I just happened upon a top-40 list of Conservative Pop Music. The songs on the list were chosen because they "embody religious or patriotic themes, as these are unambiguously conservative values." The list oddly includes a few Beetles songs, including "Revolution" and George Harrison's"My Sweet Lord" (as well as numerous references to "The Taxman"). The rationale for including "My Sweet Lord" is interesting: "The inclusion of this song may be controversial because of its non-Christian lyrics. However, I take the view that being deeply religious makes the song per se conservative, even if the religion is Hinduism or Buddhism.". Deeply-held religious convictions are unamiguously conservative values... like the deeply-held convictions of the World Trade Center bombers? (I know, that last comment was probably self-evident/redundant to anyone who'd be reading this page).

Among other songs on the list are James Brown, "It's a Man's Man's Man's World," and "I Fought the Law and the Law Won," chosen for its "strong law and order message." He gives honorable mention for the same reason to the song "Hang Down Your Head, Tom Dooley." I thought this was especially appropriate, since the historical figure, Tom Dula, was probably innocent of the murder for which he was executed. There's a group in North Carolina that's pushing for a pardon of Tom Dula, on the grounds that "the evidence used to convict him was circumstantial. There was no weapon, no witnesses to place him there and all the key witnesses against him were all suspects themselves." This Article has more information on Tom Dula.

I think the mention of Tom Dooley is extremely appropriate in this list, given the importance that conservatives tend to place on the death penalty, and their general tendency to be ignorant of cases in which innocent people are the victims of their agenda...

A few weeks ago I was feeling disgruntled, so I emailed the FCC regarding accountability for fraudulent/slanderous/libelous news reporting during the Florida "terror scare." I asked if there was any mechanism to discipline broadcast news channels for reporting information which is obviously fabricated. They replied to me today, saying this:

"Due to the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, the FCC's authority to control the content of programming is very limited. In general, the FCC's authority is limited to programming that is of a sexual nature. You may wish to contact the TV station to express your views about its programming."

What? So the first amendment is suspended when it comes to sex (and perhaps videotape), but not with resect to abusive lies which result in damage to the careers, liberties, and personal safety of innocents. Oh, and the 1st ammendment might also be suspended for someone who ends up on a "terror list." Thanks for clearing things up, FCC.

What do I do when someone sends me a thing like this? Why would someone make a thing like this? What kind of a god would allow this?

James, who sent me the photo, had this to say: "He's reaching out for you! He _loves_ you!" There is no poison more foul than the "love" of a clown. Ask the children who were loved by John Wayne Gacy. What, they're dead? Pity.

The leaves are all changing here in Edmonton. There are yellow aspen trees everywhere. Every day on my way into campus I ride through a park where people take their dogs off their leashes. I bike along a dirt path through the trees to a pedestrian bridge which crosses the river. I like putting pictures up on my blog, so here are some more:

A photo just came back of my last chip design:

I found this on the Mainichi Daily News too. I copied it for Frog:
Personality of the Period
Sada Abe (1905 - ?)
Even today, the name Sada Abe tends to send a chill down the spine of many Japanese men. Abe was convicted of murdering her lover. But it was the circumstances behind the crime rather than the act itself that frightened many.
On May 18, 1936, Abe strangled Kichizo Ishida, her lover, at a Tokyo inn. Abe had wrapped her obi, or kimono belt, around Ishida's neck with the intention of bringing him to the brink of asphyxiation -- and orgasm -- and satisfy his twisted sexual desires. But instead of the desired effect, Abe ended up "going too far," as she later told police. She later used a meat cleaver to chop off Ishida's penis and scrotum, which she wrapped in paper and kept with her "to stop feeling lonely" until handing them over to police upon her arrest on May 21, 1936. She had written a message in Ishida's blood on his thighs and on their bedding that they were bound together forever.
Abe was sentenced to six years imprisonment but given an amnesty in 1940 to coincide with the 2,600th anniversary of Emperor Jimmu's ascension to the throne. Abe used an assumed name and later married, but her husband divorced her when he found out who she was. She became an entertainer, playing herself in dramatic re-enactments of her crime. Abe disappeared in 1970 and her whereabouts remain unknown.

This article is about the rising rape epidemic in Tokyo. Apparently the rapists there are using Ninja techniques: "Like Okabe, the rapists in these cases simply jumped over fences or climbed up electricity poles to circumvent the supposed preventative influence of security locks. Other rapists have used grappling hooks with rope thrown onto the top of buildings and then climbed up and down the apartment at will." Grappling hooks? Even the low-brow Japanese criminals have ninja-movie powers. I wonder if there are gangs of good ninjas who fight the ninja rapists on Japanese rooftops in the night...

A never-ending nonsensical view into Japanese culture: "Parents should tell children why prostitution is bad. Parents and children should discuss equality between men and women and women's role at home and work, for example. Then, children will learn to understand that Internet dating sites and teen-age prostitution are immoral." At last someone has pointed out the inherent decrepitude of internet dating... To be fair, the article, titled "Slanted sex culture stoking deviant desire in schoolgirls," does explain that internet dating sites are sometimes a front for teenage prosititution in Japan. Hence the generalization to all internet dating...

The bizarreness of this article is outdone only by the photo that came with it:

Why, why, why is this on the cover of a childrens' book? What is amuzing about this dead-eyed monstrosity that children have been assaulted with for so many generations? Why!?