Want to lower your house payment? Want to save hundreds of dollars each month? Well, the Rescuer in Chief has a deal you can't afford to pass up. In order to qualify, you have to meet the following criteria:
- Have little or no equity in your house. Note: you can accomplish this either by not making a down payment or by getting a second mortgage to "leverage" your equity.
- Take a three-month break from sending in a house payment.
- Make a really pouty-looking face while saying "My lender tricked me!" one hundred times as you stomp around in a circle.
You'd better hurry up if you want to take advantage of this special offer because only the first 400,000 home owners who apply will be accepted.
Please note, if you have been making your house payment on time each month you are not eligible for this incredible opportunity.
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Also, from the Department of Homeland Irony, White House spokesman Tony Fratto said that in light of the newly signed legislation, "the Federal Housing Administration would begin right away to implement new policies 'intended to keep more deserving American families in their homes.'" As it turns out, banks have already found a way to determine which American families deserve to stay in their homes. It's the ones who send them a check each month.
I read an article on Slashdot awhile back citing a study that "found a link between road rage and the number of personalized items on or in people's vehicles."
"The number of territory markers predicted road rage better than vehicle value, condition, or any of the things that we normally associate with aggressive driving,' says Szlemko. What's more, only the number of bumper stickers, and not their content, predicted road rage… Szlemko suggests that this territoriality may encourage road rage because drivers are simultaneously in a private space (their car) and a public one (the road). 'We think they are forgetting that the public road is not theirs, and are exhibiting territorial behavior that normally would only be acceptable in personal space,' the researcher says. (emphasis mine)
Contrast this with interactions along the bike path. People are generally friendly and courteous. They'll wave at each other and say hello as they pass. They will move aside to let someone going faster than them pass. I wonder how much of this is related to way people perceive the bike trail as a public place. Whether you're on a bike, inline skates, or walking/jogging, you're out in the open. There is no confusion about whose space is whose. Everybody's got to share. Everyone has to play nice.
A friend of mine at work loaned me his copy of The Lillywhite Sessions, Dave Matthews' Band's technically "unreleased" album. I had heard of it, but never really listened to it until today. I'm a DMB fan from way back, and I'm really enjoying this album as I listen to it today. I told my friend the only regret I have is that I'm hearing these songs for the first time at work, while I can't really *listen* to them.
So, I got to thinking. I listen to music all day at work, while I am (hopefully) concentrating on other things. I listen to music while I'm riding my bike to/from work. I listen to music while I work out in the yard. I listen to music while I'm driving. But, do I ever actually listen to music? Not really. I wonder how much deeper this new-to-me album would sound if I were sitting at home listening to it and doing nothing else.
I also wonder what other pursuits this applies to. How many things in my life do I passively experience, but not really experience at all?
Hosanna, hey Sanna Sanna Sanna Ho, Sanna hey Sanna Ho Sanna.
If you caught Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, then you probably still have the A Man's Gotta Do song stuck in your head (if not, you can buy it from iTunes or hear the song on youtube).
You can nominate me for Father of the Year if you want, but we watched all three acts of Dr. Horrible with Pete over the weekend. He thought it was pretty entertaining, and stayed engaged through all 45~ minutes. Then, yesterday I caught him singing "A maaaaaaaaaan's gotta do what a maaaaan's gotta do" under his breath. As if that weren't funny enough, last night while he was taking a bath he turned to me and said, "I've gotta do what I've gotta do. 'Cuz I'm a man, right Dad?" As I tried to keep myself from bursting out with laughter, I asked him what he thought he had to do. "You know," he said, "Man stuff."
I'm hoping that doesn't involve peeing in the back yard, but I wouldn't count on it.
Alright, here are the scores from this week's entries, in order of submission:
TXGMa - Movie: National Lampoon's Vacation
Quote quality: 8.3
Movie quality: 6.8
Quotability quotient: .92
Comments: Good movie, and highly quotable. Not a bad quote, either.
Total score: 51.9
The Wife - Movie: Enchanted
Quote quality: 7.1
Movie quality: 6.1
Quotability quotient: .47
Comments: Meh. The Wife did include a quote from *her* favorite movie, which I guess was technically in line with the directions. But, when I think of quotable films, Enchanted doesn't break the top 100.
Total score: 20.4
anneghormley - Movie: Better Off Dead
Quote quality: 9.1
Movie quality: 5.5
Quotability quotient: .81
Comments: I watched this for the first time last night. The quote is pretty great, I'll give you that. However, I didn't love the film. As I stated in the directions, you gotta know your judge.
Total score: 40.5
Drew - Movie: National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation
Quote quality: 9.7
Movie quality: 8.8
Quotability quotient: .98
Comments: We watch this movie every single year, and you'd be hard pressed to find one that's more quotable. And, out of all of those quotes this is probably the one that I use in conversation more than any other. "That it is Edward." Just four words, but so appropriate in so many occasions.
Total score: 83.7
Congrats to Drew, the first back-to-back champion in the history of Movie Line Monday.
Back to normal rules for this week's quote:
Man 1: How 'bout you Sideburns? You want some of this milk?
Man 2: I'd rather have a beer.
Let's see if anyone can take Drew's throne from him…
It's free until Sunday. After that, you can buy it through iTunes. The first two are really funny, and it's got Doogie Howser. How could you not click on the link above?
If the mortgage bailout doesn't go through, maybe banks should consult this website before trying to turn their foreclosed properties.
It's Lovely! I'll Take It! is "A collection of poorly chosen photos from real estate listings. With love." A couple of them (1, 2) are right here in Lincoln, but this one is probably my favorite.
HT: Challies
In the good old days, if a city council wanted to trim back some overgrown landscaping in a public area, all they had to do was conduct an environmental impact study done, hire a proportionate number of women and minority landscapers to handle the job, and face toward Mecca while filling the Weed Whacker with E85 fuel. Oh, that it were still so simple.
According to the Telegraph, the City Council of Bristol (U.K.) set out to "prune bushes and remove cover from an area known as the Downs to improve the landscape and encourage rare wildlife." Huzzah for green spaces and rare wildlife, right? To quote the legendary Lee Corso, "Not so fast, my friend!" Apparently the word "wildlife" can have multiple meanings, because gay rights activists are claiming that the city council's plans are "discriminatory" because the spot is, um, well, a popular spot for homosexual "outdoor recreation", so to speak. Although these outdoor escapades are illegal, these activists believe they have a right to a government-provided space to engage in them. Cutting down some bushes would violate this right, see?
So, work on the area has been stopped while the council seeks "to make sure any work we will do is sensitive."
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In other news, the Association of Unauthorized Bank Asset Procurement Specialists (AUBAPS) is claiming that their members' rights are being violated because banks in all of England are equipped with security cameras. This is, of course, a violation of their right to privacy while engaging in their behavior of choice. The Central Bank of England is considering how they might be more sensitive to the concerns of bank robbers who might be offended by the current videographic arrangements most banks have in place.
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