 |
|
Don't have an account yet? You can create one. As a registered user you have some advantages like theme manager, comments configuration and post comments with your name.
|
|
The Evolving Word is designed for three purposes: miscellaneous rambling (a token gesture, as there are a million sites designed for this), my creative publishing, and thoughts and news on words -- origins, differences, anomalies, etc.
Enjoy it, or not; comment, or not; but do not ignore it. Or ignore it. Whatever.
|
| |
Frontrunner for Quote of the Year
Posted by joel on Friday, March 19 @ 06:00 AM PST (1882 reads)
|
|
I don't comment very often on general news stories, but I couldn't let this one go by.
In a nutshell, a couple watches "The Passion of the Christ", argues, slaps, stabs and generally causes chaos. The sheriff's deputy, though, has the best line in this whole article: "Really, it was kind of a pitiful thing, to go to a movie like that and fight about it. I think they missed the point."
|
''Aquafina'' is My Middle Name
Posted by joel on Friday, November 14 @ 10:03 AM PST (2633 reads)
|
|
I have no middle name. A bow to originality, perhaps, by my parents, bestowed upon me a void between the first part of my name, Joel, and the last part, Hames. I have intermittently thought about my lack of a centralized moniker, wishing here and there that I had one. In the end, though, it is somewhat unique and very, very easy to go through life with only 9 letters comprising my entire name.
I did, once, try to come up with middle names that fit. Maybe I was planning on adding one, as my mom once suggested I could do. Or maybe it was just an entertaining exercise. I remember names such as "X", "Hammer", "Long Dong", and "The Supreme Ruler". I remember glottal sounds, whispers and various types of coughs, sneezes and farts as substitutes for a middle name (though I was unsure how to spell any of those last sounds).
What I didn't consider, though, was any of the names in this article.
|
Chicken Scratch for my Five-Way
Posted by joel on Tuesday, October 21 @ 04:14 PM PST (1876 reads)
|
|
This might be the best website I have ever visited. Be warned, though, because it is not a site for children. Actually, more kids probably know this stuff than adults, so maybe this is not really a site for adults. Either way, it contains everything you always wanted to know to help establish your street cred among the drug elite.
Read more for some of my favorite terms.
|
Fun With War
Posted by joel on Monday, July 21 @ 10:39 PM PST (1698 reads)
|
|
It's really sad, but I stopped caring about the war in Iraq a while ago. Prior to the war, during the main offensive, and for a short while afterward, I was hooked on information about the war. I tried to explain to people my feelings about this war, and the reasons that I opposed it. It had something to do with unchecked aggression, policing countries halfway around the world, misperceptions of threat, and the easily forgettable long term costs of the war, both in terms of money and lives.
I haven't forgotten the reasons that I prayed the war would never begin. Instead, I accepted the course that we were set upon by our government and promised myself never to forget what happened. I will make my voice heard at the ballot box, where democracy still has some chance of proving vital. Over time, though, I have found some interesting websites about the war. Some are funny, some are sad, and some are both. Read more to check out a few of the best websites that I have found about the war.
|
It's Over...It's Finally Over
Posted by joel on Tuesday, June 17 @ 11:25 PM PST (1684 reads)
|
|
On June 14, 2003, one of the most bitter feuds in American history became history. The Hatfields and Mccoys signed a truce ending nearly 125 years of inter-familial battle.
Of course, everything was pretty much patched up 112 years ago, but don't let that get in the way of a media stunt designed to bring publicity to the fourth annual Hatfield and McCoy Reunion extravaganza.
P.S. -- Don't forget your authentic Hatfield & McCoy merchandise!
|
If You're Bored This Weekend...
Posted by joel on Friday, May 16 @ 07:33 AM PST (1569 reads)
|
|
A friend recently threw me a bone by posting a story about artificial intelligence on his website. This story is for him.
If you have nothing better to do this weekend, and you are a fan of BBQ'd whatever, you might want to take a trip to Interlaken, Switzerland for the World Barbecue Gold Cup 2003. Now, this isn't my kind of thing (due to the whole vegetarian thing I have going on), but I can respect the attempt to discover the best barbequer in the world.
Of course, now that I think about it, I could participate with some nice barbecued veggies...
|
We're Gonna Party Like it's 1958
Posted by joel on Thursday, May 01 @ 02:30 PM PST (1709 reads)
|
|
I really don't have much to say about this article. It's just sad.
Alright, maybe I do have a few things to say.
|
How Much Does Freedom Cost?
Posted by joel on Friday, April 25 @ 08:35 AM PST (1655 reads)
|
|
Would you spend $58 to free someone from slavery? In Ghana, where there are about 3,000 women slaves sentenced to a life of servitude, $58 and some gentle persuasion usually buys them freedom. Unfortunately, their freedom isn't being purchased fast enough to eliminate this practice for good.
