HERE is a guy who I’d say deserves to be given a little something – not because he is entitled, or a victim, or clamoring… but for his amazing attitude and unwillingness to victimize the pilot.
A Korean immigrant whose family was killed when an F-18 crashed into his house returned home to survey the rubble and said he doesn’t blame the military pilot who survived the accident.Dong Yun Yoon, 37, lost his wife, two baby daughters and mother-in-law after a Marine Corps fighter plane clipped a tree and plummeted into houses about two miles from base. The pilot safely ejected and was rescued hanging by his parachute from a tree.
“I pray for him not to suffer for this action,” Yoon said at a news conference, according to The Los Angeles Times. “I know he’s one of our treasures for our country.”
Several houses caught fire. Two homes were incinerated in the crash and three others were damaged. (Source: FoxNews – MORE)
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On the opposite (dark) side of the spectrum (moon) we have the persuasive (coercive) methods (tactics) used in questioning (interrogating) prisoners (animals).
Finding it hard to tell where I’m toeing the line there? Good.
Music is not just an escape after all, and not all music is meant to soothe the savage beast.
It’s all about creating an intense feeling of dissociation from one’s self. And they do it so well.
Funny, all the songs they selected… I’d be saying “All right, bro! Crank it to 11!” Until they got to Sesame Street or Barry Manilow and I’d cave within 50 minutes.
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Fair warning… I am in a FOUL mood. If you want fluffy warm puppies, you won’t find them below….
Over on FoxNews, they have this little thing called “You Decide” and today’s question was “Should the US Gov’t Bailout the Auto Companies?”
Good question. The real surprise is the range of intelligence from high to positively microbial.
This is supposedly from a college student:
Comment by [rhymes with “KokomoKevin”] December 10th, 2008 at 1:49 pm
For all you older folks out there, im not nieve i see whats going on sticking the youth of America with your problems which for some reason you cant fix im a college junior and its not wise to piss off your children who will eventually be running the country, its sad that old incompetant people are ruining my future. For shame on all of you for voting for idiots who know nothing and shame on all of you for sweeping your problems under my rug.
For someone who had lived in a town called Kokomo in Indiana which has 3 Chrysler transmission plants and a Delphi plant I can tell you what first needs to go…The Unions of these companies are ridculous in Kokomo all you have to do is somewhat graduate high school and have a father, grandpa, or uncle who use to work at Chrysler to get a job there making an ungodly amount of money for basically pushing a button, meanwhile my parents who went to college, mothers a nurse and father owns his own buisness, they make far less than the average Chrysler employee. Furthermore I believe that apparently these behemoth trucks and cars with 9 cylnders are not what people want to spend 40 to 50 thousand dollars on maybe they need to make smaller gas efficent cars and if possible made in America and to do that Government needs to stay out of everyones buisness and cut the taxes these companies have to pay. These are just ideas from a college junior who sees the world crumbling before his eyes. Its sad that old incompetant men are ruining my future.
Well thank you, rhymes-with-uh… Kevin. That was very… thoughtful and it must have taken a hell of a long time to write all of that in crayon before having mommy type it out. Please tell her that she could use a remedial typing class – she’ll know what I mean.
I will say this, and heed it well: Your so-called image that you convey with bad spelling and crappy grammar is doing far more to sink your naive future than “us old people”.
You may even have the brightest idea in the world and it will be flat out ignored if you are a dolt when trying to convey it.
So sit up straight, stop texting and sleeping in class, wipe the drool off your chin, have a little respect for your elders, and one thing more… learn some humility by going out and working for a living before opening your mouth. Obviously what you are doing so far isn’t working for you because you sound like a punk-ass kid – got it?
Thanks!
Lemur King
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Perhaps the cardinal needs to work on his own impure thought life? Notice how the news articles never mention that?
SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) – Madonna is causing “crazy enthusiasm” and “impure thoughts” on her first concert visit to Chile, a prominent retired cardinal complained on Wednesday, as he paused in a tribute to a late dictator to denounce the pop star. (link)
Lemur King's Folly 
Fair warning… I am in a FOUL mood.
And yet, I can’t resist the temptation to poke at the bear 😉 The original quote that you allude to above is “Music hath charms to soothe the savage breast.”
Poor Kevin. Still, he did spot probably the biggest problem confronting auto manufacturing in the US – the UAW. Unions. Bleh. I suppose they served a useful purpose at one time, but from what I’ve seen they eventually become parasitic and kill their host industry.
