I went to see The Golden Compass with my son today, and I can say without reservation that it is the very best movie I've seen this year.
It's wonderful. Beautiful, stunning, compelling, with an engaging story and compelling characters. I loved it.
As for the anti religiosity? Well, it's there, sort of. It is, frankly, critical of things about Christianity that need to be criticized-the silencing of dissent and the squelching of human desires.
Tuesday, December 25, 2007
Sunday, December 23, 2007
Frayed Ends of Simon
December 21, 2007
According to Marketplace, today is “Humbug Day”. For me, every day is Humbug Day.
Listening to smart people talk about business theory and business behavior reinforces for me the idiocy of so much of modern management. It’s really not hard to run a good business-you just have to really want to and really care enough to do it right. It’s much easier to just pretend to do it, instead.
December 22, 2007
Listening to NPR’s “Word for Word”, I was impressed with how good a speaker Chris Dodd is. Overall, I would have no problem at all voting for any Democrat, whereas I would have a problem voting for virtually every Republican.
As if that weren’t obvious.
Benjamin Barber, author of “Consumed”, on Bill Moyer’s Journal:
“Capitalism is producing needs in order to sell us all the goods it produces.”
“Those with bucks don’t have any needs, and those with needs don’t have any bucks.”
The profit in capitalism is supposed to reward risk. With the government bailing out failing businesses like Long Term Capital Management and helping with the subprime mess, where’s the risk? Why does personal responsibility only apply to us and not to them?
Another excellent point-we went crazy about the sale of port security to Dubai Ports World, screaming about our sovereignty and our safety. Guess what? Our sovereignty is gone. China and the oil sheikhs have bought this country, and they can shut us down in the blink of an eyelash. Suppose China decides to stop buying US government bonds? We shut down. Not someday-tomorrow.
Yet the local news leads with ice skating. Sigh.
Another brilliant Dan Carlin program this week: “The problem with America is you.”
I couldn’t have said it better myself. I decry our wasteful government spending-yet I’m in hock all the way up to my hair follicles. I know what’s wrong, but I am unable to do anything but whine about it.
The problem with America is me.
Carlin has another interesting argument-waste your vote, or you’re wasting your vote.
I’ll explain.
The current political system is so clogged with special interest money and rank corruption that, if you vote based on one of the major candidates’ beliefs, you won’t get what you want anyway. You may as well cast a protest vote for Gravel, or Kucinich, or Paul, because at least you know those men are honest, and they have a chance, if elected, to muck out the stalls.
And yet…I give money to a national organization that employs lobbyists to protect the interests of my profession, too. I am wrapped in contradiction.
I really am the problem.
December 23, 2007
Two days until Christmas. One day until I get to see Simon. Briefly, given the number of women that will be there.
I learned on “Seven Ages of Rock” last night that Motley Crue’s bass and drum sound on “Dr. Feelgood” was what inspired Metallica to hire him to produce the Black album. Listening to the two back to back, you can really hear a similarity that I never noticed before.
I also learned that Sting sings the intro, “I want my…I want my MTV…” on Dire Straits’ “Money for Nothing”. According to my wife, everybody knew that-including dogs, cats, and certain species of fish-except me.
Now listening: Jet, “Cold Hard Bitch”
What a great, straightforward, no bullshit rock and roll song.
Reminds me of the book I’ve been trying to write for 10 years-a story of a guy in a band who gets accused of murder. I can’t count how many times I’ve started it and given up.
Also on last night’s “Seven Ages of Rock”, Michael Stipe told a story I have heard before, that he tried to get Kurt Cobain to come to Georgia to record some music with him, in order to try to get him out of the mental space he was in and hopefully, avert his eventual suicide. Obviously, that didn’t work, but just imagine the work that we missed out on as well….sigh.
Metallica, “Until It Sleeps”
“…And The Hate Still Shapes Me…”
“Frayed Ends Of Sanity”
My ANTHEM in high school.
“Old habits reappear/
Fighting the fear of fear…”
Tesla, “We Can Work It Out”
I forget how much I loved this band.
Metallica, “Bleeding Me”
“I am the beast that feeds the beast…”
Billy Joel, “Light As The Breeze”
(Yeah, I know it’s a cover.) If you don’t want to throw your beloved down on the nearest flat surface and ravish them after hearing this song, then you’re just not human.
Elton John, “Kiss The Bride”
GREAT song. One of the best “girl I love is marrying an idiot and not me” songs. A little bit ironic in light of Sir Elton’s personal preference, but they are Taupin’s words anyhow.
