Hence the uppity attitude.

Looks like the little lady and I will be making a rare appearance at one of these here “blog” meetups. Looks like I’ll need to get my tux out of the mothballs and polish my spats.

Anybody coming who might still have my blog in their RSS feeds?

Taco Bell is being sued for using the word “beef” in the advertising for their “beef” tacos.

Now, I’m not one of these people who would eat a beef taco in any restaurant without expecting there to be actual, honest-to-jeebus beef or some kind in it. I’m just not that cynical. I expect things to be what they say and do as they’re told.

Careful analysis reveals, unfortunately, that Taco Bell’s “seasoned beef” filling is duplicitous and not worth your trust:

“Taco Bell’s definition of ‘seasoned beef’ does not conform to consumers’ reasonable expectation or ordinary meaning of seasoned beef, which is beef and seasonings,” the suit says. Beef is the “flesh of cattle,” according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Dear me. We should have seen this coming. Nevertheless, I feel unaffected as I haven’t eaten at the Bell in years, and even then I was usually enjoying the (relatively harmless) Bean Burrito, with added sour cream to ensure receiving bespoke food items (Taco Bell ProTip).

So now we’re left wondering: If it ain’t beef. What is it then?

A second opinion may not be exactly what you’re looking for. What for you is flawless and sublime might be unremarkable to those whose opinions matter to you. They might find the object of your opinions quaint, lackluster, or, worst of all, not worth commenting upon.

These things can be borne somewhat when the knowledge is yours alone. This is why you must carefully consider with whom you’re going to share your likes and your dislikes. Or anything, really.

Take a good, long look before speaking.

[From Baby needs a new pair of shoes - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia]

Trent say:

My god sits in the back of the limousine
My god comes in a wrapper of cellophane
My god pouts on the cover of the magazine
My god’s a shallow little bitch trying to make the scene

I have arrived and this time you should believe the hype
I listened to everyone now i know that everyone was right
I’ll be there for you as long as it works for me
I play a game
It’s called insincerity

Starfuckers
Starfuckers
Starfuckers, inc.
Starfuckers

I am every fucking thing and just a little more
I sold my soul but don’t you dare call me a whore
And when i suck you off not a drop will go to waste
It’s really not so bad you know once you get past the taste, yeah
(asskisser)

Starfuckers
Starfuckers
Starfuckers, inc.
Starfuckers

All our pain
How did we ever get by without you?
You’re so vain
I bet you think this song is about you
Don’t you?
Don’t you?
Don’t you?
Don’t you?

Now i belong i’m one of the chosen ones
Now i belong i’m one of the beautiful ones

Who’s not going to smoke? You telling me?

This chick kicks ass.

People of Australia: do not fear the Donut. Accept the donut.

Now for a bit of the ol’ Tasmanian Tie-Dye:

And don’t blink now, it’s the Eye o’ Perth:

According to Aussie state-run media:

It has since posted a disclaimer above the national loop feed putting the images down to “occasional interference to the radar data”.

“The Bureau is currently investigating ways to reduce these interferences,” the disclaimer said.

Worship the Donut!

I had no doubt whatsoever that the Democrats’ (and by extension, the US media’s) insistence on the character assassination would backfire:

How is it that the media’s approach has changed so dramatically in just the past couple of weeks? Perhaps the Democrats simply went too far when they claimed that tea-party protesters had shouted racial slurs at black congressmen during the ObamaCare weekend.

[From Strange New Respect - WSJ.com]

I really couldn’t figure out what they were trying to accomplish there. The vote was going, it was decided before the name-calling began. Public opinion obviously had no meaning once they started filing into the Capitol (and probably not before that, either).

There was no way that they could think that making shit up about the 3rd-party opposition, which the Tea Parties represent, could raise public opinion by 30 points in time for the bill signing. Was there?

The blogger in me isn’t dead, it’s just sleeping. A few years ago, I was what the Old Economy referred to as a Producer. Nowadays, what with the Twitter and the Facebook, it seems that everybody has become a micro-producer, and a macro-consumer.

But this kind of economy is obviously nonsense. In a situation where the consumption so completely outpaces the production, it follows (in my little analysis) that quality of what we consume decreases rapidly.

People used to jab at bloggers, saying that it wasn’t worth reading because, hey, who cares what your cat is doing? But think about the endless fluff that rolls by on your Twitter feed. The Facebook statuses, while interesting to me because I know the producers, carries little actual value with them. They just make you feel good.

If I compare what my connections are doing in the social networky present to what the people on the blogroll used to put out in a day of energetic blogging, well, let’s just say the world has taken a turn for the stupid.

What accounts for the discrepancy in production and consumption? Could it be that somewhere the machines are running, thumping underground, lulling us Eloi toward the dinner bell? Don’t come crying to me when your Twitter roll cold-cocks you and you wake up with your feet tied and an apple stuffed in your mouth.

Not me, man, I’m gonna hip-check that witch into the oven, just like Hans showed us. I’m mixing shit up, but you know what I’m about.