Brien's Rants

S.O.B.!!!

2010-05-24T19:38:00.000-05:00

Holy crap - they are gutting LSU. Included in the cuts are getting rid of the Masters program for Library Science, the Center for French and Francophone Studies (set up after the mandate of the Legislative Act No. 409 stipulating the "development, utilization, and preservation of the French language as found in Louisiana for the cultural, economic and touristic benefit of the state"), the T. Harry Williams Center for Oral History (one of the premiere oral history centers in the country) and the United States Civil War Center (located on Raphael Semmes street, named after the famous Civil War admiral and LSU professor). So this year our state has suffered the man-made disaster of the oil spill (killing our coastline) and now the decline of LSU (killing our education and heritage).

For National Poetry Month

2010-04-25T08:10:00.002-05:00

The Widening Gyre (Lyrical Campbell)
A reworking of the prose of Joseph Campbell

Full circle,
tomb of the womb,
womb of the tomb
we come - ambiguous.
Enigmatic incursion
soon to melt,
substance of a dream.

Back,
dangerous adventure,
metamorphoses
of great kings
and greater pawns -
disguised civilization,
anonynymous supremacy.

Chris LeBlanc

2010-04-01T07:32:00.000-05:00

It's funny how you can be looking for somebody for so long and then one day they just pop up. Chris LeBlanc was my roommate at LSMSA when I was a junior and we always had a blast together. After he moved several years ago we lost touch and, as those of you who have ever tried Google stalking know, sometimes there are too many people with the same name. Of course, in South Louisiana having a name like Chris LeBlanc is like being called Jones or Smith elsewhere. Well, unlike me Chris just went to the LSMSA Alumni database and looked me up. I'm looking forward to hanging out with him Friday. So if you're a giftie, be sure to update your information in the database:

http://www.lsmsa.edu/alumnidb/

What the hell happened to all of my drugs?

2010-02-20T17:04:00.001-06:00

I've been sick the past few days, and without a significant other to pamper me during my grouchiest times, I've been treating myself with the copious amounts of drugs I have in my bathroom. Unfortunately, I've come to the realization that they all came from 2002 (an apparently sick time in my life although also a time when I did not believe in taking the drugs I spent oh so much money on). Even the stupid dayquil was more like daygel - the viscosity alone should have tipped me off, but hey, by that point I'd already been hitting the stuff a few times that day. Hopefully I didn't send any of you readers (all three of you) anything, but if I did, let me know if it's publishable or not. Probably in the not category. I just bought me (yeah, even high I know it should be myself, but got to keep the stylization going) a new gallon jug of the dayquil and nyquil so I can at least comment on the "new improved flavor" - tastes like Q Classic to me. You just can't deny that Q fraking death taste - it's what tell the germs and other bad stuff in your body "hey, you don't have to go home but you can't stay here!" That's telling them, Q!

Bobby Jindal

2010-01-23T10:43:00.001-06:00

What have I wrought on my state? I really thought I was doing well by voting for Bobby Jindal. He's a Rhodes scholar, about my age, and I thought he might be able to handle crisis and issues better than previous governors. And, he's a big LSU fan. Or is he?

http://www.2theadvocate.com/news/52925107.html

The gist of it is that Jindal believes that our students are ill-prepared for 4 year colleges and we would be better served sending them to technical colleges. I can't even begin to express how screwed up that thinking is - basically, it's like he's saying "this is the best Louisiana can do" as he shrugs his shoulders.

I have to say that Jindal has come through in some ways in North Louisiana from an economic development perspective - sort of. The two big developments (getting Foster Farms to buy a chicken processing plant and the V Vehicle factory) are notable, but let's be honest here - the state paid around $36 million dollars to help subsidize the purchase of the plant and so far there have been no jobs created from the V Vehicle plant (which is really a crap shoot - it could be a successful venture or it could end up failing completely). And some would point out that both of these still don't replace all the jobs lost by the Guide plant and the Pilgrim's Pride plant (as well as the Start Farm operations center - although in all fairness that happened before he took office) closing. So, the end result is the state had to spend money bandaging a gaping wound in our ability to keep our citizenry employed, and the reaction is to cut off education at the knee caps? Maybe we don't all want to work at an auto plant or at a chicken processing plant - maybe we want to be doctors, lawyers, scientist, artists?