Nirvana, “Oh Me”
I get two sorts of reactions when I reveal that we are closing early tomorrow. Either people expect us to have been closed all weekend, or they are annoyed that we ever close at all.
I think, if you asked someone in charge why we’re open on Christmas Eve and not on Christmas Day, they would say that’s what their customers want. Media gives you the same answer-why the same parade of idiotic reality shows? Why is sports radio a bunch of louts arguing about senseless things? That’s what the viewers want.
I think that’s a load of crap. I don’t think they have any idea what people really want.
Or at least, they don’t have any idea what I really want.
Which is kind of the same thing.
The answer to what people want is everything-people want the shows that they like, being broadcast when they are available to watch them, and the stores open whenever they want to patronize them.
According to Marketplace, today is “Humbug Day”. For me, every day is Humbug Day.
Listening to smart people talk about business theory and business behavior reinforces for me the idiocy of so much of modern management. It’s really not hard to run a good business-you just have to really want to and really care enough to do it right. It’s much easier to just pretend to do it, instead.
December 22, 2007
Listening to NPR’s “Word for Word”, I was impressed with how good a speaker Chris Dodd is. Overall, I would have no problem at all voting for any Democrat, whereas I would have a problem voting for virtually every Republican.
As if that weren’t obvious.
Benjamin Barber, author of “Consumed”, on Bill Moyer’s Journal:
“Capitalism is producing needs in order to sell us all the goods it produces.”
“Those with bucks don’t have any needs, and those with needs don’t have any bucks.”
The profit in capitalism is supposed to reward risk. With the government bailing out failing businesses like Long Term Capital Management and helping with the subprime mess, where’s the risk? Why does personal responsibility only apply to us and not to them?
Another excellent point-we went crazy about the sale of port security to Dubai Ports World, screaming about our sovereignty and our safety. Guess what? Our sovereignty is gone. China and the oil sheikhs have bought this country, and they can shut us down in the blink of an eyelash. Suppose China decides to stop buying US government bonds? We shut down. Not someday-tomorrow.
Yet the local news leads with ice skating. Sigh.
Another brilliant Dan Carlin program this week: “The problem with America is you.”
I couldn’t have said it better myself. I decry our wasteful government spending-yet I’m in hock all the way up to my hair follicles. I know what’s wrong, but I am unable to do anything but whine about it.
The problem with America is me.
Carlin has another interesting argument-waste your vote, or you’re wasting your vote.
I’ll explain.
The current political system is so clogged with special interest money and rank corruption that, if you vote based on one of the major candidates’ beliefs, you won’t get what you want anyway. You may as well cast a protest vote for Gravel, or Kucinich, or Paul, because at least you know those men are honest, and they have a chance, if elected, to muck out the stalls.
And yet…I give money to a national organization that employs lobbyists to protect the interests of my profession, too. I am wrapped in contradiction.
I really am the problem.
December 23, 2007
Two days until Christmas. One day until I get to see Simon. Briefly, given the number of women that will be there.
I learned on “Seven Ages of Rock” last night that Motley Crue’s bass and drum sound on “Dr. Feelgood” was what inspired Metallica to hire him to produce the Black album. Listening to the two back to back, you can really hear a similarity that I never noticed before.
I also learned that Sting sings the intro, “I want my…I want my MTV…” on Dire Straits’ “Money for Nothing”. According to my wife, everybody knew that-including dogs, cats, and certain species of fish-except me.
Now listening: Jet, “Cold Hard Bitch”
What a great, straightforward, no bullshit rock and roll song.
Reminds me of the book I’ve been trying to write for 10 years-a story of a guy in a band who gets accused of murder. I can’t count how many times I’ve started it and given up.
Also on last night’s “Seven Ages of Rock”, Michael Stipe told a story I have heard before, that he tried to get Kurt Cobain to come to Georgia to record some music with him, in order to try to get him out of the mental space he was in and hopefully, avert his eventual suicide. Obviously, that didn’t work, but just imagine the work that we missed out on as well….sigh.
Metallica, “Until It Sleeps”
“…And The Hate Still Shapes Me…”
“Frayed Ends Of Sanity”
My ANTHEM in high school.
“Old habits reappear/
Fighting the fear of fear…”
Tesla, “We Can Work It Out”
I forget how much I loved this band.
