Culmination of human evolution? Ability to record funny animal videos?

I've been spending some time on Youtube, and one of the main things I notice is that there are tons of videos of animals doing things, usually kind of funny things. I'm a huge animal person, but there comes a point where I reach a saturation level, where enough is enough, animals doing the same stupid things over and over again gets a bit played out.

And it doesn't stop there, everywhere you look there are photoshopped pictures of animals that are meant to be funny. Or movies like Garfield or that kung fu dog movie, or Air Bud.

I suppose that is the loss of childhood, when you see animals doing funny things, or acting human, and you don't find it all that funny anymore. I still have extremely fond memories of that talking black cat on Sabrina the Teenage Witch. My sister would watch that, and I would join her just to see that cat. Inexplicably funny. Maybe it was his snide demeanor.

In spite of my mini-diatribe, I still find some animal videos funny. As much as I get annoyed, sometimes you just can't help yourself. Shoot, who'm I kidding, I still LOVE animals doing funny things! I feel like an alcoholic berating someone else for drinking.

Alizee

Who is Alizee? A very pretty French girl who sings... Kind of silly songs, but they are fun. The pop factory is working strong, not just in the US, but as I've been discovering via Youtube, in many places: France, Japan, South Korea, China, etc., etc...

Speaking of #5 in my previous post...

Can't help thinking of this Dave Chappelle clip I saw a while back.

Remembering to be happy because...

1. Sports. Since I've been sick I've loaded up on sports viewing like I never could before. Too bad I don't really care about sports anymore, but the entertainment value is still decent. Currently the basketball segment of this summer's World Championships is taking place. Games are broadcast live, unfortunately that seems to be 2am here.

2. I'm in the midst of a couple of good books.

3. I have some friends in town. Unfortunately my hands are somewhat tied in terms of hanging out.

4. I will get better. I will be productive again!

5. I'm discovering all the resources the internet has to offer. And no, no, no, that does not mean porn.

6. We have just acquired a bunch of Bruce Lee movies.

7. I discovered a bunch of Blind Date episodes on youtube.

8. My dog is still alive!

9. I'm better than before. Slowly but surely.

10. Things can always be worse. I know that sounds a bit morbid, but I mean it in the best way possible. As in, count your blessings.

11. Last, but most importantly, my sister is in town!

Japanese TV

I stumbled across this post which has some crazy clips from some Japanese TV shows. Please note that they are a bit sadistic, and I don't think I'm a better person for having watched them.

In my infinite boredom(please remember, I'm sick and can't do much else!) I've learned 3 things of late.

1. I will not be vacationing in Mogadishu, at least not in the near future. Somalia is becoming a hot bed of radical Islamists. I'm trying to figure out where to put that on my to fear list, does that push up my fear of terrorists significantly or not? The sad part about Somalia is that the whole region is so incredibly destitute, they've mined most of their natural resources so they don't have much to go on.

2. The Japanese are crazy. See above for link and evidence of this.

3. Stephen Colbert is trying to get a bridge named after him. A bridge in Hungary that crosses the Danube. From what I understand he is succeeding in his attempt. Many thanks to culturepopped for his article on Colbert, which also provides the link to vote for Colbert here.

Movie: Devil and Daniel Johnston

Daniel Johnston is a singer/fine artist who I think can be referred to as a cult figure. He has certain mental problems, which comes through in his drawings and songs. I first became a fan of his when I heard him on the radio a couple years back, singing his songs about Casper the friendly ghost. Those were some crazy, really cool, wacky songs.

Some people call Johnston a genius, but I think that's a stretch. I think he is extremely gifted, wonderfully creative, and a unique talent. At the same time, he is a seriously disturbed individual, but that's part of what makes him so good.

I just got back from seeing this documentary about him, The Devil and Daniel Johnston. It was good, although I'm not sure if people who aren't fans of his music would find it too interesting. His music wasn't presented all that well in the film, but his life and his struggles with his illness(debilitating manic depression) were interesting and well documented. I felt really sorry for him and his struggles, in the end this was a depressing movie. It reminded me of the documentary of Robert Crumb, called Crumb. Both Crumb and Johnston are depressing people, and there's something about their personalities that is frightening, not the funny kind of scary, but a dark and extremely sad kind of scary. I will not be paying money to take a ride inside these two peoples' minds. I think I will be taking the teacup ride, thank you very much.

