On the subject of old acquaintences

Did you know me before? Did you know me from way back when?
Did I know you?

Whoever we all were then, are we the same people now?

Seriously, if any of you have answers, I'd be curious to hear them. Because I really don't know how to sum up how I feel about the people I see on a daily basis, much less the ones who tried to interact with me when I was even more confused than now about how to function like a human. If you can suggest a way to deal with nostalgia and its concurrent sensations of regret, envy, confusion and caustic-hot joy, I'll listen.

Did I know you then? Did I know myself then?

Do I know myself now?

Dreams, huh? Freud would be proud...

I don't know how familiar you are with the US, but because the nation was formally defined by a bunch of merchants, tax-cheats, religious radicals and amateur philosophers, it lacks most of the a priori guarantees of integrity that most other nations take for granted; like some flavor of religious or historical justification, a tradition of familial rule, or even the actions of a "great leader". As a consequence, the definitions of the nation have allowed some flexibility of interpretation.

Which is why, every so often, questions like "what does the flag mean?" or "what does the statue of liberty mean?" or in this case "what is the American dream?" get tossed around. And like most questions, the answers wind up telling you more about the person speaking than the topic of the question.

So after reading the answers to the last question as posed by Forbes magazine to a bunch of celebrities and such, I found myself in the unusual position of wanting to side with a bunch of the old white capitalist guys and against the hardworking son of immigrants and the swimsuit/lingerie model.

Now, I can admit that I didn't care much for Ms. Banks' choice of words. I suppose saying "to the max" in any context isn't really that bad. But Gonzales' answer makes me taste blood. The arrogance of that man to frame an ideal for an entire nation in terms of his own personal experiences is appalling, but completely indicative of his inability to consider anything beyond his own interests. That a smug, pandering son of a bitch like him is allowed to interpret the laws of any nation is an insult. But the fact that he's allowed to act while under the auspices of protecting freedom and justice should make any conscious American sick and ashamed.

My American dream is that someday the American people will get their shit together so that duplicitous, disingenuous, amoral sons of bitches like the attorney general will be driven out like vermin they are.

Again with the maps...

Because it was easier than getting to work, I spent a few minutes trying to come up with possible aliases using my Michelin map of Great Britain and Ireland, with the provision that the names of places be more or less proximate to each other, and that they appeared in given-name-then-surname order. So if you need to fill in an online form or to make up a porn star name or something, free to try one of these:

Matlock Derby
Sandy Potton
Clare Sudbury
Brandon Thetford
Corby Weldon
Ramsey Huntingdon
Nelson Burnley

Ah, Japan. Technological Powerhouse, Heir to the Discipline of the Samurai...

TOKYO (Reuters) - Three Japanese naval officers who swapped pornography on their computers triggered a scandal over a possible leak of sensitive data linked to Japan's missile defence system, a newspaper said on Thursday...

The officer told police he accidentally copied the confidential data onto his computer's hard disk when copying porn from a computer belonging to a crew member from another destroyer, the Yomiuri newspaper reported.

I know it's a easy laugh, but the fact that the software for the state of art Aegis missile detection system was found to have been copied by guys who were trying to trade pornography really deserves serious mockery. The fact that there seems to be an porn-swapping ring that operates between boats should have been enough. But nooooooo, top that off with the fact that they were saving their porn on the same computers that control their anti-missile systems.

C'mon, Japan. All your cartoons and movies and comics about robots and ninjas and psychic android police men have got the whole primed to accept you as a serious peace keeper, then you pull something like this. I'm laughing, but I'm disappointed with you, Japan. You can do better.

Hat in hand, bile in throat

I'm having to devote more time to job hunting now. Not to say that a wolf is at my door, but if I act now, I can avoid dealing with that whole "huff and puff" thing come June. Not such a big deal except I'm finding myself reminded of why I left the US in the first place: having to pretend that taking orders from someone else is totally acceptable makes my marrow hurt. And having to go to one of those people and say "gee, I sure hope you'll find it in your heart to take a chance on a fella like me" is even worse.

I doubt there's much dignity in penury, but I know there's damned little to be had in asking for employment.