le parcours fétide

You ass crack addicts want one more putrid whiff before I haul my hairy enormity back to the Land of the Mourning Clam, so here it is: a slew of very good links to keep you busy until I'm once again settled Smaug-like into my residence.

White guys comparing Korea and China-- here and here.

KimcheeGI wishes us all a Happy New Year.

The multitalented Richard of Peking Duck not only "whines and groans," but also introduces us to "splint typing."

Lots of interesting stuff going on at Ryan's Lair. Here's one on VDH and decadence. Here's a review of "Big Fish," which I hope to see once I'm back in Korea. And here's a short post on Thai Buddhism, about which I know precious little.

Tacitus on giving vets their due, and... shari'a in Canada??

Annika has strange thoughts about God and family.

Cobb on the rightward shift of some measure of the black electorate.

An awe-inspiring pizzeria-rant-turned-political-commentary at Cerebral Bypass. Descriptions of Dean and Clark that are Zen-like in their directness. And a word about Carpemundi, whom I've known since-- Jesus, what? junior high? Carpemundi has always been pretty damn energetic; in the intervening years he packed on a lot of muscle and bulk, and has even grown an enormous red-and-white beard. Now along with the energy, he looks like he'd be at home with a broadsword in one hand, a battleaxe in another, and some large animal's skull on his head as a helmet. Mundi's a soft-spoken guy these days, but I'm pretty sure he'd rip your fucking head off if you got under his skin. You think I'm kidding? The man ate his first wife when she pissed him off-- no, I mean he literally ate her. He's got two wonderful kids now, with his lovely new wife, but he used to have four. Kids 1 and 2 cried too much so they were gobbled one fine morning. I asked him what the hell this was all about, and he rumbled, "It's like the hobbits. You know-- Breakfast and Second Breakfast."

If the Maximum Leader doesn't believe my previous contention that conservatives do indeed try to make their position out to be more rational (i.e., they consider reason/reasonableness/rationality a merit and not a demerit), he need look no further than Dr. Keith Burgess-Jackson, who in a recent post writes:

Conservatism needs no rhetoric to make its case. Logic suffices.

It can't be stated more plainly: many (if not most) conservative thinkers do indeed feel their position is the more reasonable one. Arguing that reason is a destructive faculty is a postmodernist move and will be greatly appreciated by leftist academe: it's what they've been contending for decades-- the "death event" of the 20th century was the child of rationality.

Glenn offers a new but unsurprising insight into MTV's "The Real World," a show I despise as much as Glenn does.

Satan's Anus links to this post on the relationship between marriage, procreation, and the question of gay marriage. Much of it is material you've read before, either on this blog or on Andrew Sullivan's site or on NRO whenever Derbyshire wants to look like a bigoted prick.

A slew of good Andrew Sullivan posts here, now that he's back from a week-long hiatus.

Your Den Beste quote for the day:

When pollsters asked Americans to evaluate how things were going in Iraq, over time that message has made Americans increasingly pessimistic about the situation. But when they're asked about policy, support has remained strong.

Amritas links to something I learned about in an Abnormal Psych class years ago: the Milgram Experiment. Very disturbing, and as Miyake says, "Most of us are potential Nazis."

Hot off the Drudge presses: more on the Mars rover, Spirit. Fantastic stuff.

On the Salon news wire: one of my favorite subjects.

And I suppose I should get back into the Korea groove by posting some Korea news. Here's another laughable North Korean demand:

North Korea says it is ready to resume nuclear crisis talks if the United States agrees ahead of them to reward it for re-freezing its nuclear weapons facilities.

The ruling Workers' Party newspaper Rodong Sinmun reports without prior agreement, the talks could be delayed or even scrapped.

"The six-way talks may be resumed at an early date or may be delayed or scuttled depending on how preparations are made for their resumption," the newspaper said in a commentary carried by the official Korean Central News Agency.

"(The) ball is in the US court."

Same shit, different day.

Folks, it's been an amazing two months back in the States, but it's time to pick up where we left off. Thanks to those of you who've ordered rum cakes-- don't let the end of the Christmas/New Year's season stop you from ordering more! My parents are now on PayPal, so click the button on my sidebar and order yo' ass some rum cake. Also, my thanks to those who've started buying my CafeShops products from Caverns of the Big Hominid. I'm selling a ton of different products there, and bought a few for myself to check quality. I can vouch that tee shirts, mugs, coasters, and tote bags all look great. Since I'll be sending my computer over to Seoul and intend to continue pumping out designs, it's likely you'll see some chromatic artwork along with the B&W stuff soon. Also, my thanks to the people who keep buying Scary Spasms in Hairy Chasms via Amazon. I'd still rather you buy directly from me (PayPal button is on the sidebar!), but I'll take what I can get. Sales for the book have truly picked up since I started pimping it on the blog. Other books are on the way, quite possibly through CafePress's publish-on-demand program.

And sorry to be dire, but once I'm in Korea, I'm going to be sweeping through the blogroll and eliminating quite a few links to people I haven't been reading. Most likely this is because these folks haven't been posting all that often; I'm not patient and have the attention span of a two-year-old, so this is what drives the periodic weeding. As I've said before, I don't link-whore. You're on my blogroll for a reason: I find you interesting and readable, and I read you every day, or almost every day. If you're not devoting much time to self-publishing, then no hard feelings, but we'll need to part ways. I certainly don't fault you for whatever priorities keep you away from the blog, but I'm also not going to pretend I'm somehow loyal.

So I'm signing off for the moment. Perhaps my guest bloggers (Maximum Leader, the Air Marshal, Carpemundi, and the Minister of Agriculture) will stick on a post or two while I'm en route to Korea.

Men: may your balls be eternally blue.

Ladies: may your nether regions shine with an eerie, eldritch glow.

Pax.

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