The Last Ephor

Funeral Blues Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone, Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone, Silence the pianos and with muffled drum Bring out the coffin, let the mourners come. Let aeroplanes circle moaning overhead Scribbling on the sky the message He is Dead. Put crepe bows round the white necks of the public doves, Let the traffic policemen wear black cotton gloves. He was my North, my South, my East and West, My working week and my Sunday rest, My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song; I thought that love would last forever: I was wrong. The stars are not wanted now; put out every one, Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun, Pour away the ocean and sweep up the woods; For nothing now can ever come to any good. W.H. Auden

O Captain! My Captain! O CAPTAIN! my Captain! our fearful trip is done; The ship has weather’d every rack, the prize we sought is won; The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting, While follow eyes the steady keel, the vessel grim and daring: But O heart! heart! heart! O the bleeding drops of red, Where on the deck my Captain lies, Fallen cold and dead. O Captain! my Captain! rise up and hear the bells; Rise up—for you the flag is flung—for you the bugle trills; For you bouquets and ribbon’d wreaths—for you the shores a-crowding; For you they call, the swaying mass, their eager faces turning; Here Captain! dear father! This arm beneath your head; It is some dream that on the deck, You’ve fallen cold and dead. My Captain does not answer, his lips are pale and still; My father does not feel my arm, he has no pulse nor will; The ship is anchor’d safe and sound, its voyage closed and don...

Invictus OUT of the night that covers me, Black as the Pit from pole to pole, I thank whatever gods may be For my unconquerable soul. In the fell clutch of circumstance I have not winced nor cried aloud. Under the bludgeonings of chance My head is bloody, but unbowed. Beyond this place of wrath and tears Looms but the Horror of the shade, And yet the menace of the years Finds, and shall find, me unafraid. It matters not how strait the gate, How charged with punishments the scroll, I am the master of my fate: I am the captain of my soul.

NSFW but damn funny if crude. Enjoy Watch We Didnt Start the Flame War and more funny videos on CollegeHumor

I've had a sore throat for two days. Chalked it up to post nasal drip allergies. Yesterday everything went pear shaped. My temperature spiked to 103 and I must have been gargling with razor blades if the pain is any indication. I dragged myself out of bed and off the the local Medical Aid unit. Several months later I saw a PA who looked in my ears, nose and throat. Both ears infected, sinus infection and she actually made an "Ew" face when she looked in my throat. She proscribed me some weapons grade antibiotics. I am consequently bed ridden and highly contagious. Eldest is, of course, oblivious to this and I can only shoo him away when he comes to see me. It makes him sad b/c he doesn't understand why I want him away from me. This is a good time to catch up on my movie watching so I popped in "Quarantine" without a hint of irony. Overall I liked it. Perhaps that's the delirium talking.

Every defining attribute of Bush's radical secrecy powers -- every one -- is found here, and in exactly the same tone and with the exact same mindset. Thus: how the U.S. government eavesdrops on its citizens is too secret to allow a court to determine its legality. We must just blindly accept the claims from the President's DNI that we will all be endangered if we allow courts to determine the legality of the President's actions. Even confirming or denying already publicly known facts -- such as the involvement of the telecoms and the massive data-mining programs -- would be too damaging to national security. Why? Because the DNI says so. It is not merely specific documents, but entire lawsuits, that must be dismissed in advance as soon as the privilege is asserted because "its very subject matter would inherently risk or require the disclosure of state secrets." What's being asserted here by the Obama DOJ is the virtually absolute power of presidenti...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XMB6L487LHM

Joe Biden visits Delaware's new Baby Prison which houses the children of his political enemies.

Today is Global Autism Awareness Day. Donate $$ if you can. Your time if you can. If neither, learn and teach others. Too much to say about this and no time today.

When I told my 6 year old we had to hurry, he ran off ahead of me yelling "Start the plane Jock!" (For the record I have no idea where he's heard this as we've never let him watch the movie.)

"Our biggest concern right now is brain damage" the doctor said as he reviewed my son's file.

Since I've been gone I've decided to update the past few months by telling a story in one sentence. Even I can manage one friggin sentence now and again. Here's the first one: Then my wife looked at me and said, "I don't think I'm on fire anymore."

Just decloaking for a minute to say that I'm still breathing. Thing have been, well, not dull. Too much to report at the moment. Some of it good, some of it not. If you've read this far and have checked in after all this time thanks for sticking with me. Updates to resume shortly.

largely because of personal difficulty which I was going to elaborate on. That was, until I read this . Comparatively my post seems like petty friggin whining so I'll continue to shut up. God bless Dom and her whole family. Especially Ashley. "Now cracks a noble heart. Good night sweet princess. And flights of angels sing thee to thy rest." -Hamlet Act V, Scene ii

I'm on hiatus for a bit.

Typealyzer : "ESTP - The Doers [ESTP] The active and play-ful type. They are especially attuned to people and things around them and often full of energy, talking, joking and engaging in physical out-door activities. The Doers are happiest with action-filled work which craves their full attention and focus. They might be very impulsive and more keen on starting something new than following it through. They might have a problem with sitting still or remaining inactive for any period of time." Um...yeah, that would be me.

A fiery Czech is poised to be the face of Europe In 1994 I was studying (well, drinking and whoring really with some classes thrown in at times) in France. One thing about being a foreign exchange student is that you're outside the normal channels of communication for students for some reason. I was well prepared with my schedule and what classes were at what time and what room. Beyond that I was bewildered about comings and goings, events, holidays and I was not alone. I was one of three Americans in this particular school and we frequently found ourselves following the herd rather than leading it. The prime example was midsemester break which seems to be sprung upon us rather suddenly. Upon suddenly finding myself with 10 or so days off I wasn't going to sit around an empty apartment building by myself with a forecast of 50 and raining for the week. One of the German guys was going home to see his family and asked if I'd go with him to defray the hideous cost of ga...