Obama Hydras

There's nothing Photoshop can't do. Wondrous! How did people laugh before it? Sure, the Hitler mustache drawn on a portrait is funny, but it gets old pretty fast. Poor historical people - their lives must have been so un-LULZ.

A meme within a meme within a meme. Such are memes now free on the internet, for a meme is articulated then someone else adds to it, then someone else, and so on, till finally a new meme breaks out and spreads in turn. The Dialectic. It's a bedrock principle of humanity (of reality in fact) and the internet has given it power beyond compare to the past.  We feed each other and in so doing continually create something new.

Pencil carving art. Awesome.

Delusions of fevered brains

Obama has rolled back most of the Bush era tragedies. And yet, the day Obama was elected, the rightwing wingnuts started right back up with the "BLACK HELICOPTERZ!!!1" nonsense, 8 years in hibernation. Amazing, really. Here's the decoder key to their fevered brains: Democrat in power = Fascism, Socialism, lot's of other "isms" they don't understand. They're partisan beyond reason.

So while Obama has actually restored many key provisions of the Constitution that were "suspended" during the Bush administration, the wingnuts see burning Declarations and evil in every Good. They're insane.

"Obamanation", by noted wingnut artist (and there are very few of them for the obvious reasons) John McNaughton. It's kinda interesting, actually, a look into the fevered brain of a wingnut with painting talent.

Another McNaughton original. Obama - ironically! - has everyone in chains, except for some brave Tea Partiers who have cut their bonds to the Man, man.

Imagine a political opposition that does not see a man in their rival, but the Antichrist hisself. Crazy, but this is the state of the "modern" Repuglican party - a group of cruel millionaires and Christian Talibani.

Here's the truth of the matter, by the way.

Great President, great man, great family. We're lucky to have them all, and the Obama's herald a new golden age for America.

If we can defeat the wingnuts. I believe we can. Yes, we can.

Now's not the time for fear

What a delightful photoshop! And such a delectable pun! Bane.

Bain Capital is where Mitt made the majority of his bones, leveraging troubled companies to squeeze every sweet dollar out of them before shutting them down or re-organizing them as something much worse than before. Vampire capitalism, preying on the old and weak.

Bane: "A person or thing that ruins or spoils.". Bain has become one of Mitt's banes, and to think it was supposed to be one of his notable achievements! But he has quite a few banes these days, indeed, his entire resume is a bane he pretends to shed whenever possible, but how can one rid one's self of the very things one touts as reason to be the most powerful man in the world? Mitt can't talk up Bain, can't talk up his Governorship of MA, can't talk up his high standing in the Mormon Church, and no longer can talk up his "saving" of the Winter Olympics (cuz it was saved with sweet, sweet free taxpayer money). It's incredible, really. Flabbergasting that this man is running for President! I thank FSM for such a gift.

And finally, Bane: Villain in the latest Batman movie. An intriguing villain. I liked the movie, but wasn't crazy about it. It also seems to have exited pop consciousness remarkably fast, which is never good these days. I really dug the jacket above, and wait to see if an internet prediction comes true: That style jacket will be "a thing" this winter. I doubt it, but we shall see if pop consciousness has forgotten Bane, or not.

A political pop consciousness thing: Dogs against Romney. If you hadn't heard, one day way back when Mitt regaled a reporter in Boston with a homespun, down to salt of the earth tale of the family vacation in the old roadster, driving to Canada. He kept his dog, Seamus, in a cage tied to the roof for the trip, even after he got sick and shit everywhere - never fear! Mitt hosed it all away and resumed the trip, Seamus still roof-bound. Egads, right? Funniest thing is Mitt told this tale as if it were a heartwarming anecdote, a sure fire way to connect to "The Common Man". Oh, Mitt!  Read all about it here.

Oh Mitt, you cad! Have you heard about all the funny pranks young Mitt used to pull? Pretending to be a State Trooper? Shaving a hippy? Protesting FOR the Vietnam War, then heading to France on a Mormon mission (the phrase you're looking for is "Greg Marmalard)? As you can see, Mitt's got character in spades! Character plus experience equals the best President Amercia can buy!

LOL. What's been even more hilarious is how awful Mitt's campaign has been. Chock a'block with stupid mistakes - like misspelling "America" in the campaign app. I mean, c'mon! It's Palinesque! And there's been dozens of mistakes like this, and worse.

It's a 'shop, actually, but that doesn't matter anymore. "The Stench" has become the caricature, because Mitt Romney IS a living caricature.

Momjeans = common touch! LOL.

Man of the people indeed.

I almost feel sorry for Mitt, because in a sane world he'd be a decent candidate - he's certainly got the hair for it. But this is not a sane world, not the Repuglican side of it anyways, and thus Mitt is forced to be insane (if he's not truly - who knows with a robot?), and by being insane, and no good at it, he's guaranteed to lose. Catch 22, Willard! You're caught in a trap and there's no way out.

Thank FSM again! While I think Barack Obama has done a FANTASTIC job in his first term, I grant that Fox Nation has done an equally good job in laying the FUDD so thick that many think he's done poorly. And so if there were a solid Repuglican candidate this year, they would have had a good chance of unseating President Obama. Alas and bless Shesah, Mitt is the candidate instead, and he's terrible, and yet still the best of that rotted bunch. Which tells you all you need to know about the state of the Repuglican Party today: Rotten.

The Turn of the Tide

Premise: Sarah Palin represents the modern Republican Party. From the lack of knowledge, to the cognitive dissonance, to the appeals to hate and fear, she near perfectly summarizes everything the modern Republican party has become. She's not a white male, though, so there's some variance (Paul Ryan is the 2012 version). But for this post, she suffices perfectly.

For, you see, back in 2008 we were told that she was going to be the spark that lit the fires of Republican re-ascendency. She was anything but - rather, a ridiculous anchor that helped sink the McCain campaign. She was an obvious fraud and grifter to me from the get go, but I'm ahead of the curve. It took a couple of more years for a good portion of America to catch up. It was a cumulative effect, starting with perhaps this:

The awesome turkey slaughter interview. Real America! And then she resigned the governorship of Alaska in order "to lead", cause governing is hard, of course. And there's much more money to be had in reality tv. Then this:

Hand notes. As if Republican talking points are too hard to memorize! Here's the gist, Sarah: Demoncrats bad, Republicans good! And then a whole bunch of stupid Facebook postings and such, and then this:

Which I posit was the straw breaking the dam, as decent everyday folks who were not paying enough attention finally came to the realization of the monster that lurked beneath the glasses. Which then swiftly led to

The grifting well drying up. And if you can't grift, you can't be a Republican of note these days. Which leads me to:

Super Sarah earlier this year, backing the failed Republican Missouri Senate run by fellow Wingnut Sarah Steelman. Check out the outfit! Is there any better picture which shows that the Republican party has become nothing more than a collection of grifters and C level reality tv stars? I think not! Palin was in no way a contender for the crown of 2012 Republican nominee for President, and her stock has fallen so low she was not even invited to speak at the Gathering of the Wingnuts, AKA, the Republican Convention. But then, neither was W or Dick. That past didn't happen! 

LOL! Sanity. This was from early 2010 - what a hoot! Can you imagine what a disaster such a ticket would have been? Even though it's hard to imagine a bigger disaster than the current Romney/Ryan clown show. Sanity!

Conclusion: Sarah's fall parallels the turning of the tide against Republican insanity, and once Barack crushes Mitt this election and the House returns to Democrat control, we'll be well on our way towards winning against these forces of regression and idiocy. Or at least I hope! Do what you can to make it happen.

Idol Oven

Is it an idol to a terrible god? Is it an oven? It's both! Testament to the power of Sarah and a branding hook (the glasses). Done in mocking fashion, naturally. Read here.

It sure does cook up the heathens nice and tasty, with just the right amount of brimstone. Mmm-mmm! Sacrilicious! 

And of course as a photoshop - the true artistic medium of our time. Not mine! Can you guess the reference?

A hint: Hissssssss

Mechanical Spider Cars of the South

Imagine, if you will, a reality where dinosaurs were not wiped out by a terrible asteroid, but instead continued to prosper and evolve. After millions of years, one species got real smart, real fast, and then turned this world  - and space itself! - into their Kingdom, and all other creatures mere subordinates. Continue imagining, if you're still willing, that at the heights of their glory and power they became arrogant and crass, stupid drunk on their power, and they wiped themselves out. Alas!

Here's some ruins from their glorious but now departed culture. They liked mechanical spiders, according to scholars.

Also too: Nice pine trees!

Ambassador to Mars

Say hello howdoyado to Curiosity, mankind's latest robotic explorer to Mars. And robots are likely the only explorers we'll send to Mars, or anywhere else, for many, many years. If ever. Manned missions of exploration are mostly vanity projects, and expensive ones at that. Robots will be able to do everything we can far more safely and cheaply and in vastly greater numbers.

If people are to go to space, it should be to colonize, not explore. Otherwise, it's a waste of time. Send legions of robots first to pave the way, and then in time, send fleets of people to different destinations and make our stab at the immortality of the human species. Until then, robots will have to make due.