And children are affected as well.
|
10,000,000 Cases by August
Posted by joel on Monday, April 14 @ 11:57 AM PST (1598 reads)
|
|
SARS, or Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, at most other times in recent history would be top billing in the news. It is important to keep on top of this issue, not because I believe that it heralds the end of mankind, but because we need to be aware of the symptoms and treatments of this virus. The best source for regular updates that I have found is this bulletin board.
|
Things Happen...Even When We Are Not Looking
Posted by joel on Monday, April 07 @ 11:20 PM PST (1505 reads)
|
|
On Thursday, April 3rd, almost 1,000 men, women, children and babies were massacred by warring factions in the latest atrocities to emerge from the Congolese civil war.
|
A voice from the inside
Posted by Joel on Friday, March 28 @ 09:21 AM PST (850 reads)
|
|
Salam Pax is the pseudonym of a man living inside Iraq. He lives in Baghdad and has been witness to the bombing and shelling of that city. Many people has questioned his authenticity, but it appears that, based on the eyewitness accounts and technical scavenging, he is real.
If he isn't, he is doing a great job at pretending.
Although it hasn't been updated in a few days (for, potentially, obvious reasons), you can read his diary at http://dear_raed.blogspot.com.
|
The Agonist
Posted by Joel on Friday, March 28 @ 07:06 AM PST (735 reads)
|
|
The Evolving Word is now a mirror site for The Agonist. If you haven't yet checked it out, you are missing out on a great resource for war related information. Because of its sudden popularity, The Agonist needs other sites to help with bandwidth. This is where The Evolving Word comes in.
You can visit our mirror by clicking on the module titled, appropriately, "Agonist" on the left. Let me know what you think about this in the comments below.
|
A couple of war related items
Posted by Joel on Thursday, March 20 @ 04:33 AM PST (783 reads)
|
|
I am sure that I will post more in the future about my feelings regarding this war, but I thought that I would point out an interesting site to follow and a story that must be read to help broaden our understanding of the complexity of that which we have started.
This site is for those who want immediate, constant and varied news on the war in Iraq.
This article is important to understanding the role of the Kurds and their relationship to the Iraqi government and Turkey. Clearly, with the US about to topple Saddam's regime, consideration must be given to the dominos that will then fall in neighboring countries. Interesting stuff...
|
Can You Hear Me Now?
Posted by Joel on Saturday, March 01 @ 06:16 AM PST (1720 reads)
|
|
This is old, but very funny. The Onion has an article about North Korea trying to get the U.S.'s attention, and struggling to do so. I actually think that North Korea is much more dangerous than Iraq, but I can't imagine that people are paying as much attention to it as to the Gulf. Every time an article appears about North Korea lately, it is about how they claim "U.S. about to launch full war against North Korea" or "US spying ahead of war with Korea" or "North Korea believes we are on brink of full-scale nuclear war".
The problem with this is...aren't a very significant portion of our troops stationed in the middle east right now? I mean, like 75% of our deployed forces? I think we are trying to fight against Iraq with ten times the number of troops that they have, but we only have about 5% of the troops that North Korea has over in South Korea. That doens't seem like very good war planning to me.
Of course, I could be completely wrong. And if so, when North Korea launches that nuclear missile towards the west coast, I am going to be sure to duck.
|
What the ...?
Posted by Joel on Friday, February 28 @ 08:52 AM PST (689 reads)
|
|
By the time you read this, I am sure that it will be fixed. I just visited ESPN.com to check out the final score of the Laker-Sonic game tonight. When I clicked on NBA scores, I got scores from the two games on the final day of the regular season -- 2 years ago. That was a little weird, but nothing major. I then went to the NBA home page and was greeted with stories about Rasheed Wallace's blow-ups in the playoff series with the Lakers, a story about how the Sonics GM says that Payton, Ewing and Baker may all have to go (ironically, Payton was just traded to Milwaukee, Baker has been with the Celtics for a season and a half, and Ewing's number was retired tonight at Madison Square Garden), and questions regarding the possibility of Jay Williams leaving Duke early for the NBA (he is now in his second year in the NBA).
This was all at: http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/index/.
Weird, eh?
Not that it really matters, but I have attached a screenshot of the page.
Two years ago? Huh?
It is 2003, right?
It's late, I'm tired, and now it all gets surreal.