Enas, you are always free to poke the bear.
I cannot tolerate idiots, but you are nowhere near an idiot.
Beast, breast… perhaps I was projecting? Or it was from watching all the bugs bunny cartoons…
He did have points, as you said, and that is why I said:
I guess it wasn’t even anything factually wrong that irritated me as much as inability to say it properly.
But this bear’s attitude didn’t help matters!
Like all “elders” you think I am worthless to society and to this I laugh because you know nothing about my life nor my college career. By the way I have a 3.2 GPA and plan on attending law school. I don’t sleep in class and sorry I can’t afford texting so I don’t do that either. Also, I’d like to mention that I have been working since I was 14 and I work 30 hours a week in a retail job currently while taking on 17 hours of college credit. O and by the way I am planning on going to the Navy and going through Officer Canidate School and the JAG program. I thank you for correcting my grammar because I really don’t have the time to correct it because I had to get to class. Political Philosophy is what I went to and I happened to learn about the quack ideas produced by Marx and Rousseu(sorry for the spelling) in kind of hurry which kind of sound like the ideas I see being thrown out there today, anyways stereotyping me along with every other kid is an insult and to respect I think it should be earned and not just given, but I see older people ruining the country I lose respect for them, sorry but its true. just like you lost repect for punk ass kid. So kind sir ask me before you judge me.
O and one other thing I do value your criticism, I also was in a foul mood knowing that your generation and ones before it allowed such acts like bailouts to occur. Sorry for caring….maybe i should revert to the ways of my fellow generation and do nothing and be a punk ass kid.
Ask before judging, that is fair enough – point well made. My apologies.
What you did however, was engage in a bit of hypocrisy yourself for calling my attention to it and then presuming that you know me. If you pay any attention to me or my writing you’ll see that I’m generally not supportive of bailouts and that I’m by and large conservative/capitalist. Fannie Mae and FM I *might* have seen as necessary but now it is a handout line as far as the eye can see. pnb brought me around on that point fairly rapidly though with her quick thinking.
As far as your drive/industriousness. Great. I nearly lost my arm in a plywood mill putting myself through college. I fought forest fires putting myself through college. A lot of people do it and it doesn’t make you all that special.
My premise still stands however – if you can’t take the time to pay attention to those details your ability to lead is going to be in question – by your superiors, not me – no matter how qualified you are.
Save the histrionics:
for someone younger who gives a rat’s hiney about that sort of stuff.
Ditto for your “plan to join the Navy”. Your plans don’t make you any more or less patriotic than me. If you do join, look me up and I will buy you a beer and you’ll have my undying thanks (really) for your service and sacrifice.
Unless… your point to the histrionics was to be a troll?
Now there’s a thought.
With that said, kindly provide an e:mail next post, as you already have mine.
Well Mr. Lemur King, I also apologize for not knowing anything about you and then judging you, but I was merely responding to things that are not true. My point was not to question your patriotism but merely inform you that im not a snot nosed punk ass kid. I just wanted to let you know that I work hard contrary to your original post. I agree I should take the time to write grammatically correct posts if I want to be taken seriously and I’ll take that into consideration the next time. I was being a smart ass the second post but you should take into account that I feel like I am being told left and right by my elders not to care or to stay out of “grown up” things. So I apologize. Thanks for taking the time to respond. Kculliso@indiana.edu
Fair enough Koko, and I’ll tell you what (without a trace of condescension), just the fact that you’ve stuck out the conversation this long without resorting to gutter profanities has raised my opinion of you one hell of a lot. God’s honest truth. So as bizarrely as this started, you’re welcome back any time.
In all honesty, I don’t see “snot nosed punk” and “patriotic” as being mutually exclusive since I was one about 20 years ago. Double emphasis on “punk” in my case.
I hereby tender my apology for everything (exceptin’ the desire to get folks to communicate properly – I’m anal-retentive). You truly caught me on the worst day of the year – normally I’m merely a complete ass.
You plan on attending law school – what are you taking presently?
Haha right on. Im currently majoring in history with a minor in political science. I feel you though, I’ve been an ass lately as well, but i think it has something to do with our present economic and governmental situation.