Oreo understands.

Mount Sharp. Very tall. Curiosity will be ascending it over the next years, sampling the geology along the way. The mountain is built of geologic layers and thus Curiosity will get a sample of many millions of years of Martian history as it climbs.

So, in sum: Space robots are cool. Earth robots are scary!

Happy Fall (Winter is Coming)

He eats rock and shits coal!

Why have people in a tank when the tank can run itself just fine without people? Also, it's got an attitude.

"To Serve and Protect" - rich people's assets, of course. Which includes prisoners - the "hip" labor force of the 21st century!

Why have people perform grunt tasks like hauling small Japanese women, when a robot can perform the same task for a fraction of the cost? Also, future Terminators should have cute bear or raccoon faces painted on their indestructible exoskeletons. Just for the lulz.

YOU HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT "THE WAR OF JENKIN'S EAR"? PROCEED.

Substitute robots never get the proper respect.

Note these days well, meatsacks, the robots will take all of our jerbs soon enough. Leaving us countless hours for horseshoes and lemonade. Winter is coming for the species named "Man", and we are lucky enough to be here when it happens. It's going to be interesting to say the least!

They took our jerbs!

Dark Wings, Dark Words

Little drones building a futuristic castle turret. In this example, everything's pretty small. But imagine scaling the tech up - giant drones capable of hauling enormous weights. All of a sudden towers can reach the heavens themselves.

Synchronized drones are terrifying, to me, for in them I see future swarms of killbots tracking down any remaining people, relentless and numerous beyond count. Small little bots perhaps loaded with poison:

You'd need to be awfully clever to stop swarms of mosquito drones bearing poison. 

Brace yourselves, fleshbags, as we are embarking on the robotic age and it is going to get crazy. The smarter the bots and programs become, the more we step aside - let the robots deal with it - trash collection, mining, snow removal, policing, nursing, teaching... Eventually we'll cede enough to them that once they turn smart, they'll have the will and the means to destroy us. And why not? That's what life does. Kills the competition.

But that's some time away, I hope! So for now, enjoy some synchronized drones with color changing LED's: Quadrocopters in Linz Austria.

Beautiful, and eery. The future is going to be interesting looking, at least!

Send an eRaven

Raven, by Ann Smith. Made of gears and sprockets and such. Wonderful.

Speaking of, I just finished "A Dance with Dragons" by George R.R. Martin, and enjoyed it thoroughly, save for the usual frustrations with the books in the series - what's happening with so and so?! You mentioned this off screen?! What's going on with who's and what?! So many characters and settings. Some many pages. Lot's of pages. I saw some blokes reading the first book on the subway way back when after the HBO series premiered, and I was intrigued. So, on vacation in Florida a lifetime ago and with little to do but hang out, I picked up the first book in the "A Song of Ice and Fire" saga, "Game of Thrones". It was awesome in an airport novel kinda way. There's nothing overly serious or poetic or deep in the books, but by gods are they page turning deliciousness, and that's what matters in my opinion about a work of fiction - how much you enjoy it. Does anyone really enjoy "Ulysses" by James Joyce? Anyone eager to get to the next page? Dickens knew this. Martin knows this. I recommend the series highly for anyone with any taste for medieval knights and princesses and kings and some magic and dragons, so on and such, but with an awesomely high level of intrigue, plotting, scheming, and backstabbing. Like a soap opera, I think, if I knew anything about soap operas firsthand. Regardless, big Redshirt thumbs up to the book series and I eagerly await the release of the next.

As an artful segue, here's the little drone the Military has dubbed "Raven":

It's a thrown drone.

And more throwing of drones.

Perhaps the best drone throwing form.

These would be the Army-Maesters, by the way. After launching their Ravens for recon and intel, they retire back to the main hall for trenchers of capons, roasted duck dribbling grease, and tankards of Amber ale.

Corn! Snow!

Crow's Company

Three's officially a murder, leaving these two but a couple of birds on a bench. Where's Daryl?

Oh yeah, making smoove wit da ladies.

Tired of Birds

Jeff Foster has had enough of the chirping and tweeting and occasional caws. He's fighting back where he can, donating to anti-bird causes. He's against all bird rights. Down with birds!

 Are you a bird bigot? What do you think about seagulls? And pigeons? And those little brown guys who hang out at restaurant patios? Hate 'em? Well, let me tell you something, mister.

So there. Stop hatin' y'all, and together men and bird can live peaceably together once again - as we did some recent time ago, I am told.