Superhero Dunks

Hey kids. I spent all night either working on my taxes, or working on an article about Afghanistan. So... Here's a video that took twenty seconds to copy and paste the code for!



Basketball bores the living daylights out of me, but I sure do love Barats and Bereta. Have a great day!

Fly Report: 31st March 2009

Good morning. When Dr. Evil gets angry, Mr. Bigglesworth gets upset, and when Mr. Bigglesworth gets upset, people die!

It's 10° Centigrade and cloudy in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 41° Fahrenheit with afternoon rain and snow.

A barrel of oil is trading at $48.35. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 7522.02. The exchange rate is $1.41 for £1, or £0.71 for $1.

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is spectacular. The picture at the Orkneyjar Photoblog is not new.

Today's scripture reading is Deuteronomy 19. The Fly is currently reading the U.S. Army/Marine Corps Counterinsurgency Field Manual, FM 3-24/MCWP 3-33.5.

Consecutive days without CCG: 160

When the night takes its deep breath, and the daylight has no air; if I crawl, if I come crawling home, will you be there?

A Few Favorite Things

I never actually saw The Sound of Music. Is that terrible? I also never saw The Wizard of Oz or Grease. Oh, well.

So, I love America. A lot. And thus, I love the American flag, and everything that it represents. So does my buddy, Gus, and his wife, St. Jen. They even put up a flag outside their home. Gus sent me some pictures of the flag yesterday that he had promised a few weeks ago, and several of the pictures included St. Jen. St. Jen is quite the ham from time to time, and very fun to hang out with. Also, she's a total hottie. Did I mention she's my best friend's wife? So, needless to say, I was surprised, and then conflicted when I scrolled down to feature a picture that featured two of my favorite things: the National Ensign, and St. Jen's ass. Luckily, all three of us had a raucous telephone conversation that involved chaps, and cats (unrelated - good work, Gus!), Gus sent me another E-mail featuring his new front railing, and included this message:

Good to talk to you, ol' buddy. Look on the bright side...there is always [St. Jen]'s ass. And you have the photos to prove it...

A buddy who mockingly encourages you to check out his wife's ass is a buddy I'm glad to have - particularly when that buddy is as patriotic as Gus is! Keep whackin' those hippies, Gus!

The Fly had a somewhat eventful weekend. I'll bullet point it.

hockey Friday night, which involved two guys being removed from the ice on stretchers, one of them being a referee whose jugular was apparently (accidentally) slashed with a skate

movie night with Mrs. Mike Nelson Saturday night - Young Frankenstein and the MST3K version of Hercules Unchained

church, at which time I received a copy of the Book of Common Prayer from one bishop to observe my November confirmation by another bishop

lots and lots of writing and link organizing for articles about France and about Afghanistan - probably a total of three articles over the next two or three weeks.

Alright, folks, it's time for your friendly neighborhood Super Fly to get ready for work. Check in later this week for more from yours truly, and stay out of trouble.

Fly Report: 30th March 2009

Good morning. Every now and again, it's fun to mess with Mudflap.

It's 9° Centigrade and rainy in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 33° Fahrenheit with morning snow and wind.

A barrel of oil is trading at $50.80. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 7776.18. The exchange rate is $1.43 for £1, or £0.70 for $1.

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is beautiful, but NASA needs to get it straight that there aren't microbes on Mars. The picture at the Orkneyjar Photoblog is not new.

Today's scripture reading is Deuteronomy 18. The Fly is currently reading the U.S. Army/Marine Corps Counterinsurgency Field Manual, FM 3-24/MCWP 3-33.5.

Consecutive days without CCG: 159

As boys we would go hunting in the wood, to sleep the night shooting out the stars.

The Honorable?

Just because I'm feeling ornery, I present to you the Vice President of the United States of America, Mr. Joe Biden.




The Vice President, ladies and gentlemen. I ought to go back to bed, but I'm going to get ready for church instead.

Under the Crescent Moon

Happy Friday, ladies and gentlemen! I hope everyone's had a good week, and that everyone has something excellent planned for this weekend. On the surface, my week has been somewhat mundane, but the good thing about it is that I'm not sick anymore, in more ways than one, so I was able to do mundane things - like go in for an eye exam, which I hadn't done in five years. Cue sheepish grinning.

Okay, so I'm listening to Medved at the moment, and he cited a column by Gail Collins from the New York Times (I'm linking the IHT reprint because I hate the New York Times). Collins is on the left, but according to Medved, she writes entertainingly. I agree, and I've taken the best two paragraphs from her article as quoted by Medved. Have a look.

Barack Obama — Kinda boring. Did you see the news conference? Same thing over and over again. Not that we mind. In these troubled times, we like stability. Thank God we didn't elect somebody who was all charisma and exciting speeches.

[...]

In summary, there appears to be only two constants in our ever-changing world. One is that Barack Obama is going to be on television every day forever. No venue is too strange. Soon, he'll be on "Dancing With the Stars" ("And now, doing the Health Care, Energy and Education tango ...") or delivering the weather report. ("Here we see a wave of systemic change, moving across the nation ...")

President Obama claimed during the election that we needed to abandon the Iraq War and focus our efforts on Afghanistan, which he asserted to be the real war that we needed to win. He's been in office for about two months, and he's already talking about an exit strategy (Guardian, AFP, Times). An exit strategy? The generals, who are the experts in how to conduct wars (despite sometimes having to implement the incorrect policies of a sitting administration - see Iraq, 2004-2006) say that it could take fifteen to twenty years to fully consolidate. An exit strategy? Now? The unfortunate truth is that if President Obama cuts and runs in Afghanistan now, it will turn into the next Iraq: a future president will have to go in and clean it up again. In that way, I guess that Afghanistan was probably Iraq back in the 1980's, before Iraq was Iraq. There's an interesting article that discusses the situation, and I'll be writing an article myself within the next week or so.

Meanwhile, Secretary Clinton, having called our Israeli allies' actions "unhelpful" and North Korea's approaching missile launch "provocative" (understatement of the year?), has now claimed that the United States is a source of weapons for Mexican drug cartels. Mrs. Clinton, if I may? Mexican drug lords don't want our weapons, they have better weapons, automatic weapons. If anything, we should be nervous about Mexican weapons getting into this country - if we were worried about weapons. I think we're actually more worried about weapons than we ought to be. This, ladies and gentlemen, is why I should be fact-checking our officials' speeches before they give them.