Metallica, “Bleeding Me”
“I am the beast that feeds the beast…”
Billy Joel, “Light As The Breeze”
(Yeah, I know it’s a cover.) If you don’t want to throw your beloved down on the nearest flat surface and ravish them after hearing this song, then you’re just not human.
Elton John, “Kiss The Bride”
GREAT song. One of the best “girl I love is marrying an idiot and not me” songs. A little bit ironic in light of Sir Elton’s personal preference, but they are Taupin’s words anyhow.
Nirvana, “Oh Me”
I get two sorts of reactions when I reveal that we are closing early tomorrow. Either people expect us to have been closed all weekend, or they are annoyed that we ever close at all.
I think, if you asked someone in charge why we’re open on Christmas Eve and not on Christmas Day, they would say that’s what their customers want. Media gives you the same answer-why the same parade of idiotic reality shows? Why is sports radio a bunch of louts arguing about senseless things? That’s what the viewers want.
I think that’s a load of crap. I don’t think they have any idea what people really want.
Or at least, they don’t have any idea what I really want.
Which is kind of the same thing.
The answer to what people want is everything-people want the shows that they like, being broadcast when they are available to watch them, and the stores open whenever they want to patronize them.
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Boobie
Another bizarre ending to an NBA game. Lakers at Cavs, less than 10 seconds left. Cavs lead 92-90. Kobe Bryant misses a three, which bounds out near the foul line. Cleveland's Daniel "Boobie" Gibson and LA's Derek Fisher go for the ball, which Fisher grabs with both hands. Gibson falls down, and Fisher is charged with a foul. Gibson makes two free throws, and the Lakers lose. By what stretch of the imagination is that a foul? As long as Fisher doesn't punch Gibson in the face, both players are entitled to the ball! It's this kind of thing that would make my head explode if I were a coach.
The Pass
December 20, 2007
I’ve been doing some reading about Clemens and the steroid thing, and it’s getting harder and harder to think he was innocent.
Like Bonds, there’s no proof he did anything, just the word of a guy out to save his own skin. Like Bonds, he put up unreal, historically good numbers at extremely advanced ages. Like Bonds, he went through unbelievable physical changes, going from a relatively thin, athletic youngster to a huge veteran, rippling with muscles. (And yes, we all changed over the years 1986-2006. But not like that.)
And now apparently Andy Pettitte has confirmed McNamee’s story, as far as it goes, with regard to himself. So are we to believe that McNamee is lying about Clemens and telling the truth about Pettitte?
And Curt Schilling, even if he does support John McCain, had an excellent point on his blog-if Schilling’s name were on that list, he says he would have been on the phone to his attorneys, demanding that they sue. Bonds hasn’t sued about Game of Shadows, and Clemens hasn’t sued about the Mitchell Report. That gives them a ring of truth. It’s the OJ thing again-if the mother of your children is viciously slaughtered, you present yourself at the police station the next morning, demanding that they pursue the killers. Easy for us to say, but if you truly are innocent, it seems to me you say so. Loudly. Every bloody chance you get. Especially if you are facing a Pete Rose-ish fade out where your significant accomplishments become overshadowed by your misdeeds to the point where we have to remind ourselves how good of a player you were. I have no trouble remembering how good Walter Johnson and Cy Young were.
Of course, we don’t know what effect these drugs have, not at all. But it seems somewhat silly, at the very least, to see a guy go from barely 200 wins and washed up to 356 and the greatest pitcher ever, pitching amazingly well, far better than anyone his age has pitched, and not think something is going on.
Marketplace just did a report on Spa-Dee-Dah, a chain of beauty salons that specialize in manicures, pedicures, and facials for kids. In Los Angeles. Go figure.
S.T.F.U., as my wife would put it.
James “Cool Papa” Bell is this week’s “Baseball History” podcast biography. What a great, great story and a great, great player. I wonder if anyone has ever done a book length biography of him? Ernie Lombardi needs one, too.
Now Listening, Rush, “The Pass”
God, this song used to mean SO MUCH to me.
“Straining on invisible chains…”
Is it pathetic to continually Google the same old girlfriend, hoping against hope that….what? What am I hoping? What the hell would I even say to her? What would I have to offer? It’s not like I’m about to leave my wife. What the hell do I want? What am I trying to accomplish?
“The act of a noble warrior/
Who’s lost the will to fight…”
“Don’t turn your back and slam the door on me…”
Talking about music truly is like dancing about architecture.
Listening: The Beatles, “She Came In Through The Bathroom Window”
Listening: The Eagles, "New York Minute" (Live)
"You better take a fool's advice/
Take care of your own/
'Cause one day they're here/
The next day they're gone."
