http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21897315/
I guess there were no Cabinet posts open.
Thursday, November 22, 2007
Turkeys
Fox made their stupid robot on their football broadcast a stupid robot TURKEY.
Doesn't make it any less stupid.
Doesn't make it any less stupid.
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
SEVENTH?
November 21, 2007
It’s Thanksgiving tomorrow. Wahoo.
Interesting piece on “Marketplace” about what companies who advertise on sports programming think of their customers by Will Leitch, a well known sports blogger. Suffice it to say, he described how little they think of us. The easy stereotyping of guys really bothers me. He cited one of my least favorite, the Coors Light commercial involving the misunderstanding between the man and woman about her pregnancy test turning blue and his beer bottle turning blue.
That commercial has always bugged me, primarily because I want to defend the guy. It’s a misunderstanding, brought on by the fact that they are in two different rooms, talking about two different things. And he ends the commercial in trouble, and it isn’t really his fault.
Or am I reading too much into this?
There was something on VH1 Classic last night about the “10 Greatest Bands”. It was some kind of a marketing tie in with the video game “Rock Band”, one of the many “Guitar Hero” clones out there. It’s kind of fun to pop in to the middle of those (I was waiting for “Nirvana Unplugged” to come on at the end, which I haven’t watched since it aired.)and see how long it takes for you to guess a)what the category is and b) who’s next on the list. It was #7, IIRC, and it was The Clash.
Number SEVEN? AHEAD of U2?
I can think of probably 50 bands better than the Clash, and probably 100 that I like better. I could buy the Clash as one of the top ten punk bands, or one of the top ten British bands, even, but top ten of all TIME? Come on.
Now, these lists are subjective, I get that, but SEVEN?
Argh.
It’s Thanksgiving tomorrow. Wahoo.
Interesting piece on “Marketplace” about what companies who advertise on sports programming think of their customers by Will Leitch, a well known sports blogger. Suffice it to say, he described how little they think of us. The easy stereotyping of guys really bothers me. He cited one of my least favorite, the Coors Light commercial involving the misunderstanding between the man and woman about her pregnancy test turning blue and his beer bottle turning blue.
That commercial has always bugged me, primarily because I want to defend the guy. It’s a misunderstanding, brought on by the fact that they are in two different rooms, talking about two different things. And he ends the commercial in trouble, and it isn’t really his fault.
Or am I reading too much into this?
There was something on VH1 Classic last night about the “10 Greatest Bands”. It was some kind of a marketing tie in with the video game “Rock Band”, one of the many “Guitar Hero” clones out there. It’s kind of fun to pop in to the middle of those (I was waiting for “Nirvana Unplugged” to come on at the end, which I haven’t watched since it aired.)and see how long it takes for you to guess a)what the category is and b) who’s next on the list. It was #7, IIRC, and it was The Clash.
Number SEVEN? AHEAD of U2?
I can think of probably 50 bands better than the Clash, and probably 100 that I like better. I could buy the Clash as one of the top ten punk bands, or one of the top ten British bands, even, but top ten of all TIME? Come on.
Now, these lists are subjective, I get that, but SEVEN?
Argh.
Monday, November 19, 2007
12 Word Novel
My entry in "On The Media"'s 12 Word Novel Contest, available at OnTheMedia.org
Ball four.
Free pass.
"Nothing's free," he thought.
He left the mound.
Ball four.
Free pass.
"Nothing's free," he thought.
He left the mound.
Sunday, November 18, 2007
Bill Clinton is going to save the world
Just finished the cover story of the October 2007 Atlantic Monthly magazine. (Yeah, I'm a little bit behind.)
It describes the Clinton Foundation, and specifically the work they did getting AIDS drugs into the third world. What they did was, essentially, work with the manufacturers to ensure a steady demand, then use the power of this demand to lower the price. Now this is a brilliant idea, and more specifically an example of why the free market will never solve our problems.
Clinton didn't demand they give the drugs away, nor did he browbeat the countries into buying expired drugs or anything like that. He simply used the power of the market to serve a public good.
There was a disconnect between the high price of the drugs and the low cost to manufacture them-the price was extremely high, but they were only being sold to the West, so the profits were low. The foundation could show them that there is a demand out there and a way to sell many, many more units at a reduced price. Patients get drugs, drug companies make profits.
