retarded song
John Mellencamp's "Small Town" drives me crazy every time I hear it:
Well I was born in a small town
And I live in a small town
Prob'ly die in a small town
Oh, those small communities
All my friends are so small town
My parents live in the same small town
My job is so small town
Provides little opportunity
Educated in a small town
Taught the fear of Jesus in a small town
Used to daydream in that small town
Another boring romantic that's me
But I've seen it all in a small town
Had myself a ball in a small town
Married an L.A. doll and brought her to this small town
Now she's small town just like me
No I cannot forget where it is that I come from
I cannot forget the people who love me
Yeah, I can be myself here in this small town
And people let me be just what I want to be
Got nothing against a big town
Still hayseed enough to say
Look who's in the big town
But my bed is in a small town
Oh, and that's good enough for me
Well I was born in a small town
And I can breathe in a small town
Gonna die in this small town
And that's prob'ly where they'll bury me
Gee, did he come from a small town? I can't tell.
Arg! That song sucks!
reading material
I didn't see this in the news, though I don't usually read the paper or watch TV news. It's a letter from Osama Bin Laden to America, and it comes from the British site The Observer. I don't know if it's legit, but it certainly is detailed. Believe it or not, Osama makes some valid points if you ignore the religious fundamentalism.
Such as:
Your policy on prohibiting and forcibly removing weapons of mass destruction to ensure world peace: it only applies to those countries which you do not permit to possess such weapons. As for the countries you consent to, such as Israel, then they are allowed to keep and use such weapons to defend their security. Anyone else who you suspect might be manufacturing or keeping these kinds of weapons, you call them criminals and you take military action against them.
I guess that means we should get ready for another round of attacks. I'll have to stay indoors 24-7 rather than 23.5-7 like I do now. But wait, if I stay indoors, "the terrorists win". Therefore, I'll also have to go rollerskating in short-shorts and a gas mask...otherwise, "the terrorists win"...
new and improved
The new photo gallery is working. It's so much easier and more flexible than manually updating stuff.
updates
A lot happened this weekend, but I don't know if I'll recap it.
Here are some new photos:
a fight I witnessed in Lowell
the ensuing arrest
woah there, buddy.
Now that it seems that we won't have to invade Iraq and cause the death of thousands of innocent people, maybe we should focus on some really scary legislation that most likely will sail through the now Republican controlled congress without much fanfare. I'm talking about the Homeland Security Act. According to this NY Times column, we could be in for massive invasion of privacy. From the article:
Every purchase you make with a credit card, every magazine subscription you buy and medical prescription you fill, every Web site you visit and e-mail you send or receive, every academic grade you receive, every bank deposit you make, every trip you book and every event you attend — all these transactions and communications will go into what the Defense Department describes as "a virtual, centralized grand database."
It seems that there is some protest already, but I wonder if it will make a difference now that Republicans have an agenda and free reign of the government. It's something to think about.