12/31/08

GOODBYE, 2008!




Gasoline prices hit an all time high
And we never did quite find out why
A barrel of oil for $100 bucks
Yet, record profits for those corporate fucks!

Food prices in poor countries caused riots
While fat ass Americans went on failed diets!

The stock market, well, it fucking collapsed!
And what the hell happed to the polar ice caps?

Don't bother looking for work--there's no jobs
Everyone's so broke there's not even anyone left to rob!

Bernie Madoff scammed away $58 billion with skill
While the banks all collapsed and we footed the bill!

Sarah Palin couldn't name a single paper she read
Too bad they didn't ask her about fashion mags instead
She was nearly our second in charge, in command
"The Bush Doctine? What do you mean? I don't understand!"
And she wants to run again in 2012
All the democrats are giddy like, "Sure, bitch! Help yourself!"

But at least we protected families--and passed prop 8
To teach all our children the value of hate!

And we spent another year in the middle east
Spreading our special American brand of "peace"!

Meanwhile, Israel wiped the Gaza strip off the map
Women and children too, holy crap!

But We elected a black guy to fix all our ills
And handed him a massive stack of our bills
And said, "Here you go, darky! The country implores!
We fucked up America, so now it's all yours!"
And though, Magic Negro, you may find this whack
If you fix it all up, we'll be wanting it back.

And so, lads and ladies, everything went great
In the Lord's bless-ed year of 2008
And I'm sure things will continue to go just as fine
As we all bend over to welcome in 2009




SOURCE: THE AMAZING ATHEIST

12/30/08

TIBU2 NEWS AND USER ROSTER

Hi, Everybody!


We have some news for everyone.

REGARDING THE SITE: TIBU2.com will launch on or before February 1st. We know that 1-1-2009 was bandied about, but we'd like the site to be the best it can possibly be prior to launch. A login page may precede the official launch, so you'll be able to set-up your password and perhaps a few other profile features, and any such eventuality will be announced.

REGARDING THE TALKSHOE SHOW: It went off without a hitch. Apparently, some folks were unaware that it was happening, so here is the link to the MP3 archive of last night's show. Thank you to every who participated. The next show is in two weeks, on January 12th, 2009 at 8pm EST. After this second broadcast, we MAY be moving to a Sunday night time-slot to make it easier for folks to participate. Any changes or ideas will be announced here.

REGARDING THE BLOG: Some people are new here, and we've gotten many questions regarding specific users. There are four pages for TIBU2 here on Blogspot (due to a 100-person limit) and so some folks may be a little confused as to who's here and who's where and all that.

TIBU2- page 1:

TIBU2- page 2:


TIBU2- page 3:


TIBU2- page 4:

Three-Hour TIBU2 Talk-A-Thon Tonight!


Four people were signed on to listen in, and many more showed up. I was there- of course- and Ricky A. Pursley and the gentleman known as Iceberg Flats showed up as well. Ricky came in at about the twenty-minute mark, and Iceberg Flats came on in probably the last hour. The demise of ThisIsBy.Us was discussed- along with many several conspiracy theories, and- especially considering that it was a show with no format- a lot of information was exchanged and disseminated.
We had many anonymous users logging in and asking questions, and that part was good too- it added a bit of spice to the proceedings. All in all, not bad for a first time.

Here is the link to the mp3 archive of the show (2:58:00), 71.3MB download.

The next Talkshoe Event is planned for

01/12/2009 08:00 PM EST.


Thank you to Ricky and Iceberg and to everyone who was involved for their participation and kindness. I’ll talk to you next time.

12/28/08

Karl Rove thinks history will be kind to the Shrub



Karl Rove believes that history will be kind to George W. Bush.

Think about that simple sentence, and all that it implies with its existence.

Rove: I think that will be a big part of it. I think history is going to see him as a man who put America on a war footing in a struggle that will have shaped the nature of this century. He will be seen as someone who liberated Afghanistan and Iraq. Fifty million people now live in freedom in those two countries who did not know freedom before. And he will also be seen as somebody who's created a strategy to confront terrorism that is going to make America and the world safer in the years to come. Look, judgments of history are harsh in the short run and unfairly so many times. Harry S. Truman left office. In fact the slogan at the time was "To err is Truman". He left town not very popular and yet history regards him now as a much different person and I think this President is not going to leave office with that same state. He's going to be at a relatively low ratings but much better than some of his predecessors. History though is going to be kind to him at the end. I'm absolutely confident of that.