On the more entertaining topic of the Iranian media, there's a funny piece that was posted by Michael Totten on "The Persian Version" - basically, how Iran's Press TV has to lie to people in order to get them to come and appear on TV shows that aren't even transmitted in Iran. It's worth the five minutes to read, mainly for the entertainment value.

U2 has been on Letterman a few times over the past few weeks, and they did a Top Ten List. Very funny stuff, particularly The Edge's ad lib.



That's it for today, and for this week. Have a fantastic weekend, folks. Check in next week for more.

Fly Report: 27th March 2009

Good morning. Father Time offers odd advice. Sometimes, it's like he's punching advice at you... With his fists.

It's 7° Centigrade and rainy in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 42° Fahrenheit with partial clouds.

A barrel of oil is trading at $53.45. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 7924.56. The exchange rate is $1.45 for £1, or £0.69 for $1.

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is hilarious! The picture at the Orkneyjar Photoblog is not new.

Today's scripture reading is Deuteronomy 17. The Fly is currently reading the U.S. Army/Marine Corps Counterinsurgency Field Manual, FM 3-24/MCWP 3-33.5.

Consecutive days without CCG: 156

Now the wolves are every passing stranger, every face we cannot know.

Stuff Fly Wants: March 2009

Field Gear

British special forces style rucksack (available at Silverman's in London, item number 35116) - £89.99

British SAS smock (available at Silverman's in London, item number 22001) - £90.00

British Desert DPM trousers and shirt

MARPAT Desert Utilities - $67.90

Six Color Desert Utilities - $39.90

Tiger Stripe Utilities - $39.90

Khaki Tru-Spec Tactical Response Uniform trousers (2) - $89.80

Sand Crye Precision R6 Field Pants - $105.00

UDT/SEAL Team Swimmer Trunks (2) - $71.90

Multicam Hunting Shirt - $27.95

U.S. Army ACU tan sweat-wicking uniform T-shirts (3)

Under Armour Cold Gear

5.11 Tactical Polos (3) - $119.97

Rubbermaid 48 Gallon ActionPackers (2) - $69.99

TAD Gear Pathfinder Zip Hoodie - $156.95

Sony 4GB Walkman Video MP3 Player (black) NEW

FN FAL

Miscellaneous Clothing

Royal Marines T-Shirt - £10.96

More Cowbell T-Shirt - $17.99

Position Wanted: Pope T-Shirt - $20.00

Clan Cleland tartan kilt and kilt pin - $400.00-$700.00

Utilikilts Knee High Celtic Weave Socks - $10.00

deer skin sporran

Household Items

Union Jack

Amazing Pasta Maker - $39.95 [click me]

Fouled Anchor lapel pin - $3.00

Walther PPK

Orkney satellite map

Britain and Ireland Map - $10.99

Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Middle East Map - $10.99

Roman Mainz Gladius

The Maxim Coffin Coffee Table - $4135.00

Pawleys Island Tri-Beam Hammock Stand - $140.00

Pawleys Island Beach Quilted Hammock - $222.00 (Amazon price $184.36)

Discipline poster - $19.95

book case

Books

Travels of ibn Battutah - $18.00

Bravo Two Zero by Andy McNab - $7.99

Contact Zero by David Wolstencroft - $7.99

New Deal or Raw Deal?: How FDR's Economic Legacy has Damaged America by Burton Fulsom, Jr. - $27.00 (Amazon price $17.82)

Liberal Fascism: The Secret History of the American Left, From Mussolini to the Politics of Meaning by Jonah Goldberg - $27.95 (Amazon price $18.45)

Entertainment

Best of Chris Isaak (CD & DVD) - $24.98 (Amazon price $22.99)

James Bond Ultimate Collection - Volumes 1, 2, 3, and 4 - $359.92 (Amazon price $234.52)

24 - Seasons 1, 2, 3, and 4 - $269.92 (Amazon price $154.53)

Space Above and Beyond - Complete Series - $41.99 (Amazon price $36.98)

Reno 911! - Season 2 - $39.98 (Amazon price $31.99)

Kids in the Hall - Seasons 1, 2, 3, and 4 - $179.90 (Amazon price $155.98)

Gladiator Extended Edition - $39.98 (Amazon price $29.99)

Apocalypse Now Redux

Gattaca - $14.94 (Amazon price $10.99)

Switchfoot - Nothing is Sound - $18.99 (Amazon price $13.99)

Switchfoot - The Legend of Chin - $11.98

Stephanie Schneiderman - Live at Kung Fu Bakery - $15.98

Hootie & the Blowfish - The Best of 1993 Through 2003) - $11.98 (Amazon price $8.97) NEW

Mystical Chants of Carmel by the Carmelite Monks - $18.95

Fly Report: 26th March 2009

Good morning. Life is good. Bizarre, but good.

It's 7° Centigrade and partly cloudy in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 27° Fahrenheit with snow.

A barrel of oil is trading at $52.53. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 7749.81. The exchange rate is $1.46 for £1, or £0.69 for $1.

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is cool. The picture at the Orkneyjar Photoblog is not new.

Today's scripture reading is Deuteronomy 15. The Fly is currently reading the U.S. Army/Marine Corps Counterinsurgency Field Manual, FM 3-24/MCWP 3-33.5.

Consecutive days without CCG: 155

One day she's still, next day she swells.

Scheme Your Schemes

This is two days in a row that I've done my Bible reading. It's always good stuff, but every now and again there's a verse that jumps out at me. Most of them jump out because they're profound, but every now and again there's one that's just plain funny. That was the case with today's reading, Deuteronomy 14, which was pretty standard stuff up before and after this particular gem:

Do not eat anything you find already dead. You may give it to an alien living in any of your towns, and he may eat it, or you may sell it to a foreigner. But you are a people holy to the LORD your God.
- Deuteronomy 14:21

Translation: if you can't eat it, sell it to someone who will. Hilarious.

As I write this, I'm watching a recent CSI episode guest-starring Taylor Swift. I love CSI, but this one is particularly good. I enjoy shows, or episodes of shows, that take a unique form, and this episode follows one of the CSI dudes on four different cases over the course of a year, instead of two teams on two separate cases at once. Very cool, and Taylor Swift is very easy to look at.

Oddly enough, as much as I love watching CSI, it can be a tough show for me to watch because I was once betrayed in Las Vegas, and I was later betrayed by the person with whom I shared my only good memories of Las Vegas. I'm trying to forgive the former for Lent; if I'm successful, I'll try to forgive the latter, as it was the lesser of the two betrayals.

It's been a weird couple of weeks. Being sick really forced me to slow down for a few days, which I really, really hated. It wasn't without its benefits, though, as I've been saying for a long time that I needed a vacation. I was able to get a few things done this weekend, and I'm hoping to accomplish more before the week's done.

I know I say this on a pretty regular basis, but several recent events have compelled me to figure out a short term game plan for where my life is going, and what I'm doing to get myself there. These include tax returns, people leaving jobs, people losing jobs... A lot of stuff, really. I'm not in a hurry to move on, but the longer I'm here, the less there is waiting for me here. I don't know that it's time for me to leave, but it's time for me to make a much bigger effort toward finishing the things I want to finish while I'm here so that I don't have the regrets that I had when I left California.

One of the things that I'm confident is not waiting for me here in Old Dominion is the future Mrs. Fly, if she exists. This is frustrating, but I'm slowly getting better at tolerating it - some days are better than others. The big result of this realization is that I'm doing something that I've wanted to do for a while now: I shaved, completely, about two weeks ago. I hate that look, but I did it anyway. Since then, the only shaving I've done is buzzing off a few stray hairs on my cheeks, and the few whispy hairs on my mustache line. I don't know how long I'll let it go, and I imagine that the final event will be shaving it back into goatee form, but for the time being it's a nice distraction. I doubt I'll get to the level of having a Taliban-style beard, but I'm likely to get pretty hairy before the bulk of it finally goes. Today I got my hair buzzed, and I actually love the look, even though my Big Sister would probably claim that I look like a serial murderer. (For the record, I am not a serial or even one-time murderer.)

In my mailbox today was a coupon packet, which I always throw away whenever it arrives. However, on occasion I'll look at the missing persons section. One of the two people on the missing persons advert was a thirty-five year-old woman who is five foot four (5'4"), two hundred forty-five pounds (245 lbs). Upon reading that, my first thought was "Who'd want to find that woman if she's five-four, two hundred forty-five pounds?" I am officially a horrible person, but both M@ and I thought it was funny.

I really like the new U2 album, and today I'm sharing a live studio performance of the opening/title track, No Line on the Horizon.



Alright, that's it for today. Check in tomorrow for the latest Stuff Fly Wants list, and have a great day.

Fly Report: 25th March 2009

Good morning. Yes he knows all those women who scheme are just pretty pictures in the pretty machine.

It's 7° Centigrade and rainy in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 40° Fahrenheit with light snow.

A barrel of oil is trading at $52.64. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 7659.97. The exchange rate is $1.46 for £1, or £0.68 for $1.

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is cool. The picture at the Orkneyjar Photoblog is not new.

Today's scripture reading is Deuteronomy 15. The Fly is currently reading the U.S. Army/Marine Corps Counterinsurgency Field Manual, FM 3-24/MCWP 3-33.5.

Consecutive days without CCG: 154

Every night I have the same dream, I’m hatching some plot, scheming some scheme.

Fly Report: 24th March 2009

Good morning. Just so we're clear, I didn't actually have a three-way with two one-legged girls. That would just be weird.

It's 6° Centigrade and partly cloudy in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 43° Fahrenheit with afternoon snow and rain.

A barrel of oil is trading at $52.70. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 7775.86. The exchange rate is $1.45 for £1, or £0.69 for $1.

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is magnificent. The picture at the Orkneyjar Photoblog is not new.

Today's scripture reading is Deuteronomy 14. The Fly is currently reading the U.S. Army/Marine Corps Counterinsurgency Field Manual, FM 3-24/MCWP 3-33.5.

Consecutive days without CCG: 153

It's not a hill, it's a mountain.

Isolated Islands and Ammunition Shortages

Hey, folks! I spent this weekend making up for not having been able to do anything last weekend. I'm still recovering from whatever it is that made me sick last week, but I'm a lot better than I was at this time a week ago. I have just a couple of items to share today.

I saw an interesting article this weekend about a guy who's banned from an island. On closer reading, it turns out that he was banned from ever stepping foot aboard a remote, isolated British protectorate in the South Atlantic. Why? Because he quoted a book in which a former visitor to the island discussed a fling that he'd had with a local girl, and the local council decided that this article constituted a betrayal of their town secret. If it sounds bizarre, that's because it is bizarre, and that's what makes it fascinating. The Island (which has only one small town) is in the Tristan da Cunha island chain, a group of about four or five main islands with a handful of smaller islands that's a couple thousand miles west-southwest of South Africa. You can see the island in question at this satellite map.

The other item of interest is that there's an ammunition shortage in the United States. You might think that it's just all of the gun nuts, terrified that President Obama is going to take their guns and ammo - and that's part of it, but you might be interested to find out that the lion's share of the blame goes to police departments across the country. Read the link to find out why. I plan to personally berate Gus myself before I buy him a beer. Then again, maybe the problem is Mighty Mo and her little pink gun...

Oh, and just for good measure, I'll throw in a video from James Rolfe, the Angry Video Game Nerd: Cinemassacre's Top 10 Car Chases. Check it out!



That's it for today, folks. Have an excellent day, and check in tomorrow for my latest article for my parallel writing endeavour.

Fly Report: 23rd March 2009

Good morning. I once participated in a ménage à trois with a one-legged girl named Eileen, and her Asian cousin, Irene.

It's 4° Centigrade and rainy in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 40° Fahrenheit with snow.

A barrel of oil is trading at $51.39 - whassat? The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 7278.38. The exchange rate is $1.44 for £1, or £0.69 for $1.

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is absolutely gorgeous. The picture at the Orkneyjar Photoblog is not new.

Today's scripture reading is Deuteronomy 13. The Fly is currently reading the U.S. Army/Marine Corps Counterinsurgency Field Manual, FM 3-24/MCWP 3-33.5.

Consecutive days without CCG: 152

Where can we find a lamb as white as snow?

AMF: Immgrunts

Hey, folks! I hope everyone's had a great week, and that everyone has something excellent planned for the weekend. Yesterday was a fairly slow news day, and I didn't really do anything of any interest before or after or during work, so all I have to show for this AMF is another hilarious video by Steven Crowder. His latest is on illegal immigration.



Excellent. Excellent! Have a great weekend, folks! Arbeit macht Freitag!

Fly Report: 20th March 2009

Good morning. Baby, you lied to me, you lied to me. You opened up your little black heart, you smiled, and you lied.

It's 8° Centigrade and sunny in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 61° Fahrenheit with sunshine.

A barrel of oil is trading at $50.75 - huh? The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 7400.80. The exchange rate is $1.45 for £1, or £0.69 for $1.

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is lame. The picture at the Orkneyjar Photoblog is not new.

Today's scripture reading is Deuteronomy 13. The Fly is currently reading the U.S. Army/Marine Corps Counterinsurgency Field Manual, FM 3-24/MCWP 3-33.5.

Consecutive days without CCG: 149

The road refuses strangers; the land, the seeds we sow.

More Gun Nut Stuff

I don't know if I've ever posted this video before, but it's awesome, so I'm going to follow up on yesterday's post with this one.



Awesome. Die, watermelon, die!

Fly Report: 19th March 2009

Good morning. I want to be a pirate in The Pirates of Penzance.

It's 8° Centigrade and foggy in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 59° Fahrenheit with sunshine.

A barrel of oil is trading at $47.99. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 7486.58. The exchange rate is $1.40 for £1, or £0.71 for $1.

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is excellent. The picture at the Orkneyjar Photoblog is not new.

Today's scripture reading is Deuteronomy 13. The Fly is currently reading the U.S. Army/Marine Corps Counterinsurgency Field Manual, FM 3-24/MCWP 3-33.5.

Consecutive days without CCG: 148

We'll shine line a burning star, falling from the sky, tonight.

Black Cleopatra

Hey, folks! Many of you have expressed concern, mostly away from the blog, about my health. It's not perfect, but it's improving, and I spent about ten and a half hours at work yesterday to start making up hours. Like I said, not perfect, but vastly better than I was over the course of the weekend.

I don't have the time to put up a long post (I know, boo, hiss, nobody's reading this), but I did want to put up a few things.

One of my favorite web comics is xkcd, and one of my favorite xkcd comics involves people playing chess on a rollercoaster. Well, apparently the comic has inspired people to actually pose for such pictures. The last one is the best. Mighty Mo, this one's for you.

Last week, the Times of London had a fun article entitled Those nice Vikings did a lot for us - and it wasn't all pillaging. I'm guessing that some of the bit that wasn't pillaging was raping, which isn't something to brag up, but go ahead and check out the article if you're at all interested in Vikings. Not so fun is a BBC article that claims - get this, Gus - that "Cleopatra's mother 'was African'." Gus and I studied such concepts under the so-called "Black Athena" heading when we were in college, and claims such as this have been summarily demonstrated to be baseless. Even if Cleopatra's sister was the product of a union between a Ptolemaic father and an African mother (which in and of itself would be unlikely, given that ancient Egyptians aren't what anyone would really consider to be strict "Africans"), there is no basis in this theory unless they find the body of Cleopatra (unlikely) and it shows African ancestry (unlikely). I'm not saying this to be racist - I'm saying this to be an objective historian, apparently an objective historian in a larger sea of revisionists than I had originally thought.

According to China, their carbon emissions are our problem, not theirs on account of they're just making stuff for export. Now, I've been very clear about my skepticism about global warming, but that doesn't mean that I'm anti-environment, and I've been quite clear in my opinion that no matter whether or not global warming is absolute hogwash, less pollution is obviously a good thing. Basically, the Chinese are being wankers.

Yesterday's funniest item was that Russia has announced that it will be rearming itself. (BBC, Guardian, Times) The BBC opened up a forum in which people could leave comments about whether this was a good thing or not. Most of the BBC's pinko, America-hating readers were in favor of it, but one person, whose comment appears to have been removed despite its poignance, read as follows:

"Rebuilding the military is a great way to economic recovery. Just look at history."
- Adolf, Berlin, Germany

Hysterical, and right on the money.

And finally, Mohammed Khatami apparently won't run for president of Iran. (CNN, BBC, Times) Welcome to Groundhog Day, because without Khatami running against him, I'm predicting five more years of Crazy Uncle Mahmoud.

Just for fun, here's a gun video that everyone should be able to appreciate, and some might be interested in sharing. It involves a cop!



Have a great day, ladies and gentlemen!

Fly Report: 18th March 2009

Good morning. Wherever yo go, there you are.

It's 7° Centigrade and rainy in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 51° Fahrenheit with morning clouds and afternoon sun.

A barrel of oil is trading at $48.29. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 7395.70. The exchange rate is $1.40 for £1, or £0.71 for $1.

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is tolerable. The picture at the Orkneyjar Photoblog is not new.

Today's scripture reading is Deuteronomy 13. The Fly is currently reading the U.S. Army/Marine Corps Counterinsurgency Field Manual, FM 3-24/MCWP 3-33.5.

Consecutive days without CCG: 147

I'll go crazy if I don't go crazy tonight.

World's Greatest Religious Holiday

Note: This is an modified version of my Saint Patrick's Day post of 2006 and 2008.

Happy Saint Patrick's Day! Today is pretty much the only church holiday that I don't find to be a complete and total farce. Saint Patrick was a bona fide man of God, and today's the day we celebrate. Here are a few links pertaining to Saint Patrick and Ireland.

Wikipedia: St. Patrick

The Confession of St. Patrick

The Shield of St. Patrick

How the Irish Saved Civilization by Thomas Cahill

Guinness Official Website

A couple of things. First, Guinness has nothing to do with Saint Patrick, but it has everything to do with being Irish, so you'd better believe that tonight I'll be celebrating the life of Saint Patrick and the glory of being Irish with twelve fluid ounces of Ireland's finest export. Second, How the Irish Saved Civilization has a couple of great chapters on Saint Patrick and the revolutionary monastic movement he founded. The business of driving the snakes out of Ireland may have been bullshit, but Saint Patrick was pretty much responsible for the lot of you not becoming heathen savages. (Unfortunately, not even Saint Patrick himself could have saved Mighty Mo.) Seriously, it's a quick read, give it a try.

Also, Michael Medved had an op-ed piece last year about why we love the Irish so much - very much worth reading. Also, here's an orbital view of Saint Patrick's Cathedral in Dublin.

Saint Patrick: a great man who played a pivotal role in the development of the world. I raise my glass to him. Have a great day, folks, and check in tomorrow for more!

Fly Report: 17th March 2009

Good morning. I'm your density.

It's 7° Centigrade and partly cloudy in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 50° Fahrenheit with rain and snow.

A barrel of oil is trading at $46.07. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 7216.97. The exchange rate is $1.41 for £1, or £0.71 for $1.

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is cool, but looks like something I hacked up yesterday. The picture at the Orkneyjar Photoblog is not new.

Today's scripture reading is Deuteronomy 13. The Fly is currently reading the U.S. Army/Marine Corps Counterinsurgency Field Manual, FM 3-24/MCWP 3-33.5.

Consecutive days without CCG: 146

Her skin is pale like God's only dove.

Plague and Pestilence

Hey folks! I've been sick for the better part of a week now, so no regular post today. I do, however, want to post the following video, which gives some pretty good perspective on the whole "torture" issue.



Excellent. Have a great day!

Fly Report: 16th March 2009

Good morning. Hadouken!

It's 9° Centigrade and cloudy in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 52° Fahrenheit with showers and wind.

A barrel of oil is trading at $44.51. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 7223.98. The exchange rate is $1.40 for £1, or £0.72 for $1.

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is awesome. The picture at the Orkneyjar Photoblog is not new.

Today's scripture reading is Deuteronomy 13. The Fly is currently reading the U.S. Army/Marine Corps Counterinsurgency Field Manual, FM 3-24/MCWP 3-33.5.

Consecutive days without CCG: 146

And you give yourself away.

AMF: Wherein the Fly Stimulates the Economy

Hey folks. I still feel... Well, really terrible, actually. Beyond my current existential crisis, I woke up Wednesday after having spent Tuesday with Captain John and First Mate Annie, and felt horrible. Wednesday night, I went to bed at around 20:00 (8:00 PM) and still felt lousy. I woke up at about 01:00 Thursday morning, sick, and laid awake for two hours before I finally fell back asleep. On the plus side, Radio Havana Cuba is still broadcasting that late, so at least I had something to listen to.

So, I have a couple of items that I wanted to share with you folks, but I've only had time to write up one of them. Yours truly, the Fly, has been hard at work, stimulating the economy. What follows is a description of the several categories of non-government economic stimulus that I've recently engaged in.

Shortwave Radio
Yeah, no shock there, eh? I've been meaning to try a different antenna for my Grundig S350, so I forked over the $17.95 for a Sangean ANT-60 antenna that I'd had my eye on for a month or two. I also hadn't gotten a new copy of the Passport to World Band Radio since May of '07, so I also ordered the '09 edition. Given that the '07 edition reminds me of an ex-girlfriend, I really ought to get rid of it, but I may just pack up all of the her-related stuff into a box and tuck it away. Anyway, there's category one.

Music
I've all but gotten out of the habit of buying CDs since I finally figured out how to download music from outlets like Amazon and the now-defunct Yahoo(!) music store in August of '07. However, sometimes the downloaded version just doesn't cut it - or isn't even available. On the latter point, I ordered the

No Mercy greatest hits disc from one of the Amazon Marketplace sellers, and haven't had a chance to yank any of the songs and put them on my mp3 player yet, but I will at some point. Chris Isaak released Mr. Lucky a couple of weeks ago, and being a huge Chris Isaak fan, I ordered it. And what else? Oh, just the U2 - No Line on the Horizon Limited Edition Box Set - the first U2 album released since I was dating Katherine. It's important.

Entertainment
Since I don't have cable, and even though I've started watching some shows online, I still tend to buy some shows in DVD box set form. Given that the makers of South Park have made all of theirs available on demand, I've kind of been regretting buying four of the seasons on DVD; however, South Park has always been a sort of special case. I've been on a Battlestar Galactica kick lately, given that the series is in its final weeks, but that can only last for a while. At any rate, over the last few weeks, I've purchased several series' on DVD, some of which just plain aren't available anywhere else, including online.

One of my favorite shows when I was in middle school (and then when it was rerunning in college on the SciFi Channel) was Space: Above and Beyond. A few years ago, Best Buy released a DVD box set; unfortunately, the initial pressing had a design flaw that caused it to skip, and the packaging was also lousy according to various reviews. The later pressings apparently fixed these flaws, and I ordered the set last week. Being older and wiser, I'm disappointed that they thought it was just fine to either forego an actual military consultant, or just ignore said consultant's advice. I guess you can't have everything - still a cult classic, and I seem to remember the show getting better as it got to the end of the first and only season.

As mentioned previously, I've fallen in love with the most excellent show Chuck, so last week I ordered the complete first season. I'm watching it as I write this, having decided to pre-empt S:AAB - and to give the BSG sets a bit of a break. Once I finish BSG, S:AAB, and Chuck, I'm going to start from the beginning of the (currently) six year run of MI-5/Spooks, which will eventually bring me to the still-shrink-wrapped Volume 6.

Oh, and just for good measure, I picked up two great and hilarious science fiction comedies: Mars Attacks, and Galaxy Quest.

Gifts
I've often opined about how much I loved reading An Unorthodox Soldier by LtCol Tim Spicer, OBE. I got a second loaner copy in one of my recent orders (and need to get my original copy back from the Desert Rat one of these days). That's not technically a "gift" purchase, but I didn't know where else to put it in the pecking order.

As far as gifts go, I bought several for people who I appreciate. (That means that I should have bought some stuff for Mighty Mo and Father Time, but they'll just have to wait.) What I did get is three

Stikfas Alpha Male Legionnaires - one for me, one for Professor Augustus, and one for Big Red - and an additional gift of a copy of the 300 Two-Disc Special Edition for Professor Augustus. Also, for my hockey buddy Boomer, I got a Stikfas G2 Alpha Male Hockey Player. He's gonna love it... When I can actually meet up with him in order to pass it on. In fact, the big challenge on all of these gifts is going to be the distribution bit.

I'll discuss some future spending plans in an upcoming post. I had also intended to post a conversation between me and the Crypto King that discussed beef as an aphrodesiac, but that will have to wait for another occasion. Have a great weekend, folks!

UPDATE: For the record, I feel better than I did when I wrote the bulk of this post. I think I'm going to market reruns of Chuck, Papa John's pizza, and Guinness as a cold remedy.

Fly Report: 13th March 2009

Good morning. Beef is the ultimate aphrodesiac.

It's 7° Centigrade and partly cloudy in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 44° Fahrenheit with sunshine.

A barrel of oil is trading at $46.00. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 7170.06. The exchange rate is $1.38 for £1, or £0.73 for $1.

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is cool. The picture at the Orkneyjar Photoblog is not new.

Today's scripture reading is Deuteronomy 13. The Fly is currently reading the U.S. Army/Marine Corps Counterinsurgency Field Manual, FM 3-24/MCWP 3-33.5.

Consecutive days without CCG: 143

Show me, mother.

The Thing About It

Here's the thing: the thing about it is that there's no good reason why I'm still awake. I had planned to, and should have, been in bed an hour and a half ago... And yet, here I am, watching Chuck (Episode 104, "Chuck vs. The Wookiee"), and I just ordered a pizza. Ladies and gentlemen, tomorrow is going to be exceptionally painful.

Bollocks.

Fly Report: 12th March 2009

Good morning. I'm only happy when it rains.

It's 8° Centigrade and partly cloudy in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 34° Fahrenheit with sunshine.

A barrel of oil is trading at $42.24. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 6930.40. The exchange rate is $1.38 for £1, or £0.73 for $1.

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is cool. The picture at the Orkneyjar Photoblog is not new.

Today's scripture reading is Deuteronomy 13. The Fly is currently reading the U.S. Army/Marine Corps Counterinsurgency Field Manual, FM 3-24/MCWP 3-33.5.

Consecutive days without CCG: 142

Still shaken, still in pain.

Behind My Camel

The title of this post comes from an old instrumental song by Sting and the Police. Well... By the Police. Sting hated it, and had no part in it, and Stewart Copeland hated it, too. Copeland played the drums because Andy Summers didn't have anyone else to drum. The song won a Grammy for Best Rock Instrumental Performance - I guess they didn't have many more options, but I love it.

Why the explanation? Because I feel like I'm behind my camel; or rather, coming out the south end of a north-bound camel. I'm not sure what it is, but I woke up with a sore-ish throat, a plugged ear (that appears to have cleared itself), and a general tired, achy feeling - but not breaky, because that would just be annoying.

I spent a great day yesterday with Captain John, Scottish Comedian, and First Mate Annie. Our routes and places visited will be noted in an upcoming (tomorrow?) post, as they're just a bit more than I'm prepared to address at the moment. It was really a great day, though - exactly what I needed. Alright, I'm going to do what's usually best for making me not feel like I'm falling apart on the rare occasion when I feel like I'm falling apart: take a shower. Have a great day, folks.

Fly Report: 11th March 2009

Good morning. Is she really going out with him?

It's 6° Centigrade and rainy in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 27° Fahrenheit with partial clouds.

A barrel of oil is trading at $45.02. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 6926.49. The exchange rate is $1.38 for £1, or £0.72 for $1.

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is excellent. The picture at the Orkneyjar Photoblog is not new.

Today's scripture reading is Deuteronomy 13. The Fly is currently reading the U.S. Army/Marine Corps Counterinsurgency Field Manual, FM 3-24/MCWP 3-33.5.

Consecutive days without CCG: 141

It's hard to walk away, when you could have it all... We could have it all, have it all someday.

Still Fighting

Hey, folks. I'm in a bit better mood today than I was last week and throughout the weekend. It's amazing how a few hours with friends from out of country will help improve your mood. Also helpful were advice from Mighty Mo, and from M@, I think I may be developing a game plan to square things away.

So, given that Captain John and First Mate Annie are in town, I'm taking the day off from work and showing them around Old Dominion. I even cleaned up my flat... Sort of. I'm not sure that they'll actually see it, but when they show up this morning, I'll at least let them into the living room. Anyway, that's not the point. A day off from work and cruising the city while everyone else is stuck at work may be just the thing to snap me out of my funk. In point of fact, Sarah Canuck and Themis (Goddess of Justice)(formerly Triathlon Goddess, formerly Law School Goddess) will attest to the fact that I was up until 22:00 last night - much later than 19:30, wouldn't you say?

So, the other interesting news is that I Googled my name on Friday, and found out that a number of my articles have been totally canked by a number of different websites - including NavySEALs.com (they copied my article... about Somali pirates!), and the big one: the Afghan Embassy in Ottawa, Canada. I know, right? I guess I'm doin' something right.

Okay, that's it for today. If you get bored, consider going to the Buy More Sniper School. Mighty Mo, I'm lookin' at you.

Fly Report: 10th March 2009

Good morning. You need a strategy for these things. Strategery, even.

It's 7° Centigrade and rainy in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 22° Fahrenheit with snow.

A barrel of oil is trading at $46.52. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 6547.05. The exchange rate is $1.38 for £1, or £0.73 for $1.

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is most impressive. The picture at the Orkneyjar Photoblog is not new.

Today's scripture reading is Deuteronomy 13. The Fly is currently reading the U.S. Army/Marine Corps Counterinsurgency Field Manual, FM 3-24/MCWP 3-33.5.

Consecutive days without CCG: 140

Higher... Take me higher... You take me higher.

Ehhhhhh

My outlook on life improved a bit on Friday and Saturday. Then it sort of tanked again. Now I'm just confused, a bit overloaded, and in need of a few more days of weekend.

On the plus side, Captain John and First Mate Annie are due to arrive in the area today, so I'm taking Tuesday off from work to show them around. I'm still not sure what all we'll do, but I have a few ideas, and time tends to fly when spent with good friends touring around any given area. Hopefully it will improve my mood.

Fly Report: 09th March 2009

Good morning. You're going to betray me.

It's 6° Centigrade and rainy in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 8° Fahrenheit with light snow.

