GWB is doing anything but a great job. (Yes, it is their right to boycott the Dixie Chicks and Martin Sheen, Dad, just as it is my right to criticize them for doing so. God bless freedom of speech, eh? At least, until the Grand Inquisitor decides that's an "aid to terror" too.....)
Well, I'm done ranting here. Yesterday was the first day of classes, and I like them all. My early-morning Old Testament prof is English, and he looks a little like Robin Williams, so I always get a little chuckle when I picture him in drag as Mrs. Doubtfire. (Yeah, yeah, Mrs. D was Scottish, so sue me.) But he knows his stuff when it comes to the Old Testament, so it's cool. And my Ethics prof, Glen Stassen, is not only one of the most intelligent Christian thinkers and ethicists I've ever come across, he's also the son of the late Harold Stassen, who was instrumental in the founding of the United Nations. Cool. I'm also taking a Medieval/Reformation Church History class, which isn't as interesting as the other two, but still is quite groovy.
I ate a Rudolph Bueltmann sandwich yesterday from the Catalyst (Fuller's sandwich shop), which names all its sandwiches after theologians. It was really rather good, though the bread was a bit dry. Alas, such is life.
Rudolph Bueltmann tastes like burning.....
posted by jimmy at 10:14 -
Read comments here!
(For background, please go to Pro-Bush)
An Open Letter to Pro-Bush
Dear Pro-Bush:
Having viewed your website and your all-too-loose definition of "treason" as "[failure to support] our President's decisions," I feel compelled to ask you to add me to your "Traitor List." I have disagreed with this administration on numerous occasions and do not support it in its effort to strip Americans of their civil liberties (USA PATRIOT), to go to war in Iraq with insufficient international approval, to trample on states' rights to make their own laws (Ashcroft's prosecution of medical marijuana users in California), to squelch dissent (the Brett Bursey case), and to drive our federal budget further and further into deficit (the 2001 and 2002 tax cuts plus $89 billion requested for Iraq).
While I do believe that dissent with the administration is not only my right but indeed my duty if the administration is taking actions that are morally or legally wrong, I also respect that you don't think this should be so. It seems that you wish to return to the days of the Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798, when disagreement with the administration was essentially outlawed and the President shielded from any opinion that disagreed with his own. While I see an apparent incompatibility between your desire to declare any voice of dissent "treason" and the Constitution's guarantees of free speech, it is apparent from the lofty rhetoric found on your site that you are more knowledgeable than me on this topic and therefore likely understand how this apparent contradiction is overcome; I defer to your wisdom in this.
I also would be interested to hear how you would conduct an election if the current administration could not be challenged on their actions, particularly as regards the 2000 election and the torrent of criticism directed by then-candidate George W. Bush against the Clinton administration. Is it somehow paradoxical that our current President be a traitor, by your definition? Indeed, shouldn't all the Republicans in the House of Representatives who voted for the impeachment of a sitting president - essentially the most blatant form available to them of expressing lack of support for him - be on your list as well? Or did your definition of treason only come into effect when George W. Bush took office?
I feel it necessary to inform you that this letter is being published concurrently on my website, http://www.mistersite.net as part of my "open letters" series. If you choose to respond to my letter - which I hope you do - it will be with the awareness that your response will be published in that public forum as well, in order to make our debate open to all. I have attached a *.jpg file, 150x180, which is my headshot. I ask that you display it next to my picture.
Thank you for your time.
Sincerely,
James Gilmore
"It's like in the olden days... in France... when men would slap each other with their gloves and say, y'know, 'D'Artagnan... how dare you talk to me like that, you.' " --Corky St. Clair, Waiting for Guffman
posted by jimmy at 16:34 -
Read comments here!
CUBS WIN! CUBS WIN! HOLY COW!
The Cubs swept a doubleheader against the Pirates, the Brewers came through in a pinch against the Astros (the first time I've ever rooted for a team from Wisconsin), and the Cubs have clinched the NL Central title. We're going to Atlanta on Tuesday to play our first playoff game.
(I of course mean "we" in the metaphorical sense in that I'm not actually going to Atlanta, but I'll be there in spirit. If the Cubs play San Francisco in the next round, I'm going to try to be there in person as well... if I can get tickets.)
If Dusty Baker doesn't win Manager of the Year, I'm going to eat both of my shoes and then kick myself in the butt repeatedly with my stocking-feet. That's how much I think he deserves it.
Is it too much to hope for a Cubs-Twins World Series?
posted by jimmy at 16:21 -
Read comments here!
Just a few tidbits from the Patriot Act, which Public Enemy No. 1 John Ashcroft is defending and trying to expand....Section 213 allows law enforcement to search anyone's home without prior notice.
Section 216 requires judges to approve wiretaps without the usual requirement of identifying who is to be tapped or where it is to be placed.
Section 806 allows the government to seize assets of individuals or organizations without prior notice or hearing if the government says that they have engaged in or are planning an act of "domestic terrorism."
Source: New York Times letter, Sept. 26 2003 These are YOUR laws, people. (Unless you don't live in the US.) These could be used against YOU, as long as the government considers what you do "terrorism".... and that definition is growing every day. Please, write your representatives and senators urging them to repeal USA PATRIOT. And vote against GWB in 2004, if for no other reason than to get John Ashcroft out of the Attorney General's office.
There's another new entry below. Read that one too.....
posted by jimmy at 11:01 -
Read comments here!
My pirate name is Black James Flint. What's yours?
I actually like that pirate name. It fits me, and it sounds really freaking cool. I think that's going to go in my email sig.
I'm going to tell you about how groovy things are here at Fuller. As I've been orientatin' this week, I've met all sorts of interesting people from all sorts of interesting places... the other night I had dinner with a Korean guy and his wife and four-month-old son, and my friend Jorge is from Puerto Rico, and I've met a number of people from other nations like China, England, and various African locales. There are quite a few nations represented here at Fuller - it's very much like Calvin (and very much NOT like Bowling Green) in that regard. And yes, I know that Puerto Rico isn't a nation. I'm not that stupid. Well, maybe I am.
It seems like God's really giving me a lot of opportunities here to get involved - just yesterday, a woman called me out of the blue (she'd gotten my name from the Fuller Arts mailing list) and said that she was singing in a coffeehouse tonight but her guitarist had dropped unexpectedly, and asked if I could play for her. So I went over to her place and she and I and her drummer jammed a bit, and we're going to be playing tonight at the Fuller coffeehouse. I'm also getting offers from all over to get involved in the arts programs here through the Arts Concerns Committee.... it looks like God's really giving me a lot of chances to dive in and get really busy doing the things I love. This really excites me.
I also got all the classes I wanted as I registered this morning... I'm taking two Bible classes, a Church History, and an Ethics, and I'm auditing a class on the Emergent Church in the 21st Century. It's mostly general stuff.... they aren't offering anything in my program this semester, so it gives me a chance to clear some of my core out of the way. But still, to be in classes again where all we talk about is the Bible and theology and religion..... it's really exciting. I must say that I'm most psyched for this quarter to start. (I also managed to pile all my classes into Mondays and Wednesdays, thus enabling me to work or do other things the other three days of the week and maybe not have to work weekends. There still is the matter of getting a job, though.....)
The unfortunate thing about my class schedule is that I have Wednesday night classes, so I'm going to have to tape Smallville and The (now-Sorkinless) West Wing. But I can still catch Gilmore Girls on Mondays, and that's all that really matters, because that show has redeemed my family name from the likes of Adam Sandler. (I'll never forgive him for the whole "Happy" thing, which still plagues me from time to time.) And I'll always be home in time for the Daily Show.
Hey, not all television is crappy... just most of it. And you'll note none of those shows are sitcoms.....
posted by jimmy at 10:14 -
Read comments here!
An interesting thing just happened.... as I came into my building to drop some stuff off and go out to the In-n-Out for lunch, Jeff (apartment manager) and several older-looking fellows were having a meeting of some sort. I was walking through when one of the men stopped me, asked me if I was at Fuller (Jeff had told him) and said that he was one of the owners of the building and also a Christian, and he and I prayed together. And to think that I almost didn't stop back here to drop stuff off.... the Lord indeed works in mysterious ways.
Oh, and orientation is going well.....
posted by jimmy at 13:20 -
Read comments here!
I took Alisa to the airport today.... I don't get to see her for another four weeks. This is rather unfortunate; however, it's not the end of the world. After this weekend, I'm even more confident that if it's God's will we can make this relationship work. I really want to... I'm crazy about that lady. She's so... well, awesome.
But overly conservative Christians are cheesing me off... more on that later.
posted by jimmy at 15:39 -
Read comments here!
Tonight Alisa and I ate at The Kitchen, a cute little Italian place (seriously, it is!) with quite possibly the best fettucine alfredo I've had in a long time. If you're ever in Pasadena, eat there. Well, call me up, and we'll eat there together, because I like it a lot.
Miss Florida won Miss America, much to mine and Alisa's disappointment - not because we really care all that much about the pageant in general, but because one of Alisa's friends, Janelle, was Miss Ohio.
I'm really boring tonight. But things with me and Alisa are going really really well... we had a wonderful day of tourism (which basically comprised of a trip to Venice Beach to see the weird people) and a cute little romantic dinner at the aforementioned Italian place, followed by a few minutes sitting and listening to a swing band playing in one of the public squares in Old Town. In case you hadn't noticed (since we are continuing our relationship despite the 3000 mile distance) I'm totally crazy about this girl, and I could really see myself spending a long long time with her.
I sorta wish I could also do 24-hour theatre at Calvin, though.....
posted by jimmy at 22:35 -
Read comments here!
Yarrrrr. Avast, me hearties, alas though September 19 be almost over even heer on th' mighty Pacific, the spirit of International Talk Like A Pirate Day can live on in yer hearts even on the 20th or 21st. Yarrrrrrr.
Quick joke... a pirate is sitting in a bar with a steering wheel between his legs. The bartender notices this and asks the pirate why he has a steering wheel between his legs. The pirate replies, "yarrrrr, it's drivin' me nuts!"
posted by jimmy at 22:58 -
Read comments here!
I drove to the LAX airport today, and I have to say that despite the fact that it's probably the main contributor to the huge amounts of smog in the atmosphere here in the Los Angeles area, the highway system they have here is an engineering marvel. It's quite breathtaking how they have all these gracefully curving highways, sometimes one on top of the other, moving traffic somewhat quickly and efficiently throughout the city - there are parts that look downright futuristic, except for the lack of hover cars.
I can't wait for the hover car.
In other news, Alisa is here in LA, and that makes me very happy, because I like her a lot. I showed her the IKEA store, and she wants to live there.
Someday I'm gonna marry that girl, unless something happens and I don't.....
posted by jimmy at 20:31 -
Read comments here!
This is Christina.
Christina is younger than me, by a month and a half.
Christina looks like she's already had several different plastic surgery operations.
I have had none.
What's wrong with the world?
(For the record, I had a big crush on her when she was in the Addams Family movies, but now.... nothing. I find it impossible to muster up any attraction to her whatsoever, and that's not because I have an incredibly beautiful ladyfriend; my longstanding crush on Jodie Foster is still intact.)
In other words, why didn't you get me those botox injections, mom and dad?
posted by jimmy at 23:25 -
Read comments here!
The News From California: There isn't much. I see about two commercials every hour where Ahnuld tells us Cal-ee-forn-ee-ans why we should vote for him, which basically amount to him saying that the guvnuh is bad and he is good. Please, don't bog us down in too many details there, Mr. Terminator. I can't see the forest for the trees.
The reason I see so much of Ahnuld on the tube is that, well, that's about all I have to do, is watch the tube. But I do see the A-Team every morning promptly at 11am. All that's going to change next week, though, as orientation starts for Fuller.... it'll be weird getting back to the grind after four months of not having...uh, been ground, or something. Yeah. I should probably proofread and not just type stream-of-consciousness.... maybe next time.
Alisa comes out to LA tomorrow for the weekend....
Boy, do I like that girl....
posted by jimmy at 21:37 -
Read comments here!
Happy two-month anniversary, Alisa!
(She's the best ladyfriend ever.)
And also the prettiest.....
posted by jimmy at 17:49 -
Read comments here!
Why is U2's Bono one of my heroes? This is why. Oh, and this.
Seriously, what's with me getting all my stuff from the USA Today (aka News Lite)?
posted by jimmy at 10:07 -
Read comments here!
Read this. Because the tide seems to be against my making political statements here (except to continually reiterate my wish for Pat Robertson to contract lifetime laryngitis and carpal tunnel syndrome) I'm not going to offer any commentary, save that I think it's a good idea. That's all.
posted by jimmy at 14:59 -
Read comments here!
I just discovered the LA Metro Light Rail system, and it's the smoothest ride I've ever had on a subway/light train apparatus, EVER. If only it was practical for me to use it for anything but going to my new church.... but alas, it's two transfers to anywhere out here in Pasadena, and I don't know enough about LA to even know where I would go.
posted by jimmy at 20:17 -
Read comments here!
Today the smog was so thick that I couldn't see the mountains from outside my building (they're about two miles away as the crow flies.) As I looked down the street, buildings even 1/2 mile away were getting hazy. Ahhhh, California, how much I love thee.
Things are actually rather lonely around here, as I don't really know anyone within 30 miles or so from here, except a young lady I know from Calvin, but whom I only know by her maiden name and so cannot look her up, and I don't really know her well enough to hang out with her all that much anyway. Another week of this, and then the ladyfriend visits. This isolation should only make her arrival even more wonderful.
I've been chatting a lot online with the ladyfriend, and through some of the conversations we've been having I've determined that this is probably the healthiest relationship I've ever been in. Of course, I recall saying that about the last one too, so I think they're progressively getting healthier. Almost like I'm maturing or something... naw, that can't be it. It's probably that I date progressively better and better people. The current ladyfriend is the best person I've dated thus far. (She's also the prettiest.)