The sad part of it is this- Karl Rove may be correct in his assumption that the Republican Perpetuity Society will manuevre all that the world has suffered at the hands of George W. Bush into all that George W. Bush has suffered with the world. They will spin it until the lower 48.12% of us weep crocodile tears for all that this poor man has suffered.

12/26/08

Snuggies Have Sleeves!



An interesting product, no doubt.
But are these people so anesthetized in the brain pan
that they think they need to purchase
a new product rather than
putting on a SWEATER?

12/17/08

Buddha (In The Rain)



Six hours ago my whole life was changed
My entire future was re-arranged
Now I assume the truth, much to my pain
And I walked away, And left Buddha in the rain

Picking up after you
Is all there’s left to do
Would I do it all again?
Well, I can, and I would
Though I don’t know that I should
But I might, and I will
Until there’s nothing left of me to kill
Running forward until time stands still
Well, I will…
I would do it all again…
But I wouldn’t end it
With Buddha in the rain

Buddha was me, you see
And it was all I wanted to be
And I was…
A chubby smile, free from pain
Not a chunk of wood left in the rain
Because…
Would I do it all again?
Well, I can, and I would
Though I don’t know that I should
But I might, and I will
Until there’s nothing left of me to kill
Running forward until time stands still
Well, I will…
I would do it all again…
But I wouldn’t end it
With Buddha in the rain

A Twist on American History

THE BUREAU OF WHITE AFFAIRS-author unknown.

United Native Americans (UNA)Are proud to announce that it has bought the state of California from The Whites and is throwing it open to Indian settlement. UNA bought California from three winos, found wandering in San Francisco. UNA determined that these three winos were the spokesman for the white people of California. These winos promptly signed the treaty, which was written in Lakota, and sold California for three cases of wine, one bottle of gin, and four cases of beer. Lehman L. Brightman, Commissioner of White Affairs, has announced the following new policies; The Indians have generously agreed to give all Whites living in California four large reservations on which they are to make their new homes

Each reservation will consist of 20 acres and will be located in the following places: Death Valley, The Utah Salt Flats, The Badlands of South Dakota, and the Yukon territory in Alaska. These reservations shall belong to the whites, "...for as long as the sun shines or the grass grows." (or until the Indians want them back.) All land on the reservations will be held in trust for the Whites by The Bureau of White Affairs, and any White who wants to use his land in any way, must secure permission from Commissioner Brightman.

Forced marches and evacuations of Whites are to begin immediately so as to open these lands to Indian settlement as quickly as possible. When Whites arrive at the reservations they will be of course, allowed to sell trades and handicrafts at stands by the roadsides. Each White will be provided annually, with one thin blanket, one pair of tennis shoes, a supply of Spam and a copy of the book, "The Life of Crazy Horse." Commissioner Brightman invites all, politically well connected Indian people, to apply for the positions of Reservation agents. If you have less than one year of education, do not speak English, have an authoritarian personality, proof of dishonesty, and a certificate of incompetence, consider yourself well qualified for the position. Paternalistic attitudes and delusions of grandeur a plus. No Whites need apply.

Commissioner Brightman also announced the founding of four boarding schools, to which all White youngsters will be sent at the age of six (6). "We want to take those kids far away from the backward culture of their parents," he said. The schools will be located on Alcatraz Island, the Florida Everglades, Point Barrow, Alaska, and Hong Kong. All students arriving at the schools will be stripped of their clothing and forced to wear Indian garb. They will be forced to grow their hair long and in time wear it in braids. Upon arrival, at the schools all White children, will be given IQ tests to determine their understanding of Indian language, culture and survival skills.

All those white children that do not measure up to Indian standards will be considered mentally compromised and shunted into courses appropriate to students destined to live lives engaged in menial hard labor. All courses will be taught in Lakota and any child caught speaking English will have their mouth washed out with soap, be whipped, and/or be locked in solitary confinement and denied food for a period of days. Hospitals will be established for the reservations as follows: Whites at Death Valley Reservation may go to the Bangor, Maine Hospital; those at the Yukon Reservations may go to the Miami Beach Hospital; those at the Utah Salt Flats Reservations may go to the Juneau, Alaska Hospital; and those at the Badlands Reservation may receive medical care at the Honolulu, Hawaii, hospital.