Right now colleges across the state (not just LSU) are looking at a fourth consequetive round of budget cuts. Here's a quick breakdown:

January 2009 - colleges were cut by $55 million
June 2009 - additional cuts at almost $110 million
January 2010 - Jindal asks for ways to cut at least $146 million more for the 2010-2011 fiscal year

(Source: The Advocate, January 6, 2010 - http://www.2theadvocate.com/news/80767257.html)

Money is not everything, but you do need to spend something at least - it just seems that we are spending money on trying to keep industrial jobs in the area in a post-industrial era while slashing any opportunities we might have to create new and better paying jobs. Bobby Jindal, if you think we're too stupid to go to four-year universities, the solution is not telling us we need to go to technical or community colleges, it's improving all education from pre-K up. Any LSU graduate could tell you that.

Update: Because of the budget cuts, there will be a total of 484 faculty members who will lose their jobs at LSU alone. To keep tings in perspective, LSU currently has approximately 1300 faculty members - that constitutes a 37% reduction in force. And of course, that's not even taking into account any staff reductions which may occur.
(Source: The Advcate, January 23, 2010 - http://www.2theadvocate.com/news/82467112.html)

Shopping for a 5 year old

2009-12-05T07:45:00.001-06:00

OK, I'm a little late but I've been trying to shop for everybody. Right now I'm shopping for a 5 year old. Here are some of the Amazon.com suggestions - see if you agree with their assessment:

Trivial Pursuit the Beatles - I guess because kids born in the 21st century are just packed with knowledge about the 1960s (a time when their parents were probably not born)

Scene It? Deluxe Star Trek Edition - I shouldn't be too critical about this - I mean I thought the Darth Vader robotic arm was a perfect gift for a 5 year old (because, come on, how cool is that!), but I just don't think that the game is going to hold much allure for a five year old

Spring Swings Fun Ride Original Zip Line - ok, if I was 5 years old and I got this I would totally love it - however, the prospect of little tikes zip lining from a tree into a wall may be a little disconcerting for both me and the parents

Better than a snuggie

2009-11-22T07:37:00.002-06:00

This one's for you, Brent:

Tauntaun Sleeping Bag

Be sure to check out the video at the bottom of the page.

Is Kate Gosselin a Centauri?

2009-11-08T08:43:00.002-06:00

OK, I was watching Taylor Swift impersonate Kate Gosselin and I made an amazing discovery - she's Centauri!

Cards and letters (part 2)

2009-11-07T21:21:00.005-06:00

I found a bunch of letters in an old tin box today. These were letters mostly from 1989 and 1990. A few were from my Maw Maw (who has since passed away) - it was nice to be able to read her handwritten letters. They also had a few notes from my Paw Paw (who is still around) - in one of them he told me not to go to New Mexico Institute of Technology because it was too far away and I wouldn't be able to see him. Now I live in Monroe and it's once in a blue moon that I can see him. I need to give him a call tomorrow to see how he is doing.

Most of the letters were about the byzantine workings of high school from my friends at my old high school. It's odd how I seem to have a lot of letters, but they all seem to end in 1990. I'm not sure what happened - did I just collect the letters up until that point or did something happen? I really don't know. It was also interesting to try and figure out what I had written to them based on what they wrote - apparently I must have exaggerated my social life (i.e. lied completely). A lot of them end with "friends always", but sadly I haven't talked to many of them for 19 years. I also discovered that one of the letters appears to indicate one of them wanted to date me - I know I didn't realize it at the time (I've always been pretty clueless about how people feel about me). Had I known then, my life very likely would have been different to some extent, whether positively or negatively I do not know. It makes me wonder, though - if I just didn't have an idea of what was going on then, who's to say that I do now?

