And, because I'm blogging at work, that means no hot links, so if you want to find out about the Cheddar X, I suggest you perform a Google search on it. Anyway. . .
1. This one's from Lileks: "Families of terrorists who blow up men, women and children, some of whom are Americans, no longer receive money from Saddam, because Saddam no longer rules Iraq. Is this a good thing, or a bad thing? Explain."
I read this Lileks Bleat yesterday, and I have to say it was one of his bestest screeds, although picking just one of his musings as his best is like trying to decide which M&M in a pack is the tastiest.
The obvious answer is, "It's a good thing." Duhhh. But, more than that, it's the main thing. People comment to me that, yes, it's good that Saddam is gone. . . BUT. . . we should have taken him out with UN support. fuck the UN! They've become so completely corrupt, the institution was swayed by French and German interests intent on preserving oil rights and BMW sales contracts to Ba'athists. People then counter that, if we were so intent on moral righteousness and liberating oppressed people, we should send more troops to beleagured nations like Liberia. I agree, but current troop strength dictates that to be difficult. I'd love to be able to dispose of every meglomaniacal dictatorship or mullahcracy, but we just don't have the military resources to do so. But, just because we can't liberate EVERYONE doesn't mean we can't liberate ANYONE.
*backing down, because I could go on forever on this and there are more questions to be answered*
2. You've got the Magic Button of Death. Every time you press the button the person you want to kill will die. One other random person will also die. Do you use the button? Who do you whack?
Ah, the eternal moral borometer question. Would I push the MBD to smite Osama bin Laden (even though smiting a corpse seems like overkill) if it meant an innocent person would also die? Yes I would, even if that random person turned out to be me. Bin Laden pushed his MBD and wiped out 3,000+. Saddam pushed his MBD and wiped out over 1 million. I wouldn't hesitate to push my own personal MBD to ensure either of those turdlets can never again threaten basic human existence.
And Carrot Top, too.
3. You've won a million dollars with the conditions that you can only use it to purchase things for yourself and anything you haven't spent in a month is forfeit. What do you buy?
A house. A BIG house. On a lake. A BIG lake. Then I buy savings bonds.
4. You've won a million free and clear. What do you do with it?
Pass. Too much like question #3.
5. What song or band do you listen to when you want to reminisce or visit a moment in your past? What's the moment?
Pretty much anything by Journey. Every time I hear a song by Journey, I think back to my way younger years in the old roller skating rink of my hometown, clutching the shag blue carpet on the walls, trying to stay upright. The old Asteroids video game that you sat down at. Ditto for Breakout. Ditto for Outlaw. All video game classics. I remember my first crush on a girl four years older than myself. A WOMAN! The roller rink burned down when it was still magical to me, but I can always listen to Journey, or REO Speedwagon, and remember it exactly as it was all those years ago.
6. Or, is there a song that defines a period in your life?
Okay, you're not allowed to laugh here, but I've always had a special place in my heart for 99 Red Balloons by Nena and Major Tom (Coming Home) by Peter Schilling. Whenever I hear those songs, I remember dawdling in my parents' old clawfoot bathtub, which seemed deeper than the ocean to me at the time. I loved that bathtub, especially with bubble bath. Not necessarily a period in my life so much as an item, but whatever.
7. Can you know what someone is like just based on how they look or act without meeting them?
Um, how, exactly, can you tell how someone looks or acts unless you actually meet them?
Posted by Ryan at September 19, 2003 09:48 AM
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