FRI 30 NOV 2001

All Things Must Pass

Creative Dynamix bids a sad farewell to former Beatle, George Harrison. The Beatles broke many barriers in the area of popular music, greatly expanding its range and scope, and they exemplified the social changes that swept the western world in the 1960s. George may be gone now, but his compositions -- both with the Fab Four and as a solo artist -- will live on for years to come. He has made a lasting contribution to music and culture, and we will always remember him with fondness and admiration.

Thought for the Day
"The future's not what it used to be."
-- Arthur C. Clarke

Support the President: Drink More Beer!

Intercave Memo

From:	Bin Laden, Osama
Sent:	Monday, 26th November, 2001 8:17 AM
To:	Cavemates
Subject:	The Cave

.................................................

Hi guys. We've all been putting in long hours but we've really come together as a group and I love that. Big thanks to Omar for putting up the poster that says "There is no I in team" as well as the one that says "Hang In There, Baby." That cat is hilarious. However, while we are fighting a jihad, we can't forget to take care of the cave. And frankly I have a few concerns.

First of all, while it's good to be concerned about cruise missiles, we should be even more concerned about the scorpions in our cave. Hey, you don't want to be stung and neither do I so we need to sweep the cave daily. I've posted a sign up sheet near the main cave opening.

Second, it's not often I make a video address but when I do, I'm trying to scare the most powerful country on earth, okay? That means that while we're taping, please do not ride your razor scooter in the background. Just while we're taping. Thanks.

Third point, and this is a touchy one. As you know, by edict, we're not supposed to shave our beards. But I need everyone to just think hygiene, especially after mealtime. We're all in this together.

Fourth: Food. I bought a box of Cheez-Its recently, clearly wrote "Osama" on the front, and put it on the top shelf. Today, my Cheez-Its were gone. Consideration. That's all I'm saying.

Finally, we've heard that there may be American soldiers in disguise trying to infiltrate our ranks. I want to set up patrols to look for them. First patrol will be Omar, Muhammed, Abdul, Akbar and Richard.

Love you lots.

Osama

[From Eric, via email]

Thought for the Day
"Too often we ... enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought."
-- John F. Kennedy

Thought for the Day
"As long as men are free to ask what they must; free to say what they think; free to think what they will; freedom can never be lost and science can never regress."
-- J. Robert Oppenheimer

Autumn Scene

Near Hurdle Mills, NC
November 2001 

The rains came over the weekend, at last, and the air smells of wet leaves. It's oddly warm for this time of year, though, feeling more like late September or early October than almost December, Christmas decorations seeming somehow out of place in the strange balmy air. Out here in the country, it's good air, carrying vague traces of ponds and wood and rocks, moist earth and tall grass, and leaves, especially leaves. The city where I work, on the other hand, smells like the back end of a bus. I mention this last item because cities tend to grow and sprawl at the expense of open countryside, often at a visible and alarming rate. The scene pictured above -- and all the sounds and smells that accompany it -- is part of a vanishing landscape, one far older and deeper than the clutter that's replacing it. I treasure these unspoiled spaces, and I thought others might like to glimpse a sample before scenes like this go away forever.

Police State USA
Sunset for civil liberties, not for "anti-terrorist" laws. Military police re-instituted. Nazis hijack Department of Justice. Even right-wingers are upset.

Do we feel safe yet?

Car Crash
Some people think they can drive like maniacs on the little country roads near our house, perhaps because there aren't many cops, perhaps because they've been watching too many car commercials on TV. In any case, someone's recklessness resulted in tragedy very early this morning. On our way to work, we saw a commotion up ahead -- six or seven cop cars, blue lights flashing. In a field by the road was what was left of an orange sports car -- the roof and part of one side were missing, and the interior looked burned. Various pieces of the car were scattered down the road, in the road, on both sides of the road. A little farther along was a Pepsi delivery truck -- not an 18-wheeler, but nearly as big -- with the metal guard ripped and torn over where the left front wheel used to be. There were also more pieces of the orange car lying around. The truck driver might have lived. I doubt the driver of the sports car is with us anymore, though, judging from the extent of the wreckage. Guess he was in a big hurry. Hope it was worth it, but somehow I doubt it.

