The Usual Suspect: I go to the shoddy movie theater to see some MP girl play her guitar and sing. And she’s good, really good. But they plugged in a Christmas tree, off to the side of the stage, and it’s a complete distraction. I shift in my seat and furrow my eyebrows in slight confusion. What’s the sense in this? Poor excuse for concert lights, and besides, what is a…

It’s been a busy week in Wally World: the Universe’s source of cheap plastic crap. On The Writing On The Wal — the blog USA Today says should be on its readers’ radar — Jonathan Rees, Robert Feinman, Peter Sayles and I continue our work dedicated to drawing back the curtain on the Bentonvile Behemoth’s corporate disinformation and other flackery.

LIFE WITH WAL-MART… PART 1… There are millions of Wal-Mart stories out there. Some people speak them, some blog them, some video them, some even tell them to a judge. Occasionally a few like Kunmi Oluleye actually write a book to tell their Wal-Mart story. Keep reading…

NO PRICE CUTTING FOR WAL-MART”S LOBBISTS… Sometimes it just doesn”t make sense to skimp and buy the cheapest possible product. Wal-Mart clearly understands that that principle applies to buying influence in our nation”s capital and isn”t holding back when it comes to spreading cash around. Keep reading…

LIFE WITH WAL-MART… PART 2… There are millions of Wal-Mart stories out there. Some people speak them, some blog them, some video them, some even tell them to a judge. Occasionally a few like Kunmi Oluleye actually write a book to tell their Wal-Mart story. Keep reading…

AT THE WALLY PLEX… There are sound stages on Hollywood”s back lots smaller than Bentonvile”s behemoths, so it”s no surprise that budding video talent has been sneaking cameras in at odd hours. And now for the midnight show at the Wally Plex featuring sm04304. Keep reading…

LIFE WITH WAL-MART… PART 3… There are millions of Wal-Mart stories out there. Some people speak them, some blog them, some video them, some even tell them to a judge. Occasionally a few like Kunmi Oluleye actually write a book to tell their Wal-Mart story. Keep reading…

HOW WELL THE GNOMES CAN SIT AND SPIN… When I was in high school I played on the chess team. We lost a series against another team and as a joke we made the announcement that we”d come in second place while the oppossing team had only managed to land a next-to-last spot. Keep reading…

A MERRY CHRISTMAS CONVERSATION… I”m playing catch-up on my blogging after taking a week off for family festivities and I just couldn”t let this story go by. Written by blogger Julia Gorin who normally backs Wal-Mart, it demonstrates the hazards of pegging your business future on religious holidays. Keep reading…

YOUTUBE DELETED IT BEFORE I COULD WATCH…
Anybody out there know a site that archived the clip? Keep watching…

HOW LONG HAS THIS BEEN GOING ON…? When you”re the world”s largest retailer, you”re bound to have your tentacles wrapped around a lot of bodies, but given Wal-Mart”s disasters with the the web, I was surprised to find that the Wal-Mart is selling Search Engine Optimization and Marketing services. Keep reading…

WAL-MART: CULPRIT OR WHIPPING BOY…? I”m going to have to do a bit of thinking about Al Norman”s post concerning new rules for businesses that accept food stamps under the Federal Women, Infant”s and Children program which provides grants to states. Keep reading…

I”M SORRY I MISSED THIS… If I”d been more on the ball I might have saved a few families some cash over the holidays. My gut told me that the cheap plastic crap computers from China had to be a bad thing, but I didn”t take the time to find out that the experts called bull shit right out of the gate. Keep reading…

HOW CLEAN IS THE AIR… IN WAL-MART…? Back when you could still smoke on airplane, the airlines had to balance air exchange and fuel efficiency. The fresher the air in the cabin (the number of times per hour the air was exchanged with outside air) the more fuel the engines needed to burn. Keep reading…

Part of being a good citizen of the blogosphere is visiting, reading and, most importantly, taking the time to leave a comment on other’s blogs. It’s all about the conversation. In the interest of setting an example I’ve decided to link to those blog posts that have compelled me to leave a comment.

