Vitriol

Vitriol

© 2003 by Andersen Silva (8-1-03)

Last updated 6-28-2022  


Back to the front!
  You will do what I say, when I say
Back to the front!
  You will die when I say you must die!
Back to the front!
  You coward! You servant! You blind man!

Could it be? Could the American people, and members of the Senate and the House of Representatives, finally be waking up to the possibility that the Resident rushed into the Illegal War, alienating this nation's allies and shunning the opinion of the world community, forfeiting the lives of numerous Americans (the figure increases daily) and even more Iraqis, in the name of prying non-existent weapons of mass destruction from a mad tyrant? I'll put the senators' feelings more bluntly than they would: now we need to determine whether intelligence screwed the White House, or the White House screwed us. Someone was either negligent or dishonest. We must discover which, and ensure that such a chain of events never happens again. If we employ Dubya's policy of pre-emptive strikes but base it on faulty or misinterpreted intelligence, the world will quickly get tired of the immature United States of America bombing first and justifying later.

I've said a hundred times that Hussein was a nasty guy. We can't go around knocking dictators from their pedestals without direct cause, however, and the U.S. is obviously not broadly interested in removing tyrants for humanitarian purposes. If it were, there are plenty of nations in Africa we should have started with first, plenty of despots with higher body counts and probably the same number of WMD. So, if we didn't attack Iraq to save it from Saddam Hussein, and there weren't really any weapons of mass destruction, then why did we start the fight?

The Dubya administration obviously has difficulty differentiating between having had WMD in the past, which Iraq clearly did, and possessing them now. The U.S. has had chemical weapons, too, but allegedly no longer holds a stockpile of these. Should a coalition of the killing decide to bomb and invade us because someone decides that we might not have eliminated all of it?

In other Dubya news, it's rather discouraging to see him and the Pope taking the same side in the war against homosexual marriages. A monogamous gay couple should have the same rights and responsibilities as a monogamous straight couple. Anyone arguing against that, whatever his alleged reasons and justifications, should admit to wanting to discriminate, for that's what they're doing; they're saying that one set of rules applies to one group, and a different set applies to another.

Saw Metallica on the Summer Sanitarium tour last month, and they were awesome. I'm sure some of their early fans would disagree and say that things went downhill once the so-called Black Album came out, and that St. Anger only made them angry, but...  :::shrug:::  I like the album and thought they rocked as hard as ever onstage. The opening acts (Mudvayne, the Deftones, Linkin Park, and Limp Bizkit) were all interchangeable to me: just a lot of loud guitars and yelling. Oh, well. The triple bill last Friday (Iron Maiden, Motörhead, and Dio) distributed the cool and the cred much more equitably. Of course, the Martin Rivas Three rocked CBGB when they played there. I'd forgotten what a wonderful vibe that place has, not having seen a show there in ages; it's all the better now that CB's doesn't reek of smoke!

It's occurred to me lately that not only am I called upon to help my friends and relatives with their computer problems, but I also have to help the friends and relatives of my friends and relatives with their computer problems, too! Heh-heh...

Ugh, spelling and grammar and punctuation seems to be getting worse and worse as the months go by. I'm noticing more and more instances of words being pluralized by adding an apostrophe and an 's,' as in "word's" instead of the correct "words." Are people really that stupid? You use an apostrophe to denote possession (like "Andy's frustration") or to indicate a contraction (i.e., "it is" = "it's"). Bad enough that I see it in handwritten notes and in E-mails and on IRC, but it's cropping up more and more frequently on signs and in print and online advertisements. How long until such errors start creeping into the New York Times or the next Simon & Schuster-published bestseller? And what's with the growing use of the phrase 'take a decision?' It was always 'make a decision' until very recently. Harrumph.

Got back to Philly twice last month, first with Rÿcha/Kelli (after we'd done the Aquarium in Camden, NJ) and then alone the morning before the Maiden show. It was great to walk along South Street for the first time in over fourteen years, but going back into the legendary Zipperhead just underscored the fact that I'm older and not a punker in the eyes of the nipple-pierced new-school set. Not that I need their assent.  ;P  Did seem like they didn't know what to make of me in the shop, though.

Ah, I've finally gotten around to reading "The Lord of the Rings." In fact, I finished it 'bout 45 minutes ago. I have to say, I'm impressed! I'm even going to give "The Hobbit" another try, despite my marked disinterest with the book back in the 10th grade. Heh. Anyway, I'm now really looking forward to the third movie...

When our receptionist quit without notice in early June, Dawn (our vice-president) and I agreed that I, not she, would be the manager for the new receptionist. Yesika, a sales administration manager, and I interviewed a few young women, and we hired Nicole towards the end of June. And we picked well! Nicole has done an amazing job organizing the reception area and the supply cabinet, and she is very personable. So of course she's leaving this month, after spending less than eight weeks with us, because she's been offered a full scholarship to go to school in New York. D'oh! Well, I and my co-workers wish her all the best, for she's earned it; now I have to find another new receptionist...

I've gotten feedback, of sorts, from two of you regarding the album's title. So, I don't know... I'm torn between Flaming Panties and Blond on Blonde, but that's this week. Maybe I'll come up with something else next week. Anyway, I want to settle on a name soon, so I can start thinking about artwork. Anyone want to do some for me?
  - A (webmaster@andersensilva.com)


April 2004 - The real final Vitriol, Howard Stern, Dubya, etc.
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March 2004 - Dining out with my baby, Virtual PC, and the end of Vitriol... or is it?
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February 2004 - Two weeks between jobs, three new songs, grabbing Panther by the tail
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January 2004 - Ice skating with Gina, sushi at my sister's wedding, war-riding, the pink slip
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December 2003 - Moving pains, goin' places with Gina, Christmas bells
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November 2003 - The looong month of October, finding an apartment, Ozzy's gone
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October 2003 - I'm in love with her and I feel fine, Boston, the Dalai Lama, apartment for rent?
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September 2003 - Andy, happy? it could happen!, taking time off from work, Ringo Starr, "Discworld," the blackout
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August 2003 - (W)here (M)ight (D)ose WMDs be?, gay marriages and the people who fear them, '80s metal bands, Computer Man to the rescue, Philadelphia freedom
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July 2003 - Boondocks.net is back!, rudeness on public transportation and elsewhere, "Hole in the Wall"
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June 2003 - Science fiction movies, where is Boondocks.net?, still no weapons of misconstruction...
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May 2003 - How 'bout them weapons of mass distraction, huh?, Def Leppard, Michael Palin, another Silva, wireless networking, and a damned good raspberry margarita
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April 2003 - They're still French fries, dammit!, a new guitar for Andy, music-music-music
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March 2003 - The buildup for, and the protesting against, war
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February 2003 - The destruction of the Columbia, the National Day of Poetry Against the War, hard and soft atheism, Pete Townshend, and the gift shop
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January 2003 - Christmas loot, "Swingin'," more war talk
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December 2002 - The year in review, moving again?!?, moving world leaders around, too
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November 2002 - "Scarlet's Walk" and Tori's penguin, jackasses, and killing in the name of...
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October 2002 - Boston, Aimee Mann, and Palpatine/Bush
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September 2002 - George Darius Bush and George Xerxes Bush
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August 2002 - Movin' out of Paisan-town, and far away from the Regal Beagle
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July 2002 - Church and state: you gotta keep 'em separated, Dubya still doesn't want to play nice with the rest of the world, John Entwistle's gone
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June 2002 - Movin' on from town to town, Dave Barry and the Rock Bottom Remainders
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May 2002 - Science fiction movies everywhere!, jail time for virus creators, Dubya finally learns to pronounce 'occupation,' Andy gets a promotion?!?
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April 2002 - Terrorism on both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, people who don't interact with me or the Web site, "For Dana" to be released on a compilation CD
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March 2002 - Chip implants, the children of God and the followers of Christ commit murder in His name, ultranationalism American style
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February 2002 - Dubya says, "These pretzels are making me- ack!" Sharon continues playing Napoleon, and... the return of Foogar?
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January 2002 - Rob Zombie, Ozzy Osbourne, and other Christmas-related items, stealin' cars, karaoke!
