5 unexpected inches of snow overnight and no power until 1:00 pm will make you cranky. I wish for you warmth, electriciy and a clear drive to your destination!

Here in NC we only get 3-4 snows per winter, so it's a big deal to us in the South. The further south you go, the bigger an event it is and usually, the less they are equipped to handle it. When we have more than our usual share, we don't have enough salt or chat or whatever to deal with it.

Farther North you probably have 20 or more snows per winter. You're more prepared, you have more snow skills. So your roads get cleared more quickly, I'd imagine. When I lived in Atlanta it was absurd. I really believe it's in the Atlanta Citizen Handbook to stop and park your vehicle at the first sign of snow. The roads were littered with abandoned cars. We just headed to the closest bar, tossed back a few, and partied til the snow melt.

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E

ven the near absence of checks and balances is not enough for W.

Not content with controlling the White House, Congress, the Supreme Court and a good chunk of the Fourth Estate, he goes to even more ludicrous lengths to avoid being challenged.

The White House wants its Republican allies in the Senate to stamp out the filibuster, one of the few weapons the handcuffed Democrats have left. They want to invoke the so-called nuclear option and get rid of the 150-year-old tradition in order to ram through more right-wing judges.

Mr. Bush and Condi Rice strut in their speeches - the secretary of state also strutted in Wiesbaden in her foxy "Matrix"-dominatrix black leather stiletto boots - but they shy away from taking questions from the public unless they get to vet the questions and audiences in advance.

Administration officials went so far as to cancel a town hall meeting during Mr. Bush's visit to Germany last week after deciding an unscripted setting would be too risky, opting for a round-table talk in Mainz with preselected Germans and Americans.

The president loves democracy - as long as democracy means he's always right.

I love how MoDo is always able to sum up our political climate and call the administration on every nefarious move. That's why she's sitting in her NYT office and I see squirrels outside my window.

[More...]

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The Vomitus Maximus Museum

View R S Connett's original artwork. Paintings, drawings, animation and more. The closer you look at his larger, detailed pieces, the better it gets. Also listed on eBay


YES! Magazine's - The 'How Amy Goodman created Democracy Now' story is worthwhile.

saturday morning me//
what a glorious day!/coffee #2/oj/toast/
vitamins/nexium/(mondo spliff,rum & sopers)/
skyler had a sleepover..yawn/
time to make pancakes for 4 hungry teens/
Listening: jeff buckley/
so how about you?/

Far from the twisted reach of crazy sorrow.

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If all goes according to plan, a select group of cocaine addicts could be lining up in Miami this April for a chance to get quickly and painlessly clean. Thanks to an anonymous donor, neurologist Deborah Mash can resume clinical studies of ibogaine--the drug that could be the best anti-drug the CIA never told you about. Ibogaine's history began in the 60's in New York, where college student and self-described recreational heroin user Howard Lotsof gets freebie capsules of ibogaine from a chemist friend cleaning out his freezer. Lotsof takes one for the hell of it. To his amazement, when he comes down his brain is washed clean of desire for any drug whatsoever. He hands out capsules to friends and soon realizes he is sitting on a gold mine.

Buy Blue's current campaign is about Progressive car insurance. I checked their rates online about 3 years ago and they were they same as my State Farm insurance, but I'm going to check it again. And see who Buy Blue says State Farm supports while I'm at it.

Pimpzilla, Mozilla Firefox Theme. See Screenshot

Pharmacotherapy or Neurocops? Internal Policing and the Future of the Drug War. Would you vaccinate your child against drugs? more...

Today is the last day of some of your life.

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Group Art Exhibition - Eye of the Illuminati at the Copro Nason Gallery, features a nice group of artists; many I've never heard of before and the usual suspects. This is a new picture by Naoto Hattori.

Nothing is true and all is permitted

more...