Finance This Film Idea

I tell you, if I had the right connections, I would be going after the money to shoot and direct a movie like this: Snakes on Cocaine. This series would be huge, I'm having amazing visions of future sequels...Snakes in the Hood, Snakes vs. The Leprechaun, etc., etc.

Unfortunately I think it's going to take a lot more sequels for snakes to really move up on my things to fear list. I suppose in terms of the animal list they are currently in fifth place, which is actually pretty shoddy considering how vicious and crazy snakes can be. Sharks, crocodiles, scorpions, and hornets are all above. Sharks deservedly have the top spot, since they have had insane media exposure. At this point, any person who can take a dip in their pool without thinking of huge terrifying man-eating sharks, well I would consider you insane, immunized to fear, or you live in a cave and don't watch enough tv. More media exposure of crazy snakes(and no, one movie will not do it), and I promise you they will rise higher on my list.

Artist: George Tooker

Here's a post on another artist I love. His name is George Tooker, he's quite a famous 20th century American painter. He works in tempera, and achieves a beautiful mastery of the medium. His works are ethereal, haunting, and in terms of workmanship, really superior. Definitely need to see his paintings in the flesh. I include this link for a short bio on Tooker. This site has a variety of interesting links on Tooker.

Super Mario Brothers

This video is of a guy playing the Super Mario Bros. song on guitar, watch at your own risk. I haven't been able to get this song out of my head since first watching it. Very cool though.

Cue pretentious literary reference right....NOW!!!: The Mario Bros. song sets off a flood of memories in my mind that is comparable to what the madeleine cake does for Proust and his own memories and remembrance of times past.

My new hobby: Omphaloskepsis

In other words, contemplation of one's navel. Can be used to achieve a trance-like state.

Also known as the ultimate sign of boredom.

Japanese Funny Toilet Commercial

Japanese Funny Toilet Commercial 2

Toto insulated tub CM

Very random Japanese commercial.

World record trampoline slam dunk!

Found this video from this post. This clip represents why I want to move to Japan. Trivial random craziness.

Don't take that to mean I don't respect Japanese culture. Amazing artists, writers, filmmakers, and cultural history. Their pop culture is fascinating.

On TV: Celeb Beefs vs. Airplane Tragedy

Lindsay Lohan!!!!! vs. Airplane Crash

Lately I've been cultivating various things to fear because not only am I really bored, but it's kind of an entertaining way to occupy myself, although it could be considered slightly morbid and twisted. Whatever...

Of course I talked about Chernobyl in my previous posts. Well, last night I started getting my terrible headaches, and the only thing that really occupies me during those episodes is a good dosage of tv. So lo and behold I find myself alternating between two channels, VH1's Celebrity Beefs and the Discovery Channel's recounting of TWA's Flight 800 crash. Did I have to temper the tragedy of the airplane crash with a good dose of celebrity craziness? I don't know, but probably so.

Anyways, I learned a lot last night. I don't really want to fly anymore, although if I was logical, I really wouldn't want to drive anymore.

Secondly, I learned that celebrity beefs are just plain awesome. They make no sense and are pretty random, I guess celebrity beefs are a symptom of our post-modern age in which the crazier and more ridiculous things are, well the better off we all are because that IS true entertainment. By the way, GO LINDSAY LOHAN! You would totally kick Hillary Duff's ass.

I am going to SEND a major message, I will only consume the craziest, most nonsensical kinds of media, especially with what I watch on tv, because the crazier things are on tv, maybe fewer people will actually be influenced by what programs show and say. I'm stopping to think about that last thought, and realize that is some serious optimism on my part. Sorry, this whole paragraph was really condescending.

PS. Thank you tv. My consumption of your shows has allowed me to expand my fear in nearly all facets of my life. I consider my tv viewing last night to have been the cornerstone of a productive and successful evening.

Things I'm fearing at the moment:
1. Getting eaten by a shark
2. Getting eaten by a crocodile(by the way, I've had a discussion with somebody that couldn't be resolved, which would be worse, fear #1. occuring or fear #2?)
3. Terrorists
4. Serial killers, specially the sniper variety
5. Nuclear explosion
6. Disease
7. Flying

Chernobyl Video

Sobering to watch.

Chernobyl on TV

There was a great show last night on the discovery channel. It was about the Chernobyl nuclear disaster that took place in 1986. I'd never thought about nuclear energy before this show, at least not in a significant way. The main thing I thought, well I guess it was that I knew that Homer Simpson worked in a nuclear power plant, section 7-G if I recall correctly. And Homer seemed to walk the razor's edge, barely avoiding disaster after disaster. Yes, a nuclear disaster seemed like a funny thing, I mean, at least in the Simpson world.

Anyways, I learned quite a bit from this show, but my paranoia increased exponentially with each extra minute I watched about this event. My mind kept focusing on the fact that there's a nuclear power plant not too far away from Phoenix, and the more imagery I saw from the Chernobyl disaster, a disaster which could have been much much worse, I got more and more freaked out. The most admirable yet tragic part of this whole incident were all the people that worked to stave off a more terrible disaster. Many of the workers sacrificed their lives, or destroyed their health in their attempt to curb a far more terrible fate for their country, western Europe, and possibly the rest of the world.

Ultimately, the show has forced me to reconsider my stance on nuclear energy. I am more leery of it than ever, and find the fact that many people are so quick to embrace it as an enviromentally friendly alternative energy source a bit frightening. Here's a link on Chernobyl.

Me: Girl takes pic of herself every day for three years

This is cool, but I know this has been done before.

Artist: Ed Paschke

Posting on another artist whose work I enjoy. Sadly Ed Paschke passed away not long ago, he grew up in Chicago and taught at Northwestern. I really regret that I never got to take any of his classes.
This is his official website.
This is a good catalogue of his work.

Zugzwang, Panglossian, Weltschmerz: Three Awesome Words I've Come Across Lately

I love the Economist. Now I know that probably isn't the coolest thing to say, but I love reading it right before going to bed. You know what's great about it? The fact that I run across crazy words like zugzwang and panglossian in their articles. I feel like I'm finding more and more reasons to like the British. I like their magazines, their pretentious music tastes(but they do have great music over there), their sense of humor and comedians, their literature, and I wish I could say their food, but that is probably reserved for the true anglophiles.

I don't know where I ran across the word weltschmerz, and I'm not sure if I would be impressed or seriously annoyed if someone used that in a conversation with me. Probably depends on the person. All I know is the next person that uses that in a conversation with me, I'm going to give them $10 on the spot just for surprising me.

On the USA Basketball Team

Since the World Championships are coming up I thought I'd post this. Too bad the guy Carter humiliated was on the French team. Anyways, I'm cheering for the US this summer.

Mel Gibson

I'm not usually a huge fan of Time Magazine, but the other day I read a great article on Mel Gibson by Joel Stein. Here it is, Maybe We Should Just Make Mel Happy.

I don't know what's up with me lately. Since I've been sick it's hard to do real things, so I think I've been escaping from reality by loading up on celeb news. I guess I'm just pandering to some weird part of my brain that has hijacked the rest of my mind.

Deerhoof Music Video



What a great band! I discovered some free, legal downloads of their music at this post that links to Deerhoof's website and mp3's.

Artist: Roberto Matta

Just another post on another artist whose work I really enjoy. This is Roberto Matta's work, more can be found at such a link as this. I like the energy in the work, the surreal quality, the melting forms(and melting makes me think of fire, and God knows I love FIRE!!!). Also, some of his pieces have this feeling like they are electrified. Coooooooooollll.

Little Miss Sunshine

I've been doing ok lately, so I was able to go see another movie this weekend. Got to see Little Miss Sunshine, which I didn't know too much about beforehand, which is usually best anyways. The movie was great. Very funny, some quirky, off the cuff sort of humour. The film had an excellent script plus a superb group of characters who are fun and crazy. The pacing was good and there was pretty much always something funny going on, whether subtle or bash you over the head funny. Recommendation: Go see this!

Favorite Recent News

Favorites:
1. Britney Video
2. Jenna Jameson new boyfriend
3. Lindsay Lohan sex kitten remarks...see previous post
4. Weird.
5. Hilarious. I already posted about this dog earlier, but seriously, this is the best.
6. More Jenna Jameson news, taking place here in Phoenix! What's the big deal, it's just a lap dance?

I hope that in reading this people won't think that my interests fall under porn, celeb news, and dogs. Come on, I'm a bit more diversified than that, at least I hope I am.

Lindsay Lohan, Ain't She the Bestest

Best part of this article is Lindsay Lohan talking about how she aspires to be a sex kitten, it's what she has worked hard for her whole life. I love it. I've always aspired to be a dancing carnival monkey myself. Find the Lindsay post here.

How awesome is riding your BIKE? Very.

I know biking as a viable form of transportation seems laughable to some people. I don't think so. This video shows how great biking is, especially if you are insane and not afraid of dying.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmhV8OwSeQY

Useless info

Ok, I decided to ditch the old template because I think this one is simpler and making changes could prove easier with this basic layout.
Needless information of course.

I never thought I'd ever say this, but go Yankees! I don't know why, I've always hated them, but I kind of want them to win this year. I can't explain it, very weird.

Being sick is horrible, but sometimes it forces me to try new things. Case in point is all the time I've spent on the computer. I'm not much of a computer person, but being on the computer is one of the things I can do without getting bored or too tired and weary. I'm finally learning photoshop which is a great program, I've discovered blogging which is much more useful and interesting than I ever imagined, and I guess I never would have discovered all those great media things out on the net, like youtube and last.fm...

Changing template driving me insane

Oh my GOD! I waltzed into the template figuring I could change that stupid design stuff at the top with some sort of image. I mean how hard could that be? I have spent way too much time at the computer, all these different help pages make this stuff sound so easy. Now I am insanely angry, and still can't pull myself away from the computer. I feel like a poor little rat stuck in some crazy maze.

SERENITY NOW

I'm trying to figure out how to make some changes on this page. I'm realizing it's going to take more time than I initially thought.

Dude, I am sooooo tired. I feel like I've been on the phone all day. I didn't even get my proper dosage of mid-afternoon sports shows. But I did manage to catch one of my favorite Foster's episodes. I'm including a link to a video clip of one of the scenes from this particularly awesome episode.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k13pQo6a1iI

Also a couple links to vids of this awesome band, one of my sentimental favorites, never seen these videos, some are pretty hilarious. The one and only Pizzicato 5...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_A7qaX3R0o
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRE_MJBIhtI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jl3Hkqk5f7M
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XpqN_OBrfJc

Keeping with the Japanese theme, never heard this before but I like, Karia Notomo.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvpRH9t0Ots

My dog

It seems that every night he comes by my room to harass me for more Milkbone cookies. He stands in the doorway, stares at me, gives me one of those hungry growls, and takes a couple of steps closer to me to make sure I see him. I'm a sucker for begging, so most of the time I acquiesce to his requests.

On another note I've been listening to this great album that I picked up at the Phoenix public library, Pere Ubu's The Modern Dance. It is sooooo good. I love the library here, they have so many dvds, vhs, cds, books(of course!) and its all free. Hurrary for the library.

Spongebob

So, I have to admit that I have been enjoying the Spongebob cartoon lately. Only now have I realized this could be a big problem for my sexuality, and for many other people and children like me who enjoy the cartoon.

I was interested and surpised that in my internet surfing I somewhere somehow stumbled upon a whole pile of crazy accusations that Spongebob is gay, will make you gay, and is a gay icon or something. Now, I won't lie, Spongebob does have some little mannerisms that are iffy, but hell, he's a cartoon character, so what, what if he is gay?
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/6852828/

Kind of reminds me of the accusations that Bugs Bunny is gay. Someone vehemently told me this a little while back, and I have to admit I was surprised, I'd never thought about cartoon characters' sexuality before that moment, so this double whammy of both Spongebob and Bugs struck me as a cosmic coincidence.

Hilarious. I understand wondering if a hot person that you are interested in is gay, you know, because that could actually mean something to you in terms of hooking up. But a cartoon??? At least we live in a pretty weird place, where things are so topsy turvy and kind of crazy that we can be interested in very mundane silly things pretty much all the time. The saddest thing to me is turning on the tv news, I can't help but see how the news media masquerades as a purveyor of facts but is in fact such a circus and ratings monster that you're likely to glean more valuable information glueing your eyes to a channel like E or ESPN than CNN or Fox News. Thank you, and now if you will allow me, I will be getting off my high horse.

I love the irony of my writing such a post.

Artist: Thomas Hart Benton

Not too eventful of a day, so I don't think I'll write anything about it. I don't need to philosophize about life at the moment.

Just gonna post couple pics of another artist I really enjoy. I think you either like this work or you really really hate it. Sort of like Andrew Wyeth.

These paintings are by Thomas Hart Benton. Jackson Pollock studied under him a bit but almost went mental trying to paint like this. I like how Benton twists and distorts landscapes and figures. Everything tends to flow within his paintings, which is not something I usually enjoy but for some reason I do enjoy it in Benton's paintings. There's a wonderful lyricism and magic within these paintings that is just mesmerizing.

Posting stuff on another artist, Charles White

I love this guy's work. The way he distorts figures, very cool, very powerful. Can't find too much on him on the internet though. They have a wonderful charcoal drawing of his at the Prints and Drawing room in Chicago, called Harvest Talk. One of my all time favorites. It's the first picture in the four I posted.
Charles_White_a_lover_of_the_arts

A very sorry video

http://youtube.com/watch?v=IZSqXUSwHRI

This poorly made video makes me thankful for not being on the wrong side of this argument. Fortunately I'm living in a blu...oh wait, I forgot I'm not living in Chicago anymore but Arizona.

Descent

Just got back from seeing the movie Descent. Good flick overall, wish the monsters were scarier though. I only felt like screaming once, seriously only once. It was when the lady behind me screamed like a little girl, I think I got scared because I wasn't expecting her to yell at that moment, totally caught me off guard.

Seeing this movie has me thinking about how I want to see more scary movies. The Shining is the one that scares me the most, but I definitely need to see more scary movies.

There's this movie coming out by the guy who does the Ali G show. Looks hilarious, my buddy was telling me it's already being banned in Kazakstan. I'd like to explain what I saw in the previews, but I don't think I could properly convey the hilarity(or my perception of it) properly.

Switching gears, great story, guard dog goes berserk!!!

The British. You gotta love them. Only they could give us such a wonderful story as this.
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=2265816

Which reminds me of the time my dog ripped apart most of our nice furniture and carpets. I didn't think it was a such a big deal, but I knew my mom would. This is the devil in me: The best part was knowing how angry my mom was going to be. I think that's the time where it's hardest to suppress your laughter, when you know somebody's insane rage is going to explode when they find out about whatever ridiculous event has taken place(as long as you are not the guilty party) and you are pretty certain that the miscreant won't suffer serious consequences for the offense. So, this whole episode was funny enough because we still got to keep the dog.

Always remember that there's nothing funnier than authority figures taking themselves so seriously and unleashing ridiculous tirades.

An extreme close-up of my buddy and me.

On sickness, I just gotta write this

Usually I'm cool with being sick, so long as I'm not in pain. But usually it's other peoples' reactions that flip me out. I was talking to a friend the other day, and she started telling me how hard it must be, you know, being ill for so long. She told me that being sick for close to a year, well, that's a good chunk of your life. Oh, that really got my heart racing, like, the stress and worry of being ill for so long and the worry of not getting better hit me like a lightning bolt. I know in my soul I'm going to be better, but it's difficult because I have no control over this ridiculous illness. The endlessness of it...

Anyways... I didn't mean to get all negative. This illness has moments where it just freaks me out. When I feel like that there is only one thing that makes everything better. Watching this clip... This clip can probably cure cancer.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAPoTaaxHxw

Miami Vice

It was great leaving the house. Getting to see Miami Vice was cool, unfortunately it wasn't quite as amazing as I had hoped. I liked the atmosphere in this film, and the tension was good. But the movie and shots were too disjointed and shaky for my tastes, too many close-ups, but most importantly, there weren't enough gunfights. The one at the end was pretty good though. Generally what I'm asking for in a movie like this is 2 superb, over the top gunfights, plus one or two more middling episodes of destruction. Anyways, it was still a good way to spend an afternoon. No regrets.

Couple of cartoons

This first one is based on Edgar Allan Poe's short story, Tell Tale Heart. Narrated by James Mason, very cool, 1st person.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJb150JRqpQ&search=upa%20tell%20tale%20heart


Rooty Toot Toot. Fun stylization.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8vBVBfEQ2Y

Great news!