What makes me crazy about politics today is that so many people will immediately dismiss this idea because Clinton's name is attached to it. It is exactly this kind of creative energy that is so desperately needed right now, and so utterly absent from the current President.
It describes the Clinton Foundation, and specifically the work they did getting AIDS drugs into the third world. What they did was, essentially, work with the manufacturers to ensure a steady demand, then use the power of this demand to lower the price. Now this is a brilliant idea, and more specifically an example of why the free market will never solve our problems.
Clinton didn't demand they give the drugs away, nor did he browbeat the countries into buying expired drugs or anything like that. He simply used the power of the market to serve a public good.
There was a disconnect between the high price of the drugs and the low cost to manufacture them-the price was extremely high, but they were only being sold to the West, so the profits were low. The foundation could show them that there is a demand out there and a way to sell many, many more units at a reduced price. Patients get drugs, drug companies make profits.
What makes me crazy about politics today is that so many people will immediately dismiss this idea because Clinton's name is attached to it. It is exactly this kind of creative energy that is so desperately needed right now, and so utterly absent from the current President.
Your Name Here
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/17/us/17surnames.html?_r=2&n=Top/Reference/Times%20Topics/Organizations/C/Census%20Bureau&oref=slogin&oref=slogin
Here's a neat little toy. Put in your last name, and you can see how often it comes up per 100,000 Americans, according to the 2000 Census.
Mine is 137th, with 61 people per 100,000. That seems too high, but then again, I have met strangers who do share my name.
Plus we're all God's children.
Here's a neat little toy. Put in your last name, and you can see how often it comes up per 100,000 Americans, according to the 2000 Census.
Mine is 137th, with 61 people per 100,000. That seems too high, but then again, I have met strangers who do share my name.
Plus we're all God's children.
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Stupid Union
Stupid, half asleep fight with the wife last night. Is that some kind of a union rule, we have to fight every once in a while to prove we're still married?
Playing Ketchup
November 11, 2007
Now listening: Dan Carlin’s “Common Sense” podcast. I already enjoyed his history podcast, and this is more like a current events/politics podcast. Not bad, so far anyway.
He’s talking about James Watson’s unfortunate racist comments about Africans not being as intelligent as Westerners. Carlin raises an interesting point-Watson is wrong, but it does get at the underlying lie that all men really aren’t created equal. We all know this, but it isn’t polite to say so. Carlin also raises the larger point that at times, science doesn’t always say what we want it to say, but that doesn’t make it any less true. He also makes the excellent analogy to the Nixon era presidential study of drugs that advocated legalization of marijuana and was quickly spiked.
Good “Car Talk” puzzler this week. Apparently there is a jacket photo on “Summer of 49” showing Ted and Joe together. (I have the book, but the jacket has long since bought the dust.) The puzzle is, since you can only see Ted and Joe in the picture, and it was obviously taken at a ballpark, although you can’t tell which one, you can tell that it was taken at an All Star Game. I don’t remember the picture, but I bet it’s the fact that both men are wearing home uniforms. If Ted’s uniform says “Red Sox” and Joe’s says “Yankees”, it has to be an All Star Game, because if it were a game at Fenway, Joe’s will say “New York”, and if it were at the Stadium, Ted’s will say “Boston”.
Funny bit on PRI’s “Fair Game” I just downloaded-the anti-gay rights, pro-gay sex ticket: Larry Craig and Ted Haggert.
November 12, 2007
From the “You have GOT to be fucking kidding me” Department: Apparently Senator Larry Craig circulated an email to his Senate colleagues reporting he had found a men’s wristwatch….
….wait for it…….
………on the floor of a men’s room.
Seriously.
If you are Senator Larry Craig, and you find a watch in a men’s room, you keep it. Seriously. How do you type that with a straight face?
Now listening: Dan Carlin’s “Common Sense” podcast. I already enjoyed his history podcast, and this is more like a current events/politics podcast. Not bad, so far anyway.
He’s talking about James Watson’s unfortunate racist comments about Africans not being as intelligent as Westerners. Carlin raises an interesting point-Watson is wrong, but it does get at the underlying lie that all men really aren’t created equal. We all know this, but it isn’t polite to say so. Carlin also raises the larger point that at times, science doesn’t always say what we want it to say, but that doesn’t make it any less true. He also makes the excellent analogy to the Nixon era presidential study of drugs that advocated legalization of marijuana and was quickly spiked.
Good “Car Talk” puzzler this week. Apparently there is a jacket photo on “Summer of 49” showing Ted and Joe together. (I have the book, but the jacket has long since bought the dust.) The puzzle is, since you can only see Ted and Joe in the picture, and it was obviously taken at a ballpark, although you can’t tell which one, you can tell that it was taken at an All Star Game. I don’t remember the picture, but I bet it’s the fact that both men are wearing home uniforms. If Ted’s uniform says “Red Sox” and Joe’s says “Yankees”, it has to be an All Star Game, because if it were a game at Fenway, Joe’s will say “New York”, and if it were at the Stadium, Ted’s will say “Boston”.
Funny bit on PRI’s “Fair Game” I just downloaded-the anti-gay rights, pro-gay sex ticket: Larry Craig and Ted Haggert.
November 12, 2007
From the “You have GOT to be fucking kidding me” Department: Apparently Senator Larry Craig circulated an email to his Senate colleagues reporting he had found a men’s wristwatch….
….wait for it…….
………on the floor of a men’s room.
Seriously.
If you are Senator Larry Craig, and you find a watch in a men’s room, you keep it. Seriously. How do you type that with a straight face?
Saturday, November 10, 2007
Norman Mailer
November 10, 2007
RIP, Norman Mailer
Two weeks until Thanksgiving. Yawn. What a pointless holiday.
I would be perfectly happy to stay at home and be left alone. Then again, that is true of me every minute of every day, so why should Thanksgiving be any different?
I hope the people in my life know that I appreciate them, through my words and actions. We don’t need a day for it.
And I don’t like the food either.
“My family thinks of me as a schmuck with a pen.”-Saul Bellow
Currently listening to: 90 minute lecture about Saul Bellow’s “Herzog” produced by a Canadian television station. I love the Internet.
Instead of being the one to talk other people in off the ledge, wouldn’t it be nice to be able to be the one talked back in instead?
Great Bill Moyers Journal about the death penalty. There are few things more American than the death penalty-accomplishes nothing, but makes you feel better.
Bernard Kerik got indicted, apparently. Mr. Love Nest above Ground Zero was apparently mobbed up, as well. On KCRW’s Left, Right and Center, Robert Scheer makes the point that Giuliani and Bush, who, if nothing else, claim to be able to defend us, wanted to make this guy the director of homeland security. That being said, you have to question their judgment.
According to Mark Shields on the News Hour Podcast, 65% of Americans are satisfied with their own lives. That sounds really, really high.
I would obviously be in the minority on that one.
Another special, this time on NOW, about the SCHIP program. The moral outrage of denying children health coverage makes me so angry I can barely see. The Federal government has $6 billion dollars they can LOSE in Iraq. Lose, as in gone, as in went away and is never coming back. The Federal government has billions and billions of dollars for Halliburton and Kellogg, Brown and Root. But children’s health care? That’s “irresponsible”, according to the president.
No, Mr. President, what is irresponsible is sending Americans to die in the desert for no good reason at all. What is irresponsible is letting CEOs and hedge fund managers grow obscenely wealthy while poor Americans die in the streets like dogs. What is irresponsible is two things-everything you have done, and everything you have said.
I just wish corporations would make up their mind-either they are part of this society or they’re not. If they’re going to get tax breaks, they have to act like citizens, and be held responsible for the things that they do.
“The Great Gatsby” again on Studio 360. I’ve heard it before, but it’s worth listening to again. One of my favorite novels, and the way Studio 360 deconstructs and retells it, it is an engaging way to spend an hour.
RIP, Norman Mailer
Two weeks until Thanksgiving. Yawn. What a pointless holiday.
I would be perfectly happy to stay at home and be left alone. Then again, that is true of me every minute of every day, so why should Thanksgiving be any different?
I hope the people in my life know that I appreciate them, through my words and actions. We don’t need a day for it.
And I don’t like the food either.
“My family thinks of me as a schmuck with a pen.”-Saul Bellow
Currently listening to: 90 minute lecture about Saul Bellow’s “Herzog” produced by a Canadian television station. I love the Internet.