All hospitals will be staffed by one medical student, a chiropractor, and two crabby army nurses. All hospitals will be supplied with one case of aspirin, a box of Epsom salts, and one box of Band-Aids, a pair of pliers, one set of vice grips, and an Exacto knife and a liberal supply of suppositories. Dental care will consist of extraction's only. All whites in need of vision correction will be given a pamphlet on how to squint. All former White churches will be converted to amusement parks for the entertainment of Indians. Interesting statuary and religious artifacts will be purloined by Indian people and sold as curios and collectibles for display in Indian museums and in private collections. To honor the memory of the former White inhabitants, streets, towns, and geographical locations will be given quaint White names.

Also at Indian sporting events, mascots depicting white people dressed in period clothing will be trotted out at half-time. These mascots will be made up to resemble cultural icons of the White race as interpreted by Indian experts. A few such examples will be Clem Kadidlehopper, Gomer Pyle, Elmer Fudd, Barney Fife, Yosemite Sam, and the Three Stooges. In this way Indian children will be educated of how White people looked and acted. Any Whites that protest this honor will be regarded as cranks and spoilsports. Indian academics will immediately begin excavations of White cemeteries. Bones and artifacts will be removed and studied.

Special attention will be paid to the skulls of White people. These skulls will be measured and scrutinized so that Indian people can determine just what is wrong with white people. After these studies have been completed, the remains will be sent to Pine Ridge, South Dakota. The remains will be stored in cardboard boxes in the basement of The Red Cloud Indian School where they will collect dust and be forgotten. White people whose ancestors wind up in boxes at The Red Cloud School and wish to have the remains sent to them for re-burial will have to fill out 742 different forms, in triplicate, do 28 push ups, and 76 jumping jacks, all the while balancing a bowl of wild rice on their heads. If all these requirements are met successfully, and satisfy the subjective judgments of uninterested Indian bureaucrats, the remains will be promptly returned in 2.4 generations, more-or-less.

This version of a twist on American history, was taken from the Leonard Peltier newsletter, "In the Spirit of Crazy Horse."

REMOVED

In the past, another forgotten face
I can almost remember, what it was I misplaced
And I can almost decipher these cryptic runes
Symbols all point to the fact
That there’s been too many bodies removed

In the battle of my life
I’ve seen many faces fade
My ears strain to remember
The strangled sounds they made
In the end, the jagged edges
Are rounded much too smooth
And in the end, I know my friend
There’ll be too many bodies removed

I’d like to find the reasons why
Or maybe just because
An urge to cut through the paint and the metal
To the lost little boy I was

But to do that
my future grave
must someday be exhumed
And in the end
I’m just another body
Filling up just another tomb

12/12/08

Who Will I Be?

My mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer's five years ago. This poem was written at the skilled nursing facility where she spent ten weeks following a nine day stay in the hospital. I stayed at the hospital with her day and night and at the nursing facility from early morning until after she fell asleep at night. She was afraid and wanted to retreat to her bed. She asked to lie down every seven seconds during the time when she was awake. Her body ached from so much bed time and she was very verbal about the pain. This poem reflects the angst I felt then.



Who will I be when I am done with this?

I worked so hard to find who I am,

Only to put life aside to help you through the process

Of disintegrating from the mother I knew,

Kind, caring, creative and funny,

Into a disinterested, whining, tossing and turning ghost of a person.

“Get out of bed and live a little!” I want to yell,

Knowing that soon, bed will be your world.

You will go silent,

And lose the ability to eat, to breathe and to circulate blood.

I will watch and care for you through the years

This disease runs its course.

I will give me to help you digress with dignity.

After its done, who will I be?

A Release From The Pain Of Living



Wax Episodic and then
Wane neurotic and then
Cripple yourself and then
Stifle yourself and then
Shut your mouth
Don’t let those words get out

Fornicate and then
Masturbate and then
Expectorate and then
Abacinate and then
Kill your mind
Leave It All Behind
And…..Don’t Let Those Thoughts Get Out Of Line


Hallucinate and then
Disintegrate and then…
NOTHING.

