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I had a bunch of funny changes (at least, I thought they were funny) that I was going to make to my sidebar in honor of April Fool’s Day; however, now that the day is into the mid-afternoon, I’m thinking, “What’s the point”. Anyway, I was going to change the names in “Other Journeys” (my blogroll, for newcomers) to reflect alternate realities. Some of the changes I was going to make include:

Eschaton was going to be Little Green Footballs.

USS Clueless was going to be The Patron Saint of Brevity.

Interact was going to be Liv Tyler For President. (Sean doesn’t care for Liv Tyler as Arwen in the LOTR movies.)

Archipelapogo, a liberal who lives in Dallas, was going to be Texans to Re-elect the President.

Rachel Lucas, a conservative in Texas, was going to be Texans for Hillary.

Wil Wheaton Dot Net was going to be The Kid Everyone Hated On Star Trek.

Charles Stross, the fine SF writer from Edinburgh, was going to be linked with the old SNL line: If it’s nae Scottish, IT’S CRAP!.

Caitlin R. Kiernan was to become Kaitlin R. Ciernan. (Best I could do….)

The Rittenhouse Review was to be renamed Specter ’04!!!.

CalPundit was to be morphed into Dinesh D’Souza.

Oliver Willis? Today, he was to be Daniel Snyder’s Bee-otch.

A Skeptical Blog would have become The Uri Gellar Fan Club.

And my favorite, Hullabaloo, was to be rechristened as The Peggy Noonan Estrogen Brigade.

I was also going to change the names of the books I’m currently reading: Hey, This Office Has No Corners! by George W. Bush; an Emeril Lagasse cookbook entitled Recipes for Writers, or, One Hundred Ways To Prepare Ramen Noodles; and Peter Jackson’s memoir, Confessions of a Sweeping Helicopter Shot Fetishist.

Oh well, what could have been….

(And thanks to Matthew Yglesias, for directing some much-appreciated traffic my way. For a minute I thought that SiteMeter had been taken down in whatever flames consumed Blogger this morning! No, EMTSDB is not going to be a regular feature here, I am sorry to say. I do hope Steven sees it, though, because I think he’d find it amusing.)

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OK, whatever Blogger is doing to the templates had better be some kind of April Fool’s thing. I mean, obviously I’m into it, but I’d rather not have my template changed for me. (I actually had a set of template changes just for today….maybe they’ll work later. Only reason I’m noticing this right now is that I couldn’t sleep.)

EDIT: Just testing. Now the whole thing seems to be less-than-functional….

ANOTHER EDIT: For a little while last night, my template was seriously loused up, like the Blogger equivalent of The Fly: my posts appeared, OK, but in someone else’s template, with that person’s links and whatnot. Things here reverted to normal fairly quickly, but I wasn’t as fortunate as some — it appears that the bug afflicted a lot of other blogs, and things are only now getting back to normal. I think. Hmmmm….

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As of late, Matthew Yglesias has taken over the mantle of composing the “Shorter Steven Den Beste” posts that D-Square Digest began before his intestines flared up. I had considered doing it myself, but I’m just too busy; and besides, I wondered what would happen if we tried to go the other way. So, without further ado, I offer:

(drumroll)

EMTSDB!!!

(That’s “Even More Turgid Steven Den Beste”).

I figured, “Why make him shorter? Let’s make him even more impenetrable!” This I did, by systematically taking a fairly long post of his and running it through Babelfish, translating it into Japanese and then back again. What’s scary here is that in parts it seems to scan better, and there’s one sentence here that is even more haunting in its computer-translation than in the original. And, it’s about 800 words longer!!

:: The United States keeps the election for president job $dm 4 years. Practical problem of the Republican Party member and the democracy person, being to be important not to lie the candidate, but it designates everything of the party. And as a practical problem, the candidate is chosen by the extended order of primary election of various states.

The candidate because of one party or other things is or, when this process of who begins, occasionally that is not clear. But that does the fact that he wins designation, being the conclusion majority which says and is put off 1 candidate is stronger than other everyone frequently.

The reporter attaches on various campaigns, those and travels to various states which parallel to method. And the reporter not being able to give remuneration vis-a-vis speech, ” seeing here there is no at all. Next?” A certain way really there is no contest of type with when, depending upon the reporter we want that seeming the way. This happens $dm simply 4 years, after all, that is known when it is the carrier manufacturer of the journalism. Especially, for the tv reporter of the campaign road, as for those many of air time profit you want, that speaking at least it seems the newsworthy way, the average which which is, or concerning either one to find what has the necessity.