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Psychedelic medicine: Mind bending, health giving
JOHN HALPERN clearly remembers what made him change his mind about psychedelic drugs. It was the early 1990s and the young medical student at a hospital in Brooklyn, New York, was getting frustrated that he could not do more to help the alcoholics and addicts in his care. He sounded off to an older psychiatrist, who mentioned that LSD and related drugs had once been considered promising treatments for addiction. "I was so fascinated that I did all this research," Halpern recalls. "I was reading all these papers from the 60s and going, whoa, wait a minute! How come nobody's talking about this?"

More than a decade later, Halpern is now an associate director of substance abuse research at Harvard University's McLean Hospital and is at the forefront of a revival of research into psychedelic medicine. He recently received approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to give late-stage cancer patients the psychedelic drug MDMA, also known as ecstasy. He is also laying the groundwork for testing LSD as a treatment for dreaded super-migraines known as cluster headaches.

Say, I wonder if my doc would be open to some psychedelic therapy? My own personal psychedelic therapy doesn't seem to help my cluster (fucking) headaches one damn bit.

(link via mousemusings via New Scientist)

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Visionary Art
If you remember the website, Virtual Om, Larry Carlson, the man behind that site can now be found at LarryCarlson.com. Still some of the best mind warping multimedia around.

I can't decide if the lady in the painting is feeling mighty fine or if she's feeling like shit.

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{The Secret Genocide Archive}
"Photos don't normally appear on this page, declared Nicholas Kristof, but it's time for all of us to look squarely at the victims of our indifference."

He's referring to the atrocities in Darfur. And until we can all become aware of the velocity of this tragedy, the genocide will continue. It's just so sad. And somehow writing and calling our elected officials doesn't feel like enough. more...

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He probably planned his suicide well in advance because of his declining health, the family's spokesman said Wednesday.

"I think he made a conscious decision that he had an incredible run of 67 years, lived the way he wanted to, and wasn't going to suffer the indignities of old age," Brinkley said in a telephone interview from Aspen. "He was not going to let anybody dictate how he was going to die." more...

Goodbyes to Hunter
**Rolling Stone Magazine: most excellent article by Hunter written after the Bush-Kerry debates, and may have been his last article... "Four more years of George Bush will be like four more years of syphilis," the famed author said yesterday at a hastily called press conference near his home in Woody Creek, Colorado. "Only a fool or a sucker would vote for a dangerous loser like Bush," Dr. Thompson warned. "He hates everything we stand for, and he knows we will vote against him in November." more

** SFGate's Mark Morford: "I am not nearly stoned enough. I should at this moment have, at the very least, roughly four Vicodin
and three Valium and two giant nuggets of phenobarbital and a few whippets and a canister of ether and a tab of blotter acid and half an ounce of premium hash and a nice snifter of gin playing naked volleyball in my addled brain right now to properly pay homage to the late great Dr. Hunter S. Thompson, which is why I ain't touching this HST legacy thing with a 10-foot line of premium Colombian blow." more...

** Tom Wolfe on HST: ..."wrote in a form that was part journalism and part personal memoir admixed with powers of wild invention, and wilder rhetoric inspired by the bizarre exuberance of a young civilization." more

** Ralph Steadman: "He told me 25 years ago that he would feel real trapped if he didn't know that he could commit suicide at any moment. I don't know if that is brave or stupid or what, but it was inevitable."

** ESPN's Page 2: "Every correspondence with the Good Doctor -- be it a phone call, a voicemail or one of his infamous FAXes -- was an adventure waiting to be lived. Many of them were worth saving, so that co-workers and friends could live them as well. more...

** William Rivers Pitt: "With Thompson's suicide, journalism lost a deeply flawed and unconventional practitioner – but one who always sought the truth with his highball." more

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Messenger of the Law of Time, José Arguelles aka Valum Votan, will be on Virato's new radio show, The Revolution, this coming Saturday, Feb 26, to speak about Nature's Calendar and more.

Perhaps best known for his role in initiating the world famous Harmonic Convergence global peace meditation of August 16-17, 1987, José Argüelles was also one of the originators of the Earth Day concept and is recognized as the “father of the Whole Earth Festival,” now in its 33rd year at Davis, California.