Thought for the Day
"Leave it to me and the boys in black and blue, sir. We're ready to terrorize every innocent shopkeeper and roust every decent citizen out of his private home."
-- Sgt. O'Blootwurst, in the Firesign Theatre's The Tale of the Giant Rat of Sumatra
[Ed. note: Sgt. O'Blootwurst is the newly appointed chairman of the President's Homeland Security Task Force.]

Kentucky State Quarter

Kentucky Quarter The Kentucky state quarter was released a few weeks ago, and I finally got one in circulation. Overall, the design is one of the best -- well-rendered artistically, and no boring state outline. However, I think the "My Old Kentucky Home" motto could have been omitted. It crowds the design somewhat -- a clear field for the sky above the horse would have been more striking. Still, the Kentucky issue makes for a fine conclusion to a year of some of the best state quarter designs so far.

Giving Thanks for Water
For once, we had a nice quiet Thanksgiving at home -- no annoying relatives, no football blaring from the TV, no stress. We baked up a turkey breast and had it with rice, gravy, stuffing, broccoli, rolls, cornbread, all the trimmings. Except for cranberry sauce, which neither of us cares for particularly.

The next day, our water went out. Fortunately, we still had some jugs of utility water left over from Y2K preparations, so we were able to at least keep the toilets flushed.

The plumber came the next morning. There was a broken wire on the pump, which we had to pull out, laying about 125 feet of flexible black pipe across the yard. Oh, and it was raining. First rain we'd had in weeks, and we needed it, but the timing couldn't have been worse. We spent four or five hours in the rain getting the pump rewired.

Eventually we got it working again, but then there was another problem -- the water was coming out fine in some parts of the house, but in others it was a low-pressure trickle. We figured that turning the water to the house off and then turning it back on dislodged some sediment, which has now apparently re-lodged itself in a less convenient location. Still, slow water is better than no water. It gave us a little lesson in something we often take for granted -- turning on a tap and having clean water come out, as if by magic. One of those little modern conveniences that's conspicuous only in its absence.

On Thanksgiving, we gave thanks for the ususal things. But over the weekend, we gave thanks for water. Kind of lets you know how much there really is to be thankful for.

Mark of the Beast?
Just to make sure we're all safe, the benevolent new Office of Homeland Security is now proposing National Identification Tattoos. (Do you believe that?) This news brought to you courtesy of the White House.

Thought for the Day
"Freedom's just another word for nothin' left to lose."
-- Janis Joplin

Thought for the Day
"It is by the fortune of God that, in this country, we have three benefits: freedom of speech, freedom of thought, and the wisdom never to use either."
-- Mark Twain

That's Entertainment!

Still Dancin'...
In addition to such strange search engine phrases such as "goddess-based, nude Buddhist guerrilla poetry pictures", a number of people seem to find this site looking for Jessco (or "Jesco" -- I've seen it spelled both ways) the dancing outlaw, probably because I did a little blurb on him awhile back. I recently found out there's a sequel to the first film, involving Jes[s]co's trip to Hollywood for a guest appearance on the Roseanne show. It's called, appropriately enough, Dancing Outlaw II. I can't wait to see it.

Stranger Than Fiction Dept.
Last week I posted a comedy photo of a (supposedly) imaginary doll called the Goth Barbie. Turns out there's a real Goth Barbie. Whoda thunk it?

Thought for the Day
"The tree which moves some to tears of joy is in the eyes of others only a green thing that stands in the way. Some see nature all ridicule and deformity ... and some scarce see nature at all. But to the eyes of the man of imagination, nature is imagination itself."
-- William Blake

What If...
In a parallel universe not far away, Al Gore is President.

Update
Gave the masthead a new look again, as you can see. I got a little tired of having the flag right in the logo bar, but I didn't quite want to take it down entirely, so I moved it over to the sidebar. To keep things balanced, I added an atom representation to the left of the logo, where the flag used to be. Creative Dynamix has always been, and continues to be, international in scope.

Thought for the Day
"All war is deception."
-- Sun Tzu