So, there is a tendency where especially with the quick primaries, some quantity to the point spreads for the candidate and establishes. With primary election, naturally, there is formal definition of victory: Anyone obtains most polls namely victory. (In many cases, allotment of the representative is proportionate to poll calculation, but, principle is same. But so it is), the candidate is really based, it improves or from it was expected you try badly, how the reporter bringing the standard of a kind of high level.

As for this it can be taken to the ridiculous extreme, he 25% profit, is to enter into the following stage which has new self-confidence in 20% substituting and there is a campaign of the 2nd candidate, but considering influence within the day when that campaign how comes, in order to try the fact that you handle this retreat, whether you re-appraise the maneuvers, being enervated with the presentation which is strong in the extent which obtained 65% of poll in only 75% substituting where he is expected, is surprised the leader copes shock of fainting how and high primary of the specification which is immediately after hears you. While campaign of the leader which tries the fact that this is handled as a sign of reporter seeding is really in trouble, 2nd catches, how it is turned to the position where the leader is struck. Completely, perhaps they furthermore go from victor that of the contest, 2nd declare completely even in the fact that relation first the person obtained two degrees in many from the poll.

Because candidacy to come any that kind of things of rear were known when it happens, but, the majority of times is the rhetorical crock of the reporter of this type. After all, as for fiction of the victory which is based on striking the political point extent to the cool fact that you must deteriorate calculation of the entire representative of the leader has risen to other things faster anyone. But it seems that urges an undecided state which really something should report to the reporter because between, is, it returns to the watch, it continues the viewer.

That me why stops the fact that long time you see news of the tv before and high is. If there is no story, those form one.

Because candidacy to come any that kind of things of rear were known when it happens, but, the majority of times is the rhetorical crock of the reporter of this type. After all, as for fiction of the victory which is based on striking the political point extent to the cool fact that you must deteriorate calculation of the entire representative of the leader has risen to other things faster anyone. But it seems that urges an undecided state which really something should report to the reporter because between, is, it returns to the watch, it continues the viewer.

Organization of the same news and large number of the completely same reporter presently has covered the Iraqi war, non- realistic) I who have lived became aware to expectation absolute actuality of the American campaign is ignored in substituting the tendency which resembles (mainly the fact that you speak part because of that (namely the reporter) the fact that it had something which has happened with battle for organizing the news concerning the progress of war just which well with. Thing goes the well really, but, unless it is, when similar, being thought, as that is defeat, the fact that the United States did not strike the point extent, is reported is meant.

Actuality differs greatly. Take the destiny of the column of escort and the troop who are moved in Iraq as a concrete example. We successfully moved the regiment of the other unit and two entire divisions and the Cav inside the remarkable range of Baghdad just of small-numbered day, was token resistance only. There was a killed and wounded, but, those barely, were in feeling of the thing which really displays the loss of combat power. (Clearly as for those was not barely those series with the sorrow which is felt. It was lost) practical intended because of everything, we wanted, for the present concerning that when with what being done the 3rd infantry unit and the 1st MEF could go to the desired place the Iraqi troop power.

On one hand in the place where the fact that the formation where the Iraqi person is important in order to attack us is moved was tried, now directly there are times when it is plural from the basra or Baghdad. Using air strike and the artillery in order we detect that, to destroy that and something which happens in case of each with that kind of was? When everything which is not the car goes the majority where large portion of the person is killed, or has been hurt.

That problem for the jubilation, is not proper. But as for that the person whom you kill today you tomorrow fighting is the fact that it is not there,; The tank where today it is destroyed by the missile cannot shoot tomorrow with you. You must do in the war, one of the things is in order you murder to destroy, now we so are the adept very by the fact that it does directly. When trying the fact that the column is moved under the cover of the sandstorm where the Iraqi person is principal even, it covered, it thought of those which protect their movement vis-a-vis air strike, when the butchered you obtained, you find the column.

So, while having done, so one being extreme on the 5th with the absolute scale ” aggressive effective for the portable column ” does not take the damage essentially in you, 300 miles there are we who are moving our columns, other things it is extreme and there are times which Iraq moving try the column to our air power, lose those. Rather than those being in the absolute foundation, the large quantity good we have been clear.

