Weeyabuggaman - From the mutha land

A humorous conversion of English to Geordie, a dialect of Northumbria, North East England

Interesting Combination

According to this story: Yahoo! News - 50 Cent, Foo Fighters & Corea Join Grammys Lineup, Chick Corea, the awesome jazz keyboardist, will be performing at the Grammys with Foo Fighters.

Being a fan of both Jazz and Rock, I'm intrigued by the potential of what could come out of this. I have several Chick Corea albums. He is quite an innovator. He's played everything from jazz-rock, what you'd call "traditional" acoustic jazz, wild and crazy jazz to jazz-classical with orchestras. I don't know Foo Fighters very well, but this should be interesting.

So tune in on Feb 8 to the live broadcast on CBS.

UFO sighting in the Ares Vallis?

Is there extra-martian life? New evidence that there may be intelligent life on Earth: Rancher Reports Flying Saucer Crashes In Ares Vallis

(Or perhaps not)

The Martians are at it again :)

Well, I think it must be pretty obvious by now that Mars is inhabited and that they don't want us knowing what they are up to. I mean, can you honestly believe that our Earth scientists are so inept that they can't land a vehicle on Mars and successfully drive it around for a few weeks? What is this, the 4th failure in a row? Rather than explaining it by doubting our brave, bold and brilliant Scientists let's look at the more obvious explanation: the Martians are shooting the space craft down and if that fails they are sneaking up on the rover and snapping its antennas (or should that be antennae?)

Of course there could be another explanation for so many failures, perhaps they are using a Microsoft operating system.

NASA Scrambles to Diagnose Rover Signal Problems

Music Piracy - Another Round in the War

I think Verizon's fight to prevent the RIAA from getting the names of copyright pirates was mainly a PR affair. They want to be able to say they only give out the names when their arm is twisted and really they are on their users' side. I think the other ISPs are happy with this too because they can claim the same thing. So now that little PR matter is solved the RIAA is back and it looks like the ISPs efforts will result in the song thieves having to pay more to the RIAA to cover the extra costs. Serves 'em right.

Music Industry Sues Hundreds Over Piracy

Great Review of a Great Movie

I saw Seabuscuit when it was in theaters and thought it was a magnificent film. Well you can read a great review of it that contains more about the real Seabuscuit and the people around him: Seabuscuit.

Three Ring Circus

I sometimes despair for our civilization. When radio and TV programs are preempted so we can be presented with the spectacle of Michael Jackson going to his arraignment on charges of child molestation surrounded by his adoring fans, I wonder if we actually have or ever did have a civilization.

Great Band - Within Temptation

If you liked the band Renaissance and the incredible voice of Annie Haslam then you might want to check out Within Temptation. I just heard a track from their Mother Earth album. The lead vocalist has a voice very like Annie Haslam's - beautiful and strong. The music is rather heavier than Renaissance, but uses a lot of orchestration.

Cool Site - Astronomy Picture of the Day

Every day you get a new picture. My favorites are of galaxies, nebulas, stars and planets but sometimes they have terrestrial photos that are breathtaking. Anyway, check it out:

Astronomy Picture of the Day

My First Debt in the New Year

On Dec 31st I said I'd tell you how to achieve the 2nd most popular New Year Resolution: Get out of debt. Then I put myself in debt by not telling you how to do it. Well, now is my chance to pay off this debt:

1. The Richest Man in Babylon by George S. Clason.
This is the classic book on not only how to get out of debt but also how to invest, handle your finances and be financially successful. It contains a series of stories set in ancient Babylon, so you get entertained while being educated.

2. The Financial Success Course based on the works of L. Ron Hubbard.
This is an inexpensive course that anyone can do. It teaches you practical principles and methods you can use to achieve financial success. I did this course several years ago and now I'm rich and famous :), well maybe not quite that, but I am doing very well financially, which is what the course is all about.

Libel Laws in the US are a Joke

To me if you have freedom of speech then you also have responsibility of speech. You can't just publish whatever you want without taking responsibility for the consequences. I have seen people and organizations attacked via outright lies published in newspapers and magazines and the media outlets get away with it because the target of their venom can't prove they published either with "malice" or "reckless disregard for the truth". Now how the hell are you supposed to prove either of those? The reporter just has to say "I published it in the public interest." or "I was given the information by a confidential source I considered reliable."

Some recent cases demonstrate the need for reform in this area: Magazine Ordered to Reveal Its Sources.

In libel cases I think the requirement that the target of the lies has to prove the publisher published either with malice or reckless disregard for the truth, should be thrown out and the publisher should be required to state the sources of defamatory accusations and if they don't then they have to prove what was published is true, i.e., the burden of proof is on the publisher, not on the target of the defamation.

The media and anyone else who publishes (e.g., we bloggers) needs to take far more responsibility for what they say than they currently do.

Great Quote to start the New Year

I found this in a card I received for the holidays and I thought it very appropriate for the new year:

"There's more to life than living.
Just as there's more to thought than thinking.
Life is a tapestry fashioned out of dreams."
    -- L. Ron Hubbard

Sweet dreams in 2004!