Back in July, Swanky had his meticulously planned First Annual Luau at his place.  Sure, maybe it’s a little presumptuous, thinking that it’s gonna be an Annual event, but it was truly a great party.
     A *lot* of people showed up (sixty-plus) to eat and drink heavily, and everyone played nice together.  Where else but Swanky’s Annual Luau are you gonna get sixty people together and not end up with a fight, hurt feelings or annoyance?  (Note the hint, Swanky)

     The next day after cleaning up the yard — kudos to the conscientious crowd who knew how to decently dispose of their debris — the DogCats were extremely affectionate.
     Now, if you’re not familiar with the DogCats, they’re a couple of rather large Maine Coon Cats who play fetch, stand up, chase cars, attack strangers who come into yard and Rottweilers being walked by their owners.  Just imagine your average German Shepherd with needle-sharp teeth and razor claws, and that’s pretty much their overall demeanor.
     After a nice session of fetch with the branches in the yard, the younger of the two decided to take a rest from which little could stir him.  Swanky threw a branch on him.  The younger younger DogCat flinched, bit it a couple of times, and laid back down.
     This, of course, prompted Swanky, Ms. Swanky and I to start throwing more on him.

     Of course, the fun didn’t stop there.  He just laid there while we added more and more.

     “Oh, man, this is great!  It’s Catmouflage!” I said as I piled a few more on.
     The laughter brought the elder DogCat closer to observe the situation.

     If I didn’t didn’t mention it before, yeah, the DogCats can talk, too.  I think his exact words were, “Umm… what the Hell are you people doing?  Umm … You realize you three are idiots, right?”

     Of course, he went to check on his younger sibling, who appeared to be quite “dead” at the time….

     …however, his concern was met with a sharp tag on the nose by his little brother’s outstretched paw.

     We continued, but the very last branch, much larger than the rest, was enough for him.

     One flip, and he walked right out.

     And that was that.

     Note to PETA and the SPCA: No DogCats were harmed during this excercise.  Neither were any sheep or rams.  Please do not attempt with normal cats.

     Good times, good times…

     Sometimes a picture’s worth a thousand words.
     Other times, they’re worth ten thousand.  I’ll try not to write them all down.

     Throughout my travels, I actually have very few pictures, let alone pictures of me.  That’s why this one is so special to me.  It was taken 28-Dec-2000.

     Nine months later, those beautiful landmarks were gone.  I was in a foreign country having abuse and saliva hurled at me by random morons with their, “Fucking yanks got what you deserved!” and other such slanders.
     Mind you, “screaming” is considered a violent act there, and they had a tendency to make examples of non-citizens, so I had to either take the abuse or take my chances beating on some of them.
     Door number two was easier, knowing that I could go home and shave my hair and beard, and they’d be too stupid to know it was me if they saw me again.

     Contrary to popular belief, the 9/11 attacks took little to pull off.  That’s the one thing the public doesn’t like to hear.
     It wasn’t the work of a brilliant, criminal mastermind with an endless supply of money.  All it took was a few idiots with the nerve and will to actually do it.
     I was out there, and I know first hand that there are a lot of idiots in the world, with the will to do it.  Fortunately, few of them have the nerve, but the possibility has always been there, and continues to be there.

     “There was no problem before this stupid President!  We could travel anywhere under the last one!”
     Even through the 90’s, foreign travel was discouraged to “ALL COUNTRIES, DUE TO HIGH POSSIBILITY OF ANTI-AMERICAN ACTIVITIES.”  These notices were in every Post Office and Airport in the country.  Surely I’m not the only one who noticed them.
     But certainly, after 9/11, it got worse.  Half the world saw America as weak, saw that retribution could be had for whatever made-up reasons we needed it, and apparently, all it took was a few plane tickets and some box cutters.

     “We shouldn’t be in Iraq since it had nothing to do with 9/11!”
     We unhinged Afghanistan because there were camps training armies of Jihaadists.  These things are all over the Middle East, as well.
     Regardless of whether or not Iraq had anything to do with it, two facts remain.  First, it was an unsecure country with  tons of munitions.  Second, a stabilized Iraq dead in the middle of a Jihaadist region is a perfectly good thing.
     For Iraqis who are fed up with Totalitarian control, isn’t it nice to see them on television now wearing Levis and playing soccer instead of being terrorized by a leader who has had no qualms about killing them by the hundreds of thousands?
     And for Jihaadists … Iraq is a poison pill where the majority of them will face the front, and die for their cause, without killing as many innocent civillians as they have for last thirty years.

     “You’re more likely get killed by lightning than killed by a terrorist!”
     Maybe that’s true.  But maybe it’s only true of now, post-9/11, because we certainly didn’t think it would happen on 10-Sep-2001, now did we?
     Realistically, the NOAA & NWS agree that there were 3684 reported deaths by lightning between 1959 and 2004.  2997 people died (not including the hijackers) on that single day, 11-Sep-2001.
     Given those statistics, is it really fair, comparing nearly fifty years to a single day?
     Regardless of how we may dislike the new “security” measures at airports, they usually don’t inconvenience us terribly.  Sure, we’ve hit a few bumps lately, but we’ll get through it.

     Without the politics to add fuel to these arguments, they all fall apart.  We can sit here, as citizens, getting a tenth of the story at best, and try to second guess, analyze, and make all these stupid connections to find a single person responsible for the mess.
     Thoughts like that will almost never represent the truth.