I’ve been doing some reading about Clemens and the steroid thing, and it’s getting harder and harder to think he was innocent.
Like Bonds, there’s no proof he did anything, just the word of a guy out to save his own skin. Like Bonds, he put up unreal, historically good numbers at extremely advanced ages. Like Bonds, he went through unbelievable physical changes, going from a relatively thin, athletic youngster to a huge veteran, rippling with muscles. (And yes, we all changed over the years 1986-2006. But not like that.)
And now apparently Andy Pettitte has confirmed McNamee’s story, as far as it goes, with regard to himself. So are we to believe that McNamee is lying about Clemens and telling the truth about Pettitte?
And Curt Schilling, even if he does support John McCain, had an excellent point on his blog-if Schilling’s name were on that list, he says he would have been on the phone to his attorneys, demanding that they sue. Bonds hasn’t sued about Game of Shadows, and Clemens hasn’t sued about the Mitchell Report. That gives them a ring of truth. It’s the OJ thing again-if the mother of your children is viciously slaughtered, you present yourself at the police station the next morning, demanding that they pursue the killers. Easy for us to say, but if you truly are innocent, it seems to me you say so. Loudly. Every bloody chance you get. Especially if you are facing a Pete Rose-ish fade out where your significant accomplishments become overshadowed by your misdeeds to the point where we have to remind ourselves how good of a player you were. I have no trouble remembering how good Walter Johnson and Cy Young were.
Of course, we don’t know what effect these drugs have, not at all. But it seems somewhat silly, at the very least, to see a guy go from barely 200 wins and washed up to 356 and the greatest pitcher ever, pitching amazingly well, far better than anyone his age has pitched, and not think something is going on.
Marketplace just did a report on Spa-Dee-Dah, a chain of beauty salons that specialize in manicures, pedicures, and facials for kids. In Los Angeles. Go figure.
S.T.F.U., as my wife would put it.
James “Cool Papa” Bell is this week’s “Baseball History” podcast biography. What a great, great story and a great, great player. I wonder if anyone has ever done a book length biography of him? Ernie Lombardi needs one, too.
Now Listening, Rush, “The Pass”
God, this song used to mean SO MUCH to me.
“Straining on invisible chains…”
Is it pathetic to continually Google the same old girlfriend, hoping against hope that….what? What am I hoping? What the hell would I even say to her? What would I have to offer? It’s not like I’m about to leave my wife. What the hell do I want? What am I trying to accomplish?
“The act of a noble warrior/
Who’s lost the will to fight…”
“Don’t turn your back and slam the door on me…”
Talking about music truly is like dancing about architecture.
Listening: The Beatles, “She Came In Through The Bathroom Window”
Listening: The Eagles, "New York Minute" (Live)
"You better take a fool's advice/
Take care of your own/
'Cause one day they're here/
The next day they're gone."
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Celtic Pride
A really good Pistons-Celtics game tonight. Trailing 85-79, Boston gets a 3 pointer from Eddie House and a sideline fallaway one from Ray Allen to tie the score. They get a stop when Chauncey Billups turns it over in the lane with 5 seconds to go, but then Paul Pierce gets mugged on a drive, no call, and the Celtics turn it over again. Billups gets fouled by Tony Allen with 0.1 seconds left-a simple pump fake, and Allen is in the air, falling into Billups. Billups made both free throws. That illustrates an irritating thing about the NBA-the same rule is rigorously enforced one minute, then ignored the next. It would be impossible, of course, to call the rule book literally, but it makes it maddening, as a fan, to see a guy get clobbered and there is a no call.
Badlands
Listening: "Badlands", Bruce Springsteen
I have always loved Springsteen's idea about the Church of Rock and Roll. I've never seen him live, and I'm not sure I will ever get the chance at this point, but that idea of the music as salvation and the concert as the rite of purification has always resounded with me powerfully.
"It ain't no sin to be glad you're alive..."
I unintentionally learned that Jamie Lynn Spears, a 16 year old actress on Nickelodeon's Zoey 101 television show, not to mention the younger sister of human calamity Britney Spears, is pregnant.
Listening: "No Speak No Slave", Black Crowes
The Black Crowes seemed to get the Rock and Roll Church thing when they named their second album after a hymnal.
Most of the poorly punctuated commentary about the Spears situation seems to lament the situation, which I think any sensible person would, or blame her 19 year old boyfriend, going so far as to accuse him of rape, because, of course, a 15 or 16 year old girl can't possibly consent to sex.