Written a book? Have something to contribute? Virato is always looking for interesting guests to phone interview during his 10:00 am to 12:00 noon programs and I know of several interesting EBC readers that may be perfect candidates. Visit the website and see if it works for you.

Today's Webtrail: The 13Moon website has a Galactic Signature, or date decoder, that's kinda fun. Click over to the Planet Art Network. And finally, to the cosmic music page, to hear Musicians of the New Time.

Today: 2-22-2005
Moon 8 Day 16. White Lunar Dog
Week: 31 of 52 week year

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Want to know what people are saying about the Bush visit to Brussels? Check out this updated website that tracks what weblogs here and abroad are saying. Updated every 15 minutes. - Live Internet Coverage

Scott Ritter says US attack on Iran planned for June The controversial Mr Ritter's been right before.
(seen @ what really happened)

Bush inhaled.

Ecstacy trials for Iraq combat stress - American soldiers traumatised by fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan are to be offered the drug ecstasy to help free them of flashbacks and recurring nightmares.

The US food and drug administration has given the go-ahead for the soldiers to be included in an experiment to see if MDMA, the active ingredient in ecstasy, can treat post-traumatic stress disorder. I had to read this article twice and double check the url. At first, with so much fake news lately, I wasn't sure if someone was trying to riff me or not. more...

The Generator Blog seen @ Gaiagal's and presented by Presurfer.

Wet Willies, wedgies ruled acceptable under Geneva Conventions.

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Great Gonzo Fires His Last Shot
Hunter S. Thompson, legendary author, political commentator and "gonzo" journalist, died Sunday night after shooting himself in the head with a handgun at his home in Woody Creek.

"The Edge... there is no honest way to explain it because the only people who really know where it is are the ones who have gone over."
-Hunter S. Thompson 1937-2005

I suppose we should be glad he stayed around for his 67 years. Although I never expected him to go gently into the good night, I had hoped to read much more from him before he passed. Thanks for the ride. more...

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The Philadelphia Museum of Art's retrospective of the megalomaniacal Surrealist painter Salvador Dali is a visual and psychic marathon. See seven of his paintings on the Slideshow.

Ex-Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones has been recruited by Foo Fighters to play keyboards and mandolin on the forthcoming double album, which is due out in June. "That guy is like royalty but he was so down to earth," Foo Fighters guitarist Chris Shiflett reports in a recent online post. "We managed to sneak in a few Zeppelin trivia questions and he even riffed 'Kashmir' on the Mellotron for a minute."

The only road back to reality may be to fight fake news with fake news. "...White House propaganda machine that grows curiouser by the day..." Frank Rich piece on Jeff Gannon/Jim Guckert

saturday morning me//
coffee #3/advil #4/almost over 24hr migraine/
bleery-eyed/scarey-haired/don't fuck wit me/
listening: san francisco nights by eric burdon/
better hop into the shower/
so how about you?/

Insert pretentious blog quote here.

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{Hating On The US - #659}
Greenpeace activists, supporters, and volunteers around the world celebrate the coming into force of the Kyoto Protocol yesterday. This landmark UN treaty on global warming, took effect after an agonising gestation, supported by 141 nations but boycotted by the world's biggest polluter, the United States. The US pulled out in 2001 when President Bush said that Kyoto was too costly. An historic first step, to be sure, and it only requires a 5.2% reduction in emissions by 2008-2012. Obviously, the US is pandering to their polluters instead of their people. see demonstations...; 10 Arrested After Protestors Storm IPE Trading Floor.

{Literature} - A Nation Of Rebels: Why Counterculture Became Consumer Culture. Does counterculture=consumer culture? The success of viral marketing which is currently all over the place.

{Pharmaceuticals} - 2C-B. This party drug comes with disclaimer. Many so-called designer drugs fall under the umbrella term of "ecstacy" when they may be something entirely different. more...

{Art}Ronnie Wood (Rolling Stones) has a new art showing. These are much better than the older works I've seen of his. more... Particularly this Dylan painting.