Addendum: The ruling on the field stands - apparently I shouldn't try to decypher scratched-out text late at night. It turns out that the letter was an attempt to get me to influence one of my friends to go out with her. So enlightenment revoked.

Cards and letters

2009-10-11T10:37:00.003-05:00

I've been trying to eliminate some of the clutter lately - I'm quite the pack rat and even when you've got a full-sized house, you'll eventually fill it with stuff, then you have too much stuff and you have to get rid of some of it. I pulled out my big bin o'stuff today in the hopes that I could throw some of it away. In it I found tons of cards and some letters that people have sent me over the years. In high-school and part of college I was very meticulous about filing letters and cards away, but after a while I would just sort of collect them together in one box. Now I'm going through and trying to sort who sent it, and then I'll try to establish some chronology. Letters are pretty easy - they usually have a return address and are postmarked. Cards are a bit trickier, especially if they were hand-delivered. But as I'm going through them a couple of things have dawned on me:

1) I've got a lot of friends
2) I've been pretty bad about staying in touch with them
3) I miss the pre-email days. There's something about physically holding a letter, written by someone, that connects you far better than an email. And there's more personality displayed - the way one person writes in even printed letters, while another writes with the hand of a calligrapher and a third writes in hurried pen-strokes, desperate to write and send it off.

I want to say that I'm going to change - that I'll start calling people up and chat or even send them cards or letters. But I know that won't happen - until work can lighten up, I will have neither the time nor the right attitude to get in touch with anybody. But someday soon, perhaps. So don't be too surprised if you see a card or note come your way - it's time for me to be a better me. And know that, although I might not have personalized it in a blog post scattered to the four corners of the world wide web, I do truly miss you.

Orkakis

2009-09-15T07:23:00.001-05:00

I love Woot - you can sometimes find a really great deal, but their product descriptions are always good. As a big Dune fan, I got a big kick out of today's Woot:

Orka 17” Silicon Oven Mitts

Snuggie Update

2009-09-13T10:16:00.002-05:00

Snuggies are now available in "fashionable" zebra, camel, leopard and hot pink now - oh boy! And there's one for the dog too! God help us if the animals ever see these commericals - it will signal the Great Animal Uprising against the humans. I may just put on a zebra snuggie and join them.

I want a dragon!

2009-07-18T08:10:00.004-05:00

Obama Axes Pentagon Plan To Build Billion Dollar Tank In Shape Of Dragon

Snuggie Update

2009-07-08T21:38:00.001-05:00

I just saw another commercial for these cult robes. It's been over 100 degrees for weeks now with little to no rain - is this really the time to tell me I can "save on heating?" I got hot just watching the commercial. Why can't they sell something that keeps you cool while making you look ridiculous in the process?

Lord of the Rings as D & D

2009-07-01T06:19:00.003-05:00

This is pretty funny and also pokes some good-humored fun at D & D and Lord of the Rings. Reading this, how did any of us ever get girlfriends or wives? (Oh wait, I mean how did SOME of us ever get girlfriends or wives - the rest of us have dutifully been living up to expectations).

http://www.boingboing.net/2009/06/29/lord-of-the-rings-co.html
courtesy of Mel

News

2009-06-23T06:17:00.002-05:00

I've got different sections set up in Google Desktop, separated by topics. One of those sections is news - it has local news, national news, and the Onion. I need to remove the Onion from that section because after reading some of the headlines there I'll glance at the local news section and think something is funny until I realize that it's actually real - then it's sad.

Choo Choo hot

2009-06-03T07:19:00.003-05:00

When my brother and I went to Chicago last year, I convinced him that we needed to go by train. I argued that we should do that at least once in our lifetime, and that the City of New Orleans was an historic train and needed to be experienced (and then I played the song for him over and over until he relented after i promised not to play the song again). The ride up was OK (although he had to sleep in the top bunk). The ride back was hellacious. It was a 22-23 hour ride. Without AC. In August. With no windows that could be opened. At around 2:00 or 3:00 in the morning, one of the more elderly passengers in our car put it quite succintly: "Choo choo hot!" Choo choo hot indeed, fellow traveler, choo choo hot.