**Links arms with Kevin and Lemur King**
♪ Kumbayaaaaaa my Lord! KUMBAYAAAAAAA! ♫
Enas, would you join in, too? C’mon, lay down the pool cue, shuffle yer but right on over there, move a bit to the right, lift your chin up a *bit* more… more to the right… GOOD. Stay right there… yep, that is the right spot for you to be my foot-rest. FAR better than a bunch of sappy singing and a Group Hug™
Did you bring the popcorn? You better have put it in the ceramic bowls you’ve been making, and the napkins better all be Yorl watercolor originals.
You just watch it mister… I can re-write this blog and make sure the world is convinced that you painted Care-Bears™ in watercolor and sent them to me. You KNOW I can do it, too.
I am the Lemur King, and I can do that, you know. Bwah hah hah….
Damn. I’ve been sniffing glue again, haven’t I?
Live forever, Enas.
Koko, I have bad news. It’s perhaps you reacting to the economy that is affecting your mood… yes, yes, I could see that.
My situation is more dire. I’m always going to be an ass, it’s just a question of how many orders of magnitudinousness we’re talking. Think of me as House but with a family – a co-worker calls me House and I call him Wilson – sick but true.
Your plan is not bad as far as plans go: history, and learn from it – PLUS – poly sci, and figure out what makes stuff tick now – PLUS – law school – PLUS – military and OTS, perhaps?
My God. A punk ass kid gonna be runnin’ for president. That’s the grand plan?
Juuuuuust kiddin. Relax. 🙂
Damn, I meant to say this every time now, but… I ain’t old, man. I’m Gen X… we didn’t do this. Actually, that’s not totally true. Gen X split right down the middle one day and half jumped on board the rape/pillage train that was going their way and the other half of us said “Well, that’s lookin’ pretty ugly. Wanna go get a coffee and chill?”
It’s going to take a while to re-rail (yes, re-rail) this here de-railed train but you can’t really change the direction until the thing crashes. Momentum is conserved, as is energy. Might take a few generations, because that’s how long it took to get here. All this crud you’re seeing is (1) not the end of the world, but (2) sucks and blows, and (3) took a lot people being stupid and working hard to get us here.
Hey Enas… how’d you do the little music symbols? What code corresponds to ’em?
Tell me so I don’t have to go look it up.
Spot on LK.
Kevin, we’re not the old dudes you are looking for. Even so, intergenerational blaming and flaming is less than helpful. Also, more than just a little cliché. Instead I’d suggest you focus more on the ideologies and policies of those responsible for these problems in the first place, and how they have changed (or not changed) over the course of their personal and professional lives. I think you’ll find that stuff to be far more relevant and important than the number of candles they rack up on their birthday cakes.
Special characters: ♪ = alt + 13, ♫ = alt + 14 and é = alt + 130 (numpad only).
No Kevin… don’t listen to him. He’s EVIL.
He’s part of THEM. No, really. Had you fooled with that whole Kumbayah thing, didn’t he?
He’s responsible. Ohhhhhh yessssss… he… is…
Oh. Wait. He agreed with me…
…? …? Enas when the HELL did you ever agree with me? If you were a dog I’d be feeling your nose to make sure it was cool and moist about now. You runnin’ a fever?
Forget it Kevin. I think he’s all right. He did the little music thingy, so he must be all right.
(I need a vacation or I’m going to crack open like a pinata.)
haha You guys sound like professors. But Enas I get what your saying. You guys are cool in my book.
I’m an engineer, Kevin… no need to get personal and accuse me of sounding like a prof. 🙂
Actually, to be fair, it would be all right to be a prof if you had the leisure to do it your way. Case in point is my hero, Richard Feynman.
If you haven’t read the book Kevin – a book that will put you ahead of the curve in terms of realizing that you don’t have to color inside of the lines if you don’t want to – is “Surely You Must be Joking, Mr. Feynman”. My college advisor was awesome, and she pushed me to read it because she knew it’d click with me. I’m not talking down to you, here! Good stuff and fun as hell to read.
I digress. Actually I’d be more tweaked if you called me a scientist because they are two very different ways of looking at the world.
Enas, after buying the big TV and all, you had enough money to buy all them big words? Too much for a small-town Oregon boy to understand, I’m afraid.
I will look into Mr. Feynman’s book for sure.
Big words? Whatchoo talkin’ about Willis?
Oh, wait. Are you pokin’ fun at me again? Don’t be pokin’ fun at me perfesser.
I would never do such a thing. Honest. You can trust me…
Oh yeah, sure. 😉
Anyway, I just bought that book now too. I’ve been meaning to do so for ages.