Click here to check out the screenshot.
|
Failed Story Plot of the Day
Posted by Joel on Wednesday, February 26 @ 07:34 PM PST (701 reads)
|
|
When a disembodied head is found under a cardboard box adjacent to his parent's house, Stan Dup realizes that his run as community representative on the City Board of Trustees is over. As he begins his flight from the long arm of the law, his own long arms become his primary nemesis. Unable to control their wild flailing about as he runs down the street, his arms bring him unwanted attention and, ultimately, severe road burns on the back of his hands.
After nearly ten minutes of evading the cops, Stan collapses to the ground. Tired of life on the run, the insane amalgam of thought, desperation, hope and disappointment; filthy motel rooms and filthier food; hookers with names like Penny, Shirley and Byron; black and white television; and the excrutiatingly difficult process of remembering to go to the bathroom on a regular basis, Stan finally gave up.
As the fuzz handcuffed him and threw him into the back of the Crown Victoria, Stan looked up at the sky as a free man, one last time, and whispered the words that got him into this mess in the first place:
"Rows, Bud. Don't mess with the Rows, Bud."
|
Mmmm.....Yummmm
Posted by Joel on Tuesday, February 25 @ 07:17 PM PST (700 reads)
|
|
Food from Hell. I remember eating Ultimate Cheeseburgers from Jack-in-the-Box when I was in high school. I'm pretty sure that each one took at least a week off of the end of my life. These pale, I would assume, against the unholy monstrosity detailed in the link above. Even if those cheeseburgers were in the same circle of Hell that this breakfast is in, the mere unpalatableness (is that a word?) of this meal makes the cheeseburgers look like rice cakes.
If anyone wants to try one of these, I would love to watch and take pictures.
I would also like before and after medical exams, just for the laughs.
|
Failed Story Plot of the Day
Posted by Joel on Saturday, February 22 @ 09:15 AM PST (691 reads)
|
|
Three men walk into a bar. Only one leaves. This is considered odd by the local sheriff because, he figures, normally three people would leave. He questions the bartender, the owner, the waitress and the local drunk, but no one can provide any help with this mystery. As he battles time, graffiti, Crazy Ed and his own demons, the sheriff uses every resource at his disposal to find the other two men. The journey of self-discovery eventually ends with one person in jail, two people stripped naked doing somersaults in the middle of the town, a very unhappy cow, the total destruction the bar and underground missle silo and the sheriff praying that no one figures out his role in all of this.
|
Our changing body - Your friend and mine
Posted by Joel on Tuesday, February 18 @ 07:16 PM PST (1048 reads)
|
|
It's strange, I think, how your body changes over the course of your life. While I am certain this holds true for its physical form, I am referring specifically to its internal mechanisms. Clearly mistaken by the desperation of hope, we believe that our 18 year old selves represent both the culmination and, hopefully, the benchmark for all future bodily interactions. At the heart of the problem, though, is the unforgiving reality that our 18 year old selves, emboldened by the clarity of age, represent a perfection we failingly pursue the rest of our lives.
|
EvolvingWord
Posted by Joel on Tuesday, February 18 @ 04:33 AM PST (610 reads)
|
|
Did you notice? The domain name actually works now.
Cool.
|
Until then, be good
Posted by Joel on Tuesday, February 18 @ 04:31 AM PST (601 reads)
|
|
I am already tired of writing this, so just follow the advice and stop bothering me.
|
Today and Yesterday
Posted by Joel on Monday, February 17 @ 07:40 PM PST (668 reads)
|
|
An interesting article appeared in the LA Times about 3 years ago (If I find a link, I will post it later). The article described the general panic that existed in the 1920's over the immorality and lawlessness inherent in so much of that era's young citizens. Disregard for others, selfishness, myopic action and more were seen as harbingers of society's end. If the younger generations could not reign in their behavior, there was little hope for our country to survive in the coming decades.
Fast-forward to today and you will find many of the same beliefs and attitudes. My money, in fact, is that you will find these concerns echoed throughout the pages of periodicals of all time periods. We always want to believe that things are so much worse today than ever before. It instills a sense of pride, albeit a strange and egocentric pride to believe that your generation represents the pinnacle of achievement and that all future generations are doomed to failure. No one actually states this, but it is implied in the ranting and raving of those fearful of the future.
When you think about it, what fun is there in predicting good times? When you analyze the current state of events, it is much easier, thanks to the media, to latch onto that which is negative. Are we pessimists, as a society? I think that we are, and too many people are too intellectually lazy to break out of their pessimistic gestalt (another rant for another time). Many of our pseudo-intellectual bullhorns, those with Nielsen-generating voices, comfort and reassure us that when we believe that we are going to hell in a handbasket (horrible cliche, I know, but appropriate), we have our pulse on society. If these same pundits lauded the good and glorified the just, we might have some kind of hope for our future.
Until then, I think we are all in a handbasket.