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December 2001 - George meets his sweet lord, terrorists EVERYwhere!, Tomb Raider II finished finally, and the Segway, finally!
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November 2001 - Anthrax (the band), WSOU rocks - but for how much longer? and a minute of silence?
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October 2001 - Osama bin Laden and anthrax and the women who love them
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September 2001 - Five days after the 9/11 attacks
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September 2001 - Governments and armies and the assholes who love them, more misspellings, and a large lack of feedback
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August 2001 - Dubya's isolationism, the Macedonians and Albanians search for peace the Israeli/Palestinian way, 2004 Olympics in Beijing
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July 2001 - Not the Sexiest Geek Alive, war (what is it good for?), murdering citizens American-style
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June 2001 - A dead hitchhiker, the Taliban, and an independent Senator Jeffords
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May 2001 - Joey Ramone's dead, and "Joey Ramone's Dead"
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April 2001 - Brazil (not the Terry Gilliam film), Dubya and carbon dioxide, Yugoslavia begins coming to its senses, Israel and the Palestinians still haven't come to theirs...
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March 2001 - New look for the Web site, upcoming vacation in Brazil!, the pig-headed Taliban, "Hannibal"
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February 2001 - Tomb Raider II, Dubya plays with his new toys, nature plays with El Salvador and India, and the inevitable Chechnya and Israel/Palestinians references
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January 2001 - Snow, a new year/decade/century/millennium, screen resolutions
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December 2000 - The iBook, "The X-Files," the Grinch, the pathetic turn of events in the U.S. elections...
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November 2000 - Got the iBook! the Village Parade, trouble still brewin' in the Mideast, the upcoming U.S. elections...
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October 2000 - Andy turns 30, the Middle East, the anniversary of the invasion of Chechnya...
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September 2000 - A random act of kindness, Great Adventure, new music, new iBooks?
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August 2000 - Palestine and the Israelis, Milosevic, Speight, and breaking the speed of light!
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July 2000 - Israel & the Palestinians, the missile defense shield, and (who'da thunk it?) Chechnya
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June 2000 - Um, Chechnya again, gun-totin' Charlton Heston, misspellings, and xenophobes
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May 2000 - Communism on the last May Day of the twentieth century, and Andy's life ("Don't talk to me about life...")
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April 2000 - Hold on, it's more Chechnya rantin', and an appeal on behalf of a friend caught behind red tape
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March 2000 - Hey, hey, Pinochet, Russia and China won't go away, "The X-Files," the American presidential race, and a prelude to vacation
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February 2000 - Again with the Chechens, and Elián, Pinochet, mp3.com vs. the recording industry, and snow
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January 2000 - Made it through January 1st, Syria and Israel, public transportation, and, er, Chechnya
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December 1999 - Indonesia comes apart, Chechnya (no shit), Seattle's burning, 'n Happy Xmas
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November 1999 - Halloween, my bad knee, Russians? in Chechnya?!? Buchanan and the Reform Party, NIN
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October 1999 - Hurricane on the East Coast, earthquakes in Taiwan, Turkey, and Greece, and Apple Computers
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September 1999 - I'm not getting you down, am I? I'd hate to think I was getting you down...

- - - the Dark Ages (reprise) - - -

April 1999 - the return of Vitriol, Kosovo, a foreshadowing of the Russian invasion of Chechnya (!), and Libya

- - - the Dark Ages - - -

September-November 1995 - the Underground Press Conference, a co-worker bites the dust, Rabin really bites the dust, Remington Bond, Win95, and the Sex Pistols
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August 1995 - the death penalty, the V-chip and violence in pop culture, and "TV Nation"
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June 1995 - Oklahoma City, 'zines, "The X-Files" and "V.R.5"
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March 1995 - I'm sick!, the space program (ha), alt.zines, "Star Trek" and "Voyager"
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February 1995 - the very first Vitriol! Newt Gingrich, political correctness, media overkill, Howard Stern, the Apple goon squad?
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Last updated 6-28-2022