Instead of being the one to talk other people in off the ledge, wouldn’t it be nice to be able to be the one talked back in instead?
Great Bill Moyers Journal about the death penalty. There are few things more American than the death penalty-accomplishes nothing, but makes you feel better.
Bernard Kerik got indicted, apparently. Mr. Love Nest above Ground Zero was apparently mobbed up, as well. On KCRW’s Left, Right and Center, Robert Scheer makes the point that Giuliani and Bush, who, if nothing else, claim to be able to defend us, wanted to make this guy the director of homeland security. That being said, you have to question their judgment.
According to Mark Shields on the News Hour Podcast, 65% of Americans are satisfied with their own lives. That sounds really, really high.
I would obviously be in the minority on that one.
Another special, this time on NOW, about the SCHIP program. The moral outrage of denying children health coverage makes me so angry I can barely see. The Federal government has $6 billion dollars they can LOSE in Iraq. Lose, as in gone, as in went away and is never coming back. The Federal government has billions and billions of dollars for Halliburton and Kellogg, Brown and Root. But children’s health care? That’s “irresponsible”, according to the president.
No, Mr. President, what is irresponsible is sending Americans to die in the desert for no good reason at all. What is irresponsible is letting CEOs and hedge fund managers grow obscenely wealthy while poor Americans die in the streets like dogs. What is irresponsible is two things-everything you have done, and everything you have said.
I just wish corporations would make up their mind-either they are part of this society or they’re not. If they’re going to get tax breaks, they have to act like citizens, and be held responsible for the things that they do.
“The Great Gatsby” again on Studio 360. I’ve heard it before, but it’s worth listening to again. One of my favorite novels, and the way Studio 360 deconstructs and retells it, it is an engaging way to spend an hour.
Thursday, November 08, 2007
Fat Chance
November 8, 2007
Nothing good can happen during a conversation that begins with one of the following statements:
“You’re going to be mad at me.”
“I tried to clean it.”
“It looks like the condom broke.”
“Our young pitcher just left the mound holding his shoulder.”
David Frum, a former speechwriter for President Bush, on yesterday’s Marketplace, complains about the obesity epidemic, and, of course, blames the individual. OBESITY IS NOT A CHOICE. Yes, some people lose weight, just like some people quit smoking, and some people give up drinking. That doesn’t, of course, mean that the solution is everyone else should just buck up and follow their example. If we could, believe me, we would. It sucks being fat.
I’ve been thinking about what an example might be to help explain what it feels like. Jim Gaffigan has a joke about eating something, finishing it, and realizing that you didn’t even enjoy it. It’s kind of like that. Eating, for an overweight person, is much more than just eating. It’s sexual, in a weird way-in the sense that you don’t always do it for the right reason, or indeed for any reason, and that you sometimes regret it when it’s over.
John Dvorak reveals in today’s Tech5 report that the vaunted November 11 tech attack by Al Queda is an old crappy Trojan Horse virus that modern antiviral programs will chew up and spit out. I guess, if you’re reading this November 11, you know that turned out to be the case.
Nothing good can happen during a conversation that begins with one of the following statements:
“You’re going to be mad at me.”
“I tried to clean it.”
“It looks like the condom broke.”
“Our young pitcher just left the mound holding his shoulder.”
David Frum, a former speechwriter for President Bush, on yesterday’s Marketplace, complains about the obesity epidemic, and, of course, blames the individual. OBESITY IS NOT A CHOICE. Yes, some people lose weight, just like some people quit smoking, and some people give up drinking. That doesn’t, of course, mean that the solution is everyone else should just buck up and follow their example. If we could, believe me, we would. It sucks being fat.
I’ve been thinking about what an example might be to help explain what it feels like. Jim Gaffigan has a joke about eating something, finishing it, and realizing that you didn’t even enjoy it. It’s kind of like that. Eating, for an overweight person, is much more than just eating. It’s sexual, in a weird way-in the sense that you don’t always do it for the right reason, or indeed for any reason, and that you sometimes regret it when it’s over.
John Dvorak reveals in today’s Tech5 report that the vaunted November 11 tech attack by Al Queda is an old crappy Trojan Horse virus that modern antiviral programs will chew up and spit out. I guess, if you’re reading this November 11, you know that turned out to be the case.