Well, now house house is hot. The AC went out yesterday. Fortunately, my next door neighbors were getting their AC serviced, so I grabbed the guys and had them come over. I dutifully and gratefully paid them to keep my AC running until I could call in the morning to get my unit replaced. Unfortunately, I lacked the foresight to make sure they tested the air coming out to see if it was cooling. House house still hot.

Cult robes

2008-11-30T14:41:00.003-06:00

I told some of you about this, but words really fail to describe it, so here's a link to the "Snuggie" - the blanket with sleeves!

https://www.getsnuggie.com/flare/next?videoID=ai195&bufferTime=5

Tell me the bit with them sitting around in a circle cooking s'mores doesn't look like a cult gathering.

The Attractive Girls Union strikes again!

2008-11-17T19:40:00.002-06:00

Attractive Girls Union Refuses To Enter Into Talks With Mike Greenman

License plate frame

2008-11-06T19:15:00.001-06:00

I just got in a license frame that reads "A leaf on the wind...Wash is my copilot". I love it. Now I just need to find out who sent it. I have a few suspects, but no definites so if you gave this to me, please reply so I can properly express my thanks!

A truly historic event

2008-11-05T18:55:00.002-06:00

Yesterday, history was made. I actually cried a little. Who would have thought that it took us 232 years to get to this point?

That's right, we have had the first hologram broadcast. I have to admit, though, when I saw it I broke out a rendition of a-ha's Take on Me - I wonder why?

Of course, this was a first for women, but we shouldn't forget the biggest event for African-Americans everywhere - the first African-American hologram doing the wave:

Candy Tax - the dirty side

2008-11-02T08:17:00.004-06:00

I found this article today about a woman who refused to give candy to children if they supported Obama:

Now I must admit, I'm torn - I certainly feel that the distribution of personal property should be a protected right, but as a dutiful candy-tax paying individual, I'm appalled. I don't call the IRS to see who my agent is supporting in the election before filling out my 1040. And last time I checked, the 26th Amendment to the Constitution only allowed 18 year olds the right to vote, so I doubt that her withholding of candy will change the votes of the 3-13 year old age group. I did notice one guy in the video doing an Obama free candy for all bit, though - damn socialist.

However I do love the news coverage - they gave out all of her information except the license plate number for her car and her cell phone number. Attention angry mob - the monster is that way. Grab your torches!

Joe the plumber

2008-10-16T07:23:00.003-05:00

Did anybody watching the debate last night think that perhaps McCain is dating Joe the plumber? I mean, when you talk about somebody that much it usually means that you've just started dating that person or, even worse, are stalking that person. Maybe McCain is stalking Joe the plumber - he certainly seems to know a lot about him. Also, will Joe the plumber be receiving all of the tax cuts? Because I think that is a conflict of interest, given McCain's infatuation with him. Joe, if you are out there, call the police - get a restraining order. And if you get my tax cut, contact me and I'll tell you where to send the money.

P.S. - McCain, if you can read this, I think Joe the plumber might also be going by Joe Six-Pack - I think your running mate is going out with Joe. Sorry to break the bad news.

The amazingly accurate predictions of The Onion

2008-10-15T21:30:00.002-05:00

Bush: 'Our Long National Nightmare Of Peace And Prosperity Is Finally Over'

Is it sad that a satirical newspaper, writing tongue-in-cheek in 2001, has somehow more accurately predicted the future than anybody else.

King of the misspelled words

2008-10-15T07:45:00.002-05:00

I've been using some Google webmaster tools to see various things about how the world in general (and Google specifically) view this blog. I always get excited when I see that I'm the 3rd highest search result for one thing or the 6th for another. And then I am immensely embarrassed when I realize that I am ranked that high because I misspelled a word and there are a whole bunch of other people who misspell it the same way I do. We should have a meetup. I mean, a meatup. Meatup. There, that should do it.