No one would suggest that her pregnancy was a good or wise thing-she herself would probably agree to that. She's now a mother to be with limited future earnings (you think Nickelodeon is going to touch her with a ten foot pole now?) and a father with no discernible skills. You can even argue that her pregnancy argues that she was not capable of fully weighing the pros and cons. But to accuse this man of rape goes quite a bit beyond the pale. If I were 19 years old, and a girl who looked like Ms. Spears came on to me, I would have done whatever she said. And any other honest man would say the same. It's something that American culture doesn't want us to say, but that doesn't make it untrue.
In fact, in retrospect, when I was 19 years old, if I recall correctly, I was involved with a girl who was younger than I was as well. And like this poor chap, I did what I was told to do as well. I didn't get her pregnant, but I certainly could have, shall we say.
I have always loved Springsteen's idea about the Church of Rock and Roll. I've never seen him live, and I'm not sure I will ever get the chance at this point, but that idea of the music as salvation and the concert as the rite of purification has always resounded with me powerfully.
"It ain't no sin to be glad you're alive..."
I unintentionally learned that Jamie Lynn Spears, a 16 year old actress on Nickelodeon's Zoey 101 television show, not to mention the younger sister of human calamity Britney Spears, is pregnant.
Listening: "No Speak No Slave", Black Crowes
The Black Crowes seemed to get the Rock and Roll Church thing when they named their second album after a hymnal.
Most of the poorly punctuated commentary about the Spears situation seems to lament the situation, which I think any sensible person would, or blame her 19 year old boyfriend, going so far as to accuse him of rape, because, of course, a 15 or 16 year old girl can't possibly consent to sex.
No one would suggest that her pregnancy was a good or wise thing-she herself would probably agree to that. She's now a mother to be with limited future earnings (you think Nickelodeon is going to touch her with a ten foot pole now?) and a father with no discernible skills. You can even argue that her pregnancy argues that she was not capable of fully weighing the pros and cons. But to accuse this man of rape goes quite a bit beyond the pale. If I were 19 years old, and a girl who looked like Ms. Spears came on to me, I would have done whatever she said. And any other honest man would say the same. It's something that American culture doesn't want us to say, but that doesn't make it untrue.
In fact, in retrospect, when I was 19 years old, if I recall correctly, I was involved with a girl who was younger than I was as well. And like this poor chap, I did what I was told to do as well. I didn't get her pregnant, but I certainly could have, shall we say.
The Great Chipmunk
Josh Wilker has another couple of amazing posts up at cardboardgods.baseballtoaster.com
Listening: "Duets for One", Elton John
"He didn't say any more, but we've always been unusually communicative in a reserved way, and I understood that he meant a good deal more than that. In consequence, I'm inclined to reserve all judgements, a habit that has opened up many curious natures to me and also made me the victim of not a few veteran bores. The abnormal mind is quick to detect and attach itself to this quality when it appears in a normal person, and so it came about that in college I was unjustly accused of being a politician, because I was privy to the secret griefs of wild, unknown men. Most of the confidences were unsought-frequently I have feigned sleep, preoccupation, or a hostile levity when I realized by some unmistakable sign that an intimate revelation was quivering on the horizon; for the intimate revelations of young men, or at least the terms in which they express them, are usually plagiaristic and marred by obvious suppressions. Reserving judgments is a matter of infinite hope. I am still a little afraid of missing something if I forget that, as my father snobbishly suggested, and I snobbishly repeat, a sense of fundamental decenciesis parcelled out unequally at birth."
That's the third paragraph of The Great Gatsby. Someone (Kerouac?) wrote that they used to type pages of the classics, in order to feel what it felt like to write sentences like that. It does develop a rhythm of sorts, typing that kind of prose out.
I look at it and marvel at some of the constructions, every word seemingly exactly where it belongs. "A hostile levity", "intimate revelation was quivering on the horizon", "secret griefs of wild, unknown men"-you know exactly what he means. God, he was good.
I went to see Alvin and the Chipmunks today. It was cute enough. David Cross was pretty good as the villain.
