The RETURN of Philosophical Ramblings: Different Races, Different Prices

I found out something shocking about the adoption industry: certain races cost more than others.

For example, adopting a white Russian baby with blue eyes will probably cost more than a mixed child from Guatemala.

"It's the free market," my friend told me, as he explained the situation.

According to him, if you wanted to adopt a baby from the islands, the MINIMUM cost is $11,000 ... and that doesn't include the years of paperwork and hassle.

"First, you have to pay an attorney here in the States. You have to undergo psychological review ... background check. And that's just here. In the islands, you have to pay a lawyer THERE to get the ball rolling on that end. And THEN you have to deal with immigration. It's a mess."

Now, if you're choosy about a baby ... and that baby's race is in HIGH DEMAND ... well, guess what? You're paying more.

"And the wait is longer ... five years," he said.

I told him that the whole thing seemed wrong. It reminded me of the slave trade. However, I had to admit that the adopted child is being helped, regardless of the surrounding circumstances ... but, then again, what about the children whose race is in low demand?

Damn. They're just forgotten children. They're chaff, as far as the richest people in the world (us) are concerned. Not even chaff. Less than chaff. Not even in our frame of reference. Not in our thoughts. Forgotten.

But, hey ... those kids need to be rugged individualists, right? They need to RUSH to excellence. That's right -- overcome dirty water, zero education, a language the world doesn't speak, an ethnic race with no lobbyists on capital hill demanding assistance on your behalf... good luck!

***

Speaking of forgotten kids ... I heard that Barack Obama's brother was interviewed for this month's Vanity Fair. Here's a segment of the article that talked about the interview:

The Italian edition of Vanity Fair said that it had found George Hussein Onyango Obama living in a hut in a ramshackle town of Huruma on the outskirts of
Nairobi.

Mr Obama, 26, the youngest of the presidential candidate's half-brothers, spoke for the first time about his life, which could not be more different than that of the Democratic contender.

"No-one knows who I am," he told the magazine, before claiming: "I live here on less than a dollar a month."

According to Italy's Vanity Fair his two metre by three metre shack is decorated with football posters of the Italian football giants AC Milan and Inter, as well as a calendar showing exotic beaches of the world.

Vanity Fair also noted that he had a front page newspaper picture of his famous brother - born of the same father as him, Barack Hussein Obama, but to a different mother, named only as Jael.

He told the magazine: "I live like a recluse, no-one knows I exist."

Embarrassed by his penury, he said that he does not does not mention his famous half-brother in conversation.

"If anyone says something about my surname, I say we are not related. I am ashamed," he said.

For a good mood: Obama!

Guest-blogger Angel Jimenez chimed in with this earlier today, via txt msg:

I'm voting for Obama. Why?

It's all about mood, baby. The country was in a better mood when Clinton was in office than with Bush.

We need a Democrat like Obama to lighten our collective mood. This will help boost the economy.

It'll also be nice to have a President that the MEDIA likes.

1984 Comparison -- Part IX

- O'Brien interrogating Winston
-- Doublethink, as a philosophy, is rooted in the average behavior of personality type 8. Average 8's have the ability to say or do something, and in the next moment forget what was said or done. When a 6, like Winston, who respects history and remembers, attempts to cause the 8 to recall what was said or done, the 8 with complete sincerity and honesty denies having said or done so. They tell themselves to forget and they do forget, completely and irrevocably. 8's are the masters of doublethink -- it's in their genetic code.
-- Like 8's, the Party refuse to remember recent history as it was -- they alter it to their needs. The present moment is all that matters.
-- In some ways, doublethink reminds me of religious conversions, where the person is forgiven of sins ... to the point that, in their minds, the sin NEVER HAPPENED. They believe that since God forgives and forgets, they, too, should forget ... and the sin is literally erased from history.
-- Aggressive people in charge tend to employ O'Brien's theory that making people suffer insures you are in control of them. Bosses want their presence felt -- they don't want independent thought. They like the vision of a boot stamping on a human face forever, as long as they benefit from it!
-- Captive experiencing Stockholm Syndrome
-- A person married to an abusive spouse

- Winston recovering, dreaming of the bullet in the corridor
-- Like a worker who senses he's going to be fired, but doesn't know when the exact moment will happen

