Thursday, August 31, 2006

Proposed Constitutional Amendment

For the Constitutional Convention of my Constitutional Law Problems Seminar, I propose the following amendment:
All eligible voters, regardless of political affiliation, shall be allowed to participate in the primary elections of all political parties.
Or, in the alternative:
§ 1. The current political primary system employed by the political parties is abolished in regard to the election of candidates for the office of President of the United States. Any attempt to narrow down candidates by popular election in a similar manner is prohibited.

§ 2. On the last February of any presidential election year, a National Primary shall be held. If there is no incumbent President, the three candidates who receive the most popular votes shall be eligible for election in November. If there is an incumbent President, he or she shall be eligible for election in November, as well as the two candidates who receive the most popular votes. No other candidates shall be eligible.
The problem I am trying to address with these amendments is that the people elected in the primaries are always poor candidates. Both parties have more moderate candidates in the primary elections, and I hope that with an amendment similar to one of these, they will be possible candidates for the presidency.

Bunny Catching

Lily caught a bunny the other night. Laura was working nights last week, and I was walking her to work. At the end of our driveway, Lily caught it. Her leash is really short, so she must have caught it completely by surprise. It was injured pretty badly, I think, because it wouldn't move when I nudged it with my toe. I called animal control, and chances are they killed it.

It's kind of a sad story to some, but it's a triumph for Lily. I always knew one of my dogs would catch a rabbit. I didn't think it would be Lily, though.

Wednesday, August 23, 2006

A Couple One-Liners

My thoughts are still kind of scattered right now. To tide you over until I get some good posting material together again, here are some one-liners.

My wine guide doesn't say which wine would go best with tater tot casserole.

Heard on the radio this morning:
"I would actually do Roseanne before I would do Paris Hilton."

Monday, August 21, 2006

Learn to Take Better Pictures

I've had a lot of people ask me for my advice on learnng to take better pictures. I tried to find an online resource that I liked, but couldn't find one. So I've started a new blog dedicated to the teaching of photography.

Sunrise

I start a new year of school today, and in honor of that, I'll be posting sunrise pictures on my photoblog, starting with this one:

Friday, August 11, 2006

Wednesday, August 09, 2006

Coolest MySpace EVER

I just found the coolest MySpace page ever. You can tell it's the coolest because he links to a particular page on my site with a huge banner. Here's a screenshot:

Tuesday, August 08, 2006

Stone Sour: Come What(ever) May

Yeah, so apparently Breaking Benjamin came out with a new CD today. In the words of Dez Fafara of DevilDriver, "I could care less." I heard the new single, and it sounds exactly like the big hit from their last CD, which was just an OK song, but the new version of it is like the outtake reel. Reminds me a bit of 3 Doors Down. Not because it sounds like them, but because all their singles sound the same.

The big news, though, is Stone Sour's new CD (which came out last week) entitled Come What(ever) May. You can check out their official site here to listen to "30/30-150", "Reborn", and "Through Glass". I recommend the last one to anyone who isn't into metal, because it will appeal to anyone that likes rock music.

You need to hear this album, at least if you can handle metal in any form. Corey Taylor of Slipknot fronts the band, but it isn't anything like Slipknot at all. He seems to take all of his talent and show us a different side of it with Stone Sour. And this isn't just a side project that's on the back burner with him. In other words, this isn't leftovers (which is more than I can say for some aforementioned bands). It's kind of hard to draw analogies for the sound, because they really don't sound like anyone else, so you'll just have to check out their website to hear it. They'll even let you download "Reborn" in MP3 format and watch some music videos on their media page. And don't say to yourself, "Yeah, I like this song, but the rest of the album won't be any good. I'll just download the hits." NO. Bad! No! You know better than that. There's not one filler song on it. The whole album is a rewarding listen.

And if you're the kind of person that likes to steal music, I particularly want to discourage you from doing that with this album. There is some great photography in the album (and you know how I love that). Just check out this promo shot of the band to see the kind of stuff you'll find in the booklet.


There are also some desktop wallpapers on the site. And if you get the chance, make sure to check them out at the Family Values Tour with Korn and the Deftones.

A Rainy Morning in Lincoln, Nebraska

I got some great shots this morning! I don't normally do a post here just to plug one day on my photoblog, but I'm really thrilled about these.



Monday, August 07, 2006

Fans Only


I saw this advertisement while I was checking my e-mail. It's for "fans only", apparently, which rules me out. I'm so bummed that I can't see it. Of course, all her fans are thinking, "Yes! Finally, something for me that's exclusive!" It's kind of like when Kevin Smith said Jersey Girl wasn't "for critics". What the hell does that mean?

Interesting Tidbits

Right now the blog averages about 90 hits a day. If this rate remains constant, I will receive my 1 millionth visitor in the year 2036. I'll be taking bets on which day of the week it will be on, and giving 5:1 odds. (Not really, but that would be a pretty sweet deal for me.)

Today I'm drinking coffee out of a mug my wife got from the makers of Risperdal (risperidone), an anti-psychotic medication generally given to schizophrenics. I loved their greatest hits album that she brought home a few weeks ago, a CD that simulates auditory hallucinations. To me it wasn't so much the things that the hallucinations said (heck, they weren't half as bad as my own hallucinations) but rather the fact that they never shut up. My imaginary friends only tell me something when they have something to say.



What this image tells me is that out of every 100 visits I get, 50 of them are people searching for my top 100 metal songs. Wow. I had no idea it would be that popular, and that's why I'm planning to do it over again.

If you go to Google and search for "top 100 metal songs" in quotes, I'm the first result. If you do it without quotes, I'm the 4th.

I'm wearing a badass fedora today. I'm lookin' good.

In the last few months, the number of people finding the site who were searching for child pornography has dramatically decresed.

Other popular posts, even after all this time:
Men's restroom ettiquette
Wasp sting
Sexy coffins

Thursday, August 03, 2006

New Renter

Be sure to check out my new renter, Perspectives of a Nomad. Much of the time it's very interesting. He often talks about world events in a different voice from what you normally hear.

EDIT (Friday): He has an excellent point/counterpoint discussion on the Israel-Lebanon conflict. Check it out!

Also, I've added a few new quotes under the title bar, so be sure to read it every time you load a page (there are 42 in total now).

Tuesday, August 01, 2006

Cool Case Name

Zakk Wylde v. 357 Customs, Inc. (PDF, opens in new window)

Read more about it on www.zakkwylde.com.

Happy Anniversary . . .

. . . to my parents! In honor of their anniversary, I'll be posting wedding and church-themed images on my photoblog from today through Friday, starting with this one: