Monday, March 31, 2003

I was nosing around the web looking for confirmation of that old "fact" that primitive cultures can count up to three, and after that everything is just "many". (Why? Never you mind.) Is it true? Mostly.

Saturday, March 29, 2003

It's nice to see that CNN has a new website devoted solely to reporting on Iraq. If it has the CNN name on it, it's got to be accurate, right? (Well, it's still less rabid than FOX News.)

Friday, March 28, 2003

A chronology of the Jaime Hernandez Love & Rockets characters and stories.

Wednesday, March 26, 2003

Skateboards? Totally over. Rollerblades? Yawn. Scooters? Get a clue, grandpa.

Today's youth are taking it to the extreme -- wheelbarrow style.
You can keep your Howard Dean, your Joe Lieberman, your John Kerry -- none of them have that certain something.

Not like Randy Crow.
Think social awareness and leftist political activism is just hippy-dippy bullshit? Wrong, man -- it's totally punk.

Tuesday, March 25, 2003

Monday, March 24, 2003

Saddam Hussein's horoscope for today (he was born 4/28/37, which makes him a Taurus), from astrology.com:
You find yourself on the way to your next great adventure. Don't forget to make a comfort stop during your great quest. You may be getting out of touch with the people whose efforts have made this journey possible. Dropping a letter or postcard in the mailbox doesn't take up a lot of your time, and it means a lot to the recipient. Tonight, keep in mind that different cultures have different rules. Collect your wits and remember your manners in public.
The Iraqi dictator might want to get out his aromatherapy candles and healing crystals, too, because his biorhythms are not in a happy place right now.
Everybody is aware of the existence of peppermint Altoids. And I daresay that many know of the cinnamon, spearmint and wintergreen varieties. But ginger?

We're through the looking glass here, people...
Say what you will about Michael Moore's Oscar acceptance speech*, you have to admit that a plurality of the Academy voted for him knowing full well that's the way he'd use his 45 seconds. (I wouldn't be surprised if a sizeable percentage of his votes came from people for precisely that reason.)

* Still, I think it was a mistake for him to rant, in this circumstance. "Hollywood" is already under attack as it is from the intolerant jingo sharks. Moore just poured more blood into the water.

Sunday, March 23, 2003

As we continue onward in this new war of the President's, with men and women killing, and being taken prisoner, and sometimes being wounded or dying, I am struck with one very important thought: thank God it is still illegal for homosexuals to serve in the US military.

Oh, shit -- what if some of the embedded reporters are gay?

Saturday, March 22, 2003

I went down to the park today. Nobody was firing any missiles into buildings there. Nobody kept saying SHOCKANAWE over and over. No protesters giving the peace movement a bad name with their BU$H=HITLER signs.

Just the sun. And the grass. And the blue, blue sky.

I think I'll go again tomorrow.
""Well, actually," says the spokesman, "just today the central American presidents will make a declaration about the war." In it, will Panama come out in support of US and British action against Iraq. "How?" Any how. "We aren't sending anyone to the Gulf." Is Panama offering the coalition of the willing moral support? A short pause. "Not really," says the spokesman, thinking it over. "No. Not really."
Just what are the nations in the "Coalition of the Willing" doing to support the war? The Guardian asks around.

Friday, March 21, 2003

Two vomit-centric links have appeared lately, protesting a culture that induces bulimia, and the war, respectively.

Sorry about that. Have a mint.
Hooray for the Public Domain, part XXIII.
(insert obligatory "there's a new Get Your War On update" link here.)

Thursday, March 20, 2003

Well, I'm off to Trader Joe's to pick up a case of really cheap wine, and some bottles of Vodka of the Gods. Why? The Gulf War (Two) Drinking Game, natch. Oh, yeah -- better reserve my new liver now.
Stop the war or the clown gets it!
"Salam Pax" is the author of the Where is Raed? weblog, which claims to be the blog of an Iraqi in Baghdad. Mindful of the New Yorker cartoon, "On the internet nobody knows you're a dog," and the infamous Kaycee Nicole hoax, some are skeptical that Salam Pax is who he says he is.

Is he? Actually, he probably is.
Not unilateral at all: a quick look at the list of the nations comprising the "Coalition of the Willing" shows that we have on our side powerhouses like Eritrea, Slovakia and Uzbekistan. I think their primary job is to contribute tasty ethnic recipes.
Today's Kausfiles suggests that last night's missile attack attempting to "decapitate" the Iraqi government might not have been in our best interests:
I suppose it would be good to kill Saddam Hussein with the opening shot of the war. But it's not hard to imagine circumstances in which it would not be good -- i.e. if a new strongman emerged who claimed to repudiate Saddam, offered up some prominent Baathists, and pledged to really open up Iraq to U.N. inspectors. Would we press an attack then? What if the new leader actually turned over a whole bunch of chemical and biological weapons Saddam had been hiding? It might be very difficult to justify continuing an invasion in those circumstances -- and yet the job would once again be left half-done, or three-quarters done. ... Could we trust the new government? ... We might end up with the opprobrium of the world, but no crowds cheering us as liberators, no "prosperous and free" Iraq and no guarantee of disarmament

Wednesday, March 19, 2003

Oh -- so that's what RED ALERT is.

"[Y]ou will be assumed by authorities to be the enemy if you so much as venture outside your home, [New Jersey's] anti-terror czar says."
The most succinct pro-war sentiment I've seen so far: sometimes, you've just got to shoot your own dog.

I still cry when I think of Old Yeller...
What with the war and all, I figure I better jump on the aid-and-comfort-to-the-enemy bandwagon early. Iraq Body Count.

Tuesday, March 18, 2003

Free Mumia Hetch Hetchy!

Monday, March 17, 2003

This will not be the California quarter design. It's too good.
A reply to my email to Charlie Daniels:
HOW DARE ME?YOU KNOW BETTER THAN THAT.WHY DO I HAVE LESS RITGHT TO ESPOUSE MY OPINION THAN YOU OR ANYBODY ELSE HAS,IS THAT NOT WHAT YOU'RE DOING?
AS FAR AS TAMARA IS CONCERNED I HAVE NOT READ HER EMAIL TO THIS DAY.
THE LATEST POLL SHOWS THAT 72% OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE FAVOR REMOVING SADDAM .I WISH THAT YOU COULD SEE THE EMAILSS I GET FROM THE MILITARY AND THEIR FAMILIES TALKING ABOUT HOW BADLY THEY ARE HURT BY THE HIGH PROFILE PEOPLE WHO COMOARE THEIR COMMANDER AND CHEIF TO HITLER.
ALL YOU HAVE TO DO TO KEEP FROM READING MY OPINIONS IS STAY AWAY FROM MY WEBSITE.
I RESPECT YOUR RIGHT TO FREEDOM OF SPEECH AND WOULD SUGGEST THAT YOU DO THE SAME FOR ME.
CD.
And so I shall.

Sunday, March 16, 2003

Britain's best paintings about weather are online, in a virtual exhibit. From nice and sunny to fire and brimstone, it's all there for you to click on. If you're the kind of museum-goer who likes to listen to the audio tour, well, that can be arranged.
Blogging has hit the big time! The rest of us can just go home right now.

Saturday, March 15, 2003

First Charlie Daniels (see below). Then the Dixie Chicks. Now (indirectly) Lee Greenwood.

Them country fans is crazy. I'm gonna go listen to some nice, non-controversial gangsta rap...
Charlie Daniels is a mite annoyed with people exercising their First Amendment rights. He has an open letter. I responded:
Mr. Daniels:

How dare you? What makes you think that anybody wants to hear the rantings of an overpaid, brie-eating celebrity such as yourself? Do you think that just because your name is well-known that your opinion is worth anything at all?

...

I certainly hope you are able to locate the fallacies in the preceding paragraph. Of course, as an American, you have every right to shoot your damn fool mouth off. That's your right. As is it mine. As is it Sean Penn's, Bill O'Reilly's, Susan Sarandon's, Sean Hannity's, and even Tamara Saviano's. That's one of the many things that makes this country so great.

And shoot your damn fool mouth off you do, sir. I hope you have sources to back up your assertions, because I, for one, don't just believe everything some fool tells me, even if that fool has been in the movies, on television, or on country music radio.

Perhaps you ought to leave the small town and move to the big city, where you could be exposed to many different points of view, which might challenge your ways of thinking. There are millions of us (check the recent polls) who don't support a unilateral invasion of Iraq. We are sincere, we are informed, and we love America enough to tell our President we think he is wrong.

I hope you will take a step back, count to ten, and take a second to consider the notion that your rather frothy rant may be somewhat overblown. As one who is fully committed to peace, yet realistic enough to know that that is not always possible, I do (although you may not believe it) wish you well.

Yours,

J DeVries.

I hope I don't get fired for this.
It's poppy time in Lancaster again! The Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve Visitors Center opened for the season today, although all the rain today may have thinned the crowds somewhat.

This year is extra special -- April 6 (also known to many schoolchildren as "California Poppy Day") will be the 100th anniversary of Eschscholzia californica as California's state flower.
The NYT is, interestingly, profiling Japanese erotic photographer Nobuyoshi Araki, famous for collections like Tokyo Lucky Hole, works which juxtapose hardcore sexual imagery, bondage, skies, and snapshots of Japanese streets. Can a Times portrait of Richard Kern be far behind? (This blogger certainly hopes so.)

Thursday, March 13, 2003

As a good liberal, I am duty-bound to consider all points of view (much as all devoted conservatives are required to spew forth venom in all directions). Therefore, please find, for your consideration, Patrick Buchanan's paleocon POV regarding Israel's (and its Jewish) situation in the present unpleasantness. Like it or not, Israel (and its perceived Jewishness) is a central facet of the present situation facing secular/Christian (take your pick) America with regard to the fundamentalist Islamic Middle East...

Unfortunately, I'm not quite worldly enough to come up with an all-encompassing solution to the problem here. Anyone?

Now, I am no fan of right-wing Zionist Israeli factions. But I would a thousand times rather a right-wing Jewish state with real, truly democratic foundations than any radical Islamist state.

Wednesday, March 12, 2003

Everyone loves a good poster. Especially if it's an antiwar, copyright-free poster. Another poster for peace.

spread the love
David Segal doesn't understand just what Robert Christgau thinks he's writing about when he writes about the recent Pazz & Jop poll. Neither do I.

Tuesday, March 11, 2003

MediaOctopusWatch, part 37... Is Sinclair Broadcasting Group TV's answer to ClearChannel? With 62 television stations in 39 markets, Sinclair has made itself a force to be reckoned with. It has also cut way back on local news production, and added a definite right-wing slant.

All part of the FCC's glorious plan.
Extroverts are energized by people, and wilt or fade when alone. They often seem bored by themselves, in both senses of the expression. Leave an extrovert alone for two minutes and he will reach for his cell phone. In contrast, after an hour or two of being socially "on," we introverts need to turn off and recharge. My own formula is roughly two hours alone for every hour of socializing. This isn't antisocial. It isn't a sign of depression. It does not call for medication. For introverts, to be alone with our thoughts is as restorative as sleeping, as nourishing as eating. Our motto: "I'm okay, you're okay—in small doses."
Caring for Your Introvert (The Atlantic, March 2003)
I am never listening to rock music again.
Free at last! Thanks to two grandstanding courageous Congressmen, the House restaurants now serve Freedom, rather than French, fries.

The French Embassy in Washington had no immediate comment, except to say that french fries actually come from Belgium.
After watching George W. Bush’s press conference last Thursday night, I’m more convinced than ever: The entire White House press corps should be herded into a cargo plane, flown to an altitude of 30,000 feet, and pushed out, kicking and screaming, over the North Atlantic.

A delightfully forthright editorial from the New York Press, on the subject of Bush's recent "press conference".