1984 Comparison -- Part VIII

- Prisoners dragged off to and fearing Room 101
-- The electric chair for the unjustly convicted

- Winston, sitting in white-walled prison cell
-- compliance with the group societal norms, even unjust norms, may become necessary for survival if one wishes to avoid being treated unjustly. Examples would include refusing to help Jews in Nazi Germany, or slaves prior the Civil War in the U.S. Fear truly is the mind-killer, to quote from the novel Dune, as well as the heart and soul killer.
-- Watching others suffer injustices at work from managers and not speaking up ... praying that you can avoid the same injustices.
-- Fear of the authority figure firing you compels you to do certain things (like firing other employees), or not do certain things (like taking the time to help someone b/c you don't want to explain why you're work didn't get done) -- LME.
-- Food is a big issue for sixes like Winston.
-- Pain is a big issue for sixes like Winston.
-- It's hard for sixes to think or pay attention when they're hungry and/or in pain.
-- The equivalent of getting dumped by your partner after years of unquestioned loyalty.

Simming the Georgia Affair

I was gonna sim the Georgia affair. Actually, I had simmed it in my head ... but my sim got disrupted by a co-worker who told me about a news report that said that Georgia PROVOKED Russia into INVADING Georgia.

I not-so-calmly explained to her that Russian Tanks didn't just magically appear overnight on the Georgian border! It takes months for those tanks to cross the Caucacus Mountains ... but, hey, the news reporter said what they said. So it must be true, right?

Of course. Of course it's true. Don't be ridiculous. Georgia provoked Russia.

And I realized that even simming the situation (and I'll discuss the sim in a moment) ... there's always going to be people who take the other side, who are contrarian, who don't see what is really happening ... who just don't get it.

That confuses things.

Anyway, here is my Clancyesque sim of the situation: Georgia has been kept out of NATO by the European nations. NATO is not going to accept them magically overnight.

So, what's left? The U.S. What will the U.S. do right off the bat?

Well, obviously the U.S. will not attack Russia right off the bat. The U.S. plays by the International rules.

What are the rules? If a country has violated agreed-upon norms, like Russia has (and don't give me the bullcrap about Georgia violating anything. Why don't you kiss Putin's boots, while you're at it!), countries go after the offending party economically first.

So, the U.S. will most likely go after Russia with an economic embargo.

Now, what does Russia produce? Well, they produce oil.

So, the embargo will involve oil and that will affect us. It will affect Europe -- they won't be happy about it. Apparently, they're willing to go with the oil flow because they don't want their oil supplies to be cut off.

Too bad.

I'm sure the U.S. is going to push for this in the U.N., and I'm sure the U.S. will prevail.

Russia won't be happy about it, and ... at some point, of course, we'll set a deadline for the Russians to leave Georgia. This current ceasefire agreement appears to be falling apart (after all, like terrible houseguests, the Russians won't LEAVE). There will have to a new agreement with a new date that says, "Russia has until this date to get out of Georgia."

And, Russia will not comply, and we will have NO CHOICE but to go in and push them out ... the way we push Iraq out of Kuwait nearly two decades ago.

That, I believe, is what Putin is hoping for. He wants the situation to escalate to that point, and they want to show us that they are not Iraq ... that they will not be pushed out so easily ... and that, once we engage them, they'll say, "You've declared war on us. All bets are off."

I think that's what they're hoping for. At the same time, Iran will take advantage of the opportunity. Attack Israel, Iraq, or whatever the heck they've been wanting to do.

And, while we're at it, why stop there? China will probably take advantage of the opportunity and take over Taiwan. Who knows?

Russia and their allies do not believe the U.S. is in a position to be the world's policeman anymore. They don't believe Europe has the intestinal fortitude to back us up and step in where we can't because we're already stretched out.

They know the U.S. is bogged down in Iraq. They know the U.S. is committed to Afghanistan. And they believe we've reached our limit. They want to take advantage of this.

So, that's the sim that played out in my mind.

***

Now, I actually think it's going to be worse than that sim. I think, based on news reports and that there are people here in the U.S. who will actually SYMPATHIZE with Russia! A lot of people.

There are people who are tired of the war. I understand that. Believe me, I understand that.

My answer to that is -- the Russians just killed 2,000 people in a few days. You can't even compare this! This is not an apple, it's an orange. It's totally different. Different set of circumstances.

And, I really think, that when you get down to it, the truth of the matter is we ARE stretched out. AND, we're stretched out psychologically, as a nation. We're stretched out emotionally.

And there's enough people here in the U.S. to prevent us from doing what is right.

Here's the thing: countries like Georgia depend on us. They've asked for our help. They've bought into Democracy because of us. If we don't step in, right here, right now, (Where's Jesus Jones when you need him?) to defend Democracy in a small country like Georgia, then we've failed them. Other countries that have bought into Democracy are going to see that and say, "Well. The U.S. doesn't really believe in what they preach. They only believe it when it's convenient to them. When it's a convenient opponent, like Saddam Hussein."

You better believe it.

If the world's lone Democratic superpower doesn't stand up to OBVIOUS tyranny, this will weaken the argument for Democracy in the world.

***

But, hey -- what am I talkin' about? The Georgian's provoked the Russians. The Georgians are EVIL. The Russians are GOOOoood.

***

Now, let's remember the good old days, when we thought the Cold War was over:

New Series on Mortgage Crisis Coming Soon

I read this and it inspired me to create a new series about the Mortgage Crisis:

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- More homeowners than ever are selling at a loss, propelling the real estate market deeper into crisis.

In the 12 months that ended June 30, nearly 25% of all homes sold nationwide fetched less than sellers originally paid, according to real estate Web site Zillow.com.

While the nation's double-digit decline in home prices has been well documented, the new report underscores the economic force of those price declines. Homeowners are walking away with much less in their pocket when they sell. And that affects more than the real estate market.

"It's stunning what's happening out there," said Stan Humphries, Zillow's vice president of data and analytics, who looked at statistics that date back to 1996. "The numbers are the worst we've seen and it's not just the magnitude of the problem but the scope - so many markets are affected."

Nationwide, nearly a third of all homeowners who bought since 2003 owe more on their homes than the homes are worth. And those that ... put little or none of their own money into the home purchases, are more likely to try to sell short or simply abandon their homes.

"They hand over their keys and walk away from the homes," says Danielle Babb, a real estate investor, instructor at the University of California Irvine and author of "Finding Foreclosures."

That adds to foreclosure rates. Zillow reported that nearly 15% of U.S. existing home sales during the last 12 months involved foreclosed homes.

That trend will almost surely continue.

The news media proves, once again, that they're about six weeks to two YEARS behind when they report a story. If you see news, just assume it's old.

I mean, they were talking about how 33% of home owners are upside-down on their mortgage, and "Gee, this crisis may be worse than we thought!"

And Danielle Babb's quote? Excuse me, but these people "Walk away" after banks refuse to renegotiate in the face of OBVIOUS evidence that home values have PLUMMETED. The Banks, apparently, would rather take a huge hit on a foreclosure and get Government assistance ... as opposed to work with individual borrowers.

So much for the efficiencies of Mass-Market banking. I guess one Call Center for the country doesn't work WHEN THERE'S A CRISIS!

Anyway, in my new series, I plan on recounting my experiences in attempting to purchase a home the past three years. It was, and still is, a roller coaster ride.

If you're wondering why I didn't do this sooner ... well, I did write about the Real Estate Market after Wilma. I won't even bother linking to it -- I've referenced it before. I have been on the cutting edge and people have ignored my words at their peril.

Arturo Sundvold: "Stop Blogging and Save the Environment"

And now, conservative-turned-porn-star and guest blogger Arturo Sundvold:

I just came out of a meeting where we discussed how we can make our film production company more green. I suggested the girls could wear green eyeshadow or lipstick.

That got a chuckle.

It occurred to me at that moment -- the advent of computers has increased our use of energy! Exponentially!

So, the answer to our energy crisis is obvious, to me anyway: ALL BLOGGERS MUST STOP BLOGGING.

If you're keeping an online diary or dream journal, get a notebook!

Are you keeping track of your family vacations on the web? Get a scrapbook and photo album!

Are you staying in touch with people via MySpace, Facebook, or Twitter? Write a DAMN LETTER on a PIECE OF PAPER and MAIL IT! Stamps are still cheaper than high-speed Internet!

Also, since you won't need to upload 10 GIGS of video to Youtube so you can have exclusive content on your next post about how you love eating at Cold Stone, you can cancel that cable-modem or DSL line and go back to netzero or whatever. The savings, spread across these United States, will SAVE THE ECONOMY and END THE CRISIS AS WE KNOW IT!

So, stop blogging people. You'll reduce our consumption of fossil fuels, which will help the environment, AND you'll save hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars a year.

You'll have more time to go outside and exercise. You can enjoy real PHYSICAL activities.

Enjoy!

1984 Comparison with modern society -- Part VII

- Ignorance is Strength chapter by Goldstein

-- Promises by politicians running for office to fix things, change things, provide for the public welfare ... only to forget the masses that got them elected once in office.

-- Telescreens able to transmit propaganda and monitor citizens 24/7 = the Internet, 24-hour news cycle, meaningless entertainment programs, blogs, chats ... a million different ways for us to observe each other. We ARE the collective Thought Police.

-- The MEDIA focusing the public's attention on one event or tragedy, while countless others are forgotten.

-- Council on Foreign Relations

-- The G8

-- The WTO

-- "Here comes the new boss. Same as the old boss."

-- The more things change, the more they stay the same.

-- Republicrats and Demicans -- The two party system in the U.S. functions much like the three supernations in the book 1984. They basically enact the same legislation, regardless of party affiliation ... and the pundits who debate one another are the equivalent of the slave populations on the borders of the supernations, fighting the endless war.

-- The United States deposing a dictator that we supported two decades ago. Thankfully, the past cannot be rewritten. However, those who support current military action, like deposing Noriega or Saddam, have no choice but to forget our support of these dictators years before. The admission of a mistake weakens the present argument ... if we've made mistakes in the past, it's very easy to argue that our current actions to correct past mistakes are merely compounding the situation. In other words, leave well enough alone.

-- "Mutability of the Past" = Columbus "Discovered" America, Andrew Jackson "Expanded" America, etc. How about this: the Cherokees and other tribes "Discovered" imperialism, and shed blood and tears as Jackson "Expanded" America's borders. This is but one small example of how has been history is written by the victors, those in charge, the Party, Big Brother.

-- "The prevailing mental condition must be controlled insanity" = No wonder logical solutions are seemingly never enacted by Government, under the guise of such buzz words as "bipartisanship" and "compromise."

So You Think You Can Dance Finale Commentary

The following was heard in a household during the So You Think You Can Dance Finale:

Twitch should win. He's long and lean.

Joshua is too short and stocky. One of the judges even encouraged him to stop running, and do some swimming. He's too bulky.

I bet mostly women are watching this show, since they're not voting for the girls.

Debbie Allen's protege was so smooth, that people voting didn't sympathize for him. He was really good.

Isn't Joshua winning sort of like Emmit Smith winning Dancing with the Stars?

Oh snap! Joshua! I guess the women like that booty.

It doesn't matter -- once you get this far, you'll get work.

<

A new search engine for my memory

Damian inspired me to write this. While he has a memory-recall superpower, I have something ... uh, else.

I remember random events from my childhood, like standing in line in elementary school, telling my best friend I had "Coughitis," and he quipped that I had the "Coughees." I remember the white tiled walls, the squares on the floor and painted lines ... everything. I also remember being at a particular birthday party with this best friend and another close friend, playing with some boxing game.

Certain memories just stand out for me. As Damian mentioned to me once, it's crazy what sixes tend to remember.

The thing is, I suspect all my memories are in my head -- I just have a really poor search engine.
There are times when a friend will say, "Remember when?" and I won't ... at first. As he or she describes the past event, eventually, a word or phrase will trigger the memory, and I'll immediately go, "Oooooo!"

Other times, the person I'm talking to will ask me if I remember something, and no matter how they describe it, the memory doesn't come back. I guess they're not using the right keywords to stimulate that particular part of my brain.

Sometimes, I will assume I can't remember something, and then it hits me later. For example, prior to writing this, I was thinking about how I don't remember specific details about a vacation at Disney world when I was ten years old. After a few moments, I remembered being on Space Mountain (WOOooooooh!), holding on to the handlebars for DEAR LIFE as I sat at the VERY FRONT, committing my life to Jesus if I survived the roller coaster ride, hearing my mother scream behind me, seeing my dad smiling afterwards.

