Links gone wild!
Talking to our global enemies, as Barack Obama has indicated he will do, is a fine and noble idea. But as this essay points out, it’s an idea doomed to fail, at least in the case of Iran. The problem, the author explains, is that Iran’s leaders, nearly three decades after seizing power, still consider themselves to be revolutionaries — and as such, they bring zeal, not practicality, to the negotiating table (if they come to the table at all). As the essay notes: “The reason [talks would surely fail] is that Iran is gripped by a typical crisis of identity that afflicts most nations that pass through a revolutionary experience. The Islamic Republic does not know how to behave: as a nation-state, or as the embodiment of a revolution with universal messianic pretensions. Is it a country or a cause?” It’s an important difference, because countries regularly make concessions in order to get concessions. A cause, however, gives no quarter.
I’ll finish today with a pop quiz. What does this site do that Words Assembled Well used to do, but no longer does? The first person to answer correctly wins a Yankee dime.
May 29th, 2008 at 8:27 am
The CIA site has the typing sound, and your site doesn’t anymore!
May 29th, 2008 at 9:50 am
Damn. Melissa beat me to the punch. And it’s only 9:45 AM. Maybe there are some others…Hmm…
Aims to get to the truth in a stealthy, clever way? Nah.
Is run by a man with a full head of hair? Low blow, sorry.
Includes mundane links? Wrong again.
Aha. Purports to concern itself with intelligence. Sometimes.
I guess Melissa gets the worm…but wait…the CIA site’s sound effect appears to be that of computer keyboard typing…not the Royal.
Let’s go to the tape, sports fans.
May 29th, 2008 at 12:37 pm
Consider yoursefl fortunate that Melissa is blessed with superior fast twitch muscles, Uncle Frank. Wikipedia says a Yankee dime is a kiss.
I if win a kiss from a dude, that dude needs to be Leonardo DiCaprio or Sanjaya or one of the Hansons. Gearino’s too swarthy and manly lookin for me.
Although, G.D. didn’t actually say he’d be the one osculating he winner, did he?
Gearino, how were you gonna work that out? Suppose Uncle Frank had won - then what?
May 29th, 2008 at 1:46 pm
Hey, now that y’all have pointed out to me that the sound is missing, please bring it back. I didn’t know I liked it so much until it was gone.
May 29th, 2008 at 9:21 pm
The typing sound was annoying. The decision to turn it off was a good one.
May 30th, 2008 at 10:45 am
Heck, I just noticed that not only are the sound effects gone, but animated, typing Dan was eliminated too. Now he’s just a static image glowering blankly at nothing in particular with his fingers permanently poised above the typewriter.
What a bummer! A cost-cutting measure perhaps or did you change website vendors? Maybe the new geeks weren’t impressed with the charm of animated, typing Dan and the obvious appeal he had to some of your devoted readers. Arrogant bastards. Did they even advise you before they mutied and lobotomized your cartoon image?
There outta be some kinda quid pro quo here. How about spellcheck for the COMMENT box? Or maybe you can load some kind of voice file that opens with a howdy-do whenever we visit the site!
Maybe you can get Alexander Scourby or Richard Kiley to provide you with an appropriate greeting: “WLECOME to Words Assembled Well!”
Yeah. That’s the ticket. I’m getting goosebumps here.