Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in johnm2283's LiveJournal:

[ << Previous 20 ]

Tuesday, August 14th, 2007
9:48 pm	miscellania 1) In honor of karl rove's recent departure from the White House, i bring you this old clip... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HxcuVlCuX9Y 2) I am sick, and therefore stayed home from work today. I made fun of Kris for not realizing I was home at 1pm (not a usual weekday occurrence) 3) We are starting a house D&D game. Like some sort of extreme pornography, this is both exciting and shameful. I think I'm going to be a Monk. 4) I intend to ride in the NYC bicycle century (I'm sure you've all heard by now) on September 9th. It will rock. http://www.nyccentury.org/ 100 miles, 1 gear, 1 John Manning. (Comment on this)
Wednesday, May 2nd, 2007
10:11 pm	Roy Blunt Jr. and Donald Duck 1) I am not happy with the Honorable Roy Blunt Jr. of Missouri. Tying benchmarks of progress in Iraq to NON-MILITARY AID?? Oh right, that's great. If things don't get better, we'll pull out some of our money- but not the thousands of troops who are caught in a civil war. 2) I recently had the pleasure of visiting the Finnish embassy. While there I got to listen to the ambassador give a schpeal, while drinking and eating for free. Also, i got to see an art exhibit by this artist. http://www.kajstenvall.com/html/site_eng.html It was awesome. 3) house=found, job=not quite yet found. peace out girlscouts, John (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Friday, April 27th, 2007
12:05 am	i love this show, but i loved this article too <img src="http://statistics.theonion.com/b/ss/theonionprod/1/H.6--NS/0" height="1" width="1" border="0" alt="" /> This American Life Completes Documentation Of Liberal, Upper-Middle-Class Existence April 20, 2007 | Issue 43•16 CHICAGO—Producers of the long-running Chicago Public Radio program This American Life announced Monday that they have completed their comprehensive 12-year survey of life as a modern upper-middle-class American. Ira Glass compares completing the series to finding out he is a relative of composer Philip Glass. In what cultural anthropologists are calling a "colossal achievement" in the study of white-collar professionals, the popular radio show has successfully isolated all 7,442 known characteristics of college graduates who earn between $62,500 and $125,000 per year and feel strongly that something should be done about global warming. "We've done it," said senior producer Julie Snyder, who was personally interviewed for a 2003 This American Life episode, "Going Eclectic," in which she described what it's like to be a bilingual member of the ACLU trained in kite-making by a Japanese stepfather. "There is not a single existential crisis or self-congratulatory epiphany that has been or could be experienced by a left-leaning agnostic that we have not exhaustively documented and grouped by theme." Added Snyder, "We here at public radio couldn't be more pleased with ourselves." The final episode, which explored the universal tribulations of having to live with roommates again in one's mid-30s after a divorce, provided an apt bookend for the project. The completed work is expected to be an indispensable source of information for years to come about the thoughts and tastes of bespectacled cynics prone to neuroses who are actually doing just fine. This American Life host and producer Ira Glass began work on the project in 1995 in Chicago, where he found himself inspired by and catering to an audience of professionals who dine out frequently and have a hard time getting angry. Glass and his team of producers, writers, and interns set about the exhausting task of gathering all available information on a range of subjects from minor skirmishes with the law to the rewards of occasionally talking to poor people. The raw data was then analyzed, deconstructed, reconstructed, re-deconstructed, organized under a broad philosophical title, and interspliced with musical interludes by rock duo They Might Be Giants. Though This American Life is now lauded as the definitive source for material about getting an autistic teenager admitted to Harvard, its early run was marked by painful trial-and-error, according to producer Alex Blumberg. "At first, we were getting a lot of stories from recovered drug addicts and East African refugees living in the States, which had their compelling elements but came off a bit cloying," Blumberg said. "But then we realized that if we had overeducated people with voices rather unsuitable for radio narrate the stories with clever analogies and accessible morals, the whole thing would come off far less depressing." Blumberg said that the turning point came in 1997, when producers discovered a group of inner-city schoolchildren inadvertently teaching an important lesson to their attractive, suburban-raised teacher about what makes us human. Also aiding the study were the many contributors to This American Life, who took time from their best-selling essay-writing careers to donate personal anecdotes about dropping out of prestigious art schools, taking harrowing but poignant childhood vacations to the Grand Canyon, and the unique challenges of growing up in families supportive of their homosexuality. On Sunday, writer and contributing editor Sarah Vowell called the project's end "oddly anticlimactic," but questioned whether work was actually complete because the show had not yet addressed the subject of "Things Ending." "Seeing this project through to its culmination was equally satisfying and strange," said Vowell, speaking at a book signing in Colonial Williamsburg dressed as Betsy Ross. "I feel not unlike the early Pilgrims, who, standing atop Plymouth Rock after a long and arduous sea voyage, reflected on their journey, perhaps thinking to themselves 'For God's sake—doesn't anybody have anything to eat in this settlement?'" Glass, who personally contributed over 2,000 anecdotes from his own life for documentation, called the project's conclusion the "end of an era." "When we finished, I have to tell you, I felt something I never expected: a profound sense of contentment—maybe even relief," Glass said. "Afterwards, the other producers and I sat around for a long while, remarking on how interesting and strange it was to finally complete the study, and how perhaps it is, in some way, symbolic of life in general." © Copyright 2007, Onion, Inc. All rights reserved. The Onion is not intended for readers under 18 years of age. (Comment on this)
Thursday, March 29th, 2007
11:05 am	Karl Rove rapping, amongst other things Hola amigos, its been a while since I've rapped at ya. First off, here's an excerpt from the Radio-Television Correspondents Assn. Dinner Karl Rove+the people from "whose line is it anyway?"+rapping= ??? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HxcuVlCuX9Y In other news, thanks to all of you who made the Tucker/Manning-Manning/Tucker experience such a fun time. And thank you Rachel for the books. Although your selected works give the impression that I am a drunken gambling addict (not entirely untrue), I appreciate them very much. Hmm. What else. Oh yes. Job Change!  I have a strong track record of not saying in the same locale for more than 4 months or so, and I'm not going to end the streak. I've been applying at political consulting/communications firms. I also really wanna get on the campaign trail, maybe do some stuff in Virginia before hitching myself to the Obama wagon. In the meantime I may have to go back to the lucrative world of temping for a while, which actually DOES pay more than what i'm making now. how sad is that. But i've had a good run at this job, awesome resume builder, great opportunity for networking, etc. I've come to the conclusion- fuck gradschool. just do a whole bunch of different jobs till you have the skills and credentials to do what you want. In other news, I'm in love with my new bicycle saddle-- the Brooks B17. It is big, heavy, leather and old school but oh so comfy. there is a reason why they have been making the same model for 80 years. http://www.brookssaddles.com/ Ok. thats about it. Oh, look at you- you read all the way down to the end of the page. Thank you. I mean it. gimme hugs. John (Comment on this)
Thursday, March 15th, 2007
1:05 pm	{REDACTED} So everybody, in case you missed it- Khalid Sheikh Muhammad was responsible for 9/11-- and 30 other attacks. Such as the beheading of Daniel Pearl. And the Bali bombing. And the Oklahoma City bombing of 1995. And maybe also Pearl Harbor. How do i know this?    http://media.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/nation/pdf/ksm_transcript_031407.pdf Why, a Verbatim Transcript of Combatant Status Review Tribunal Hearing for ISN 10024, of course! He confessed to it all! And I totally trust the confession of a man who has been held in a small steel box by the CIA since March of 2003. I mean, look at all the people who were involved in this bright shining example of American Justice: There was: Captain [redacted], United States Navy, Tribunal President Captain [redacted], Judge Advocate member of the Tribunal Gunnery Seargeant [redacted], U.S. Marine Corps Lieutenant Colonel [redacted], U.S. Army, Recorder Lieutenant Colonel [redacted], United States Air Force, Personal Representative WOW, its a veritable who's who of American military justice! And boy oh boy, you should have SEEN the classified evidence that was presented. I mean, you couldn't have. But, if you were one of the anonymous Lieutenant Colonels on the board, you would know that it was totally damning. Sigh. I'm going to go sit in a corner and mourn the state of our nation. Current Mood: {redacted} (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Monday, February 26th, 2007
10:54 am	The Manning-Tucker Experience or The Tucker-Manning Experience Hey y'all, Evan Tucker and I are both old men. To celebrate the fact that we're still alive and kicking, we would like to have a joint birthday party. When would be good? We were thinking maybe the weekend of March 9th. Does this work for people? discuss among yourselves... peace, John (6 Comments |Comment on this)
Friday, February 9th, 2007
10:36 am	This is why I love Norway...   By Mark Kinver Science and nature reporter, BBC News Artist's impression of the entrance to the vault Enlarge Image The final design for a "doomsday" vault that will house seeds from all known varieties of food crops has been unveiled by the Norwegian government. The Svalbard International Seed Vault will be built into a mountainside on a remote island near the North Pole. The vault aims to safeguard the world's agriculture from future catastrophes, such as nuclear war, asteroid strikes and climate change. Construction begins in March, and the seed bank is scheduled to open in 2008. The Norwegian government is paying the $5m (£2.5m) construction costs of the vault, which will have enough space to house three million seed samples. See inside the Svalbard International Seed Vault The collection and maintenance of the collection is being organised by the Global Crop Diversity Trust, which has responsibility of ensuring the "conservation of crop diversity in perpetuity". "We want a safety net because we do not want to take too many chances with crop biodiversity," said Cary Fowler, the Trust's executive director. "Can you imagine an effective, efficient, sustainable response to climate change, water shortages, food security issues without what is going to go in the vault - it is the raw material of agriculture." Future proof The seed vault will be built 120m (364ft) inside a mountain on Spitsbergen, one of four islands that make up Svalbard. Dr Fowler said Svalbard, 1,000km (621 miles) north of mainland Norway, was chosen as the location for the vault because it was very remote and it also offered the level of stability required for the long-term project. "We looked very far into the future. We looked at radiation levels inside the mountain, and we looked at the area's geological structure," he told BBC News. "We also modelled climate change in a drastic form 200 years into future, which included the melting of ice sheets at the North and South Poles, and Greenland, to make sure that this site was above the resulting water level." By building the vault deep inside the mountain, the surrounding permafrost would continue to provide natural refrigeration if the mechanical system failed, explained Dr Fowler. 'Living Fort Knox' The Arctic vault will act as a back-up store for a global network of seed banks financially supported by the trust. Dr Fowler said that a proportion of the seeds housed at these banks would be deposited at Svalbard, which will act as a "living Fort Knox". Although the vault was designed to protect the specimens from catastrophic events, he added that it could also be used to replenish national seed banks. "One example happened in September when a typhoon ripped through the Philippines and destroyed its seed bank," Dr Fowler recalled. "The storm brought two feet of water and mud into the bank, and that is the last thing you want in a seed bank." Low maintenance Once inside the vault, the samples will be stored at -18C (0F). The length of time that seeds kept in a frozen state maintain their ability to germinate depends on the species. The Arctic conditions will help keep the seeds in a frozen state Some crops, such as peas, may only survive for 20-30 years. Others, such as sunflowers and grain crops, are understood to last for many decades or even hundreds of years. Once the collection has been established at Svalbard, Dr Fowler said the facility would operate with very little human intervention. "Somebody will go up there once every year to physically check inside to see that everything is OK, but there will be no full-time staff," he explained. "If you design a facility to be used in worst-case scenarios, then you cannot actually have too much dependency on human beings." Return to top Current Mood: optimistic (3 Comments |Comment on this)
Saturday, January 27th, 2007
10:56 pm	Patrick Stewart Hilarity http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGf9Hc-KpAA Current Mood: sick (Comment on this)
Monday, January 15th, 2007
2:47 pm	Dr. Martin Luther King and labor here's some quotes (from AFSCME): Negroes are almost entirely a working people. There are pitifully few Negro millionaires, and few Negro employers. Our needs are identical with labor's needs — decent wages, fair working conditions, livable housing, old age security, health and welfare measures, conditions in which families can grow, have education for their children and respect in the community. That is why Negroes support labor's demands and fight laws which curb labor. That is why the labor-hater and labor-baiter is virtually always a twin-headed creature spewing anti-Negro epithets from one mouth and anti-labor propaganda from the other mouth. AFL-CIO Convention, December 1961 New economic patterning through automation is dissolving the jobs of workers in some of the nation's basic industries. This is to me a catastrophe. We are neither technologically advanced nor socially enlightened if we witness this disaster for tens of thousands without finding a solution. And by a solution, I mean a real and genuine alternative, providing the same living standards which were swept away by a force called progress, but which for some is destruction. The society that performs miracles with machinery has the capacity to make some miracles for men—if it values men as highly as it values machines. UAW 25th Anniversary dinner, April 27, 1961 When there is massive unemployment in the black community, it is called a social problem. But when there is massive unemployment in the white community, it is called a Depression. We look around every day and we see thousands and millions of people making inadequate wages. Not only do they work in our hospitals, they work in our hotels, they work in our laundries, they work in domestic service, they find themselves underemployed. You see, no labor is really menial unless you're not getting adequate wages. People are always talking about menial labor. But if you're getting a good (wage) as I know that through some unions they've brought it up...that isn't menial labor. What makes it menial is the income, the wages. Local 1199 Salute to Freedom, March 1968     (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Thursday, December 21st, 2006
1:03 pm	Bio-Shield, VaxGen and Viagra Here's a story that came about recently that I've been thinking about. On Tuesday, Federal officials canceled an $877.5 million contract with the California-based firm VaxGen, which was supposed to produce a new Anthrax vaccine. The new product was supposed to be the centerpiece of the Bush Administration's $5.9 billion "Project Bioshield". The company had missed several deadlines and appeared to be generally off-track for its production goals, so they pulled the plug. Whatever. I am bothered by a couple things related to this. First, they picked a company with a poor record. This is a company that's best known for producing an AIDS drug that was a flop, and temporarily getting de-listed from the NASDAQ stock exchange for accounting irregularities. But more importantly is why they couldn't get anybody to do a better job. It seems to me perfect evidence of the current relationship between government and business. People tend to focus on the negative consequences of big business influencing government policy. While that is certainly one of the most significant issues of our day (and the topic of much discourse), the other side of the same coin is that government is often unable to rouse corporate support in tackling some of the greater challenges we face. Now I personally am not very afraid of Anthrax, despite the fact that we live in DC. I think that people in Ohio or Kansas have even less reason to fear. However, since the Bush administration insists that we are all living in constant danger of death from radical Islamist elements- you would think they'd put a little more effort into things. The fact of the matter is, none of the larger pharmaceutical companies were interested in a project such as this. And although some suggest it was nepotism, the main reason why they had to go with VaxGen was out of necessity. No bigger company wanted it, and the 2nd closest company to getting the deal wasn't even American- it was a british firm.  Why couldn't Merck, Pfizer or Wyeth do this job for the Federal Government? Because they didn't want to. The money wasn't good enough. And Uncle Sam is too difficult of a customer. If the Bush Administration was filled with more than hot air (to be polite), it would either pour a lot more money into such contracts or simply find its way to legislate compliance in cases like this. Here's my interpretation of how this went in WWII versus the "war on terror" FDR in the 1940s: "Hey General Motors, Ford and Chrysler. We're at war now and we need you to stop making cars and start making tanks. Auto Industry in the 1940s: "Yes Sir!" Bush in 2006: "So..umm...does anybody wanna make us some anthrax vaccine? Please? We'll pay you $877.5 million!" Pharmaceutical companies: "Nah, no thanks. we're cool. We make more $ making anti-impotence drugs"   Current Mood: determined (Comment on this)
Tuesday, December 12th, 2006
2:54 pm	poor little Rhode Island (or...John is a God of Domestic Travel !!!) create your own personalized map of the USA or check out ourCalifornia travel guide (4 Comments |Comment on this)
Monday, December 4th, 2006
3:50 pm	a trimmer, slimmer, leaner, meaner you in 07? Well hopefully not meaner. All the others apply, however. I am hereby requesting a workout partner in the District for the purposes of keeping me from achieving a level of chubbiness which is unacceptable. Evan Tucker and I had a great thing going, but unfortunately that can't continue since I got a job (silly me). Plus, it was really cold outside and the gym teacher gave us weird looks. don't ask. So. If anyone would like to do any sort of regularly scheduled physical exercise with me, please let me know. cheers, John (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Thursday, November 30th, 2006
1:13 pm	strange things at the costco So I was recently browsing the internets cus i'm considering joining one of those wholesale food club things, ie. BJ's or Costco. I was very distrubed when i saw this: http://www.costco.com/Common/Category.aspx?ec=&pos=2&whse=BC&topnav=&cat=20596&eCat=BC|20595|20596 In other news, New Years is coming up soon. (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Monday, November 20th, 2006
4:01 pm	2007 Its really not that far away. We should start planning. In a festive sort of way, not a "buy bottled water and dig a bomb shelter kinda way". Current Mood: refreshed (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Thursday, October 19th, 2006
11:34 pm	even funnnier than rick "frothy" santorum see above subject line: http://www.thephatphree.com/features.asp?StoryID=3159&SectionID=2&LayoutType=1/ (Comment on this)
Tuesday, October 17th, 2006
11:18 pm	Rick Santorum and the Eye of Mordor (yes, you read it right) Hello kiddies, so. i could tell ya all about whats going on in my life. but fuck that noise. Here's something interesting about our favorite Senator from Pennsylvania, Rick Santorum. In a recent interview, he likened the War in Iraq to the war against Sauron in Tolkien's Lord of the Rings. I shit you not. http://www.salon.com/politics/war_room/2006/10/17/santorum/index.html adios, John (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Tuesday, September 26th, 2006
12:47 am	I need a hug hello comrades, Rather than go into a lengthy tale about my woes, i'll keep it simple. Things=crappy My employment situation=tenuous. I've run into a problem whereby the local here likes me, but doesn't have the $ to hire me. I'm trying to use some connections to secure other employment here in Philly, but I don't know how well that'll work. So I may soon be unemployed and back in the Towson/DC area. signing off, John (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Wednesday, July 19th, 2006
9:46 am	going going, back back.... In the words of the Notorious B.I.G., "If I got to choose a coast I got to choose the East". In this spirit I am returning to the Baltimore/DC/NYC area for a real honest to goodness vacation! I get in friday, but then will immediately go back home to bmore and then up to NYC to see my sister. Monday however, i'll be back in the DC and will be available for hanging out-ness. holla back, John (Comment on this)
Tuesday, July 11th, 2006
1:09 am	style="background-color: white" border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=6> <col width="33%"> <col width="33%"> <col width="33%"> <tr valign="top"> <td style="color:black; background-color:white">✓ I miss somebody right now.</td> <td style="color:black; background-color:white">✓ I don't watch much TV these days.</td> <td style="color:black; background-color:white"> × I own lots of books.</td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td style="color:black; background-color:white">✓ I wear glasses or contact lenses.</td> <td style="color:black; background-color:white">✓ I love to play video games.</td> <td style="color:black; background-color:white">✓ I've tried marijuana.</td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td style="color:black; background-color:white">✓ I've watched porn movies.</td> <td style="color:black; background-color:white"> × I have been the psycho-ex in a past relationship.</td> <td style="color:black; background-color:white">✓ I believe honesty is usually the best policy.</td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td style="color:black; background-color:white"> × I curse sometimes.</td> <td style="color:black; background-color:white">✓ I have changed a lot mentally over the last year.</td> <td style="color:black; background-color:white"> × I carry my knife/razor everywhere with me.</td> </tr> </table>( it goes on... ) (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Friday, May 19th, 2006
11:15 pm	"To Pop the Question, Kids are Thinking Big" From the Washington Post- "Alex, will you go to prom with me?" Pity the boys in today's celebrity-driven, over-the-top entertainment culture, where asking a girl to the prom has turned into performance art. Prom proposals, as these humbling exercises are now called, have been more elaborate than ever this spring, according to Promspot.com's associate editor, Kate Wood. A chat with her girlfriends, a phone call or a quick conversation by the lockers between classes won't do anymore. That's so 2005. In 2006, the request has to be painted on a giant sign parked in front of her house or accompanied by 50 red candles, hundreds of Hershey Kisses and an original poem. Why? For the same reason guys go to prom: because girls want it that way". http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/18/AR2006051802305.html Current Mood: bored (1 Comment |Comment on this)