So, the memories are there.

I suspect, as I get older, I will get better at recalling things. I just need to train my mind, kind of like switching from Alta Vista to Google, back in the day.

I hope I'm good at it, like those great baseball players from Glory of Their Times.

Random rings of truth

Here are some random items that sounded true to me:

* Brett Favre has been unhappy with Packer management since last year, when they didn't trade a 4th round pick for Randy Moss.

* Nancy Pelosi is encouraging House Dems to say they support drilling in order to pull a bait and switch next year.

* T. Boone Pickens has some crazy eminent domain plan with State of Texas where he will make billions if his plan becomes reality.

Glenn Beck praises the Dark Knight

Just listened to Glenn Beck praise the Dark Knight. How ironic that conservatives are praising a comic book movie, considering how comics were nearly destroyed by a previous generation of politicians.

Turn Out the Lights Pelosi

In case you haven't heard, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi adjourned Congress rather than allow debate on off-shore oil drilling.



Perhaps they want the next President to get credit for saving us from high oil prices, rather than Bush.

Anyway, here's some video and article clips. Feel free to comment afterwards:

Dems turn out the lights on Republicans and lower oil prices

By Ross Balano, Midwest Voices Colunist 2008

Thanks to Nancy Pelosi congress adjourned for five weeks without addressing America’s energy crisis.

Speaker Pelosi refused to allow a vote on increased off shore drilling choosing instead to leave for vacation even though Republicans protested loudly saying that the refusal to allow a vote is harmful to the economy. Pelosi’s response was to turn off the lights and cut the microphones on Republicans.

Republicans continued to talk in the dark and with no microphones and finally the lights and microphones were turned back on for a time and then turned off again.

***

Lights off & Locked Out

Posted by: John Campbell at 12:47 PM

Congress has passed no meaningful energy legislation to move us towards lower gas prices and more American energy and now has recessed for a 5 week break. Republicans, including yours truly, wanted to speak more about that on the floor of the House this afternoon. The Pelosi majority took the unusual step of calling for immediate adjournment to prevent these speeches from going forward and turned off the cameras and microphones on the House floor.

It’s one thing to not allow a vote on more energy production. It’s another to not even allow people to speak about it. I and several dozen others are speaking on the House floor right now to a gallery full of cheering people to demand that Speaker Pelosi allow a vote on more American energy production. No TVs. No microphones.

You can turn off the lights, but you cannot silence the will of the American people.

***

House Dems Turn Out The Lights But GOP Keeps Talking

By John Bresnahan

"This is the people's House," Rep, Thaddeus McCotter (R-Mich.) said. "This is not Pelosi's politiburo."

Democratic aides were furious at the GOP stunt, and reporters were kicked out of the Speaker's Lobby, the space next to the House floor where they normally interview lawmakers.

"You're not covering this, are you?" complaing one senior Democratic aide. Another called the Republicans "morons" for staying on the floor.

Update - The Capitol Police are now trying to kick reporters out of the press gallery above the floor, meaning we can't watch the Republicans anymore. But Minority Whip Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) is now in the gallery talking to reporters, so the cops have held off for a minute. Clearly, Democrats don't want Republicans getting any press for this episode. GOP leaders are trying to find other Republicans to rotate in for Blunt so reporters aren't kicked out.

***

Congress Adjourns, but Talks on Oil Persist

By DAVID M. HERSZENHORN

In a letter to Representative Nancy Pelosi, the speaker, earlier in the day, House Republican leaders demanded that she call a special summer session.

“You have the power to call Congress back into session at any moment to deal with issues of urgent national importance,” they wrote. “No one can argue that the issue of high energy costs and their impact on American families does not rise to this level.”

At a news conference, some Republicans also urged President Bush to call a special session of Congress — a power last exercised by President Harry S. Truman in 1948.

Thank you, George Bush and Congress for that Housing Bill

Thanks to the leadership of these fine people, first time home-buyers like myself who buy a home between April 9, 2008 and April 2009 will receive up to a $7,500 loan from the Federal Government after filing their 2008 tax return. The money has to be paid back, INTEREST-FREE, over 15 yers.

On behalf of myself and my family, I would just like to say THANK YOU!

***

The Golfer calls it a bribe. I wonder what Ted Stevens called it.