Listening: "Duets for One", Elton John
"He didn't say any more, but we've always been unusually communicative in a reserved way, and I understood that he meant a good deal more than that. In consequence, I'm inclined to reserve all judgements, a habit that has opened up many curious natures to me and also made me the victim of not a few veteran bores. The abnormal mind is quick to detect and attach itself to this quality when it appears in a normal person, and so it came about that in college I was unjustly accused of being a politician, because I was privy to the secret griefs of wild, unknown men. Most of the confidences were unsought-frequently I have feigned sleep, preoccupation, or a hostile levity when I realized by some unmistakable sign that an intimate revelation was quivering on the horizon; for the intimate revelations of young men, or at least the terms in which they express them, are usually plagiaristic and marred by obvious suppressions. Reserving judgments is a matter of infinite hope. I am still a little afraid of missing something if I forget that, as my father snobbishly suggested, and I snobbishly repeat, a sense of fundamental decenciesis parcelled out unequally at birth."
That's the third paragraph of The Great Gatsby. Someone (Kerouac?) wrote that they used to type pages of the classics, in order to feel what it felt like to write sentences like that. It does develop a rhythm of sorts, typing that kind of prose out.
I look at it and marvel at some of the constructions, every word seemingly exactly where it belongs. "A hostile levity", "intimate revelation was quivering on the horizon", "secret griefs of wild, unknown men"-you know exactly what he means. God, he was good.
I went to see Alvin and the Chipmunks today. It was cute enough. David Cross was pretty good as the villain.
Jesus
December 18, 2007
Rev. Dr. Peter Gomes, author of “The Scandalous Gospel”:
If you’re going to Chicago, you buy a map that shows you the way. You don’t then worship and celebrate the map. Similarly, Scripture is the route to the Good News-not the Good News itself.
“We live in a world that values Jesus but doesn’t value what he had to say.”
“The question is not ‘What Would Jesus Do?’, but ‘What Would Jesus Have Me Do?’”
“The difference between hope and optimism is that the optimist has nothing to stand on when things do not go right. Christians have hope-the ability to stand against evil, because they have something to depend on when things have not gone as planned.”
Wow. He’s a great, brilliant speaker that I heard on NPR’s “Book Tour” podcast.
Rev. Dr. Peter Gomes, author of “The Scandalous Gospel”:
If you’re going to Chicago, you buy a map that shows you the way. You don’t then worship and celebrate the map. Similarly, Scripture is the route to the Good News-not the Good News itself.
“We live in a world that values Jesus but doesn’t value what he had to say.”
“The question is not ‘What Would Jesus Do?’, but ‘What Would Jesus Have Me Do?’”
“The difference between hope and optimism is that the optimist has nothing to stand on when things do not go right. Christians have hope-the ability to stand against evil, because they have something to depend on when things have not gone as planned.”
Wow. He’s a great, brilliant speaker that I heard on NPR’s “Book Tour” podcast.
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Stop The Bastards
http://firedoglake.com/2007/12/16/dodd-fisa-and-the-filibuster-how-its-going-to-go-down-and-what-you-can-do/
Apparently, Chris Dodd is taking to the Senate floor tomorrow to try to filibuster a bill that grants immunity to telecom companies for their allowing the government to tap phones and read emails without a warrant.
If I were he, I would simply read the Fourth Amendment, "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized," and read it over, and over, and over again, until they get it.
Apparently, Chris Dodd is taking to the Senate floor tomorrow to try to filibuster a bill that grants immunity to telecom companies for their allowing the government to tap phones and read emails without a warrant.
If I were he, I would simply read the Fourth Amendment, "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized," and read it over, and over, and over again, until they get it.
Hammer of Justice Crushes You
December 14, 2007
The Diamondbacks have apparently traded for Oakland’s Dan Haren, while sending Jose (Salsa) Valverde to Houston. That’s pretty big news, as Haren has a big upside and may perform pretty well with Chris Young running down those fly balls for him in the desert.
December 15, 2007
Mindblowing concept from Dan Carlin of Hardcore History: Isn’t it true that every civilization, throughout history, believes that they are the final stage of human evolution?
December 16, 2007
If I am among the MOST positive people at my company, we are in deep fucking trouble. Everybody I talk to lately is pretty pissy. Except Cousin Simon, who is also pissy, but he really can't help it. He's a baby.
It's good that babies are cute. As Steven Wright once wisely put it, "All my friends are having babies. I have lots of friends. Babies don't have any friends."
I look at him sometimes, with those huge eyes, and wonder if he knows, on some level, how fucking completely clueless I am.
It's good that he's probably just trying to think of new ways to drool on me.
The Diamondbacks have apparently traded for Oakland’s Dan Haren, while sending Jose (Salsa) Valverde to Houston. That’s pretty big news, as Haren has a big upside and may perform pretty well with Chris Young running down those fly balls for him in the desert.