Well, now that I've made her blush, my work here is done. Later, Jimketeers!
posted by jimmy at 19:46 -
Read comments here!
Pictures of my apartment are now up!
posted by jimmy at 13:35 -
Read comments here!
Hello from sunny Pasadena!
This is now my fourth day in my new home in Pasadena, CA, and everything is going wonderfully, save a spotty Net connection and two burners not working on my stove. I still have a little mess in the apartment from the move, but that should be cleared up within the next day or so, and everything will be peachy except for the fact that I have nothing at all to do for the next week, until the ladyfriend visits next Friday.
California, needless to say, is much different from Michigan or Ohio. The first difference that struck me as I settled in here in Pasadena is the diversity of the culture out here. Back in the Midwest, or at least my part of it, pretty much everyone's white middle class - we all speak the same language, we all dress pretty much the same. Here, just about everything is written in two languages - English and Spanish, for the Latin(o/a)s - and there are sizable Asian- and African-American contingents here as well. This has already created some difficulty for me in some respects, as it's very difficult for me to understand heavily accented speech, and many of the people I've been dealing with have thick Mexican accents; I find myself saying things like "Excuse me?" and "Come again?" quite a bit. Ahhhh, me.
Another difference I've noticed is that because the climate is generally much warmer here than in the Upper Midwest (well, duh), there's a great deal of integration between outside and inside space. In the Upper Midwest, everything's enclosed - there's a very strict division between "this is Inside" and "this is Outside." In contrast, many of the restaurants I've seen have permanent outdoor seating areas that are in use year-round; most leave their doors open all day. The apartment complex that surrounds mine doesn't even have enclosed hallways - they're open-air. In addition, many buildings have open-air courtyard areas, with little fountains and trees and such.
Oh, and there are the palm trees. And the 6-lane-wide highways. And the smog. And the CA licence plates. And the mountains I can see in the distance. And the movie stahs in Hollywood.
So all in all, it's really not all that different.
My next week is going to be consumed by two things: (1) relaxing like all get-out, and (2) finding some form of gainful part-time employment. I've walked a little bit around Colorado St. (the main drag, two blocks from my house, which is one of the coolest shopping streets in CA and the route of the Rose Bowl parade) and seen a few "Now Hiring" signs, so I think that I should be OK. Heh... famous last words. (Look for me in three months under the freeway overpass, surrounded by all my worldly belongings and a cardboard box, unshaven and unkempt.)
Expect some pictures of my new digs, the area surrounding my new digs, and other things relating to my new digs, within the next few days as I get more settled in here and get kewl new programs on my computer.
posted by jimmy at 18:13 -
Read comments here!
Geez. Writing that letter to the President must have taken a lot out of me, because since then... nothing. It's like that entry was so good, it was really a week's worth of blog entries, or something like that. Or maybe I'm lazy and my life is just that boring. Yeah, that must be it. Oh, and my computer is hosed too.
The last week of my life has basically been consumed by preparations for the Big Move(tm), which happens tomorrow. The good news: I've found a place (though I haven't gotten a hold of the Prodigal Roommate) and it's month-to-month, meaning that if a better deal rears its ugly head or the Prodigal Roommate mysteriously reappears, I don't have a lease tying me down. The place is in a really cool historic neighborhood, and is within walking distance of both Fuller and the shopping district. I'll take some pics as soon as I get there.
So tomorrow I'm off, for my three-day trek across the continent with all my worldly belongings and my dad and myself stuffed into my little Grand Am. I'll be seeing the country, or at least, all the country one can see with it whizzing by at (hopefully) 80 mph. The plains will be boring, the mountains will be cool, and we're going to stop in Vegas to gamble all my life's savings away. So it's all good.
The trouble is, of course, that while I'm out gallivanting in CA, the ladyfriend is going to be gallivanting back in Ohio, which as you know is rather far away from CA. We spent last weekend together, and to be honest I'm absolutely crazy about her, and I'm going to miss her quite a bit. We'll be able to see each other every so often - she's going to fly out to LA at the end of the month for a weekend - but the distance will be difficult. Ah, well... if the relationship survives, then awesome, but if it doesn't, it probably wasn't meant to be anyway. All we can really do is enjoy what we have while we can, and if what we have goes on long enough for us to be in the same physical place for a long time, then that will be wonderful. And that's my outlook on life, folks, or at least that part of life which includes long-distance relationships. Which isn't really all that much.
posted by jimmy at 14:00 -
Read comments here!
Log
Archives:
After
2.9.2003
9.23.2002-2.6.2003
6.1.2002-8.21.2002
|
|
|