{Condoms} - Musical Condoms - Different lovemaking positions determine what tune is played by the condom, which also works like a normal contraceptive.

Paul Krassner's Wrapping It For Christ -"...I'd buy other stuff to avoid being embarrassed. "I'd like a Batman comic book, and this candy bar-(whispering) and a pack of prophylactics..." more...

{Film} - Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy Trailer @ Amazon

Don't squat with your spurs on.

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Is the Bush administration laying the groundwork for another invasion? Who with? Some may want to go into Iran; others into North Korea. The US military is already over there in position. All they have to do is follow their "2002 Path To Iraq War" syllabus and turn up the fear.

1. The media is your friend. Some more than others. Leak, leak, leak. Then sit back and gauge public opinion.

2. Show graphics of hypotheticals. Maps of North Korea in relation to Hawaii, Alaska, and the west coast of the US. Overhead maps of Iran showing nuclear facilities. Interview generals and admirals and discuss the possibilities of a strike with worst-case scenario results.

3. Watch the polls and see if another invasion can withstand UN dissection, allied favor, and public scrutiny. May eventually send inspectors into Iran and try and get China and Japan to put the screws to North Korea for us.

Now entering Phase II in the Axis Of Evil agenda. Be afraid. Not of North Korea or Iran or any other nations that hate us. Be afraid of the US need to police the world.

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{Caution: Real Life Ahead}
:: I'm sitting here alone on a Saturday night, blogging by candlelight. Skyler's gone out for the evening and "Simon" left out with his guitar to pick with friends. I'll read some nice blogs and watch the Duke-Maryland game.

:: The Error Message Generator could kill a few hours at work.

:: Speaking of work, I saw a link at Jenn's about someone getting fired for blogging about her job on their weblog. She wasn't speaking very highly of the place. The working bloggers I visit with seldom talk about their job on their website unless it's to say that they had a day off, or it's time for their review, or something equally as matter-of-fact. Management knows you surf on the job and read your email. Believe it. But they can't fire one without firing the whole company. You just have to use your head.

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:: Mysterious lost drumming tracks believed to be recordings made by tragic LED ZEPPELIN drummer John Bonham have appeared on the internet. Web site www.disndat.info/bonham features 23 tracks reportedly recorded by Bonham and is offering them to fans as streaming audio and MP3s. Best. drummer. ever. I was fortunate enough to see him a few times live. Link

:: Janis Joplin will be honored with Lifetime Achievement Awards at a ceremony Saturday in Los Angeles. Veteran rocker Melissa Etheridge and teen R&B sensation Joss Stone will team up Sunday at the Grammys to perform a tribute to Joplin. I'm underwhelmed. Melissa Ethridge is to Janis Joplin as Michael Jackson is to Jimi Hendrix. Link

saturday morning me//
hazelnutted java #2/strawberry-banana smoothie/
ashes on my keyboard & on my chest/
jeans/Duke sweatshirt/houseshoes/
i still miss my husband...will my aim ever improve?/
it's weird, detective, but he fell on all those bullets/
listening: not even jail by interpol/
so how about you?/

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Congratulations, Dickheads - To the responsible parties that threw the baby out of the car window, you win my Dickhead Award. Although my automatic response was to get the parents side of it also, I really can't imagine a good reason for baby tossing. Unless it was on fire and you were throwing it... Nope. No good reason for baby tossing. more...

**3:24pm - Edited to add: Now it seems the good samaritan who "found" the baby was actually the baby's mother. And it wasn't thrown out of the car afterall. She can be a little "d" dickhead since she's so troubled. more...

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{Sudie's Web Trail} - rated R today

:: Pagan Moss has a nice writeup in the Seattle Weekly this week.



:: North Korea reveals that they have nuclear weapons. Later, we'll try to get the Pope to admit he's Catholic and authenticate that a bear....well, you know.