0952 Burger chain is to board of elections as sec”y of state…

I could never bring myself to forward all the email jokes, cartoons and other Internet comedy that land in my inbox. But then I started posting the ones my dad sends me. Judging from my comments and emails, my dad has become one of my greatest blogging assets. So for your morning blog chuckle I present: From My Dad.

20 WAYS TO MAINTAIN A HEALTHY LEVEL OF INSANITY…

1. At lunch time, sit in your parked car with sunglasses on and point a hair dryer at passing cars. See if they slow down.

2. Page yourself over the intercom. Don’t disguise your voice.

3. Every time someone asks you to do something, ask if they want fries with that.

4. Put your garbage can on your desk and label it “in.”

5. Put decaf in the coffee maker for 3 weeks. Once everyone has gotten over their caffeine addictions, switch to espresso.

Rosa Davis is frustrated. She’s frustrated with the high level talks by diplomats and United Nation’s envoys. She’s frustrated with representatives who don’t understand that Myanmar and Burma are one and the same country. She’s angry at ambassadors and delegates spending more on their lunches than most citizens of Myanmar earn in a week.

From The Guardian:

[T]he Asian states – particularly Burma’s closest neighbours – spoke of the wonderfully constructive dialogue between the government and the UN representatives. Time and again, delegates told the council of the vast improvement that had occurred merely because the government allowed the UN to have a handful of meetings with the junta’s ministers.

Some states even had the gall to suggest that so long as no punitive action is taking against the country that democracy would soon be set into place. Then again, all concerned states realise that a civil war in their region can de-stabilise economies that they have worked hard to set into place.

This could be viewed as a clash of cultures, west meets east, and fundamental disagreements occur on basic tenets of law and morality. That would be a complete and utter copout. I could sit and analyse the reasons for the behaviour of these delegates, but even that seems to be a fruitless exercise.

Ultimately the country report on Burma went well, everyone involved received their pay cheques, and the representatives of state parties to the council were able to hear the sound of their own voices. The only real losers are the people living under the Burmese regime, but who cares because they were already losing anyway. Right?

Right?

My name is Jeff Hess and I’m a biblioholic. I own hundreds of books. Not valuable books, mostly Science Fiction paperbacks and text books, tomes rescued by the bag from library book sales. A few years ago, in the interest of not burying myself, I began reading more books from the library and taking notes. My electronic chapbook was born.

This is a passage I copied from Perfume of the Desert: Inspirations From Sufi Wisdom by Andrew Harvey and Eryk Hanut.

The People Of The Hidden Letter

[Compare to the 23rd letter in Kushner”s The Book of Letters. JH]

He said to me, Who are the people of the fire?
I said, The people of the exterior letter.
He said, Who are the people of the garden?
I said, The people of the hidden letter.
He said, What is the exterior letter?
I said, Knowledge that does not lead to action.
He said, What is the hidden letter?
I said, Knowledge that leads to reality.
He said, What is the action?
I said, Sincerity.
He said, What is reality?
I said, That through which you reveal yourself.
He said to me, What is sincerity?
I said, Turning towards your face.
He said, What is self-revelation?
I said, What you meet in the heart of your lovers.
– Niffari

p. 46-7

Today, as I go about my tasks, I’ll think about: Rationalization is living incongruently with unifying principles, and it is the worst of all time wasters. p. 28

I’m constantly tossing interesting websites into what I call my blogpile. Some of them find their way here in the form of regular posts, but more often than not they languish and get buried deeper in the pile. The end result is that I have to go back and do a bit of shoveling. Today’s item is Achieving Your Dream: How to Take the First Step.

