I will, in my gracious manner, permit thee to deceive thyself for this day only that you are Asylum of the Universe. For I planted that belief within thee at the moment of thine creation at my hand. Yes, My hand and Mine alone, as the Alpha and the Omega, the Center of the Universe, the Apex of all Creation, the Summit of all Peaks, the Profundity of the Deep, the Watcher of all Things and the Essence of all Existence -- I hath brought forth thine paltry spirit and it is for My entertainment that thou mayst deceive thyself. It was My idea that Shah would call himself shadow of God on Earth, but for there to be a shadow of God, there must be a sun to illuminate it -- and there you will find Hedgehog.

Can I take up the mantle of being Shadow Of God On Earth, then? I like the sound of that one.

His Majesty, the King in Exile of Rhode Island*, will not allow you to profane his titles in this rude and ignorant manner.

*crowned by the Pope of my religion, which is a genuine and valid faith according to the true government of the state of RI.

Well, now they often call me Speedo but my real name is Mr. Earl.

I would have thought the real riches and renown would be in the Subduer of Climate department...

I am Friend of the (Late, Lamented) Chicxulub Bolide, Master of Mass Extinction Events, and Best Buds with the Crab Nebula Pulsar. No absurd pretensions about mastery of space and time, however (I'm looking at you, hedgehog).

Speaking of rich people and the corporate media - some French writer once wrote "behind every great fortune is a great crime" -

but it isn't necessarily true, just because somebody said it

- and speaking of which, how 'bout that Mike Bloomberg? Just wondering

Jon, thanks for posting that. Now I know what I'm going to write in the classbook for my 20th high school reunion.

Asylum of the Universe

Wow. You must have a really big yard.

I was shot from a cannon once. Didn't hurt.

O Omnipotent Hedgehog,

If Thou art truly the Alpha and Omega, the Center of the Universe, the Apex of all Creation, the Summit of all Peaks, the Profundity of the Deep, the Watcher of all Things and the Essence of all Existence, Thou dost surely know well that 'hath' is the archaic third person singular of 'to have'. The word which Thou didst seek, O Hedgehog, was 'have'.

Jonathan, before you declare yourself Asylum of the Universe, you better make sure Dubya hasn't already done it in a signing statement (see previous post).

After all, I think Bush already considers himself:
-Subduer of Climate (via the oil industry);
-Guardian of the Flock (too ranch-like for an oil man, but sounds vaguely spiritual, like Bush);
-Conqueror of Lands ('nuff said), and
-Shadow of God on Earth ('nuff said, part II).

Once he gets the Asylum thing down -- like gathering the magical pieces of a fractured crystal in a bad sci-fi/fantasy movie -- maybe he thinks he can move on to the shooting people from cannons part.

Does that mean you have Nurse Ratched inside you, somewhere?

Oh, and you should know - Ann Coulter has escaped and is off her meds.

And me? I'm just AN AMERICAN TAXPAYER, buying all this crap but ONLY so someone else (not me) can get rich. (I can see I need to SWEAT a little harder as apparently TITLED FOLKS are expensive. Maybe I WILL take that second job after all)

I knew I shouldn't have made everyone a frickin copy-editor.

Thought I would step in here, myself being an easterner. Asylum of the universe (jahaan panah) was a common title given to all kings, especially all Moghuls of india, and so was Zill e Ilaahi (Shadow of God) and various others. I won't take these things too literally, we easterners have a habit of exagerating things to make a point. Know the name of the builder of Taj Mahal? Shahaab uddin Shah Jahaan (Meteor of Faith, King of the world). His father? Jahaangir (Seizer of the world) His son? Aalamgir (you guessed it, it's 'seizer of the universe').
As for Reuters, it's history is a bit long than that described in the passage, reuters stayed in Iran after that exploiting the country for a while longer. There is a fascinating passage in Rober Fisk's book 'the great war for civilization' where he talks about the Iranian Revolution and the revolutionaries were checking the affiliation of every jounalist. Needless to say Fisk's buddy from Reuters thought he was screwed!
P.S. I can list a whole lot more fascinating titles from the different monarchs for instance Zengi who started the counter crusades (saladin's predecessor). The thing is a whole paragraph long, his name that is, with the tiles. Let me know if anyone wants to hear it.

Ok here is Zengi;
The emir, the general, the great, the just, the aid of God, the triumphant, the unique, the pillar of religion, the cornerstone of Islam, ornament of islam, protector of God's creatures, associate of the dynasty, auxiliary of doctrine, grandeur of the nation, honor of kings, supporter of the sultans, victor over the infidels, rebels and atheists, commander of the Muslim armies, the victorious king, the king of the princes, the sun of the deserving, emir of the two Iraqs and of Syria, conqueror of Iran, Bahlawan, Jihan Alp Inassaj Kotlogh Toghrulbeg, Atabeg Abu Said Zengi ibn Aq Sunqur, protector of the prince of the faithful (the caliph in baghdad that is).

In your face Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and Her other Realms and Territories Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith!!!!
Any questions?
P.S. Just for the sake of accuracy, Zengi wasn't the predecessor of saladin, his son was.