December 15, 2007
Mindblowing concept from Dan Carlin of Hardcore History: Isn’t it true that every civilization, throughout history, believes that they are the final stage of human evolution?
December 16, 2007
If I am among the MOST positive people at my company, we are in deep fucking trouble. Everybody I talk to lately is pretty pissy. Except Cousin Simon, who is also pissy, but he really can't help it. He's a baby.
It's good that babies are cute. As Steven Wright once wisely put it, "All my friends are having babies. I have lots of friends. Babies don't have any friends."
I look at him sometimes, with those huge eyes, and wonder if he knows, on some level, how fucking completely clueless I am.
It's good that he's probably just trying to think of new ways to drool on me.
Friday, December 14, 2007
Fire Woman
December 11, 2007
Now listening: John Lennon, “Whatever Gets You Through The Night”
Indeed, brother, indeed.
Given my multipodcast habits, I don’t listen to music as much as I really should. It seems to put me in a better mood.
Like Bill Hicks, I wonder what Lennon would have to say about the current war. Watching the “Imagine” documentary on VH1 reminded me of just how pointed and political he was as a solo artist. No wonder he scared the crap out of Nixon.
I have no doubt he would be unreservedly against it, and would have pointed words for our President.
It still stuns me that Dana Perino admitted on “Wait Wait” that she didn’t know what the Cuban Missile Crisis was. And her explanation, basically, was that it happened before she was born. Jesus. It happened before I was born, too, and I’ve heard of it. And politics, which is somewhat involved with history, is her JOB. Don’t those people read books? Ever?
Now listening: The Cult, “Black Angel”
I saw the Cult, opening for Metallica on one of the legs of the “Justice” tour. I had already seen the tour once, with Queensryche opening in support of “Operation: Mindcrime”. (There’s actually a sequel to that album, which I have been kind of afraid to get. I’m afraid it is not going to be as good, or at least as good as I recall it being. So many things aren’t as good as you remember.) So I knew Metallica was going to be awesome, but the Cult was so disappointing. I really enjoyed their first two albums(“Love” and “Electric”), and they were dispirited and weak live. And then Metallica came on and blew them into little Cult sized pieces.
December 13, 2007
Careful, it’s Thursday the 13th.
The Mitchell Report is out. I’m sure there will be yards and yards of hemming and hawing about this on the Web already. So here’s some more.
I don’t know what names are on the list, (baseball players who have used PEDs, or Performance Enhancing Drugs) as I write this. I assume there will be some non surprises-Sosa, McGwire-and perhaps some stunners.
But whoever is named, I do know one thing. It’s not going to change how I feel about baseball.
If you know anything at all about baseball, you know that baseball occurs within a context-the run scoring environment in which it is played. Pre-1947, not all the best players were allowed to play. Pre-1920, there were rampant gambling allegations, some of which were undoubtedly more than allegations. Pre-1900, there was syndicate ball, within which owners would own more than one team in the league and stack one team with all the best players. The 1995-2005 era will be the PED/Steroids era, and we will look at the numbers within that context. That’s all it means.
December 14, 2007
Well, Roger Clemens is on the list. Mo Vaughn too.
There is some caterwauling from Yankees fans about the fact that Mitchell, who is on the board of directors of the Sox, has a conflict of interest when investigating Sox players. That may be true, and as the more thoughtful commenters have pointed out, it doesn't matter if he had a conflict or not, because it appears he did, thus rendering the whole report questionable.
That being said, Mo Vaughn and Roger Clemens are two of the most significant Red Sox of the last 20 years.
And the report, such as it is, depends on hearsay and the testimony of people who have something to gain by testifying. Not exactly evidence.
And we still don't know, for sure, the effect of PEDs on baseball players.
So, after all this, we have.....feh. Approximately.
Now listening: John Lennon, “Whatever Gets You Through The Night”
Indeed, brother, indeed.
Given my multipodcast habits, I don’t listen to music as much as I really should. It seems to put me in a better mood.
Like Bill Hicks, I wonder what Lennon would have to say about the current war. Watching the “Imagine” documentary on VH1 reminded me of just how pointed and political he was as a solo artist. No wonder he scared the crap out of Nixon.
I have no doubt he would be unreservedly against it, and would have pointed words for our President.
It still stuns me that Dana Perino admitted on “Wait Wait” that she didn’t know what the Cuban Missile Crisis was. And her explanation, basically, was that it happened before she was born. Jesus. It happened before I was born, too, and I’ve heard of it. And politics, which is somewhat involved with history, is her JOB. Don’t those people read books? Ever?