Glenn Danzig sings his Shopping list

Q&A: An Interview with Both Halves of My Bifurcated Self




YOU WERE BOOTED OFF OF THISISBY.US- WHAT HAPPENED?

The site was closing. I wanted to continue the writing community that was being abandoned. I wanted to make TIBU2.com perform in the same ways, keeping everyone’s goodness and friends network intact, so I did a little back-door snooping with a web vacuum program and in going through the resulting body of files, I found a notepad file containing everyone’s login information. Not wanting to create a shit-storm, I quietly relayed the fact that the site was not secure in a comment on one of my own posts.


WHAT HAPPENED THEN?

The shit-storm I’d hoped to avoid.


YOU JUST WANTED PUBLICITY, DIDN’T YOU?

I certainly could not have invented better publicity, that’s for sure, but no- it wasn’t about publicity. There was no need for publicity. The site was dying in 90 days, and people wanted a place to go. If they were going to come, or not, was entirely up to them- but they would be made aware of the opportunity in every way possible. This would have included comments and links on TIBU. In getting booted, I did myself a disservice in losing an advertising opportunity for the new site that directly accessed my initial target audience. Most people on TIBU were aware of me, one way or another, and they knew whether or not they liked me before any of this happened. Some people thought I was an asshole, and got what I deserved- they were gonna think that anyway. Some people thought of me as a Robin Hood-type figure, which is probably closest to the truth but a little too Disney for my tastes. A few others saw me as a lawless Che Guevara type of insurgent, which was cool but probably a stretch, in terms of what really went down.

To be fair, I DID violate their terms of service- but so what? They had already abandoned their site and their constituency. People were making offers to purchase or continue the site, and no one ever replied to them. They were their own worst enemies, and never adapted their business model to the changing times. Next topic.


A LOT OF PEOPLE LEFT AROUND THAT TIME.

They’re still leaving. Everyone already knows all this.


OK. YOU PROMISED US TIBU2.COM, AND THIS IS JUST A BLOGGER ACCOUNT. WTF?

I wanted to set up a place for people to post and remain together while the new site was being created, tested and prepared. I’ve put quite a bit of effort into this, because I want to protect and nurture the TIBU2 aegis. Our little community deserves a lot better than it’s gotten so far, and I don’t want to waste a drop of that user good-will and name-brand recognition. I have massive plans for the site, but I want to make sure it’s feasible and self-sustaining, and works properly before I unleash it on an unsuspecting public.


BE HONEST- YOU HAVEN’T EVEN STARTED ON IT YET, HAVE YOU?

I plead the fifth on that one.


SO THIS BLOGGER THING ISN’T THE FINAL DEAL?

No. Like I said, I wanted a place for people to gather and write and connect their blogs in the interim while TIBU2.com is in the works. Originally I was shooting for January 1st, but the best laid plans go awry, y’know? I’m doing my best. I also know that people are dropping like flies from the first site, and I wanted them to have a place to go, as well as a way to get hold of them and announce the launch when it happens.


WHAT IS THE ADDRESS OF THE BLOG?

If you’re reading this, you’re already there. If you want to direct people to it, tell them tibu2.com. For the time being, that URL re-directs to the blog- no need for a different URL to confuse folks. I want any transitions I ask of people to go as smoothly as possible- I don’t want to piss anyone off. People need to be invited to post on the page, and those wanting to get in should send an email via the link on the right hand side of the page, The email address is tibu.two@gmail.com, or you can send one to my personal email.


SO IT’S JUST YOU?

Thus far. Just me. I use the royal “We” in emails on behalf of the site, but that’s starting to feel a little schizophrenic, and everyone knows who’s behind this thing anyway.


WHY WERE SOME PEOPLE INVITED TWICE? OR NOT AT ALL?

Well…


OR ON TWO DIFFERENT EMAIL ACCOUNTS?

Dude, with two Gmail accounts, tied into two Blogger accounts, and two MySpace accounts linked to two Facebook accounts, two Twitters and two Talkshoes, can you even begin to conceive of how confusing all of this is, even to the psycho who’s authored it all?


FAIR ENOUGH. WHY ARE THERE TWO BLOGGER PAGES, THOUGH?