But that is not whether the publication is that cover or. Being in part, in addition you witnessed as for portion of the small behavior where there is a large number of the reporter who was imbedded it happened with the beginning exposure to actuality of war, that scale and the magnitude which are interpreted ?. They the platoon of the marine soldier are small swaying vis-a-vis the grip of the Fedayeen, you observe at that you engage, you observe at that the American dies and plural per seat become the person, as the time that ” ” heavy resistance ” and principal fight ” so been, you speak concerning that. It is possible to be exactly large fight really, or whether that the vividness where entire scarcity of understanding is connected is the example which is made to misunderstand. When what which is seen as the loom of his himself eye where the reporter is large very especially he really does not possess with anything in order to compare that for the scale.

Really it is the brusqueness which is the receiving electricity edge of ” heavy resistance ” coming in order or to witness the result of catastrophe of the true troop, like the thing in order to see, every one of the reporters presently note of our air power or the artillery was caught directly at one of the Iraqi columns, is not. They after that should report the result, first it is not. Being, (with, even excessively because of those good fortune)

But in addition as for the reporter in the coverage of the primaries you engage with the same kind of phony and you acquire the handicap which it continues to that. Obtaining you obtain, the American them does not move the column, only source of minor trouble has faced, the Iraqi person has been possible them being destroyed the column, but, it is to be supposed in order the point the American is better than that and to do. Regardless of absolute state, they did not strike the point extent. We should have, in addition they did not do. The Iraqi resistance is strong in the extent which is surprised. The American movement rather than being expected, is difficult. The American killed and wounded rather than being expected, is heavy. The American order has fainted by reconsidering the maneuvers which are based on resistance and retreat. The leader of the Iraqi troop is the jubilant concerning the function which resists. As for victory of campaign there is doubt.

And that everything has inquired about those which is only heart of the reporter or the reporter. The causing ? where the Iraqi person really wins the fight of the absolute term at the place where it is not as for that the presages of the expectation which each side of efficiency for artificial expectation of compilation from on the other hand has been based on the absolute result of lucid appraisal, and the thought of type completely the failure which type achieves without fail the after the necessary.

As for that it is possible to happen. Nothing of wars is certain. But furthermore the smart you bet the gold with the leader.

Our ranges depending, you desired the fact that it brings the surrender of the principal Iraqi unit with wholesaling in at this war which is possible. Perhaps instead to be less clear now being to many unit us rather than little the wholesale escape of the importance with respect to the military affair, you encourage, but, thought at times little that it had become because it is skillful that it caused the ? was not. That had the value of attempt, but, plan did not require that. Large number of the Iraqi unit which remains does not hand from war and, being not to sit down, we must destroy those, the fact that is done. We must kill many of the person of those units, desired everything of the nearly-bloodless war where that means the fact that the fact that is done means the fact that now it goes. And our units being battle in addition that it means, no human applying of our people dies the person, or the fact that is is meant.

We had always known that it is a certain unit, it fights; What and in the place that was question more. Now we know rather mainly, that is the following step. Actually, as for that it continues already because of the couple of day.

And placing in mind became weak call by result of the custom military power of important this Iraq, it continues to become weak. If being the idiotic because Syria does (with as for the Syrian government so directly it becomes and I do not intervene do not expect those), then there is no reinforcement of the important troop because of Iraq. Having there, if the small stream of the weapon which in addition comes and smuggled from a certain Syria, does not have, already, it stops that eventually completely. It is everything which does the fact that he whom now it has in order to fight with some Saddam has. Actually he being at the bit one time which has been defeated, to that air strike rather than doing the fact that he has it is many, is that.

While our powers are reconstructing because of the following stage, on the long supply line it has become clean, our aircraft are ” the plinking ” tank and – in town the village it is hidden in the position where it was cheated, or it carries from the Iraqi armored vehicle which is dug. One at a time. Exactly, you observed at that another tank mile goes with 1/4 flames – source of attack the glimpsing… is made in place of the Iraqi tanker. At the time of inducing the final collapse of the Iraqi troop the important way thing psychological pressure the way is most certain thing physical destruction.

Function of the custom Iraqi troop, day, has decreased irreversibly to day. The person or the device or supply are not exchanged you losing.

But that is not in case of us so. Our terrestrial combat formations were not impaired almost. Those have been possible now re-being supplied. Three American division is moving to the theater. The navy and the air force ship the missile from supply in order to exchange those which the bomb profit, are used. Although our helicopters and the jet aircraft continuing to decrease the value of battle of the Republican Party supervision, our powers of the theater have risen.

Observe to without being done to we. Us as for the unit you went to bed between this lull, obtained many supplies, to take the worry of maintenance, the device could prepare many battles what you have obtained, does not look at the threat of every enemy of the Iraqi of the sky air force was entire no permission absence, they made start only the grip of the missile. (For the present. We, on the other hand what which was seen, become from the source of trouble a little more.

One car and the grip of attack of the sniper of town the rear section by Iraq ” opposing to expectation, strong presentation ” Baghdad which it does being soon, with respect to the military affair which the effect of the bomber of hundred assaults which attack the part of the RG is compared are trivial.

But the reporter looks at the result of the bomb of that car. He perhaps that you know no person of 4 marine soldiers whom that kills it comes. Peace it comes from existence, experiences war never directly, that like unimaginable catastrophe does not seem the way. When, on one hand the bomb starts falling those that like in the land of the Iraqi position, he does not see.

Rather than being made we, we have done many hells.

It is good, can obtain. But the Iraqi person was expected it dies being the droves,; As for that the point which spread in the war is so enormous and coming why was is. From ” being expected thing well, ” building momentum ” it does the absolute result which it cannot curve namely concerning that each side ” by doing how approximately is, see.

Simply it is not that. As for at this war whether concerning some side which is not decided by the poll of the reporter it won the edge, you vote. Perhaps, for the football of the NCAA, but work of victory of war comes from the concrete success of the battlefield, that is appraised in the prosaic foundation.

Really it is not that concerning body calculation. As Vietnam proves clearly, rather than victory losing you where you do not mean the fact that you kill the enemy. But rather than it means that and we having been defeated, there is no relationship to which we have been defeated, or directly many from the fact that they are their devices and supply it destroys the fact that we have killed the Iraqi soldier directly. Those things do not guarantee victory, as for us without those to win, longer it is not possible.

Method of the only substance with expectation when and the fact that you have not lived is really kept to those by our leaders and our poll people who are important, really loses the center and when brings in order to withdraw, it is we. But entirely because of the nattering, Prime Minister Bush president and Blair shows the sign of the thing which becomes weak by the publication, we being supposed continue because it requires many of the killed and wounded for us who at this war of the thing which we still think can take between the large portion where we are strong verifying it shows the poll of opinion of the American poll person clearly.

There is no point which spreads in the war.

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Here is an interesting mental exercise I received in an e-mail the other day. Enjoy.

:: Take your time and see if you can read each line aloud without a mistake. The average person can’t.

This is this cat

This is is cat

This is how cat

This is to cat

This is keep cat

This is a cat

This is dumbass cat

This is busy cat

This is for cat

This is forty cat

This is seconds cat

Now go back and read the THIRD word in each line.

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Via CalPundit: Andrew Sullivan is calling Bill Clinton as one of the people who thought the war would be fairly easy. I guess the eternal search for Bad Things Clinton goes on, or at least the eternal search for ways to use Clinton to embarrass liberals and Democrats. Just a couple of points:

:: First, I don’t think anybody really knows how the war is actually going. Things are happening that make it look bad, and things are happening that imply that the things that look bad really aren’t that bad at all. If the war ends up being won in the next three weeks or so, I still think that might qualify as pretty easy. It’s only been two weeks.

:: Second, one has to look at Clinton’s actual words here. He clearly thought the tactics would be an aerial war with lots of bombing, lasting for several weeks, followed by a massive push of infantry and such. Obviously he was assuming that the tactics this time would somewhat mirror the 1991 Gulf War. Since that’s not the tactic that’s been employed, Clinton’s prediction is pretty meaningless in the way that Sully wants to use it: as a stick to somehow beat on liberals.

:: Third, Sully is probably unaware of it, because the CBS News article on which he bases his post doesn’t convey it, but I watched the interview in question and I remember it quite well. Clinton’s larger point was in his misgivings about world peace and national security in the wake of such a war, and what he saw as troubling precedent for exactly the kind of pre-emptive war we are now fighting.

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I hope that our soldiers in Iraq don’t accidentally ingest whatever Peter Arnett has been drinking. “Wow, we didn’t think you guys would fight back!” is not on any list of things you should say when giving an interview to the enemy’s news media in wartime. Imagine Edward R. Murrow going on the Berlin Radio in late 1944 to say, “We didn’t think you’d be able to almost push us back at the Bulge….”

