He Is Always My Brother

He is always my brother,

pleated, protective, standing tall before us;
a pillar amongst pillars
upholding our temple of the law;
I remember his laugh over our table,
and the way his eyes met his smile
at my daughters absurd interrogations.

Now a steadfast black wall in the gleam of winter
gazing under visors, unsure and unyielding

He is always my brother

That man cut off from the crowd
lost a moment in his viewfinder
caught in the arms of dark angels,
and brought into their plated folds;
a witness, a sacrifice.
Black wands lifted over plexi-glass towers,
brought down in circles to smite the dissonance,

beautiful drops rain down among our guardians
gravity's guilt and the sweat of uncertainty

He is always my brother

From the murder, a pair of the onyx overseers erupt,
emboldened by blood, they fly forward
this violence tearing at a sorrow, unfelt
in a rush, a cry for help, they brandish sticks
our crazed protectors, we will receive you!
buffeted by a desperate reception of faces, flowers
familiar hands outstretch, mothers, uncles, youth
til their armored burdens are cast down, embracing the forgotten

so long in the halls of law forging swords and chains to keep order
caryatid's divergent heart, numb mind, and strong fist give way

He is always my brother

Our flight calls out in rhythmic waves
a beseeching song; a defiant verse
picked up by sandstone passages and past on
the syllables, the coughs, a struggle for breath
I run forward to meet him, my brother,
(Will he see me racing towards him?)
as shots ring, shells tracing putrid clouds
seeping into me, his confusion, suppressed motion
Set free

sour fated missiles clang on pavement as I pass
and their divine obsidian greets my furrowed cloth and flesh
to reveal my red life flashing out like water
and I know him as I always know him
age upon age as I strive for breath

Facing me
In streets and fallow fields where birds sing
in Seasons repeating, waiting for
Our eyes to meet, (silent flashes of dinner tables, drinks)
He gathers me like flowers, hurried and calm
Placed on this alter so long concealed
He clings to me in soft release,
a prayer, a confession
forgiven.

Clamorous, unceasing melodies climb over us,
converging winds unifying towards the summit.
We pass into it and sing.

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I see what he did there...

Reposted from Reddit.com. Hit The Jump!

Robo-Moderators

An interesting article from Kotaku on the new age of massively multiplayer game moderation.

"Like pulling weeds, you want to take bad players out at the root so they don't come back," Seabury explained. "We look for behavioral trends that correlate with known patterns of play for adults and children, and based on this human moderators are automatically notified of potential problem cases to investigate in real time. The moderators are trained and empowered to take action immediately as appropriate. "

- A Computer Mind To Finger The Real Bullies, Pedophiles, and Killers of Virtual Worlds

Just a reminder that your online communication is never private.

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The Times They Are A Changin'

Dandroid's wife posted this on Facebook earlier,and it was too good to pass up.




That's some balls right there. Hit The Jump!

Keep It Straight, Ya'll

In the last 5 days before the election, the realization that you have had way better things to do than listen to old white people argue over the means by which they will control your life may have you wondering who the hell to vote for. Since you most likely can't vote for this guy, it's time to hit the books and at least figure out who is full of crap, and who isn't.

And by "books", of course, I mean Politfact.com. This page shows the latest ratings for campaigns in Texas, but there are many other resources available on the site. Since you probably don't have a lot of time to devote to weeding through the nonsense of political advertising, this is a great place to start. Hit The Jump!

Moderately Evil Reborn

Hey Everybody!

As some of you may have noticed when Sieyes posted about the election the other day, it looks as though, after what has turned into a significant sabbatical, that Moderately Evil may be back up for another go round. I apologize for all of us when I say we've been lax with updating. But at the same time, I'll have to ask you to reserve judgment, to be lenient with us. Forgiveness is a virtue after all and we (your humble writers) have gone through some rigorous and intense personal redefinition in the interim. Two of us, Sieyes and Comrade Puffer, are in the immediately pre and post-birth stages of kid-having, respectively. Not together though. That would be weird. Your humble narrator, formerly known as Moriarty, rechristened Professor Mumbles Prometheus on the sands of Black Rock Playa, am now back in the US after (as you'll recall) a year of teaching English in Spain, less one serious relationship and plus one novel. So we've done a lot of growing up here in the last year or so.

As such, we've been discussing a bit of a different direction here at Moderately Evil. It still has yet to gel, and we certainly won't be going back on our convictions, but from this point forward, dear reader, you can probably expect less shrillness of political ranting and a more considered and mature approach to the world situation. What I mean by that is we are increasingly turning a corner from a "What is wrong with the world?" mentality, to a more "What can I do about it?" one. As such, we're hoping to broaden our focus from straight-up analysis of geopolitics to include such things as feasible sustainable living, healthy eating (bringing down agribusiness one meal at a time), and maybe some attempts at articulating a positive and ecumenical philosophy for the future. Awakened living in the world, if you want to call it that. It's a goal to aim at anyhow.

So welcome friends, lovers, fellow travelers, to the Moderately Evil 3.0. Hit The Jump!

Elections '10

There are many elections upcoming, and many of them seem like they could be significant. I would argue in fact, that local and state elections could be more important than the national ones, but that's a different post. However, nothing will happen as long as Democrats and Republicans continue to be elected. Everyone who campaigns as a major party candidate (even "Tea Partiers") is bought and paid for through corporate contributions to campaigns.

My only suggestion and request is that you do go and vote. Vote for every Independent candidate on your ballot. If you still believe the difference between a Democrat or Republican is somehow meaningful in your local races and there's not an Independent available, then research each candidate's history and stances and at least make an informed choice, not one based on some irrational party affiliation.
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A Slightly More Colorful Analysis of Big Pharma

Source: Online Colleges and Universities

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