[kamus]

Annie, I'm looking forward to meeting you and everyone else on this forum too!
BTW, I heard the Cadburys weren't too great there- that news certainly gave us some pause- almost a deal breaker:uhoh

Seems like a golden marketing opportunity for someone who could guarantee "Cadbury's, like you remember it!"

-Dave

[Annierobrigado]

maybe an import brokerage company that only imports cadbury's. but actually the cadbury's available here in manila are manufactured (or is it repacked?) in malaysia. so i might have a different taste for it. :mrgreen:

do you know if there are m&ms and nestle crunch or hersheys in NZ?

i definitely will call you up for a cuppa. (when we get there, that is :laugh )

annie

[veronica]

yep they have Nestle and some Hershey chocolate here and Galaxy too.

[coastcat]

Obviously we'll need to have a chocolate tasting party one of these days! I'm fond of the US version of Kit Kat bars, but the version sold in Canada (which might be UK in origin, or at least in recipe) tastes different. It's sweeter, almost too sweet for me.

I don't know about Hershey's or Mars products in NZ, but Nestle makes an M&M-like candy called Smarties (or at least they're called that in Canada). I just sent an e-mail to Mars inquiring about their product availability in NZ. Life without Twix and Milky Way bars... that would be rough. :no


(hey, the dancing banana is back! :raebanana )

[Diny]

Hey folks

I live about a 45 min drive away from 'Cadbury World' - it's the visitor centre that's attached to the 'original' Cadbury factory - it's where it all started. As you leave the visitor centre there's a factory shop which sells everything on the Cadbury product list. You can also get big boxes of 'mis-shapes' - you know - the sweeties that come off the production line looking all twisted and kinda 'wrong'. They are dirt cheap but still chocolate. What say I go and buy a few boxes, put them in my container and get them shipped over, then when they arrive we can have a chocolate party.

Sounds like a damn good plan to me. Then everybody who 'thinks' they've tasted the real Cadbury chocolate actually 'will' be able to taste it.

Kamus you are right - the NZ version of Cadbury's chocolate is a flamin' insult !!! Even my very patriotic Kiwi Pakeha Boy agrees that it falls the wrong side of adequate.

Diny

[veronica]

umm. it gets very hot in the containers.. you may end up with a solid block.

[Diny]

Oh darn it ...... I'll just have to eat it all this end then - can't risk spoiling it.

Diny

[jesselyn]

>>>will vote for a chocolate party :oops: :mrgreen: :nice1

jes :angel

[drumminj]

I don't know about Hershey's or Mars products in NZ, but Nestle makes an M&M-like candy called Smarties (or at least they're called that in Canada). I just sent an e-mail to Mars inquiring about their product availability in NZ. Life without Twix and Milky Way bars... that would be rough. :no

You know, I often get a craving for those things - Twix, Milky Way, Snickers. But on the first bite, I'm quite disappointed. I honestly don't think I'll miss the candy so much. If it doesn't taste good, that'll just stop me from even buying it! Living in a cube farm is rough enough. Eating chocolate while sitting here all day just makes me more squishy.

Though, I'm sure NZ has it's own good sweets. And they better not be called "meat pies". Ugh.


(hey, the dancing banana is back! :raebanana )

Run for the hills! :exit

J

[coastcat]

I don't know about Hershey's or Mars products in NZ, but Nestle makes an M&M-like candy called Smarties (or at least they're called that in Canada). I just sent an e-mail to Mars inquiring about their product availability in NZ. Life without Twix and Milky Way bars... that would be rough. :no

You know, I often get a craving for those things - Twix, Milky Way, Snickers. But on the first bite, I'm quite disappointed.

Okay, you take one bite, and I'll take the rest of the bar off your hands. :laugh We plan to sample NZ's snack delights on our scouting trip, and I hope we can find adequate substitutes for my husband's preferred treats (I'm more adaptable, and heck, I can make my own chocolate goodies if necessary).

[drumminj]

coastcat - I don't know if you've ever had these before, but I know they have them in NZ: TimTam's. MMmm....chocolatey goodness. I think they're actually a UK thing, and you *can* get them in the US in places.