There are account limits of 100 contributors to each blog. There’s two pages as of right now- here and here- but there may be more before this thing is through. I didn’t want anyone left out. But all Blogger pages for TIBU2 will connect with one another, I do know that much. Some people will be invited to one page, and some people will be invited to the other. People can post only on the page they're a member of, but they can comment and vote for anything on any of the pages we have. I'll try to make the experience less convoluted over time and as seamless as possible for everyone involved. Each page can be accessed from the icon photos on the upper right side of both pages. Click on the pictures. Two halves of the same whole- but not for segregationist purposes.


ARE THERE ANY PEOPLE YOU WON’T INVITE FROM THE OLD SITE?

No. I’m trying to get to everyone that I can- although I’m certain to miss a few. Anyone who wants to help recruit folks can refer them to the email I mentioned or to the page this interview is featured on. Not inviting people because I didn’t like them personally, or for their politic stance, or their writing style goes against the whole idea behind all this. This does not belong to me- this belongs to everyone. That is what Bill and Elle Dee forgot over time.


WHO'S THERE NOW, FROM THE OLD SITE? HOW MANY PEOPLE?

About sixty folks so far, between the two pages, you understand. Let's see now...we've got raineyes, AdayINtheLife, shoegirl, MikeJames, kmrockdale, Fiocle, & Wisco. I'm happy for everyone's involvement, really I am- but Wisco has been awesome in his support. He's posted more than I have even- although I've been crazy-busy putting this together- but yeah, he's posted more than anyone, and he's already got two blogs of his own and the old TIBU site to maintain- the guy's a writing fiend, and not a word wasted. I'm kissing major ass here, but I really cannot properly express my gratitude to the guy. I definitely owe him a beer or five somewhere down the line. Who else? SamiSmile, Richard H., RedMaryCash, harmreduction, inked4life- he's posted some stuff lately- BlueRoses, MizMoxie, The Voice Queen, lifeisgoodjake, Dreamswoven, Typo, grantlawnm, Dean Fearce, Xigent, Ambival Ant, Project Savior and a whole bunch more, and growing every day. It's exciting and very gratifying.


WHAT CAN PEOPLE DO TO GET TIBU2.COM OFF THE GROUND?

First, visit the site as it is now on Blogger. Write, rate, vote and comment. Interact with people. Clink the advertising links, DIGG our bits, befriend the MySpace page and fan the Facebook group, and follow the Twitter. And the big one, donate via Paypal- if they can at all afford it- even if it's only fifty cents. I know times are tough for everyone right now, and I understand if they can't donate much or anything at all, but every little bit of money or exposure helps the cause.


WILL THE NEW SITE OFFER PAYMENT?

I don’t know. I’d like for it to, but for the time being, I’m just trying to get this thing off the ground. Perhaps it will, perhaps it won't. I can't give an answer I would hold myself to at the moment. 8-ball say: answer is unclear- try again later.


IS THERE ANY PIECE OF PROPANGANDA YOU’D LIKE TO DISPELL?

Yeah- that I’m doing this for altruistic reasons, or as a power-trip. I loved TIBU, and would have stayed there forever. I was saddened when I learned of its demise. I wanted to keep it going, and the reason for that was the sense of community that I was made to feel a part of. That’s selfishness, on my part. And as for the power trip angle, that’s someone looking to be respected as an authority- and I’ve never respected authority. I doubt that I would even if I ever saw it, but I haven’t- I’ve just seen silly little people on silly little power trips trying to control everything I wouldn’t respect that in someone else, so there’s no reason to expect someone to respect it in me. Thanks for reading.


Glengarry Glen Darth

12/11/08

ThisIsNOTBy.Us



Some people on ThisIsBy.Us have not yet received invites to TIBU2, because no email addresses were able to be found for them. Unless an email address was listed on a user's ThisIsBy.Us profile- or they responded to one of Dr. Larry's comment posts- they were not invited, and it would be a a shame for someone to be left behind for that reason. All that's asked is that people be made aware that the opportunity exists, should they elect to go with it.

If anyone knows how to contact Bostongirl, Maggiemae23, MaryRose, Amtrak To Hell, Freddy, Bleachercreature (or any one of a host of others), please refer them to TIBU.TWO@GMAIL.COM for an invite. We're not looking to spam anyone, but some folks are genuinely NOT aware that TIBU2 exists and seem pretty bummed about losing their community. We'd like to include them here.

Thank you.