And until then, be good.
|
The General Decline of Society
Posted by Joel on Friday, February 14 @ 09:00 AM PST (628 reads)
|
|
I think I realized why I don't completely buy into the whole Valentine's Day thing. It's not that its too commercial (it is), or that it is contrived (it is), but rather that the expected display of affection lies too heavily on a man's shoulders. As if we are unable to express our feelings at other times, we are told repeatedly that we must buy flowers/gifts/candy for our loved ones. I find very comparatively very few instances where women are told the same.
It's because women don't need to be told, you might say. I disagree, however, because I don't think advertisers would ignore this potential gold mine. Why don't I see more, "This Valentine's Day, get the man in your life something he really deserves -- Tickets to a Laker Game!"? I'll tell you why - Valentine's Day is not a day for love (according to current popular culture); it is instead a day for men to buy things for women to show that they love them.
In the future (and I am talking now to our cultural spirit), don't be so obvious in your demands for the valentine love path to be one direction. We don't want to imply, do we, that woman's love is best when bought? Do we?
Until then, be good.
|
Duct tape and You
Posted by Joel on Thursday, February 13 @ 07:55 PM PST (671 reads)
|
|
I don't mean to make light of it...but Duct tape? Is this really the recommendation given to us by our government? Oh, sorry, I mean duct tape and tarp. If a fanatic decides to wipe a few of us out with a chemical or biological agent, we are supposed to save ourselves with this?
Hey, I don't want to die anymore than the next guy. And the thought of choking on my own blood as my lungs collapse and my respiratory system melts like snow on a Texas highway is not something I cherish. But somehow I feel that putting our faith in not only these instruments, but in our ability to adequately deploy these instruments in the face of gruesome, unimaginable pain doesn't seem well thought out. I am not a fatalist, per se. Instead, I believe that we must live life with at least a modicum of faith in something protective.
Oh, I know...God helps those that help themselves. So I will pay attention to my neighbor, prepare myself mentally for handling panic, and maintain awareness of the world around me as I continue to live, breathe and care about what happens. I won't, though, let my fears, or those I am told I should have, dictate my hardware store purchases.
However, if they tell me to buy a ladder and some rope, I'm totally there.
Until then, be good.
|
Weird Dreams
Posted by Joel on Thursday, February 13 @ 04:40 AM PST (642 reads)
|
|
Summary: A piece of the space station, measuring a solid 300 yards wide, crashes into Earth within a quarter-mile from my house. At first, nothing. Then, a large explosion. This is followed by multiple, increasingly larger, explosions from every direction. The shock waves pass by us carrying debris and terror for an untold length of time. Once these subside, dinosaurs (okay, you can stop laughing now) appear and begin to terrorize the neighborhood. One decides to spend time destroying my house and eating people within it. No one that I know is eaten, but at one point you can clearly see four bodies, two on each side, dangling from its mouth.
Then I woke up.
Don't forget to be good.
|
Best. Show. Ever.
Posted by Joel on Wednesday, February 12 @ 07:34 PM PST (609 reads)
|
|
24. Thank God for Tivo, because otherwise I would have a hard time watching this show. It has subsided a little, but my insomnia would strike back with a vengeance if I were to watch this show at its regularly scheduled time.
I realized one of the unique aspects of this show recently. Very few shows, if any, have been able to keep a single story thread interesting for a season's worth of shows. You could almost count on one hand the number that have tried (and I don't count, in this category, shows with background season-long plots that venture into occasional stories about helping someone who is sad, or finding something that has been lost -- think John Doe from this season).
Cool show. Cool story. And I have faith that they will explode the bomb next week.
Until then, be good.
|
Evolving Word
Posted by Joel on Wednesday, February 12 @ 10:52 AM PST (638 reads)
|
|
Okay, so I have officially decided to create a site. I have made many before, but never one that I could call my own. I figure that if I am going to put myself out there, especially for the one or two of you that might visit, I might as well make it look good. At some point, I will talk about the origin of Evolving Word. Until then, be good.
|
| |
|
There isn't content right now for this block.
|
Warning: require_once() [function.require-once]: Unable to access /home/hamesj/public_html/modules/Gallery/init.php in /home/evolving/public_html/blocks/NG-RandomPhoto_functions.php on line 121
Warning: require_once(/home/hamesj/public_html/modules/Gallery/init.php) [function.require-once]: failed to open stream: No such file or directory in /home/evolving/public_html/blocks/NG-RandomPhoto_functions.php on line 121
Fatal error: require_once() [function.require]: Failed opening required '/home/hamesj/public_html/modules/Gallery/init.php' (include_path='.:/usr/lib/php') in /home/evolving/public_html/blocks/NG-RandomPhoto_functions.php on line 121
|