If more torture equals more information, why pussyfoot around with sleep deprivation and weak-ass shit like that? Hell, let”s just pull out his fucking fingernails and be done with it. Let”s hook electric shocks up to his testicles. Let”s rape his wife in front of him. That”s GOT to give us more intelligence, right? After all, we have to protect America, and if we have to pull out a few fingernails or rape a few children to learn about the next 9/11, isn”t that worth it? Which would you rather see, a child raped or a mushroom cloud over Manhattan? Lee

Toby Nunn: Since we have been here there has been a small group of us that have talked and mentioned different and perhaps better tactics that our leadership could use to accomplish our mission. I am by no means a great tactician but I do have a grasp on tactics and small amount of ex- perience, at least enough to get me in trouble. We have the…

Probably the most common objection to evangelism today is, “Isn’t it wrong to impose our beliefs on others?”

Some people don’t practice evangelism because they feel they are imposing on others. And the way evangelism is often done, I can understand the confusion! But when you understand what the Bible presents as evangelism, it’s really not a matter of imposing your beliefs.

It’s important to understand that the message you are sharing is not merely an opinion but a fact. That’s why sharing the gospel can’t be called an imposition, any more than a pilot can impose his belief on all his passengers that the runway is here and not there. Mark Dever

I could never bring myself to forward all the email jokes, cartoons and other Internet comedy that land in my inbox. But then I started posting the ones my dad sends me. Judging from my comments and emails, my dad has become one of my greatest blogging assets. So for your morning blog amazement I present: From My Dad.

Here in the United States we draw a sharp line between state and local police forces and our Federal military. The decision to call out the National Guard or Federal troopers like those in the 101st Airborne summoned to quell civil violence in Little Rock, Arkansas, is serious and rarely made. Dictators, however, make no such distinctions.

From Mizzima News:

Burma’s State Peace and Development Council have used Burma military forces as their core political element to face escalation pressures and awareness from international community including community of world body; United Nations.

But, regime top leader senior general Than Shwe tended to save military institution from the political storm. He instead, sacrificed civil militia groups including USDA in this September people power movement led by Buddhist monks.

Recent days Thailand’s elections results that showed Thai military coup leaders opened the door for people to decide. Leave the army away from the political struggle to avoid tension between army and citizens that happened in 1992 bloody suppression.

Thai power struggle seems that elite political blocs have faced their own agendas than using military power in the final political struggle. Unlike Thai political society, Burma’s generals used the military institution to challenge the citizens and defend their wealth and stability.

If war is the natural extension of diplomacy, then why shouldn’t the military be the natural expansion of police powers?

International community and various governments included regime’s diehard supporters China, India and ASEAN decided to push the regime to grip the grand opportunity to reconcile with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi to end the country’s nightmare, disasters and backwardness.

No matter, different strategies they made, the objective of their requests and demands are the same; “Enough is enough and let’s move forward”.

However, why regime has ignored the whole world’s demands? Recently, one of the regime apologists stressed that Senior General Than Shwe needs a time to reinforce his tailor made domination of militarism after September political uprising.

Apologist said that senior general might not have any immediately worry about Daw Aung San Suu Kyi as long as she is being detained or rest of the angry citizens, spiritual leaders or international pressures; he only cares about his own army and military officials who do not dare to show their unhappiness of his performance towards the country’s stability.

It’s always about mine, mine, mine.

How do we get the toys out of the hands of the little boys?

My name is Jeff Hess and I’m a biblioholic. I own hundreds of books. Not valuable books, mostly Science Fiction paperbacks and text books, tomes rescued by the bag from library book sales. A few years ago, in the interest of not burying myself, I began reading more books from the library and taking notes. My electronic chapbook was born.

This is a passage I copied from Perfume of the Desert: Inspirations From Sufi Wisdom by Andrew Harvey and Eryk Hanut.

“In my knowing Him, I create Him.” Ibn Arabi p. 44

Today, as I go about my tasks, I’ll think about: A unifying principle is a gold nugget of truth used as a guide for goal planning and living. p 25

2007 has been very good to me and Have Coffee Will Write. I’ve doubled my traffic from the beginning of the year and managed to finish the year with more than 30,000 unique visitors. As one way of remembering the year, I’ve picked up a meme from I See Invisilbe People and selected the first lines from the first posts of each month.