Hurray! So, as long as I feel ok later, I will be going with a friend to see Miami Vice. I woke up today and feel pretty decent. My headaches have died down lately, which really helps me sleep so much better. Not only can I read my book in peace, but I don't feel so chained down to the house, knowing I'll probably feel ok to head out later.

Cool music videos...French Pop

Just discovered this beautiful French singer, France Gall.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8buv3JEjKQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YsUlz-fiWxM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ntpp6Sr_QrA

Couple of Serge Gainsbourg links too. Gotta love his music.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PgBVIVBnkso
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KGt0VFvxPJM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TeYJvZkJt3Ev=TeYJvZkJt3E

George Brassens-
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-529331768010283228&q=george+brassens
Trying to find his song Le Gorilles.

Francoise Hardy-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojw4UzSwWEQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CqtOS4HXu1Q
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=makWcuHaAYg

This movie is going to be good

I can't seem to convince anyone to go see Miami Vice. Have my powers of persuasion so diminished that I can't convince/trick people into going to see a movie that could be either: A) seriously awesome or B) seriously ridiculous. Maybe I don't have the right group of friends. I like the director's track record, so come on people, senseless undercover cop movie with tons of violence, come on, you know you want to see this.
Don't make me resort to this-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qk8zxUj_q9Y

More art...

http://www.ethnographica.com/pages/Dogon5.php?project_id=5#
http://www.hamillgallery.com/DOGON/DogonArt.html
http://www.zyama.com/dogon/pics..htm
I love this artwork from the Dogons. The animal masks are my favorite. They are mysterious and beautifully designed. There's some magical, ethereal quality about them, especially when they are used in Dogon ceremonies. I'd like to find more videos of their dancing and performances, I've only tracked down these two so far. I saw some great ones back in college that I wish I could find.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCUD4XZvJW4&search=dogon
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=utxYS2xvdGs&search=dogon

Who I'm Angry at Today

I'll tell you who. Rabbits, at least those in my yard. Seemingly amazing due to their fluffilicious cuddly bodies and long carved out torpedo ears, I have come to the conclusion that they are wily and mean-spirited.

My dog is a grizzled old German Shepherd, he is aging, and due to hip problems can no longer give the proper chase after smarmy little rabbits. My dog must suffer the indignation and humiliation of eating his dinner outside, whilst those cute little bunny rabbits not 10 yards away peacefully chew on his grass. As those rabbits eye him, I can see the big fat grins written all over their faces, basking in the knowledge that my dog can't get them, and they just rub it in, not even attempting to move a kindly distance away. My poor dog sadly eyes their tasty little bodies. He shifts his gaze up at me, his eyes imploring me to do something.

Resolving the situation: I've read up on my international diplomacy. Here's how you recover something you claim is your's but someone else usurps. It's a 2 pronged plan of attack. First you garner support for sanctions, in this case, we enlist our neighbors and all those in the community to shore up their fences. Second part is a bit more surreptitious, it involves the enlistment of a 3rd party guerrilla group(my neighbor's golden retrievers) to either A) take those bunnies out of commission or B) scare the daylights out of those fluffy creatures so that they never come back again.

Voila, and I didn't even take about weapons of mass destruction.

Do you like owls that sing?

Just discovered this cartoon on Youtube. Owls that sing, it doesn't get any better than this.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOt8prlMmDg&search=i%20love%20to%20singa

Well, maybe it does. Something called Commando Duck. It's a cartoon of Donald Duck fighting for the US against the Japanese in WWII, I'd like to meet the people that came up with such a ridiculous concept.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFUQ7AgvgJU&search=commando%20duck

Things I need to remember to be afraid of...

Why is it way more fun to be afraid of totally random, one in a million kind of things. Shark week on the Discovery Channel reminded me that I need to feed that crazy irrational fear of sharks I have. I hope it won't scare me as much as seeing Jaws for the first time. As a little kid, it struck fear into my heart, I avoided baths and showers like the plague, for some reason I couldn't stop visualizing jaws materializing out of the shower head and the faucet.

This morning's paper reminded me that I also need to fear this local serial killer who's on the loose. It's like winning the lottery, except in reverse, if you're in the right place at the right time, then fate will have you struck with a bullet in your head.

If it weren't for the media, life would be boring. Fortunately fearing terrorists, huge sharks, serial killers, North Korea, and plane accidents makes life enjoyable again.