A barrel of oil is trading at $45.49. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 6626.94. The exchange rate is $1.41 for £1, or £0.71 for $1.

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is cool. The picture at the Orkneyjar Photoblog is not new.

Today's scripture reading is Deuteronomy 12. The Fly is currently reading the U.S. Army/Marine Corps Counterinsurgency Field Manual, FM 3-24/MCWP 3-33.5.

Consecutive days without CCG: 139

The sun won't melt our wings tonight.

AMF: Fly + Tirade = Flyrade

I'm not sure whether or not anyone's noticed, but I haven't put up anything more than a Fly Report all week. The truth is, I'm beat. There have been at least two, maybe three evenings this week in which I've been in bed at 20:00 - last night, it was 19:30. For those of you non-military types like Mighty Mo, that's eight o'clock and seven thirty, respectively. Eight o'clock at night, and yours truly is on his Cabela's Outfitter XL Cot, listening to his Grundig S350. That early in the evening, it's too early to even listen to the so-called "Voice of Justice" because that particular program doesn't start its pre-broadcast until around 20:27.

I get up in the morning between 04:00 and 05:00, I putter around and get ready for work, and I go to work. When I finish with work, I drive back to Van Diemen's Station, and I have so little motivation or energy left that I don't really accomplish a whole helluva lot. Do I cook? No. Do I clean up my flat? No. Do I work on the many projects that I've wanted to accomplish for days, weeks, or months now? Sure don't. Do I study Arabic, or go for a long walk? Just guess, I dare you. By the time I'm done with work, all I really do is sit in my LoveSac, on my laptop, and bring the day full circle: morning, work day, and evening, I spend nearly the entirety of my day staring at a rectangular light bulb of one sort or another.

Save for one article every two weeks, I haven't written anything substantial or accomplished a substantial project in longer than I can remember. My great hope when I moved here in July of 2007 was that I'd have time and facilities to do things like improving my physical condition, studying Arabic, reading, and accomplishing any number of other tasks. It just hasn't happened, and most of it's my fault, but it's a pretty tough habit to break out of.

With the economy, the job market, and the political climate, I feel stuck - really stuck. Marooned. I'm not necessarily looking to jump ship, but being three thousand miles from my real home on the West Coast, it's nice to have some options open. As most of you will have seen from the news, those options have dried up, and it appears that the Obama Administration has its sights set on screwing with my industry, too. I'm worried, and I feel trapped, and that is a terrifying place to be in.

Now, all of this would be one thing if I thought that I was getting anywhere at the moment with my career. I've certainly made some progress since I moved to Van Diemen's Station. Unfortunately, I'm becoming more and more worried that the position I now hold may have limited my ability to jump to the next job - I think I may have pigeon-holed myself.

And what have I given up for this? I've mentioned previously how I walked away from a great relationship with April. Since September of 2004, I have made the choice on three separate occasions, April being only one of them. Now, given, one of these walk-aways happened before I began pursuing my present course - and Mighty Mo and anyone else who reads this blog will agree with me when I say that if I had wound up married to Katherine (the English bird), I would have been miserable by now. But what about April? I think that she and I could have been very happy together. When I moved here, I was seeing a great girl whom I miss immensely, and who was really good for me (and vice versa). I moved here with the hope that she and I would somehow be able to make it work eventually, but the relationship fell apart almost immediately. Since I've arrived here in Virginia, I've dated two women, both of which relationships lasted for no more than about six or eight weeks apiece. I haven't been on a date since Labor Day, and I haven't been on a real date since last April - and even that scarcely counts, as Mighty Mo and I agreed in a conversation Wednesday night. Women are looking for men, losers though they may be, who are "stable" and not planning to leave an area within several years. Because I won't be staying at Van Diemen's Station indefinitely, I've gotten nowhere.

I can deal with being alone, and I can deal with being stagnant in the pursuit of my career goals. However, it's pretty tough to justify the one when you don't perceive any progress on the other.

So, to recap: I'm twenty-six. Since college, I've made no progress toward getting married and starting a family; and since arriving in Virginia, I've made no progress toward even enjoying the regular company of a young lady. Since arriving in Virginia, I have made little or no discernible progress toward attaining my ultimate career goal, and it's questionable as to whether or not I've made much progress toward taking the next step toward that eventual goal. I weigh two hundred thirty-five pounds, and I've been officially balding since right around the Summer of 2007. Between the weak economy, and President Obama proving every last conservative fear about him right with each passing day, the world has the appearance that it's falling apart around me. Oh, yeah, and I can't seem to stay awake past eight o'clock.

Is this really it? Is this really all that adulthood has in store for me? Don't get me wrong - I understand better than most seem to understand that I'm unequivocally privileged compared to the so many other people around the world, or in my own country... But I'd still like to think that there's something more than going to bed alone at 20:00, three thousand miles away from the people whom I care about the most.

If anyone's actually read this, I do appreciate it. Maybe this weekend will have greater things in store for me, and I'll be able to pick up with a renewed vigor next week. This was just something I had to get out of my system.

Fly Report: 06th March 2009

Good morning. There must be some way out of here.

It's 6° Centigrade and partly cloudy in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 35° Fahrenheit with snow.

A barrel of oil is trading at $43.93. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 6594.44 - stimulus, huh? The exchange rate is $1.41 for £1, or £0.71 for $1.

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is beautiful. The picture at the Orkneyjar Photoblog is not new.

Today's scripture reading is Deuteronomy 12. The Fly is currently reading the U.S. Army/Marine Corps Counterinsurgency Field Manual, FM 3-24/MCWP 3-33.5.

Consecutive days without CCG: 136

I passed by a thousand signs, looking for my own name.

Fly Report: 05th March 2009

Good morning. Which mask will you wear today? How 'bout the one with the pretty smile?

It's 5° Centigrade and partly cloudy in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 41° Fahrenheit with rain.

A barrel of oil is trading at $44.96. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 6875.84. The exchange rate is $1.41 for £1, or £0.71 for $1.

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is beautiful. The picture at the Orkneyjar Photoblog is not new.

Today's scripture reading is Deuteronomy 11. The Fly is currently reading the U.S. Army/Marine Corps Counterinsurgency Field Manual, FM 3-24/MCWP 3-33.5.