A Yeti Award for another corrupt politician.

Zane Black decides to address the masses

The following was a text exchange between the Great Zane Black and Darth Tony:

Zane: U must learn the ways of the force if u r 2 come with me 2 alderane!

Tony: Damian says hello.

Zane: Tell Damian he will fight bravely 2morrow! [Editor's note: 2morrow being Friday, July 25th, 2008!]

Zane: Look 4 me inbetween dreams and reality and u will finde me darth tony. i wasnt born a legend, i became one.

Tony: You are definitely a legend, like Batman.

Zane: Im the pied piper 2 doomsday!

Tony: You want a dailyskew blog?

Zane: Yes i must address the masses

Tony: Is zaneblack.dailyskew.com okay?

Zane: Yes

Housing Mortgage Bill -- Vahl Comments

First, here are excerpts from an article that describes the Housing Mortgage Bill that will likely be signed by the President before the end of the year:

Boosting Fannie and Freddie
To help stabilize markets, which were shaken in the past few weeks by steep declines in the stock prices of Fannie Mae (FNM, Fortune 500) and Freddie Mac (FRE, Fortune 500), Treasury Secretary Paulson asked Congress on July 13 to give the Treasury power to provide a liquidity and capital "backstop" for the two companies.

Fannie and Freddie guarantee the purchase and trade of mortgages and own or back $5.2 trillion in mortgages.

The bill allows Treasury over the next 18 months to offer Fannie and Freddie an unlimited line of credit and the authority to buy stock in the companies if necessary.

Shares of Fannie closed 12% higher and those of Freddie 9% on Wednesday. Fannie's stock is down 79% and Freddie's 84% over the past year.


Helping at-risk borrowers
The bill also aims to help homeowners at risk of foreclosure and to bolster regulation of Fannie and Freddie. Among other things, it would:

Increase the Federal Housing Administration's role. The FHA could insure up to $300 billion in new 30-year fixed rate mortgages for at-risk borrowers in owner-occupied homes if lenders agree to write down loan balances to 90% of the homes' current appraised value.

Lenders would also agree to pay upfront fees to the FHA equal to 3% of a home's appraised value. Borrowers must agree to pay an annual premium to the FHA equal to 1.5% of their new loan balance. They must also agree to share with the government any profit they realize from selling or refinancing.


Create home-buyer credit. The bill includes a tax refund for first-time home buyers worth up to 10% of a home's purchase price but no more than $7,500.

The refund, however, serves more as an interest-free loan, since it would have to be paid back over 15 years in equal installments. It would be reduced gradually for single filers with adjusted gross incomes above $75,000 and for joint filers with AGIs over $150,000.


Bar down-payment assistance for FHA loans. The bill eliminates a program that has allowed sellers to provide down payment assistance. The seller-funded program is largely the reason why the agency's reserve has fallen by $4.6 billion, according to FHA Commissioner Brian Montgomery. Currently, that reserve is roughly $16.4 billion.

The bill would also increase to 3.5% from 3% the down payment requirement for borrowers getting FHA loans.


Give grants to states to buy foreclosed properties. The bill would grant $4 billion to states to buy up and rehabilitate foreclosed properties.

Quick comments by Vahl:

I personally approve of this bill. It's close enough to my Earth-Never solution to the Housing crisis. The only thing that bothers me is the removal of the seller assistance for down payments. I understand why it has to be this way ... it just potentially delays my first home purchase. Since the home I'm looking at is EXTREMELY cheap, I know I'm not a bad borrower if I get down-payment assistance. This is what happens when government is forced to step in to solve a problem -- the whole populace is punished because of a few bad apples.

Don't believe me? Have you flown anywhere lately?

Anyway, I accept this reality.

Winners: People currently in danger of losing their home to foreclosure.

Losers: People who've ALREADY lost their homes to foreclosure.

LME Practitioners rewarded: The banks, some very lucky thoughtless borrowers.

I pray that Repubs and Dems who support off-shore drilling will filibuster this bill in the Senate until their voice his heard and their bill(s) are brought up for a vote.

R.A.W. is officially blogging

M.O.T. Press Release

From the Desk of Tony Vahl:

A few days ago, we asked if any of our readers were interested in getting a dailyskew blog. R.A.W. is the first person to take us up on our offer, and now has a free dailyskew.com blog. He's up and running, three posts and counting. Stop in there, feel the pseudo-intellectualism, and give him a hearty skew'ed comment or two!