:: WTF? Nature lovers take it literally NSFW (seen @ The Wildhunt Blog)



:: The annual Pazz & Jop is interesting to read the different music critics' favorites. (Christgau et al.) Half-assed cheesy with the pre-requisite top40, but critic cred salvaged with the inclusion of some actual talent.



:: Naked, probably NSFW and Not Naked - Galleries of breathtaking beauty by photographer, Joris Van Daele.



:: Hey, Johnny B: Will try and post my answers to your music meme soon - Johnny Bacardi. I've had pc problems since Saturday and just getting back online.



Today's Quote

If I can't dance, I don't want to be part of your revolution. ~Emma Goldman



Spreading bloglove far and wide --- xoxo

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In her new book, Lux Artillery, San Francisco poet and writer Zora Von Burden profiles women with exceptional lives and exceptional talents through their own words.



These women are the light bearers in the darkness, passionately carrying burning torches through the Underground, each for their own message and medium. These women are married to the world, to changing the face of global culture, who we are and how we think about ourselves and society. (Zora has been a critical part of the San Francisco underground scene for nearly 20 years. Her work is available in City Lights Bookstore and she writes for the SF Herald.) more...

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Outcry Prompts Harvard President to Address Women's Advancement in Science - Feminists can claim a victory at Harvard. more...



saturday morning me//

½ wheat bagel with brie/red grapes/

hazelnut coffee #2/roll yer own #1/

assorted vitamins/visine/pepcid/

white sweats/tennis shoes/ponytail/

have an appt with Miss Clairol/

so how about you?/

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:: I've vacillated between tears and rage today after finding out another childhood friend died last night from Hepatitis C. Too many people have left far too soon. It's going to get worse before it gets better.



:: Why do they act as if we have a choice in whether the Social Security raping, restructuring will pass or not? Or whether or not Gonzales or anybody else will pass scrutiny? The fox (Bush admin) makes rules for the henhouse (everybody else). And will for the next four years. Bush politics make me so fucking weary anymore. I'd rather discuss anal warts.



:: Jype - handy program that lets you and others view the same web page together.



:: I gotchur freedom righ-cheer. Fargo City Commissioner Linda Coates is among more than 40 area residents included on a list of people barred from attending President Bush's speech today in Fargo. more...

(thanks to maru)



:: {Today's Quote}

The road of excess leads to the palace of wisdom.

--William Blake. Then I'm one smart motherfucker.



Today's post brought to you by Susan & the Buzzkills; with Bob Bringdown on guitar, Billy Bummer on lead vocals.

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McNipple (NSFW) - Because probably half of my lovely visitors are surfing from work, I'll just give you the URL and let you peek when you can. http://www.caseyweldon.com/home/mcnipple.jpg

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:: Susun Weed's Herbal eZine February Issue is online and features, Your Intutive Dreams (Sherry Healy), The Goddess Speaks (Christine Thomas ), Be Your Own Herbal Expert (Susun Weed), Wise Woman Wisdom (Shaman Elder Maggie Wahls), and more. Her website is jammed full of everything you ever needed to know about herbs. Well, almost.

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:: 42 rare Dylan photos from 1964 taken in Woodstock, NY, and NY are currently on display. Originally shot for LOOK magazine, the magazine killed the story, stating that Mr. Dylan was "too scruffy for a family magazine". Gallery



:: Dates have been announced for the previously reported Cream reunion at London's Royal Albert Hall. The legendary trio -- singer-guitarist Eric Clapton, singer-bassist Jack Bruce and drummer Ginger Baker -- will perform four concerts at the venue, on May 2-3, 5-6. Billboard.com



:: {Today's Quote}

"We need to fight the Bush administration's policies. We have a document called the Declaration of Independence, which is too hot for them to handle. It counsels us to be vigilant." --Patti Smith

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The worldwide Freecycle Network is made up of many individual groups across the globe. It's a grassroots movement of people who are giving (& getting) stuff for free in their own towns.



Speeding up Firefox the right way. Link His info is more suited to all connections and computer speed. (via: del.icio.us)

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