There are also these hard cookies that are good. I forget what they are called, but our guide for our kayaking trip fed them to us when we stopped for "breakfast" on the drive from Te Anau to Milford. I'll see if my friend remembers the name of them.

J

Oh, just give me your address and I'll send you some partially-eaten candy bars.

[Raeven]

Hi, J,

<biting lip> My name is Rae and I am a Tim Tam addict.

I don't know if they are available in the UK, but they originated in Australia. Fortunately, they are widely available in NZ, too!! We can get them here in the USA at the Down Under Shop, but they cost one's first born male child. Mine only cried a little when I traded him.

My favo(u)rite British treat is Hob Nobs -- our Cost Plus World Market just started stocking them -- yayy!!

But Tim Tams rule, and my stepdaughter won my heart by shipping over cartons of them for Stephen's birthday!!

Happy tamming, Rae :nice1

[Dave & Sandra]

Annie

I've demolished a large bag of peanut M&M's since yesterday and I also saw Hershey's kisses in the supermarket. :raebanana

Sandra

[kamus]

Finally, we have found an issue that eclipses whatever passions were inflamed by those boring discussions of Politics, Culture or Religion- sweets!

We may trivially disagree on the particular brands we favour, but we can take heart that we have discoverd the one issue that mankind can unite behind: our mutual addiction to sugar!

It only took 160 posts or so to figure it out, but now we can go forth and spread the news:

Mankind is finally of one mind about something!

:cheers

-Dave :typing

Love the new emoticons- but this being a NZ site, shouldn't we have some sort of sheep themed emoticon (for sheepish, naturally!) :nice1

Here's a public domain sheep I found that we could add:http://www.allemoticons.com/Animals/sheep.gif

anyone out there to back me up on this?

[Annierobrigado]

Annie

I've demolished a large bag of peanut M&M's since yesterday and I also saw Hershey's kisses in the supermarket. :raebanana

Sandra


aargh! now you got me craving for some! (how much are the m&ms?)

i am now at peace
:angel

annie

[coastcat]

Annie

I've demolished a large bag of peanut M&M's since yesterday and I also saw Hershey's kisses in the supermarket. :raebanana

Sandra

Hershey's Kisses... oh please let it be possible... are the Hershey's Kisses With Caramel available as well? Occasionally we'll buy a bag of them. Only occasionally - because that entire bag is demolished by the end of the evening. These things are seriously addictive.

[Annierobrigado]

hello coastcat

you can have all the caramel kisses in nz! don't say though that you love also cookies and cream?!? race you to the aisle in the supermarket for that! ;)

chocolatey kisses to you

annie

[coastcat]

hello coastcat

you can have all the caramel kisses in nz! don't say though that you love also cookies and cream?!? race you to the aisle in the supermarket for that! ;)

chocolatey kisses to you

annie

Cookies and cream? There are Cookies and Cream Kisses?

:raebanana :raebanana :raebanana :raebanana :raebanana :raebanana

Life is wonderful, isn't it?

[Annierobrigado]

yup! the wrappings colored blue and silver stripes. yumyum!

there's none in the states?

annie

[coastcat]

yup! the wrappings colored blue and silver stripes. yumyum!

there's none in the states?

annie

I haven't seen it here, nor is it listed as a flavor on Hershey's website. But oh my, there are other flavors available that I haven't seen yet, like chocolate mint (I hate chocolate mint, but my husband and father both like it a lot), double fudge, dulce de leche, and strawberry creme. NZ might never see the dulce de leche, alas. It's a very popular flavor in Latin America, and might only be available here in Latino markets - luckily I live near many Latino markets, and I love dulce de leche...

[Annierobrigado]

That sounds delish too, and quite romantic. Besides cookies and creme there's also fudge chocolate (brown wrapping). Of course i like the plain ones best of all, but you can give me any! You can have the caramels.

Somebody has to shop for all the chocolate types and sample everything... and then report back here at once! :laugh :laugh :mrgreen:

annie

[kamus]

I couldn't find a chocolate emoticon so I made this instead. "Chocolate" wouldnt fit on the sign, unfortunately.
http://thia.org/sweets.gif

-Dave

[Annierobrigado]

thank you dave!

so now i owe you a cup of coffee and a cup of hot chocolate! you want churros to go with that? how about donuts?

uh... how do you use the emoticon?

:angel
annie

[kamus]

well, unless one of the moderators includes it on the list here, you'll have to call it from my server: http://www.thia.org/sweets.gif

To you use it in messge, you would copy the URL (above) press the "img" button above, paste the URL (no spaces) then press "close tags" (above)

the sheep gif http://www.thia.org/sheep.gif can be found at http://www.thia.org/sheep.gif

-Dave

[Annierobrigado]

thanks dave, but you own the copyright for that. so just use it, i'll just look! :laugh

(actually, even if i manage to follow your instructions, i might goof and send the emoticon straight into the sheep's gi tract! hee hee! :roll: )

:cheers
annie

[kamus]

Well Ok then! But, just so you know, I'm not claiming any rights-copyright or otherwise for my little doodle (it's based on another emoticon anyway) and hereby grant it into the public domain.

I'll continue my search for an appropriate chocolate based emoticon to patch up this disturbing gap in our emoticon arsenal.

-Dave

[kamus]

I found yet another reason to quit the US this week. (in a shocking return to the theme of this thread)

One of the things I do is write Classical Music and I've had a few commissions over the years. The latest was from the Strathmore Arts Center here in the Washington DC area. They asked me to write a whimsical piece related to the massive invasion of Cicadas we had this year and I did.

For some odd reason the piece attracted a lot of publicity and was reported throughout the US and also the UK and Japan (which did a TV segment on it). It also attracted the attention of a republican conservative site, who condemned my work as an example of the liberal loons in Washington and the work of a Kerry supporter, which I thought was rather funny considering that I'm not.

This week I found out my piece had created some controversy amongst Christian commentators starting by some guy on a Christian Radio show (Breakpoint "Going Buggy: The Cicada Serenade." ) who cited my work as an example of " the degeneration of art"

"Apparently composer David Kane finds the current cicada invasion inspirational; he's writing a piece for Strathmore Hall Arts Center in Maryland titled, Emergence: The Cicada Serenade. Mark Earley finds fault with the composer's remarks, "I want [the music] to reflect the insect-like character of our lives — this vast rush to get things done before we vanish."
Earley writes: Kane's comment gives me pause. Comparing human beings to large insects is not exactly an uplifting thought. But it is a reflection of just how much our ideas about art have changed over the years ... As our culture lost its focus on God and became more and more humanistic, we moved away from the idea of art as a means of glorifying God and toward the idea of art as an end in itself. But with that shift in focus came a worldview that emphasized pessimism and despair. Judging by Kane's comments, his cicada piece will be a reflection of that nihilistic worldview.

LOL! ROTFLMAO!

On the other hand, on closer analysis, it's not that funny. None of the people who accused me of creating "degenerate" art or of a "nihilistic worldview" bothered to hear my piece or to look at any of my other quotes, many of which stressed the whimsical nature of the piece and the fact that it was written as a tribute to the wonder of nature/creation. Nope instead a summary judgement about my degeneracy was handed down to a growing number of wide eyed Christian fundamentalists without anybody even trying to contact me to "defend" myself.

Years ago I would have just laughed this off as sheer lunacy- I'm still laughing but the lunacy has gotten a tad more dangerous.

The last time I heard terms like "degenerate art" (aside from religious fundamentalists) was from Soviet era Russia usually in connection with sending some hapless writer, dissident, or composer off to the Gulag for a thirty year stretch from which he was unlikely to return.

This hearkens back to an earlier rant I posted where I outlined the dangers of theocracy. Well call me paranoid when I say, that while I don't think it's likely soon, I don't dismiss the possibility that we could have Soviet style repression of the Arts in this country-especially if the erosion of separation of Church and State continues on its merry way.

[drumminj]

Earley writes: Kane's comment gives me pause. Comparing human beings to large insects is not exactly an uplifting thought. But it is a reflection of just how much our ideas about art have changed over the years ... As our culture lost its focus on God and became more and more humanistic, we moved away from the idea of art as a means of glorifying God and toward the idea of art as an end in itself. But with that shift in focus came a worldview that emphasized pessimism and despair. Judging by Kane's comments, his cicada piece will be a reflection of that nihilistic worldview.


That sure got a chuckle out of me. I didn't know art existed soley to glorify God. Damn. It's funny, but quite scary at the same time. People with such a limited world-view have control over my daily life. Why is it I can't secede from this world?

J

[Diny]

I agree, an amusing tale about sheer lunacy - yet with some disturbing undertones.

Diny

[kamus]

Watched the debates last night. I was actually surprised at their relatively substantive nature. Bush looked tense and shellshocked a couple of times but he was not quite the inarticulate moron that he is often made out to be. Both candidates were well prepared, but I have to say that Kerry came out on top. Of course IMHO he has the issues on his side and he made Bush look uncomfortably defensive at times.

On the other hand, these debates were a rorschach test- I trundled over to the FOX news site and saw that 69% of the respondents felt that Bush won. The other sites I checked, CNN, USA Today, ABC News, and CBS News all gave Kerry a healthy margin of victory.

I still detest Kerry, but it made me feel better about having to vote for him in November.

-Dave

What did you guys think?

[Caven]

Hello Kamus ( or should that be Ozzy? :laugh ),

Didn't see the debate, despite it being screened in the UK, but got this newsletter recently which I'd be interested, as a Brit, to hear other Americans' opinions on. It's from Greg Palast's (uncovered the Florida vote scam, works here in UK, mainly for the BBC) site.

Humourously delivered, but from a strong standing point. Text starts:

Mr. Tall and Mr. Small
By Greg Palast

Thursday September 30, 2004

Our President told the debate audience, "You cannot lead if you send mexxed missiges." I certainly hope not.

But that's exactly what we got. You watch our President, the nervous hand-hiding, the compulsive water-glass-fondling, the panicked I-wish-I-had-a-whiskey look, and you think, "My god, this is the guy who's supposed to save us from al Qaeda."

And how are we going to win the War on Terror, Mr. President? "First of all, of course I know Osama bin Laden attacked us. I know that," he said. Well, that's a start, I suppose.

But it doesn't have to stay this way. This is America, home of the brave and where, I remember from school, we could vote for president and the votes would count. So we looked to the tall man next to him to show us the way out.

In Iraq, "We don't have enough troops there," said the tall one. Really, Senator? We should send MORE? Not exactly: Mr. Tall's got a plan to get our troops out. He'll have a big meeting of "allies," and after he talks with them, they will all jump up and volunteer to send THEIR kids to Fallujah. France and Indonesia and Kuwait can't wait to ship in soldiers and extra body bags. Right. We love you, John, but there's no band of Hobbits coming to the rescue -- that's just a movie.

Well, he looked kind of "presidential." But given the line-up includes Nixon, Ford and two Bushes, that's not a big trick.

I'm sorry. I know I'm supposed to stand up and cheer that John Kerry didn't get Gored. In fact, if you look at presidential debates the way the media plays it, as something akin to Olympic figure skating, where you score for the competitor's style, you could say Kerry won.

But I don't feel WE won anything.

I mean, when Jim Lehrer asked how the candidates would make America safe from terrorists, Mr. Tall said he'd hire more firemen. And add more cops. Maybe he thought he was running for mayor.

It was disappointing, but then Mr. Small's answer was downright frightening. We have to "stay on the offensive," and "stay on the offense," and "I repeat, stay on the offense." We have no doubt that Mr. Small can be extraordinarily offensive, but even he can't take his offensiveness to the bad guys if he doesn't know where they are. And on that point, he's clueless.

There were two words I was hoping to hear from Mr. Tall: "Saudi" and "Arabia." Imagine if he laid it on the line, "The terrorists didn't put the hijackings on a credit card, Mr. President. Their Saudi sponsors are fattening on the bloated war-driven price of oil. But you can't touch your buck-buddies in the Gulf, can you, Mr. President?. As Commander-in-Chief, I'd cut'm off at the spigots, beginning with the release of oil from our Strategic Petroleum Reserve. And then I'd seize their fat assets in the USA to compensate the victims of terror attacks."

When Mr. Tall was asked what whoppers the President has told us, surely there was something a bit more memorable than Mr. Small's failing to win over allies for his whacky crusade.

Here's what Mr. Tall said . in my dreams:

* "Beginning in March 2001, your Administration began a series of meetings with oil company executives to map the conquest of Iraq and its oil, a plan Americans would pay for in blood. You originally called this scheme, 'Operation Iraqi Liberation' -- O.I.L. We don't appreciate your little joke, Mr. Small."

* "One month after seizing Baghdad you fired General Jay Garner, the man you put in charge of Iraq, after he called for rapid elections in Najaf; after he refused to impose your plans to sell off Iraq's oil fields. In Najaf, citizens denied ballots, turned to bullets. And then, as General Garner predicted, the seizure of Iraq's assets resulted in the type of war one expects -- when seeking to impose colonial control."

* "Mr. Small, you claim we've given a thousand lives to bring democracy to the Mid-east. But so far, your democracy, Mr. Small, comes down to a puppet prime minister, we've installed in Iraq and a puppet government, the Saudis have installed in Washington."

OK, I can't expect all that in a presidential debate, where the message has to fit through a tube. But still, Mr. Tall could have won my vote with two words. It's the two-word answer John Kerry gave three decades ago when asked the same question -- "How can we get our troops out of a disastrous war?"

Then, the clear-minded, tall young man said, "In ships." Text ends.

Cheers, did he really say "Mexxed missages"?

[kamus]

LOL, Caven, that commentary was pretty much on the money!

Yes, I agree Kerry could have spent the rest of the debate indentifying Bush's penchant for misleading- maybe he's saving them for the other debates. On the other hand, I feel like it's been too little-too late all along in the way the Kerry campaign has failed to capitalize on Bushco's frequent and flagrant political blunders and vulnerabilities.

All in all, the debate was a bit better than many of us feared it would be.

Looking forward to the Vice Presidential debates. With Bobby Boy Scout versus Dr. Evilstein- should be good political theater.

BTW, it did sound like "mexxed missages" but that's just the way he talks!

-Dave

[kamus]

Hey, I just got my third airplane- it says "valued member"
What it really means is "spouts a lot of verbiage"

In any case it looks like one has to spout an extreme amount of verbiage to get another crummy airplane! :wah

150 posts till I'm a "thouroughly good egg"

Who come up with these monickers anyway? If I have to post 150 more messages before I get my next plane why couldn't I be called, upon completion, "Supreme God Of New Zealand Related Missives" or "Grand Poohbah Of Pertinent Posts" or something?

Is that too much to ask?

-Dave

[jesselyn]

Hey, I just got my third airplane- it says "valued member"


wtg! :clap

im trying to earn my plane with "welcome" and "congratulations" :oops:

jes :angel

[jesselyn]

woohoo! :clap finally, i can log out now :oops:
im thoroughly good egg! :yes :mrgreen:
hugs everyone :cheers

jes :angel

[kamus]

Congratulations Jes!

(heh heh)

;)

Dave

[drumminj]

Caven, that is a very interesting commentary. It would be great if an American politician would stand up and say what needs to be said and do what needs to be done. Unfortunately, no one does this in the US since it would be political suicide. And, ya know, political office isn't about doing what's best for the people/country, but rather about being elected.
But I'm not cynical or jaded. Nope. Not one bit.

Re: the debate. It was scary to hear Bush talk about needing to remain on the offensive. I was taken even more aback when Kerry said that he wanted to kill all terrorists. Not find, capture, and bring to justice. But outright kill 'em all. Yee-haw.

J :exit

[cpgrant]

... It would be great if an American politician would stand up and say what needs to be said and do what needs to be done. Unfortunately, no one does this in the US since it would be political suicide...

Just out of mild curiousity... what is it that needs to be said? and what is it that needs to be done?

I'm not meaning to be particularly contentious, but we all love to say that about politicians - that they are afraid to tell the truth... but isn't the responsibility with the voters? if we *know* the truth then why do we vote for people who won't face it?

[drumminj]

Just out of mild curiousity... what is it that needs to be said? and what is it that needs to be done?

I'm not meaning to be particularly contentious, but we all love to say that about politicians - that they are afraid to tell the truth... but isn't the responsibility with the voters? if we *know* the truth then why do we vote for people who won't face it?

I agree with you. The responsibility IS with the voters. But the general public is very short-sighted, in my opinion, and is more likely to vote against a candidate who is teling the truth and wants to act in the best interest of the country *if* those actions meant their lives would be inconvenienced.

What needs to be said? Taxes need to be raised and government programs need to be cut. People need to take more personal responsibility for their own welfare. Even if balancing the budget is in the best interest of the country, no candidate is going to campaign openly about cutting entitlement programs OR raising taxes.

As for voting for people who won't face the truth, I find that at anything but the very local level, you won't find a politician you can vote for who will face it. The know the reaction the general public will have, and thus they don't suggest making such changes. Our options as voters are quite limited.

Of course, this is all my opinion. I'm not an economist, I haven't pored over the federal budget. And I'm making assumptions about the general public and its need for immediate gratification.

J

[cpgrant]

Well, I pretty much agree with everything you say. People are not only shortsighted in their voting but they are also willfully ignorant and greedy.

Taxes do need to be raised (both income and payroll) if we wish to spend as much as we do on military, medicare, and social security. And cutting entitlements would probably make sense, although, I think if you look carefully at the budget, there are far fewer dollars in "entitlements" than you would imagine. If I remember correctly the 4 major expenditures of the federal budget are defense, social security, interest on debt, and medicare and I think those account for 3/4ths of the budget(???). Take the remainder and it gets pretty tough to find much room for slashing expenses... do you cut highway spending? NASA? NIH? education? FAA? homeland security? etc, etc... To quote our fearless leader: "It's a tough job" and I'm not sure there are any particularly simple answers.

But, for me, I'm far less concerned about issues of the Federal Gov't. Or even state/local gov. I'm more concerned with how we live our lives. Is a society of ignorance and greed really the best we can do? I don't think that Americans are all that different from other folks around the world. But to me what's disappointing is that with all of our wealth, you would think that we would be able to transcend the pettiness of simple greed. My Dad was shaking his head the other day... saying "back in the 50's and 60's, after the war, we all thought we had it so good... our own home, a car, food, clothing, education, a TV, a couple weeks vacation, etc. Now, we have three times that wealth - huge houses, monstrous, and numerous cars, multiple phones, TVs in every room, endless supply of affordable meals, quality educations, computers, etc, etc... and yet I think people are much less content than they were 40, 50 years ago". I couldn't agree with him more.

Try and find a politician who will tell us all to stop being so selfish and materialistic, and that we should pay attention to things more important: our families, our friends, our environment, our souls.... Such a politician wouldn't win election as dog catcher.

[kamus]

Another factor in being unable to vote for politicians who will face the truth is, J alluded, the fact that we have to choose, as in this election, between two candidates, neither of whom is comfortable with the Truth.

Actually, IMO Nader comes closest to telling it like it is but he doesn't stand a snowball's chance in hell of being elected. I supported him four years ago in a doomed attempt to support the rise of a viable third party, which this country badly needs, but I will not support him this year.

He lost my support due to his, apparently ego-driven, insistence on running despite the fact that his running increases Bush's reelection chances. That's a selfish decision to make when the potential consequences of reelecting such a dangerous man are so calamitous.

-Dave

[kamus]

My Dad was shaking his head the other day... saying "back in the 50's and 60's, after the war, we all thought we had it so good... our own home, a car, food, clothing, education, a TV, a couple weeks vacation, etc. Now, we have three times that wealth - huge houses, monstrous, and numerous cars, multiple phones, TVs in every room, endless supply of affordable meals, quality educations, computers, etc, etc... and yet I think people are much less content than they were 40, 50 years ago". I couldn't agree with him more.

Try and find a politician who will tell us all to stop being so selfish and materialistic, and that we should pay attention to things more important: our families, our friends, our environment, our souls.... Such a politician wouldn't win election as dog catcher.

Amen, CP and J.

This is not a viewpoint that you hear often (or even at all) in the US. But our failure to heed these issues will cost all of us dearly in the coming years.

As far as the budget goes, my biggest pet peeve is with the Military budget.
51% of our total spending goes to the military (actually I tried to confirm that figure that I obtained, from one source, on the gov't websites and was unable to establish this because none of the gov't websites break down the statistics in such an obvious way-needless to say, whatever the real figure is, it's a lot!) The cold war has been over for some time, but you couldn't tell that by the spending.
I suppose now that we are mired in this bloody catastrophe known as Iraq, we'll have to keep spending. After the war in Afghanistan we should have kept the troops there, stepped up the hunt for Bin Laden, then we should have started to examine the issues we have with the Muslim world, instead of treating every Middle-Easterner as if they were a terrorist.

As much as I deplore the brutal slaughter initiated by Bin Laden, his primary issue was that of the US presence in Saudi Arabia. And instead of re-eamining the dangerous consequences of an imperial seeming occupation of various middle eastern countries perpetuated by a wrong headed US foreign policy ,we chose to bomb stuff and people- ignoring the root cause that produced the terrorists in the first place.

Now as a consequence of our idiotic adventure in Iraq, America will have to deal with a lot more terrorist recruitment than they ever dreamed. America safer? I don't think so.

Incidentally there is an excellent book-a comic book in fact- though don't let that throw you, called Addicted to War (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/190259357X/qid=1096743670/sr=2-1/ref=pd_ka_2_1/104-7007403-1099164) that offers a clear headed analysis and history of the out of control US Military-Industrial Complex and the horrifying consequences- meticulously researched and footnoted. I highly recommend it for those wanting to understand more about America's disastrous foreign policy.

-Dave

[jesselyn]

Congratulations Jes!

(heh heh)


thanks bro... :mrgreen:

jes :angel

[Annierobrigado]

Hey, I just got my third airplane- it says "valued member"
What it really means is "spouts a lot of verbiage"

In any case it looks like one has to spout an extreme amount of verbiage to get another crummy airplane! :wah

150 posts till I'm a "thouroughly good egg"

-Dave


hello dave

you got a plane, great! i'm sure if you send a lot of missiges you won't get mexxed up! ( is the man who said this from the Visayas island in the Philippines? ) :laugh :laugh

you can always cut up your posts into smaller ones... :angel

or make up more of those emoticons :clap

in any case, since we're back to the original thread, you're on your way to your good egg! :P :mrgreen: ;)

is your composition recorded and is it out in the market? i'd love to hear it. my ringing tone on my cellphone is titled "cicada" and it does sound like a quiet night full of stars and cicadas singing. ;)

:cheers
annie

[Lil]

With all this talk of Bush V Kerry, thought you might like this which is doing the rounds at the moment http://atomfilms.shockwave.com/af/content/this_land_af will make you smile.

[kamus]

Annie- thanks for asking, but "Emergence: A Cicada Serenade" although it was recorded, the recording was not to a professional standard. You may have to wait another 17 years to hear it again!

Lil, I've seen it- very funny. Fair and Balanced too! :laugh

Apparently these guys are about to come out with a new one.
It should be good if "This Land" is any indication. Thanks for the link.

You can find all sorts of similar political humour (most of it bashing GWB and co) at:
http://www.bushflash.com check out the one called "Hercubush"
(you'll want a broadband connection for this site)

For a link to the political satire group I perform all over the US with, go to: http://www.capsteps.com They have downloadable free songs online and they take a much more evenhanded approach insofar as they bash both Bush and Kerry.

-Dave

[coastcat]

is your composition recorded and is it out in the market? i'd love to hear it. my ringing tone on my cellphone is titled "cicada" and it does sound like a quiet night full of stars and cicadas singing. ;)


Oh Annie, if you lived here you wouldn't find the cicada song so romantic! The cicadas that Dave wrote about are the 17-year variety. The grubs emerge from the ground, climb to a higher point (like a tree), shed their skins - and poof, we have winged cicadas. They spend the next four weeks or so looking for a mate. How? The males sing. Loudly. Relentlessly. Did I mention loudly? And continuously! The female lay their eggs in tree bark, the eggs hatch, the larvae dig themselves underground and will emerge in 17 years to start the cycle again. There are also 13-year cicadas.

Different broods of cicadas will emerge in different years, and the eastern US just suffered through the emergence of Brood X last May. There were an estimated 100000 per acre (0.4 hectare) in some areas.

These are not attractive creatures. They wouldn't be so bad, I guess, if it weren't for the scary red eyes!

The cicadas were everywhere, millions and millions of them. Just imagine the problems that caused for restaurants with outdoor seating, not to mention all those outdoor June weddings!

Dogs love the taste of cicadas. They're perfectly edible, but dogs have trouble digesting the exoskeleton. Veterinarians were busy this summer.

And once the mating season was over, well, we had millions of dead cicadas everywhere. That was ever so much fun to sweep off the driveway, porch, roof, etc.

I'm not going to miss these critters!

[kamus]

Yep, Coastcat described it perfectly.

One other nasty consequence: the dead cicadas provided a huge food windfall to spiders, resulting in a massive increase in the spider population througout the region. My wife and daughter have been bitten so much that their bites have bites on them :eek

I did find their song beautiful however, and what started out as a professional response to an external commission gave way to actual inspiration stimulated by their unique presence. Yes, they were a pain, but they were also awe inspiring to me.

-Dave

[coastcat]

One other nasty consequence: the dead cicadas provided a huge food windfall to spiders, resulting in a massive increase in the spider population througout the region. My wife and daughter have been bitten so much that their bites have bites on them

Ah, so that explains why we've been living in Charlotte's Web for the past few months! Usually we're invaded by crickets in the summer. This year, it's been spiders everywhere. Not sure which is worse, finding a cricket perched on the soap dish in the shower or settling down to watch television and finding a huge scary-looking spider perched on the sofa arm. :eek

[drumminj]

Well, back to the original topic here. Not that there's any shortage of reasons, but I thought this was interesting. A story linked from a photography message board I frequent. Click the "continue" link at the bottom of each page.

I suppose I should summarize. A photography student, taking photos of a landmark and some ships for a photo assignment, was hassled by the local security officer, city police, and DHS personnel. None of the other people taking photos in the area, or painting, were questioned at all. Sad to see photographers singled out as potential terrorists.

http://69.93.170.43/

Just bleugh.

J

[Annierobrigado]

[quote="coastcatOh Annie, if you lived here you wouldn't find the cicada song so romantic! The cicadas that Dave wrote about are the 17-year variety. The grubs emerge from the ground, climb to a higher point (like a tree), shed their skins - and poof, we have winged cicadas. They spend the next four weeks or so looking for a mate. How? The males sing. Loudly. Relentlessly. Did I mention loudly? And continuously! The female lay their eggs in tree bark, the eggs hatch, the larvae dig themselves underground and will emerge in 17 years to start the cycle again. There are also 13-year cicadas.


I'm not going to miss these critters![/quote]

i can only imagine! we do have crickets, but small ones i guess. we really havent been infested. what we do have are mosquitos, and though quiet, are really irritating when they start biting.

thanks for the nature lesson, i suppose i'll just have to wait for dave's recording. he said it was recorded, but wasnt released.

:yes
annie

[Stu]

plenty of cicadas here in NZ, don't you worry. every summer, they sing, and sing loud. It is actually pretty nice, walking along one of the trout streams, with cicadas singing in the willows and bush. Ahhhh.... sounds of summer.... But nothing like the numbers it sounds like you get. Just the right amount really.

and crickets too... man, at whitianga in the summer, the crickets are a really pain in the pittootie... singing in the evening/night,sure, very pretty, but man those suckers get everywhere, and just luuuurve flying at houselights....

Mossies? They sing too... usually at around 2 am, soloist all of them, you jerk awake to hear.....
.....NNNNNNnnnnnnnNNNNNNNNNnnnnnnnNNNNNnnnnnnNN... ...., and you KNOW you won't sleep again until you do the 2 minute fandango with rolled up newspaper to squelch the little bug(ger).
cheers, Stu.

[Moorf]

:laugh :laugh :laugh :laugh :laugh :laugh

Oh Stu - I am soooo glad I'm not the only one who is awakened by bloomin' mozzies.. hubby never hears them.. I'm like "LISTEN, it's like a friggin' JACK HAMMER"... nope, he can't hear it and, to add insult to injury, he goes back to sleep whilst I bounce around the bedroom with my rolled up mag....

Oh oooops, didn't mean to bounce on those dear :laugh :laugh :laugh

[kamus]

Sad to see photographers singled out as potential terrorists.

http://69.93.170.43/

Just bleugh.

J

That's just disgraceful. You're right J, another nail in the USA coffin.

-Dave

[Annierobrigado]

hi moorf

what if we played dave's composition to drown out the singing?

annie :laugh