How Vahl was introduced to the Enneagram

I recently read a post where a friend of mine explained how he took an Enneagram test and would figure out the results later. That post inspired me to share how I was introduced to the E-gram, in the hopes of simplifying and demystifying it.

Damian started telling me about the Enneagram about nine years ago. The more he described it, the more I wanted to learn more. One day, we finally sat down together and he showed me the book Personality Types, by Riso and Hudson.



First, we turned to Part I, which listed the 9 basic types, and four word description for each. He told me to read through the list and see which description or descriptions I related to the most. Here's the list:

The One, also called The Reformer, is principled, orderly, perfectionistic, and
self-righteous.
The Two, also called The Helper, is caring, generous,
possessive, and manipulative.
The Three, also called The Achiever, is
adaptable, ambitious, image-conscious, and hostile.
The Four, also called The
Individualist, is intuitive, expressive, self-absorbed, and depressive.
The
Five, also called The Investigator, is perceptive, original, detached, and
eccentric.
The Six, also called The Loyalist, is engaging, committed,
defensive, and paranoid.
The Seven, also called The Enthusiast, is
motivating, accomplished, uninhibited, and manic.
The Eight, also called The
Challenger, is self-confident, decisive, dominating, and combative.
The
Nine, also called The Peacemaker, is gentle, reassuring, complacent, and
neglectful.

Once I had chosen a couple of types, we turned to the Appendix and looked up more detailed descriptions of those types. Basically, there are more one-word descriptions broken down into three levels: healthy, average, and unhealthy.

Damian told me once I found my type, it would feel like a K.O. punch. He was right -- there was no doubt about it. I felt like I was reading a kind of biography for my personality, or my own internal programming code. It felt like someone knew me and described me to a tee. My strengths, weaknesses, fears, and desires that I had experienced throughout my life were there.

Slap me with a number six. I went on to read the full description in Part II, and gained even more perspective. As I read more about the other types, I began to see the ones and zeroes of the Matrix, so to speak.

If you're interested in figuring out your Enneagram type, I highly recommend the book Personality Types and trying out Damian's method. It's simpler, more intuitive than an exam, and does not require voluminous reading. You'll get more out of it than confusing test results!

Alzheimer's Memory Walk needs volunteers

I've known some people who retired who had their financial house in order and great vacation plans ... but what they didn't plan for is the debilitating affects of Alzheimer's disease.

I've seen my father reach a point where he thought it was thirty years in the past, and he didn't recognize who he was talking to. I've seen another family member who can no longer drive and cannot remember something you told him five minutes ago.

A cure for Alzheimer's is very important. The Alzheimer's Memory Walk, organized by the Alzheimer's Association, is the nation's largest event for raising funds and awareness for curing this disease.



There are over 600 communities with walks planned. However, if there is no Alzheimer's Memory Walk in your area, you can contact your local Alzheimer's Association chapter to get info about walks in nearby communities, or starting up a walk in your area.

This is a volunteer effort to help achieve the Alzheimer's Association vision of, "A world without Alzheimer's disease." Please consider helping in their valiant cause.

1984 Comparison to modern society -- Part VI

- War and Peace chapter by Goldstein
-- The psuedo-paradox that is doublethink
-- LME (Lazy Man's Ethics) as a guiding principle for warfare
-- A civilized nation with extensive knowledge of other cultures should not engage in warfare lightly or for political purposes. Such acts bring us within the realm of the 1984 universe.
-- It is better to enforce the law unanimously than to sweep in and make changes, ala The Authority comic book, with a divided world watching and unwilling to support those actions politically or monetarily.
-- Proxy nations used by superpowers to wage war against one another.
-- Opposing political parties arguing with one another in an infantile manner, while legitimate societal problems within government's influence remain unsolved.

Bird and Fortune -- interview with an investment banker

Saw clips of this on the News Hour tonight. British comedic team Bird and Fortune sum up the economic insanity of the past few years:

Brett Favre: The Packers should keep him from playing

Here's an anonymous guest-blogger:

Brett Favre needs to STAY retired. I'm tired of this see-saw situation with him -- every year for the past decade, it seems, we've heard stories about how he may retire ... and when he finally does? He pulls a flip-flop and changes his mind.

