Month: January 2004

TOP THIRTEEN WAYS HOWARD DEAN IS LIKE ARAGORN:

1. Aragorn is a skilled healer and taught those at the Houses of Healing about the medicinal properties of athelas, enabling the people of Minas Tirith to receive improved health care.
   
   Howard Dean is a medical doctor, and as Governor, he expanded programs to help seniors afford prescription drugs, and he signed into law one of the toughest managed-care consumer protections in the United States.
   

2. While in his care, Aragorn protects the halflings.
   
   While governor, Howard Dean expanded existing health insurance laws to cover over 99% of young people under the age of 18 and 92% of adults.
   

3. Both Howard and Viggo were against the war in Iraq.
   

4. Aragorn would have helped Merry, Pippin, and the Ents conquer Saruman and end his reckless abuse of nature, had he been there.
   
   As Governor, worked with local communities and the federal government to preserve more than one million acres of farmland, shorefront, working forests, and wilderness. 76 of the state’s leaking landfills were safely closed, and Vermont became a leader in the move to reduce mercury pollution and stop power plants from polluting the air. Governor Dean has created bikeways, led the effort to restore commuter rail service in Vermont, and led a strong, coordinated attack on sprawl. Dean is a firm believer in the potential of renewable resources.
   

5. Aragorn helped end conflict in Middle Earth, ensuring safety for his people.
   
   As Governor, Dean cracked down on violent crime and domestic violence in Vermont. Under his administration, child abuse decreased 45%, child sexual abuse decreased 84%, and teen pregnancy rates decreased 49%, to the lowest rate in the country. And regarding National Security, Dean’s expansive, well-developed ideas regarding dealing with the terrorist threat sound very effective. Read some interview transcripts to find out for yourself!
   

6. Aragorn’s efforts led to improved understanding between the races inhabiting Middle Earth. A human, he married an elf.
   
   Dean is a champion of civil rights and supports affirmative action. His December 7th speech has been called the most important statement on race in American politics by a mainstream white politician in nearly 40 years. He is a firm believer in a woman’s right to choose, and he legalized civil unions in Vermont. Son of a Catholic and a Protestant, he married a Jewish woman.
   

7. Aragorn set off from Rivendell with eight companions on a mission to destroy Sauron. On the way, two of their number fell, one of whom died convinced that Aragorn was the true king of Gondor.
   
   Howard Dean set off on the campaign trail with eight other candidates on a mission to overthrow Bush. Two candidates have since dropped out, with Carol Moseley-Braun endorsing Dean.
   

8. Aragorn amassed armies a thousand-strong, all of whom willing to their lives for his cause.
   
   For the “Perfect Storm,” Dean amassed an estimated 3,500 people willing to travel to Iowa give up their week for his cause. At present, he has over 625,000 registered supporters.
   

9. Aragorn and his companions faltered in the snows of Caradhras, yet regrouped and went on to overcome all other obstacles.
   
   Howard Dean faltered in the snows of Iowa and New Hampshire, and is now regrouping with a new, more organized campaign manager, ready face the Feb. 7th primaries.
   

10. An inspiring leader, at the Black Gate in the movie version, Aragorn let out a loud battle cry to inspire his army before plunging into battle of impossible odds.
    
    An inspiring leader, after defeat in Iowa, Dean let out a yell to energize and inspire the Perfect Stormers before moving on to New Hampshire, where his odds of defeating Kerry were very low.
    

11. Aragorn’s elven name, Estel, means “hope.”
    
    One of Dean’s campaign slogans: “Give ’em hope, Howard!”
    

12. Aragorn’s authority as King of Gondor is challenged by the King of the Dead.
    
    Dean’s authority as front-runner is challenged by John Kerry, who kinda looks like a zombie.
    

13. “This day campaign does not belong to one man, but to all. Let us together rebuilt this world political process/country/world/etc, that we may share in the days of peace.”

Brought to you by Priscilla Spencer of Fangirls for Dean.

So many LJers have adopted my Disco Fever Dean icon that I decided I needed a new one. Thanks to permetaform and rechan!

All those in Feb 3rd primary states (AZ, DE, MO, NM, ND, OK, SC), get out and vote! Unless you’re voting for Kerry, of course. :D

Ooh! 21 readers are now syndicating abeybaby, Cult of Lincoln’s LJ feed. So who are you? There’s no “Friend of” feature on syndicated accounts, and I’m curious. Roll call in the blog comment field!

I love getting to be a regular at take-out places. In New York, the guy at the eatery across from class would give me half-price on sandwiches and now, Tarik at Bitar’s gives me free mini-desserts. Life is good.

Dear Disney,

You cannot fathom my wrath. This project will be dropped immediately. You are not cool and we are not pleased and this is the evidence. Get your act together and don’t mess with my favourite book.

(Unless, of course, you throw us a complete curve ball and actually manage to produce an enjoyable film. You gave us PotC after all, though that was entirely due to the Midas touch of Johnny Depp.)

Wrathfully,

Priscilla

Renata! Neil linked to you again! (Also, this is the entry that has the thing about Johnny. Come back to us, Terry Gilliam!)

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!! Tanja’s going to be able to come to America this summer! You’re welcome to crash in Dallas at any time, my loffie. And hmm, come to think of it, I’d love to go to Alaska and meet Rebecca, too…

*gurgles*

Just found out from Heidi, who found out from Neil’s blog, that before the Good Omens movie was put on hold, Johnny Depp was set to play Crowley. How perfect is that casting? Guh, I feel weak in the knees. Can you just imagine him calling Aziraphale “angel”?

Humminahummina.

Whee! I got laughed at by total strangers today!

Well, classmates, but people I didn’t know, nonetheless. I suppose it all starts with laundry.

I had gone far too long without doing laundry. Because it’s very difficult to get a washing machine in the evening or over the weekend, I decided to wash my clothese while I was in class today. Unfortunately, my only pair of non-superformal pants that I hadn’t worn were my stripey Nightcrawler pants, so I decided to wear those to class while my jeans were in the wash. I should have known the effect they would have on me! I’ve found that while wearing them, they magnify my natural dorkiness quotient 400%, which is always dangerous. Alas.

We were having a quasi-review session in my Communications class, as the teacher had to be somewhere else, so the TAs were going over old material and covering some things we hadn’t yet touched on. One of these was focal length and lenses in film and photography. However, when talking about the “flattening” effect of long lenses, it was obvious to me that many of the students (and in fact, the TA as well) didn’t understand the concept. So I piped up with an example of wide angle and long lens used in tandem, Hitchcock’s Vertigo, and described the effect achieved by zooming out and moving the camera towards the subject at the same time, keeping composition the same but changing focal length. But with every word I said, I could feel the class thinking “What the…?”, so I wrapped up quickly and retreated into my coat, like a turtle. The whole class laughed a “What did she just say and why did she say it?” laugh as I repeatedly facepalmed, much to the amusement of those around me. “Because everybody here has seen Vertigo” a fellow DMDer said with a grin. “Well, they also use it in Lord of the Rings…” I said in a small voice.

So three cheers for dorkiness! I had an incureable grin all the way back to my dorm. It’s so healthy to laugh at oneself every so often.

I know that nearly every entry I’ve posted the past three days has either been about LotR or Howard Dean, but this just needed to be shared. And W00t, finally acquired a d/led copy of RotK! And the quality is fantastic! Go me!

In other news, I really need to update tnm.n. And think of a new layout. The current one went up in May 2002!