Now listening: The Cult, “Black Angel”
I saw the Cult, opening for Metallica on one of the legs of the “Justice” tour. I had already seen the tour once, with Queensryche opening in support of “Operation: Mindcrime”. (There’s actually a sequel to that album, which I have been kind of afraid to get. I’m afraid it is not going to be as good, or at least as good as I recall it being. So many things aren’t as good as you remember.) So I knew Metallica was going to be awesome, but the Cult was so disappointing. I really enjoyed their first two albums(“Love” and “Electric”), and they were dispirited and weak live. And then Metallica came on and blew them into little Cult sized pieces.
December 13, 2007
Careful, it’s Thursday the 13th.
The Mitchell Report is out. I’m sure there will be yards and yards of hemming and hawing about this on the Web already. So here’s some more.
I don’t know what names are on the list, (baseball players who have used PEDs, or Performance Enhancing Drugs) as I write this. I assume there will be some non surprises-Sosa, McGwire-and perhaps some stunners.
But whoever is named, I do know one thing. It’s not going to change how I feel about baseball.
If you know anything at all about baseball, you know that baseball occurs within a context-the run scoring environment in which it is played. Pre-1947, not all the best players were allowed to play. Pre-1920, there were rampant gambling allegations, some of which were undoubtedly more than allegations. Pre-1900, there was syndicate ball, within which owners would own more than one team in the league and stack one team with all the best players. The 1995-2005 era will be the PED/Steroids era, and we will look at the numbers within that context. That’s all it means.
December 14, 2007
Well, Roger Clemens is on the list. Mo Vaughn too.
There is some caterwauling from Yankees fans about the fact that Mitchell, who is on the board of directors of the Sox, has a conflict of interest when investigating Sox players. That may be true, and as the more thoughtful commenters have pointed out, it doesn't matter if he had a conflict or not, because it appears he did, thus rendering the whole report questionable.
That being said, Mo Vaughn and Roger Clemens are two of the most significant Red Sox of the last 20 years.
And the report, such as it is, depends on hearsay and the testimony of people who have something to gain by testifying. Not exactly evidence.
And we still don't know, for sure, the effect of PEDs on baseball players.
So, after all this, we have.....feh. Approximately.
Monday, December 10, 2007
Dana Perino Is A Fucking Moron
Presidential Press Secretary Dana Perino just admitted on "Wait Wait Don't Tell Me" that she didn't know what the Cuban Missile Crisis was.
No, really. I'm not kidding.
What an idiot.
No, really. I'm not kidding.
What an idiot.
The Bible
December 9, 2007
Author Bruce Feller says that, in a private conversation, President George Bush told him that he does not believe that the US is a Christian nation, and that he does believe that the strength of the US and its values is in its multiculturalism and tolerance.
This is, of course, true, and I would be greatly comforted if there were any evidence from any of his actions that he believed this.
“Walking the Bible”, Feller’s book, sounds fascinating, though.
December 10, 2007
Among the comments for the "Christmas in Fallujah" song on ITunes, there are a number of people slinging the same old "disloyal"/"support the troops" crap. I wonder what exactly they object to-the lyrics, which consist of words from soldier letters home, or the cause, which is wounded and crippled soldiers.
What they really object to is being shown that their ideology is busy burning to the ground.
Author Bruce Feller says that, in a private conversation, President George Bush told him that he does not believe that the US is a Christian nation, and that he does believe that the strength of the US and its values is in its multiculturalism and tolerance.
This is, of course, true, and I would be greatly comforted if there were any evidence from any of his actions that he believed this.
“Walking the Bible”, Feller’s book, sounds fascinating, though.
December 10, 2007
Among the comments for the "Christmas in Fallujah" song on ITunes, there are a number of people slinging the same old "disloyal"/"support the troops" crap. I wonder what exactly they object to-the lyrics, which consist of words from soldier letters home, or the cause, which is wounded and crippled soldiers.
What they really object to is being shown that their ideology is busy burning to the ground.
Sunday, December 09, 2007
Guarantee
http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/recap?gid=20071209017&prov=ap
Steelers safety Anthony Smith, who had guaranteed a Pittsburgh victory, got toasted on both sides as the Patriots romp again.
Steelers safety Anthony Smith, who had guaranteed a Pittsburgh victory, got toasted on both sides as the Patriots romp again.
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