Favre should care about the Packer fans, who have been LOYAL to him, to a fault! They've put up with all his interceptions in big spots ... they forgave him for looking like an old man in the cold in the NFC Championship game against the Giants with the GAME ON THE LINE. Sorry ... but Favre TOTALLY ran out of gas at the end of that game. It was OBVIOUS. Brett -- it's a YOUNG MAN'S SPORT. Be gracious. Be grateful. You've had your championships. Now back the f*** up, and let Aaron Rogers take over.

How this man could want to play for another organization is BEYOND ME. Talk about LAME-O. It'll be like when Jordan played for the Washington Bullets/Wizards -- remember that one?

Of course, Favre isn't the NFL's equivalent of Jordan. In my opinion, he be OVERRATED. But ... that doesn't matter.

The Packers Organization should, for the good of Favre, for the good of the Packer fans, and the good of the league, keep him on the roster and NOT release him. Normally I side with labor on issues with management, but not this time. Favre is giving labor a bad name. He made a decision -- retirement. The team moved on. And then, he CHANGES HIS MIND LIKE SOME SICK PRIMADONNA THAT NEEDS ATTENTION and THROWS A WRENCH IN THE TEAM'S PLANS!

It's not fair to the Packers organization -- the smallest in the NFL -- and it's not fair to their shareholder fans.

Favre -- stop being afraid of retirement. Enjoy it. Call it day.

And please -- leave us alone.

Zane Black Returns

The following are transmissions we received from Zane Black:

Ultraviolet American Dreamin'

looking for tony vahl and damian hospital.
i crash landed on tattooine and i became an old hermit that lived by the dune sea.
but i have been
found,
find me, seek me,
zane black
end of transmission

Wwgmtd?
What would Grand Moff Tarkin do?

R these the droids I've been looking 4?

I'm ahead of my time here
May have to return to the Big O

Please stand by for more news on the RETURN of Zane Black.

You want a dailyskew blog?

Hit me up with an email if you're interested.

Advantages of having a dailyskew blog:

• You will NOT be joining millions of other users who have signed up for some mass-market experience
• You will NOT be a number. You will be a free man or woman.
• We'll link to you, giving you instant street cred.

I'm not marrying a coat-hanger

Guest-blgger Angel Jimenez chimes in with this:

A friend of mine recently told me that Julia Roberts admitted that she doesn't wear deodorant. He asked me what I thought about that, to which I replied, "I don't think about Julia Roberts."

He chuckled. I continued: "I don't think about her. When she starred in Pretty Woman, I wondered how she was chosen for that role. I don't find her attractive. She's way too thin. She's a coat hanger."

I mean, think about it -- why else do you think Hollywood marriages don't work? The guy wakes up one day, looks at his starlet wife and realized that he's married to a coat hanger! He's got to get out of there!

No wonder famous women are insecure about their looks -- they KNOW guys don't want to marry a coat-hanger, and they ALSO know that they will be OPENLY MOCKED if they gain weight. Kirstie Alley, anyone?

Famous guys are trapped, too. If they go after a voluptious woman, they risk losing movie deals b/c of public perception.

All I can say is -- thank GOD I'm not famous, and thank goodness I'm not married to a coat-hanger.

1984 novel compared to our modern society: Part V

- Big Brother is Watching You
-- Google (search, Google earth, etc.)
-- Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion
-- Public Records Databases
-- Spyware, malware, and whatever thing they'll come up with next
-- ISPs
-- Cameras on street lights
-- Cellphone companies tracking your location

- Anti-Sex League
-- Strict rules on sexual behavior for students at religious schools, hoping to turn that energy into recruiting fervor
-- Gays and lesbians describing heterosexual married couples as "breeders"

- The first time Winston and Julia meet with O'Brien
-- University teacher influencing students to see the "Realities" of the world
-- Religious leader indoctrinating followers
-- Politician changing his message for a different audience
-- The gullible public believing what they are told without thinking
-- John Q. Citizen trusting the father-figure/person with power to take care of them.
-- Believing a single official can influence big government.
-- Sacrifice, death ... as a political movement. Reminiscent of suicide bombing.
-- Mr. Smith Goes to Washington