Incredible.

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Syracuse is in the Final Four. The locals seem very excited by this, as well they should be. Of course, since one week from today I will no longer be a local, I’m not really able to get caught up in it. Alas….I like it when the local teams do well.

The feeling is sort of similar to last fall when we moved. I was all set to vote in Buffalo’s various elections, since I knew the issues and candidates, but then we moved a few weeks before Election Day. I ended up not voting at all, because I wasn’t able to register in the new district, I certainly wasn’t going to drive 130 miles back to the old district, and I’m pretty sure I missed the absentee deadline (which I’m not sure I would have exercised, anyway, since I had no idea that I’d be moving back six months later). I did feel a few pangs of guilt about not voting the night the Democrats’ grand strategy — which was apparently jointly designed by Michael Dukakis and The Amazing Kreskin — failed utterly, but I consoled myself that as it turned out, the races in Central New York were not even remotely in doubt.

Anyhow, it’s strange to note the degree to which I never really came to feel that I lived in Syracuse; the overwhelming sensation was of a six-month jaunt — like a Rhodes Scholar’s trip to Oxford or something like that.

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Courtesy Joseph Duemer is this interesting visual guide to blogging “neighborhoods”. (It’s Java-driven; I had to download a plug-in to make it work.) It purports to visually show one which blogs are related to one’s own, if I understand things correctly. I’m not sure how this thing works. When I plug in my own URL, a group of left-leaning political blogs are returned and shown as being in “my neighborhood”, along with Instapundit. That struck me as a bit odd: while I make no secret of the fact that I am pretty much on the liberal side of things, my political focus is not a primary (or secondary, or tertiary, or quarternary) concern of mine here. I would have expected to see some more blogs of the literary variety show up, but I suspect these things are decided by which blogs link mine, and the ones out there that permalink me are all liberals. (Just why Instapundit shows up is a mystery to me, as I’ve never noticed any traffic in my referrals as coming from him — and I suspect that if it happened, I’d notice. I still remember the spike I received a couple of months ago when something I wrote in response to an SDB post earned one of those “Jaquandor comments” updates of his.)

Nevertheless, it’s quite fascinating to plug in several blogs at once and note the interconnections. Just noodling around, I created a fairly large map of liberal blogs and conservative blogs (yes, not everyone fits into those labels as conveniently as others, but it was just a momentary exercise) and as I did so, I couldn’t help but notice the density of connections on each side of the map contrasted with the sparsity of connections between the two sides. I’m not sure if this indicates anything special about the current political landscape or not — if so, it would require more rigorous research than me sitting here over morning coffee clicking stuff and saying, “Hey, cool!” — but it still struck me as interesting. Kind of a graphical picture of the “echo-chamber” phenomenon.

And it was really cool to be able to visualize Byzantium’s Shores, with its 45 hits or so a day, as the center of the blogging universe. Nothing like a little graphical egoboo to start the day!

(“Egoboo” — there’s another ugly word. Are the poets of the future going to be able to create beautiful poetry with the ugly words we keep coining these days?)

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Sports notes:

:: Michelle Kwan is once again the World Champion!

I remember the first time I ever heard of Kwan, way back in 1994 when she was forced onto the scene in the wake of the Tonya Harding-Nancy Kerrigan debacle. I remember watching her and thinking, “Wow, she’s going to be pretty good.” And has she ever been pretty good! I don’t know if she’ll still be around for the 2006 Winter Games, but I hope she is, and I hope that she finally puts it all together and gets the Olympic gold medal that’s eluded her. (I also hope she doesn’t do anything goofy like try to go without the services of a coach when 2006 rolls around. I’m convinced that’s what did her in last year, because she simply didn’t have her usual polish.)

:: It’s Opening Day for Major League Baseball. I’m not going to attempt to pick a World Series champion, because I’m not entirely up-to-speed on the offseason player moves and whatnot. My team, the Pittsburgh Pirates, are apparently in the middle-stages of their rebuilding efforts, and some publications say they could be a surprise this year. They’re still prone to making goofy decisions, their farm-system is still a bit on the lean side, and they’re still a small-market team in a sport that seems totally unwilling to come up with some kind of revenue-sharing. If things break their way, they could have a pretty decent year, and maybe Brian Giles will finally be recognized for the player that he really is. He’s the best-kept secret in baseball.

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