Januray: RIDING THE TIGER… I”m vocal about my understanding that we are in control of our lives; that there is Free Will. I have no more reason to belive such a thing exists than Pat Robertson does to believe in god. Yet I do have faith in my own power to choose because I must. If I cannot choose, if B.F. Skinner is right, then what”s the point?

February: MOLLY IVINS… 20 AUGUST 1944-31 JANUARY 2007… We”ll all miss your voice Molly.

March: MUMBO JUMBO WIDGET SNIGGLER… Are you delusional? That”s the question I all too often want to ask someone who says or posts a statement that I think is so far over the top that I have to believe the person cannont possibly be in their right (or left, for that matter) mind. Journalist Francis Wheen thinks delusion is rampant in our society. Do you believe any of these delusions?

April: ARE YOU BEING SERVED…? For years I have held, and continue to hold, that the major divisions in the United States are not divides of race, gender or ethnicity; they are class based – and as damning as anything the European aristocracy ever enjoyed. For most of the second half of the 20th century, this line was bridged by a growing middle class.

May: HAPPY MAY DAY… Give me that ol” time religion. There is something appealing, something clean and unencumbered, about religions that stick to first principles: Earth, Fire, Water, Air, Sex. Spirituality ought to be scary and bloody. We ought to participate in the slaughter of our sacrifices. Perhaps then we might not allow so many to be made in our name.

June: WHY KNIFE CONTROL IS SO IMPORTANT… Once we”ve succesfully outlawed guns and knives we”re going to have to figure out how to keep sticks and stones out of the hands of lawabiding citizens; if there are any left alive. I got my first knife when I was seven, who knew the Cub Scouts were setting me on the path to become a mass murderer.

July: WHAT THEY SAID… People who study irrational beliefs have a variety of ways of explaining why we cling to them. In rational choice theory, what appear to be crazy choices are actually rational, in that they maximize an individual”s benefit-or at least make him or her feel good. Arthur Allen.

August: UNPLUG AND LIVE… In a world where the innocent are malnourished, abused and slaughtered on a daily basis, this is not a big thing, but it still frosted my shorts this morning when I read this little bit of insanity. How long will it be before people download mp3 files of commentary on every moment and bit of minutia of their lives?

September: SHOPPING THE SHAKER SQUARE FARMERS” MARKET… This morning I put my money where my mouth is and went to the Shaker Square farmers” market to buy produce. One of the great things about this particular market is that it runs year round, moving indoors when the weather get cold. I spent about $20 and bought both short- (two-day) and long-term (five-day) supplies.

October: MYANMAR: STRIKE…! STRIKE…! STRIKE…! The Pro-Democracy forces in Myanmar know that the military and police controlled by the Junta (Using a Spanish word for them seems so odd) can”t be everywhere. And the more wide-spread the protests become, the less able the government becomes to oppress them. To take advantage of that knowledge; the protesters are taking two tacks.

November: WHAT THEY SAID… [T]he most striking thing to me about the Senator”s performances was the scrupulous honesty of his answers, his insistence on delivering bad news when necessary. A woman asked if he believed that stay-at-home moms should be eligible for Social Security. There is a way most politicians answer such questions: a moving tribute to the virtues of child-rearing, then on to the next question without ever making the commitment. Obama did the moving tribute – with a joke about his ineptitude as a parent – but then he told the woman no. “We can”t extend those benefits without huge financial implications.” Joel Klein

December: STRENGTH OF CHARACTER… STRENGTH OF SOUL… A blogger tagged Xxoozero was obviously tired of all the Chuck Norris posts on the Web and decided to define his own kiss-ass hero. He picked the only real Man In Black, Johnny Cash. My favorite on the list in No. 8, but no”s 7, 3 and 2 are really good too. Hat tip to I See Invisible People for the find.

Happy New Year.