Tom - ProfilesArchive

About Me

"You must assault all mannerisms, all assumptions, all the things that cause us problems and cause us grief. The unspeakable should not be unspeakable. When you bring these things out into the open, you can tear them apart. It's no good pretending Nazis don't exist. They bloody well do, and they must be stopped. And the only way of stopping them, really, is utter, complete humiliation."--John Lydon

"... a decent man in a world in which being decent is difficult and unrewarding."--some critic, in an essay about Sam Spade

If you don't eat chilis you won't be a revolutionary.-Chairman Mao

I'm just barely smart enough to know I'm an idiot and just barely too lazy to care.-Seanbaby

With apologies to This I Believe, here are a few things I'll just lay out there...

I believe that government should protect the weakest people in society and should make sure that everyone has equal opportunities. I believe that unequal distribution of wealth and resources is what truly divides us. I believe the lower class has the ability to take over and make the country and the world a better place by removing the rich from power, all they need is a leader to remove thebarriers between races and religions and localities and make us all realize that all poor folk are just poor folk, regardless of their color.

I believe we, as a people, can do WAY better in taking care of each other and the world. I believe we lack the will. I believe I'm terribly guilty of this. I believe I can do more. I believe we all can.

I believe that animals are better than people in that they can't lie or make war. I believe that all life deserves respect, but that animals, as they are incapable of evil, deserve more than humans. I also believe that animals attacking humans is not only justified in all cases, but is absolute proof that nature, despite all we've done to weaken and damage it, is the strongest force in the world, and can easily kick the ass of humanity whenever it feels like it. Whenever someone pokes a crocodile with a stick and then gets eaten, I laugh. I don't feel bad about it.

I believe that there is a commonality in all religions. I believe that every religion, in the end, says "There's something bigger than you. Don't be a dick." I think if all religions realized what they had in common, there would be more peace.

I believe that driving too fast is essential to mental well-being. And while I have loved many cars with different characteristics, I believe that there is something absolutely mystical about a v-8.

I believe that friends and family are the most important things in life. I believe that there is no substitute for the support of your friends and your family.

I believe that the best thing to do with your life is to have kids, and raise them to make the world better. A world filled with educated, compassionate people who don't judge or hate is a better world.

I believe that having enough money to keep yourself comfortable and buy useless toys is enough. I don't believe in money for the sake of itself.

I believe that in the end, it's not about how many toys you have, it's about how much fun you had playing with your toys.

My Interests

Drinking, music, cars, politics, cooking, literature, animals (especially dogs and apex predators), paintball (when I can afford it), WoW, revolution, Spag.

I'd like to meet:

I'm really shy. I'd like to meet a lot of people, but I'm not great at it.
http://view.break.com/437606 - Watch more free videos

Music:

The Sex Pistols ("The Sex Pistols are even more wonderful than the lovely Joni Mitchell"--some person), Chuck Berry, Nirvana, The Clash, Liz Phair, Bo Diddley, John Coltrane, Johnny Cash, The Modern Lovers, Koffin Kats, The Rolling Stones, The Nips, Frank Sinatra, Jonathan Richman, The Pogues, Public Enemy, The Buzzcocks, KRS-1, Dean Martin, Social Distortion, Beastie Boys, 8Ball Grifter, Bob Dylan, The Groovie Ghoulies, Vinnie and the Stardusters, Louis Prima, Thelonious Monk, Dangerville, Stiff Little Fingers, Red Elvises, Carl Perkins, Morphine, and probably a ton I can't think of but will kick myself later for neglecting. I love '70s britpunk, rockabilly, great songwriters, and political music.

Movies:

Godfather 1&2, Swingers, An Inconvenient Truth, My Life as a Dog, This Is Spinal Tap, Kill Bill, Apocalypse Now, The Blues Brothers, Ravenous, Animal House, Boondock Saints, Rounders, Fist of Legend. Mostly offbeat or arty. I like movies that have more conversations than explosions.

Television:

Homicide: Life on the Streets, The Shield, The Sopranos, The Young Ones, South Park, anything on Discovery about sharks, dogs or apex predators, Egypt, Medieval Europe, or ancient China. Most of all, M*A*S*H reruns.

Books:

On the Road, Sherlock Holmes, James Bond, the Takeshi Kovacs series by Richard Morgan, music journalism/history like England's Dreaming, the Tao Te Ching and other books on Tao, and the one I edit. But as I read at work, I tend to read for fun rarely.

Heroes:

Larry Flynt (got shot for your freedom of speech); Mr. Fred Rogers (made every kid who ever saw his show feel important); MLK Jr. (no explanation needed); John Lydon (ditto above); John Wilmot, Earl of Rochester (The restoration's best rake); Chuck D (this generation's Bob Dylan); Dr. Zahi Hawass (he's the real Indy, I swear); Frank Sinatra (The Chairman--for lots of good reasons); Jerry Lee Lewis (he's literally Satan); Johnny Cash (makes every other man, living or dead, look like a complete wuss). And most of all, Bruno, everything good in the world rolled into 80 pounds of yellow, drooly fun.

My Blog

Dead phone

I don't know how I manage to repeatedly wash my phone. But I'm surprised this one simply died--my last one got washed and worked afterwards, at least sorta.So I can't call you, you can't call me, etc....
Posted by Tom on Mon, 17 Dec 2007 06:27:00 PST

Lydon interview

My boss turned me on to this. It's one of the best Lydon interviews I've ever read. The best part (now appearing on my page):Q: But some of your songslike "Belsen Was a Gas"were outlandishly offensi...
Posted by Tom on Thu, 29 Nov 2007 07:30:00 PST

random things

I have to start keeping a notebook by my bed. I had this weird dream (basically about a big party in a big house) in which there was this awesome song about Bruno the Pirate Dog. It totally kicked ass...
Posted by Tom on Tue, 30 Oct 2007 07:19:00 PST

Status upgraded to "almost dead"

I can get it to turn on again, so all may not be lost. But email will still be the best way to talk to me for a few days, until my replacement phone comes.It's sorta sucky--I mean, they wait till your...
Posted by Tom on Thu, 19 Jul 2007 10:18:00 PST

My cel died

So I can't call you. You also can't call me. Not for a while, at least.It's sorta a pity I already comitted to buying headers for the cobra, because if not, I could be getting an iPhone. Stupid header...
Posted by Tom on Thu, 19 Jul 2007 08:08:00 PST

My official new favorite euphemism for alcohol

Ruckus Juice!
Posted by Tom on Thu, 14 Jun 2007 11:19:00 PST

I like making jokes about CSI

Like today, I'm working, minding my own business, and this BBC interview with Pete Townsend comes up in my ipod's near-constant shuffling (I lost all my playlists in a crash a while back and I haven't...
Posted by Tom on Thu, 31 May 2007 11:33:00 PST

Finally some good news

A little asshople gets his comeuppance and a cool, unassuming innocent bystander gets a snack. And then shot for it, which is sad, but at least he got a snack.A fucking catapult? Asswipes. If only thi...
Posted by Tom on Tue, 24 Apr 2007 07:14:00 PST

I'm not a gambler....

But betty needed a new pair of shoes. Well, 2 pair, technically.
Posted by Tom on Thu, 05 Apr 2007 06:04:00 PST

Weirdnest speeding ticket ever

I'm doing my very best to see this as an experience. There's a bit of a boring and sorta convoluted story behind it, but I'll quote my friend Mike (he was talking about his time in Vitetnam) telling m...
Posted by Tom on Thu, 22 Mar 2007 07:57:00 PST