Captain America Is Dead; National Hero Since 1941

Captain America, a Marvel Entertainment superhero, is fatally shot by a sniper in the 25th issue of his eponymous comic, which arrived in stores yesterday. The assassination ends the sentinel of liberty’s fight for right, which began in 1941.
The last episode in Captain America’s life comes after the events of “Civil War,” a seven-issue mini-series that has affected nearly the entire line of Marvel’s library of titles. In “Civil War,” the government began requiring superheroes to register their services, and it outlawed vigilantism after supervillains and superheroes fought during a reality show, accidentally killing hundreds of civilians. The public likened the heroes to weapons of mass destruction that must be controlled.
The registration act polarized the superhero community. Captain America (whose true identity was Steve Rogers) considered the legislation an erosion of civil liberties; Iron Man, on the other side, believed that training heroes as the military, firefighters or the police are trained would only benefit society. When the factions came to blows and caused more destruction, Captain America chose to fight his battle in court.
LINK

A poignant tale of adoption

Our story begins with a baby turtle standing at the bottom of a large tree and with a weary sigh, he begins to climb. About an hour later, he reaches a very high branch and walks along it to the end. He turns and spreads all four stubby legs and launches himself off the branch, flapping his feet wildly. On landing at the bottom in a pile of soft dead leaves, he shakes himself off, walks back to the trunk of the tree and with a sigh he starts to climb.
About an hour later, he again reaches the very high branch, walks along it, turns, spreads his legs and flings himself off the branch. Again, he lands on the bottom, shakes himself off, goes to the trunk of the tree, sighs and begins climbing.
Watching these pathetic proceedings from the end of the branch are two little birds. Mummy bird turns to Daddy bird and says, "Don't you think it's time we told Junior he was adopted?"

Scooter peered suspiciously at her half empty tequila bottle, then muttered aloud to herself. "Been hitting the sauce a bit heavy, haven't ye, Lass? Next thing you'll be seeing those aliens, 'stead of just reading them..."
Scooter raised the bottle to her lips and drank deeply, ignoring her own sage advice.

eclectic

adj.
Selecting or employing individual elements from a variety of sources, systems, or styles: an eclectic taste in music; an eclectic approach to managing the economy.
Made up of or combining elements from a variety of sources: "a popular bar patronized by an eclectic collection of artists, writers, secretaries and aging soldiers on reserve duty" (Curtis Wilkie).
n. One that follows an eclectic method.
[Greek eklektikos, selective, from eklektos, selected, from eklegein, to select : ek-, out; see ecto- + legein, to gather; see leg- in Indo-European roots.]

e·clec'ti·cal·ly adv.
1683, from Fr. eclectique, from Gk. eklektikos "selective," lit. "picking out," from eklektos "selected," from eklegein "pick out, select," from ek "out" + legein "gather, choose" (see lecture). Originally a group of ancient philosophers who selected doctrines from every system; broader sense is first recorded 1814.

arcane

\ar-KAYN\, adjective:
Understood or known by only a few.

Snackimals

This site has animals photoshopped to appear as edibles...Snackimal crackers in my soup...

The Twelve Commandments of Flaming

1 Make things up about your opponent: It's important to make your lies sound true. Preface your argument with the word "clearly."
"Clearly, Brian Hillis is a racist, and a dirtball to boot."
2 Be an armchair psychologist: You're a smart person. You've heard of Freud. You took a psychology course in college. Clearly, you're qualified to psychoanalyze your opponent. "Peach Pshawski, by using the word 'zucchini' in her posting, shows she has a bad case of ... "
3 Cross-post your flames: Everyone on the net is just waiting for the next literary masterpiece to leave your terminal. From OPINION to EZ-READER to PETS to CHIT-CHAT, they're all holding their breaths until your next flame. Therefore, post everywhere.
4 Conspiracies abound: If everyone's against you, the reason can't possibly be that you're a ******. There's obviously a conspiracy against you, and you will be doing the entire net a favor by exposing it.
5 Lawsuit threats: This is the reverse of Commandment #4 (sort of like the Yin & Yang of flaming). Threatening a lawsuit is always considered to be in good form. "By saying that I've posted to the wrong group, Didley has libelled me, slandered me, and sodomized me. See you in court, Didley."
6 Force them to document their claims: Even if Ralph Gagliano states outright that he likes tomato sauce on his pasta, you should demand documentation. If Newsweek hasn't written an article on Ralph's pasta preferences, then Ralph's obviously lying.
7 Use foreign phrases: French is good, but Latin is the lingua franca of flaming. You should use the words "ad hominem" at least three times per article. Other favorite Latin phrases are "ad nauseum," "vini, vidi, vici," "fetuccini alfredo,"...
8 Tell 'em how smart you are: Why use intelligent arguments to convince them you're smart when all you have to do is tell them? State that you're a member of Mensa or Mega or Dorks of America. Tell them the scores you received on every exam since high school. "I got an 800 on my SATs, LSATs, GREs, MCATs, and I can also spell the word 'premeiotic.'"
9 Accuse your opponent of censorship. It is your inalienable right to post whatever the hell you want to the net. Anyone who tries to limit your cross-posting or move a flame war to alt.fan.karl-malden.nose is either a communist, a fascist, or both.
10 Doubt their existence: You've never actually seen your opponent, have you? And since you're the center of the universe, you should have seen them by now, shouldn't you? Therefore, they do not exist! This is the beauty of flamers' logic.
11 Lie, cheat, steal, leave the toilet seat up.
12 When in doubt, insult: If you forget the other 11 rules, remember this one. At some point during your wonderful career as a flamer, you will undoubtedly end up in a flame war with someone who is better than you. This person will expose your lies, tear apart your arguments, make you look generally like a bozo. At this point, there's only one thing to do: insult the dirtbag!!! "Oh yeah? Well, your mother does strange things with ... "

esoteric

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source
es·o·ter·ic /ˌɛsəˈtɛrɪk/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[es-uh-ter-ik] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation
–adjective 1. understood by or meant for only the select few who have special knowledge or interest; recondite: poetry full of esoteric allusions.
2. belonging to the select few.
3. private; secret; confidential.
4. (of a philosophical doctrine or the like) intended to be revealed only to the initiates of a group: the esoteric doctrines of Pythagoras.
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[Origin: 1645–55; < Gk esōterikós inner, equiv. to ester(os) inner + -ikos -ic]

—Related forms
es·o·ter·i·cal·ly, adverb
—Synonyms 1. abstruse, arcane, cryptic, enigmatic.
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

depression

depression is a bitch and she won't even hunt

Anthem for Doomed Youth

by Wilfred Owen Wilfred Owen is considered by some to be the greatest poet of the First World War. His realistic, often horrifying depictions of gas and trench warfare stand in dark contrast to the patriotic perceptions of others who wrote about war at the time...

What passing-bells for these who die as cattle?
Only the monstrous anger of the guns.
Only the stuttering rifles' rapid rattle
Can patter out their hasty orisons.
No mockeries now for them; no prayers nor bells;
Nor any voice of mourning save the choirs,
The shrill, demented choirs of wailing shells;
And bugles calling for them from sad shires.
What candles may be held to speed them all?
Not in the hands of boys, but in their eyes
Shall shine the holy glimmers of good-byes.
The pallor of girls' brows shall be their pall;
Their flowers the tenderness of patient minds,
And each slow dusk a drawing-down of blinds..