     We should remember what life was like, realisticly, before 9/11.  We should remember the day.  We should remember those who died for no reason.  And we should never forget.
     Maybe when we all start doing that, we’ll begin to see some improvement.

Thanks, Mia, for the last two pictures

     Considering I’m a Star Wars dork (but having a life and personality without making constant references to it like some people), a friend of my sent me a great link today (Les Jones site)…

     Further investigation revealed that there are approximately thirty Femtroopers in the world today, mostly in the United States (thanks to SithVixen for the scoop).
     Peter Hartlaub, at The San Francisco Bay Culture Blog, had a recent entry about the phenomenon.

This is perhaps the most celebratory development for horny Star Wars fans since Princess Leia became Jabba the Hutt’s barge ho.

I think these photos are really hot, but maybe that’s because I’ve seen “The Empire Strikes Back” at least 25 times and own a George Lucas action figure. While the armored hot pants and bare midriff are both nice touches, the contoured breast plate is definitely the sexiest/funniest part of the costume.

     Unfortunately, some people just don’t get it.  A comment on that site, written by someone known only as bagdorka, reads:

You know, I’m all for the armor… But, sorry to say, it’s not the real deal until they are sporting hairstyle-compatible demi-helms that cover their faces. The true star wars geek wants to hear it through the speakers, if you know what I’m saying. 

     *ahem*  Yeah, ok.  Taking this stuff a little too seriously?

     And TK5528 at the UK Garrison of the 501st Stormtrooper Legion seems to agree:

The “femtrooper thing” is strictly not permitted in the UK Garrison.

Besides, we in the UKG only do canon costumes in regards to Star Wars, and IMHO, femtroopers have very little to do with Star Wars.

     *cough*  And somehow spending seven hundred (or more) pounds for a Stormtrooper outfit, going to a London Convention Center and trying to drink Guinness and Whitbread through your helmet does have something to do with Star Wars…?

     Barry, a reader on the Les Jones site, had the following comment:

Well, it does inspire a new saying – “As useless as a codpiece on a femtrooper”

     *Ding!*  *Ding!* *Ding!*  Finally, we have a winner!  Nice one, Barry.  😉

     Les Jones writes:

Femtroopers – Feminine versions of Star Wars stormtroopers, the better to hookup at DragonCon with.
 .
 .
 .
Natural environment – the hotel and/or convention center

Favorite put-down – aren’t you a little short for a stormtrooper?

     I would venture to say they get plenty of dork-lines, as well, such as, “Hey, baby, are those things real?”
     Then again, I can also imagine them waving their hand, and saying, “These are not the breasts you’re looking for.”

     I’m gonna post the full text of an e-mail going around:

WHY WE FIGHT!NEVER FORGET:IT WAS THEM WHO ATTACKED OUR COUNTRY AND BRUTALIZED INNOCENT PEOPLE AS THEY WENT ABOUT THEIR WORK AND DAILY ACTIVITIES, IN THE U.S.A., A NATION AT PEACE IN THE WORLD!IT WAS THEM WHO MURDERED YOUR FRIENDS, RELATIVES, NEIGHBORS, AND LOVED ONES ON 9-1-1!WE ARE NOW TAKING THE WAR TO THEIR CITIES AND TOWNS SO IT IS THEM WHO SUFFER, RATHER THAN YOU, OUR PEOPLE OR OUR NATION!

Never forget why we are fighting terrorism around the world! When you hear people say forget it, it won’t happen again, start watching because it will be repeated!

Not all Muslims are terrorist,
but all terrorist are Muslim!

So what is the proper solution to remedy this problem?

KILL THEM ALL!
LET GOD SORT EM OUT

 

     When I read stuff like that, I have to ask — WHAT KIND OF RACIST ASSHOLES ARE WE GROWING IN THIS COUNTRY?

     This is bullshit.

     Support the Troops.

     Support the War, even.

     Just remember that for every single one of “those” sorts of e-mails you forward on, you ignore the fact that a Racial Seperatist, Nazi Skinhead named Timothy McVeigh blew up an Oklahoma City Federal Building in 1995.
     And — Timothy McVeigh was a Christian.

     You also ignore the “God-Fearing Christians” who, days after 9/11, sent anthrax letters to health clinics across the country.

     What do you think of that?

     “Oh, well that aren’t real Christians!” is about as valid as “Oh, well, they aren’t real Muslims!” given the circumstances.

     Grow up!

     Here’s a Video for you PETA-supporting asshats (the rest of us will just think it’s funny):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JrK_jyZUlQc

     Unfortunately, the comments on Google Video were quite rude.  It came as no surprise to me that some really nasty ones came from New Zealand (3.5 Million People + 17.5 Million Sheep = Grant Gillon Comment).

     Though some people said, “What a hick!  Our tax dollars at work!” those kinda comments were most likely from Moonbats  who, as we all know, have no sense of humor.
     “Fun is childish!”  Yes, moonbats even hate Disney World!

     Say what you will, I don’t considering playing with animals to be cruel, nor that the soldier in question did anything wrong to the animal.  Looked to me like they were both having a good time, much to the amusement of bystanders.
     And on that note…

     Desert Boots : $40.
     Helmet : $65.
     Camcorder : $328.

     Getting caught headbutting a Ram and having it displayed all over the Internet : Priceless.  😉