Consecutive days without CCG: 135

You put your lips to her lips to stop the lie.

Fly Report: 04th March 2009

Good morning. Someday you'll return to your valleys and your farms, and you'll no longer yearn to be brothers in arms.

It's 4° Centigrade and cloudy in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 54° Fahrenheit with rain.

A barrel of oil is trading at $42.81. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 6726.02. The exchange rate is $1.40 for £1, or £0.71 for $1.

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is cool. The picture at the Orkneyjar Photoblog is not new.

Today's scripture reading is Deuteronomy 10. The Fly is currently reading the U.S. Army/Marine Corps Counterinsurgency Field Manual, FM 3-24/MCWP 3-33.5.

Consecutive days without CCG: 134

We broke the bread, we drank the wine, everybody having a good time - except you, you were talking about the end of the world.

Fly Report: 03rd March 2009

Good morning. I hope none of you were planning to retire any time soon.

It's 5° Centigrade and partly cloudy in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 55° Fahrenheit with clouds and wind.

A barrel of oil is trading at $41.38. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 6763.29 - I bet all those hippies are missing President Bush about now, eh komrade?! The exchange rate is $1.40 for £1, or £0.71 for $1.

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is beautiful. The picture at the Orkneyjar Photoblog is not new.

Today's scripture reading is Deuteronomy 9. The Fly is currently reading the U.S. Army/Marine Corps Counterinsurgency Field Manual, FM 3-24/MCWP 3-33.5.

Consecutive days without CCG: 133

Your heart is racing, you can't keep up.

Fly Report: 02nd March 2009

Good morning. Give me a reason: how can I do it? The truth isn't easy, that much I can't deny.

It's 6° Centigrade and rainy in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 57° Fahrenheit with clouds.

A barrel of oil is trading at $44.27. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 7062.93 - all hail The One! The exchange rate is $1.43 for £1, or £0.70 for $1.

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is blank. The picture at the Orkneyjar Photoblog is not new.

Today's scripture reading is Deuteronomy 9. The Fly is currently reading the U.S. Army/Marine Corps Counterinsurgency Field Manual, FM 3-24/MCWP 3-33.5.

Consecutive days without CCG: 132

And then she makes you watch her from above, and you need her like a drug.

Stuff Fly Wants: February 2009

Field Gear

British special forces style rucksack (available at Silverman's in London, item number 35116) - £89.99

British SAS smock (available at Silverman's in London, item number 22001) - £90.00

British Desert DPM trousers and shirt

MARPAT Desert Utilities - $67.90

Six Color Desert Utilities - $39.90

Tiger Stripe Utilities - $39.90

Khaki Tru-Spec Tactical Response Uniform trousers (2) - $89.80

Sand Crye Precision R6 Field Pants - $105.00

UDT/SEAL Team Swimmer Trunks (2) - $71.90

Multicam Hunting Shirt - $27.95

U.S. Army ACU tan sweat-wicking uniform T-shirts (3)

Under Armour Cold Gear

Carhartt Double Front Logger Dungarees (2) - $93.00

5.11 Tactical Polos (3) - $119.97

Rubbermaid 48 Gallon ActionPackers (2) - $69.99

TAD Gear Pathfinder Zip Hoodie - $156.95 NEW

FN FAL

Miscellaneous Clothing

Royal Marines T-Shirt - £10.96

More Cowbell T-Shirt - $17.99

Position Wanted: Pope T-Shirt - $20.00

Clan Cleland tartan kilt and kilt pin - $400.00-$700.00

Utilikilts Knee High Celtic Weave Socks - $10.00

deer skin sporran NEW

Household Items

Union Jack

Amazing Pasta Maker - $39.95 [click me]

Fouled Anchor lapel pin - $3.00

Walther PPK

Orkney satellite map

Britain and Ireland Map - $10.99

Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Middle East Map - $10.99

Roman Mainz Gladius

The Maxim Coffin Coffee Table - $4135.00

Stikfas Assault Team - $22.99 (Amazon price $20.99)

Stikfas Alpha Male Legionnaire - $12.67

Pawleys Island Tri-Beam Hammock Stand - $140.00

Pawleys Island Beach Quilted Hammock - $222.00 (Amazon price $184.36)

Discipline poster - $19.95

Sangean ANT-60 Short Wave Antenna - $17.95

book case

Books

Travels of ibn Battutah - $18.00

Bravo Two Zero by Andy McNab - $7.99

Contact Zero by David Wolstencroft - $7.99

New Deal or Raw Deal?: How FDR's Economic Legacy has Damaged America by Burton Fulsom, Jr. - $27.00 (Amazon price $17.82)

Liberal Fascism: The Secret History of the American Left, From Mussolini to the Politics of Meaning by Jonah Goldberg - $27.95 (Amazon price $18.45)

Passport to World Band Radio, 2009 Edition by Lawrence Magne - $22.95 (Amazon price $15.61)

Entertainment

U2 - No Line on the Horizon Box Set - $95.98 (Amazon price $67.49) NEW

Chris Isaak - Mr. Lucky - $18.98 (Amazon price $9.99) NEW

Chuck - The Complete First Season - $39.98 (Amazon price $25.99) NEW

MI-5 Volume 6 - $79.98 (Amazon price $71.99)

Best of Chris Isaak (CD & DVD) - $24.98 (Amazon price $22.99)

James Bond Ultimate Collection - Volumes 1, 2, 3, and 4 - $359.92 (Amazon price $234.52)

24 - Seasons 1, 2, 3, and 4 - $269.92 (Amazon price $154.53)

Space Above and Beyond - Complete Series - $41.99 (Amazon price $36.98)

Reno 911! - Season 2 - $39.98 (Amazon price $31.99)

Kids in the Hall - Seasons 1, 2, 3, and 4 - $179.90 (Amazon price $155.98)

Gladiator Extended Edition - $39.98 (Amazon price $29.99)

Apocalypse Now Redux

Gattaca - $14.94 (Amazon price $10.99)

Mars Attacks! - $9.98

Switchfoot - Nothing is Sound - $18.99 (Amazon price $13.99)

Switchfoot - The Legend of Chin - $11.98

Stephanie Schneiderman - Live at Kung Fu Bakery - $15.98

Mystical Chants of Carmel by the Carmelite Monks - $18.95