Seasons will pass you by......

More than a few folks here in the Eastern US have been lamenting the absence of winter. "Boo-hoo! Where's the snow?" Answer: In Colorado. Get on I-70 West and drive until a helicopter drops a bale of hay on your car. The other day, I saw a robin outside my office building. It was dead. I know there's a big-ass metaphor to be drawn from this observation, but it would inevitably involve a discussion of global warming, which would just depress me to no end, so I'll leave the metaphorin' to others so inclined. We were warned back in 1972: Seasons will pass us by. So it was written, so it came to be.

Tom Watson has a nice post up regarding the lack of blog mojo that affects all of us from time to time. Ping-ponging electrons back 'n' forth through the blogoshpere (sic) does take on a masturbatory quality on occasion. I guess we need to remind ourselves that masturbation is both healthy and fun, which is what attracted most of us to the practice in the first place.

Lieutenant Ehren Watada of the United States Army isn't jerking off; he's fully engaged. (Photo by televiseus.) He believes that the invasion and occupation of Iraq is a criminal act, and he has declined orders to participate in said occupation. See, e.g., Nuremburg. Quoting from the linked article by Lawrence Mosqueda at Counterpunch:

As Hamilton Action for Social Change has noted "Under the Nuremberg Principles, you have an obligation NOT to follow the orders of leaders who are preparing crimes against peace and crimes against humanity. We are all bound by what U.S. Chief Prosecutor Robert K. Jackson declared in 1948: [T]he very essence of the [Nuremberg] Charter is that individuals have intentional duties which transcend the national obligations of obedience imposed by the individual state." At the Tokyo War Crimes trial, it was further declared "[A]nyone with knowledge of illegal activity and an opportunity to do something about it is a potential criminal under international law unless the person takes affirmative measures to prevent commission of the crimes."

Lt. Watada's court martial is scheduled to begin February 5, 2007. His friends and family have a website where you can learn more, sign a petition, etc.

Fred Wickham at Bullseye Rooster has tagged me with the meme requiring me to grab the nearest book, turn to page 123, and reveal sentences 6-8. OK, here goes. The book is "Three From the 87th", a collection of police procedural novellas by Ed McBain. And the sentences are:

"Do you have a lot of black silk blouses bought at a store called the Monkey Wrench?"

"Well, no, but a person could get confused about her clothes. I mean, it's a black silk blouse, it could be any black silk blouse."

Fred is about to have an operation, so you might stop by and wish him well.

And for what it's worth, my wild-card round predictions are: Indy over KC, Seattle over Dallas, NE over NYJ, and The Iggles over the Jints. Feel free to disagree, or just feel free. And while you're feeling free, feel free to visit Silly Humansand Calm Before the Sand, the latest adds to the blogroll.....