Wednesday, November 07, 2007
Shooting Star
http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/11/07/a-deadly-school-shooting-this-time-in-finland/?hp
Horrible, horrible news, of course.
It strikes me that one argument we usually hear from US gun control opponents is that these sort of things happen in Europe, too, where gun control is more stringent.
If you read the story, Finland is the third most heavily armed country in the world.
Huh. I thought having lots of guns protected you?
http://www.upi.com/International_Security/Energy/Briefing/2007/10/29/chalabi_back_to_bring_baghdad_power/6146/
Good thinking. Bring back the guy who was wrong about absolutely everything, and who is a crook to boot. Brought to you by the geniuses who brought you more than 3000 American dead for no good reason.
Horrible, horrible news, of course.
It strikes me that one argument we usually hear from US gun control opponents is that these sort of things happen in Europe, too, where gun control is more stringent.
If you read the story, Finland is the third most heavily armed country in the world.
Huh. I thought having lots of guns protected you?
http://www.upi.com/International_Security/Energy/Briefing/2007/10/29/chalabi_back_to_bring_baghdad_power/6146/
Good thinking. Bring back the guy who was wrong about absolutely everything, and who is a crook to boot. Brought to you by the geniuses who brought you more than 3000 American dead for no good reason.
Thinner Shula Still Stupid
Don Shula was apparently quoted as saying the Patriots Spy Affair casts a shadow on their unbeaten record, especially if they run the table and dethrone his 1972 team, which is the only team in league history to go unbeaten.
First of all, the activity, whatever it was, was stopped after game 1, a game in which they hammered a Jets team that has proven to be woeful. It seems easy to argue that they could have beaten them with one hand tied behind their back. Second of all, it's a stupid rule. It doesn't give them an advantage that any other team can't get. Third of all, undefeated is undefeated-the Dolphins, great as they are, didn't play the caliber of competition that there is today-guys the size of Larry Czonka are wide recievers and tight ends, not fullbacks.
First of all, the activity, whatever it was, was stopped after game 1, a game in which they hammered a Jets team that has proven to be woeful. It seems easy to argue that they could have beaten them with one hand tied behind their back. Second of all, it's a stupid rule. It doesn't give them an advantage that any other team can't get. Third of all, undefeated is undefeated-the Dolphins, great as they are, didn't play the caliber of competition that there is today-guys the size of Larry Czonka are wide recievers and tight ends, not fullbacks.
Tuesday, November 06, 2007
Love is a Mix Tape
Just finished a fantastic book, Love is a Mix Tape by Rob Sheffield. It's an autobiography, of sorts, about his late wife Renee and their love of music. It was wonderful, and highly emotional, and beautiful. I loved it.
Sunday, November 04, 2007
New England 24, Indianapolis 20
A very tight, exciting game which needed 14 unanswered points from Brady and the Pats to steal away a narrow win.
New England set a team record in penalty yardage, admittedly with a somewhat penalty-hungry gang of zebras, to go along with plenty of season marks-first Colt to gain 100 yards on the ground and in the air(Addai), first time New England trailed in the fourth quarter this year, first fumble Manning has lost at home since 2005, etc., etc.
To sum up, New England trailed 20-10 partway through the fourth quarter, but Brady put together two quick drives cemented by long passes to Randy Moss and (former Eagle) Donte Stallworth to steal away the win.
And giving up 14 unanswered, in the fourth, at home? Choke. No doubt about it.
And can we stop with the cheating business? New England is better than nearly everyone else. Period. And running up the score? Please. Both teams are professional.
New England set a team record in penalty yardage, admittedly with a somewhat penalty-hungry gang of zebras, to go along with plenty of season marks-first Colt to gain 100 yards on the ground and in the air(Addai), first time New England trailed in the fourth quarter this year, first fumble Manning has lost at home since 2005, etc., etc.
To sum up, New England trailed 20-10 partway through the fourth quarter, but Brady put together two quick drives cemented by long passes to Randy Moss and (former Eagle) Donte Stallworth to steal away the win.
And giving up 14 unanswered, in the fourth, at home? Choke. No doubt about it.
And can we stop with the cheating business? New England is better than nearly everyone else. Period. And running up the score? Please. Both teams are professional.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)