SUN 07 OCT 2001

Uncle Sam, 2001

Updates
As you can see at the top of the page, Creative Dynamix has a new, updated masthead. There's a new look for the archive index, too. Also, along with the snapshot of our two new kittens (see just below), three pictures have been added at the bottom of the Friends and Family section of the Photo Album.

Kittens!
We didn't expect to have new feline arrivals so soon after losing Freckle, but some friends of ours had a litter ready to give away, and Mojo seemed lonely. We couldn't decide quite which one of the eight little kittens we wanted -- as kittens tend to be, they were all just irresistably cute -- so we ended up with two. They're both calicos (and thus female), a little less than three months old. The darker one we named Marble, and the lighter one we dubbed Myst. Mojo wasn't fond of them at first -- in fact, a couple of times he looked like he wanted to eat them -- but he seems to be adjusting well now, becoming more playful than predatory, and not only accepting the kittens but actually starting to enjoy their company. You can see a photo of the kittens here.

Thought for the Day
"There are keys to believing, and believing is the key."
-- D. R. Porterfield

Help Wipe Out Terrorism

Update
Added Lap of Luxury to Explositions.

Cheap Beer
A man walks into a bar one night. He goes up to the bar and asks for a beer.

"Certainly, sir, that'll be 1 cent."

"One penny?!" exclaims the guy.

The barman replies, "Yes."

So, the guy glances over at the menu, and he asks, "Could I have a nice juicy T-bone steak, with a baked potato and a salad?"

"Certainly sir," replies the bartender, "but all that comes to real money."

"How much money?" inquires the guy.

"Four cents," he replies.

"Four cents?!" exclaims the guy. "Where's the guy who owns this place?"

The barman replies, "Upstairs with my wife."

The guy says, "What's he doing with your wife?"

The bartender replies, "Same thing I'm doing to his business."

Thought for the Day
"America was discovered by Amerigo Vespucci and was named after him, until people got tired of living in a place called 'Vespuccia' and changed its name to 'America'."
-- Mike Harding

Rock Climbing

Prove Your Patriotism
Buy more flags!

Three Wishes
Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chrétien, Osama Bin Ladin, and George W. Bush are for some unexplained reason out walking together one day. They come across a lantern and a Genie pops out of it.

"I will give each of you one wish -- that's three wishes total," says the Genie.

Jean Chrétien says, "I care a great deal about the farmers in my country. I want the land to be forever fertile in Canada."

With a blink of the Genie's eye, 'POOF!' the land in Canada was forever made fertile for farming.

Osama Bin Ladin was amazed, so he said, "I want a wall around Afghanistan, so that no infidels, Jews or Americans can come into or invade our precious state."

Again, with a blink of the Genie's eye, 'POOF!' there was a huge wall around Afghanistan.

George W. Bush asks, "I'm very curious. Please tell me more about this wall."

The Genie explains, "Well, it's about 15,000 feet high, 500 feet thick and completely surrounds the country. Nothing can get in or out. It's virtually impenetrable."

Bush thinks for a moment and then says, "Fill it with water."

Thought for the Day
"If everyone is thinking alike then somebody isn't thinking."
-- General George S. Patton, Jr.

Thought for the Day
"When patterns are broken, new worlds can emerge."
-- Tuli Kupferberg

MEGAFLICKS video rental, New Port Ritchie, FL
(Thanks to Benoît!)

Headlines for Your Head
Host of Politically Incorrect Apologizes for Being Politically Incorrect
Irony Not Dead in Wake of Tragedy
Point/Counterpoint: What is America's Best Response to Terrorism?

Waiving the Flag Rules
Something that seems to have changed dramatically since the Vietnam era is the way people now wear flag-patterned clothing to express their patriotism. Back then, most people thought the flag belonged on a flagpole and nowhere else, and anyone who wore a flag as an article of clothing was a damn dirty un-American hippie. Now, it's just the opposite -- people wear flags and flag-based designs to show their support of our government, not opposition to it, and the latest fashion scheme is redwhite&blue. Time changes all. There have been a few complaints about people not following the traditional rules of "flag etiquette" -- mostly directed toward those who have been displaying their flags day and night, rain or shine, without taking them down at the "proper" times -- but these complaints strike me as misdirected and somewhat petty. I've never been much of a flag-waver myself, but lately it's come to be a powerful symbol of national solidarity and support, and I think displays of the flag should be taken in the spirit they're intended, whether or not some technical point of some obscure "flag rule" may have been violated. Tiny, nitpicky rules are for tiny, nitpicky minds. Seems like we've got bigger problems to worry about these days.

Falwell's Improbable History
One of many amusing features at the Modern Humorist website is Jerry Falwell's History of America -- truly the past as you've never seen it before. Here's a typical tidbit:

December 7, 1941 was our nation's darkest day. A cabal of transsexual pornographers tore apart and ate the Statue of Liberty with what photos show to be razor-sharp vaginas. Documents in my possession suggest that this sneak attack was carried out under the intoxicating influence of RU-486.

Once again, Jerry sets the record straight in this age of liberal historical revisionism. Illustrations from the period help bring the text to life. Great for school reports and projects.

Thought for the Day
"A generation which ignores history has no past and no future."
-- Robert Heinlein

Home from Paradise To celebrate our 15th wedding anniversary, Ruthie and I traveled over the weekend to Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC, where we stayed at the inn on the grounds. It was an absolutely heavenly experience. Not only did we wine and dine amid exquisite surroundings in one of the most beautiful places on earth, we had perfect fall weather the whole time we were there. Details to follow....

House & Gardens at Biltmore

Omphaloskepsis
There's a lot of fluff on the internet, but rarely does one find a site devoted specifically to navel fluff. You know, bellybutton lint. Careful -- this one verges on the "too much information" category. (Thanks to Swift!)

Thought for the Day
"Life belongs to the living, and he who lives must be prepared for changes."
-- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe