Uncle Matt's tids and bits

recent quotes i like

"Preach the gospel at all times. If necessary, use words." - ? | | | | | | |
"If there is anything I have learned from liberals and conservatives, it's that you can have great answers and still be mean... and that just as important as being right is being nice. " - shane claiborne | | | | | | |
"If Liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear." --George Orwell ||||||
"On Facebook, no one can hear you scream." - I dont know ||||||
"The reformer has enemies in all those who profit by the old order, and only lukewarm defenders in all those who would profit by the new order, this lukewarmness arising partly from fear of their adversaries, who have the laws in their favor; and partly from the incredulity of mankind, who do not truly believe in anything new until they have had actual experience of it." - Machiavelli ||||||

Entire 1984 Times of Harvey Milk online

1/03/2009 at 5:48 AM

Contrast and compare the excellent documentary with Sean Penn's portrayal in the current docudrama "Milk".

1984 Full Film:

Sean Penn as Milk in the trailer below:

2008 Trailer:

Milk's famous speech upon his election:

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Advanced Style - fashion and silver-haired set

1/02/2009 at 4:07 AM

Proof from the wizened that personal style advances with age. http://advancedstyle.blogspot.com/

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Europe's only Buddhist Republic...

12/30/2008 at 7:54 AM

Though it’s not exactly independent, the tiny Republic of Kalmykia is a self-governing member state of the Russian Federation. Located just west of the Caspian Sea and not far from Ukraine, it’s a bit of an oddity in über-secular Russia for the prominence that Kalmykian leaders give to spirituality — all the more so because rather than Russian Orthodox Christianity, most Kalmykians follow Tibetan Buddhism.

"It has also become famous because its current government has made it the chess center of the world....

Kalmyks... by and large remain faithful to the Gelugpa Order of Tibetan Buddhism. In Kalmykia, for example, the Gelugpa Order with the assistance of the government has constructed numerous Buddhist temples. In addition, the Kalmyk people recognize Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama as their spiritual leader and Erdne Ombadykow, a Kalmyk American, as the supreme lama of the Kalmyk people. The Dalai Lama has visited Elista on a number of occasions. The Kalmyks have also established communities in the United States, primarily in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.... There are several Kalmyk Buddhist temples in Monm outh County, New Jersey, where the vast majority of American Kalmyks reside, as well as a Tibetan Buddhist Learning Center and monastery in Washington Township, New Jersey."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalmykia

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the great depression vs now - some persperctive

at 7:46 AM

We aint there yet!

...the unfolding collapse in housing values has obliterated an estimated $4 trillion in home equity, which will cause millions of households to lose their homes through foreclosure. The bear market - the Dow Jones Industrial Average is down about 40 percent from its peak - has eliminated additional trillions of dollars in stockholders' wealth. Also, last month the unemployment rate reached its highest level (6.7 percent) in more than 15 years.

But by comparison, at its nadir the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost nearly 90 percent of its value in the Great Depression, when the unemployment rate peaked at 24.9 percent and economic output declined by 13 percent in a single year. (Even if the gross domestic product plunges by an annual rate of 5 percent during the fourth quarter, GDP will still be 1.2 percent higher in 2008 than it was last year.)

full article with great depression survivors memories.

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i finally downloaded the pics from my xmasparty

at 6:59 AM

we were havin' a trailerparty

louie got a big letter C and a matching letter P - man was he happy with it!

look at all the baskets of christmas cookies!

the booze was in short supply though, only three bottles. and i didn't want to mention it in front of everybody but jeez christina and johnny, don't you think your outfits were a little risque for a family party?

but everybody forgot about that when the entertainments showed up.

finally everyone crashed from a massive sugar overdose...

Psych, the real pics are actually here:

http://picasaweb.google.com/mattymoo/08christmasparty#

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