So you wanted some Conan?

Sorry, Anonymous poster--the passage below is from the last book of the Lord of Rings trilogy, but only the geekiest among us would take exception to such a minor error. However, not to disappoint, here's some mojo from Conan (a character invented by a Texan, no less):

Khitan General: [W]hat is best in life?
Khitan Warrior: The open steppe, fleet horse, falcon on your wrist, wind in your hair!
Khitan General: Wrong! Conan, what is best in life?
Conan: To crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentation of their women!
Khitan General: That is good.

For all of us who need it, some exam mojo

...[King Théoden] sat upon Snowmane, motionless, gazing upon the agony of Minas Tirith, as if stricken suddenly by anguish, or by dread. He seemed to shrink down, cowed by age. Merry himself felt as if a great weight of horror and doubt had settled on him. His heart beat slowly. Time seemed poised in uncertainty. They were too late! Too late was worse than never! Perhaps Théoden would quail, bow his old head, turn, slink away to hide in the hills.

Then suddenly Merry felt it at last, beyond doubt: a change. Wind was in his face! Light was glimmering. Far, far away, in the South the clouds could be dimly seen as remote grey shapes, rolling up, drifting: morning lay beyond them.
But at that same moment there was a flash, as if lightning had sprung from the earth beneath the City. For a searing second it stood dazzling far off in black and white, its topmost tower like a glittering needle; and then as the darkness closed again there came rolling over the fields a great boom.
At that sound the bent shape of the king sprang suddenly erect. Tall and proud he seemed again; and rising in his stirrups he cried in a loud voice, more clear that any there had ever heard a mortal man achieve before:

Arise, arise, Riders of Théoden!
Fell deeds awake: fire and slaughter!
Spear shall be shaken, shield be splintered,
A sword day, a red day, ere the sun rises!
Ride now, ride now! Ride to Gondor!

With that he seized the great horn from Guthláf his banner-bearer, and he blew such a blast upon it that it burst asunder. And straightaway all the horns in the host were lifted up in music, and the blowing of the horns of Rohan in that hour was like a storm upon the plain and a thunder in the mountains.

Ride now, ride now! Ride to Gondor!

J.R.R. Tolkien--Return of the King

Social responsibility: We charge twice as much as the other guy--and oh, yeah, we don't deliver either...

Proof that there are niche markets to be served everywhere (also known as 'there's a sucker born every minute'): check out this article on a "beyond organic" farm in Virginia that makes its customers come to the farm to buy their produce, meat, and poultry. Mother Jones is as lefty as they come, but they do write about some interesting things.

I'm always intrigued by how supposedly 'compassionate' writers unquestioningly swallow the argument from outfits like Polyface (the farm above) and Whole Foods Markets that their higher prices are actually socially beneficial (although farmer Joel Salatin has a new twist with his responsible/irresponsible pricing schtick). I get the feeling that while somewhere in the back of their minds, these writers may realize how many economically disadvantaged people rely on the Wal-Marts of the world to stretch a buck, this way they still get to feel like they care about those people while safely avoiding actually running into them in the aisles while searching for organic Atkins-friendly pasta.

Nothing like a workout to put the juice back in the batteries...

I'm remote blogging from the lovely Dedman Lifetime Sports Center--took a bit of a study break here. Threw some iron, ran a couple of miles--works like magic. Sure, it takes a couple of hours away from the books, but I think it puts back a lot more than it takes out. Besides, to paraphrase Dazed & Confused, I keep gettin' older, but these Ashleys in the Dedman Lifetime Sports Center stay the same age...

Soon...

It is now April '06--which means it's been 18 months since we left Kazakhstan for a minimum three-year stint stateside, which means we're halfway done. Unfortunately it'll take a bit longer than another 18 months to finish law school (should have the architect license in hand by then, though) so that plane ticket is probably more like two years away. Gettin' closer, though, one step at a time.