Gym Class Heros - The Queen And I
March 25, 2007
March 24, 2007
iRack
This one comes from the offical mom of Craigorian Chant (You know, the one responcible for so little swearing appearing on the site)
Its remarkable for being both clever, funny and its comes from MADtv, which I've never seen in combination before.
Its remarkable for being both clever, funny and its comes from MADtv, which I've never seen in combination before.
March 23, 2007
March 22, 2007
March 21, 2007
Fight, Fight!
So Congress and the Administration are gearing up for a good old fashion Constitutional powers fights. Congress want to get administration officials, namely dark master Karl Rove, and Harriet Miers, master of ... not becoming a Supreme Court Justice, to testify on the Hill in an effort to get to bottom of the fired federal prosecutors mess.
The Administration made a laughable offer in which:
"Such interviews would be private and conducted without the need for an oath, transcript, subsequent testimony, or the subsequent issuance of subpoenas."
In other words, Rove will speak to Congress only if he can lie his ass off. Seeing as administration officials have already lied to Congress on this very matter, the Democrats are going to go with a subpoenas, rather than take this deal.
The Administration is going to challenge the subpoenas, and everyone goes to court.
Because the Nixon metaphor isn't complete without a fight over executive privilege.
The Administration made a laughable offer in which:
"Such interviews would be private and conducted without the need for an oath, transcript, subsequent testimony, or the subsequent issuance of subpoenas."
In other words, Rove will speak to Congress only if he can lie his ass off. Seeing as administration officials have already lied to Congress on this very matter, the Democrats are going to go with a subpoenas, rather than take this deal.
The Administration is going to challenge the subpoenas, and everyone goes to court.
Because the Nixon metaphor isn't complete without a fight over executive privilege.
March 20, 2007
Electronic Battlefield
More on the Internet primary from the Wall Street Journal. The GOP just isn't using this Internet thing the same way the Democrats are. Hillary Clinton got 828,000 hit on her web page in January. McCain got 296,000. Obama has 64,000 Myspace friends. Giuliani has 1,100. And so on. There isn't web-metric that the Democratic field isn't dominating.
Now I'm still inclind to believe that this is sign of Inevitable Democratic Victory, but the more likely explination is that Dems are younger and more tech savy than the other guys. Will all of this matter? I'm inclined to believe it will, I'm not just sure how.
Now I'm still inclind to believe that this is sign of Inevitable Democratic Victory, but the more likely explination is that Dems are younger and more tech savy than the other guys. Will all of this matter? I'm inclined to believe it will, I'm not just sure how.
March 19, 2007
300
Finally took in the show, and in I-MAX no less. Because when a slow-motion decapitated head flies across the screen, I want to see every detail.
Rather than give an overall assessment, it's best to break this movie down into parts. As war porn, this movie is unbeatable. The visuals are stunning, down to the last pixel. Spartans yell, Persians howl and blood flies. Everywhere. A girl in my row got splattered with some and that stuff does not come out. This is pure stylized mayhem of the first order. The wardrobe department forgot to give the Spartans their armor, so as to better show off everyone's rippling pecs and abs. Every Spartan soldier is a walking, chopping, stabbing reminder that I need to get to gym more.
As politics - don't even try. Yes, yes what is now Iran is what used to be the Persian empire. But anyone trying to make a metaphor out of this piece of bloody fantasy is a lackwit.
As history this movie sucks eggs. Go read. As someone who goes out and reads the history books when a movie like this comes out, I find it more than a little annoying how wrong they get almost every detail.
I know, I know based on a comic, but still, this is how most of the country gets most of its history and they are getting sold a bill of goods. So when all the Spartan characters give speeches about freedom, it's sort of painful to know that Sparta was oligarchy that held most of its population in slavery.
We should know what we owe to the Greeks and to which Greeks.
Yes the Spartans are cool as badass warriors, but everything worth saving in Greek culture came from Athens, not Sparta. Philosophy, democracy, drama all came from Athens. The Spartans were too busy abusing their children and their Helots to do any of that. Plus, the Athenians did their part to stop the Persian invasion.
But I digress.
To sum up: War, heads chopped off, blood, a rhino, more blood, elephants, bad history, still yet more blood, need to go to the gym more, the 10,000 Immorals just looking so cool, a bit more blood, the Queen of Sparta was hot, some more blood, the Athenians not getting their share of credit and even more blood.
Any questions?
Rather than give an overall assessment, it's best to break this movie down into parts. As war porn, this movie is unbeatable. The visuals are stunning, down to the last pixel. Spartans yell, Persians howl and blood flies. Everywhere. A girl in my row got splattered with some and that stuff does not come out. This is pure stylized mayhem of the first order. The wardrobe department forgot to give the Spartans their armor, so as to better show off everyone's rippling pecs and abs. Every Spartan soldier is a walking, chopping, stabbing reminder that I need to get to gym more.
As politics - don't even try. Yes, yes what is now Iran is what used to be the Persian empire. But anyone trying to make a metaphor out of this piece of bloody fantasy is a lackwit.
As history this movie sucks eggs. Go read. As someone who goes out and reads the history books when a movie like this comes out, I find it more than a little annoying how wrong they get almost every detail.
I know, I know based on a comic, but still, this is how most of the country gets most of its history and they are getting sold a bill of goods. So when all the Spartan characters give speeches about freedom, it's sort of painful to know that Sparta was oligarchy that held most of its population in slavery.
We should know what we owe to the Greeks and to which Greeks.
Yes the Spartans are cool as badass warriors, but everything worth saving in Greek culture came from Athens, not Sparta. Philosophy, democracy, drama all came from Athens. The Spartans were too busy abusing their children and their Helots to do any of that. Plus, the Athenians did their part to stop the Persian invasion.
But I digress.
To sum up: War, heads chopped off, blood, a rhino, more blood, elephants, bad history, still yet more blood, need to go to the gym more, the 10,000 Immorals just looking so cool, a bit more blood, the Queen of Sparta was hot, some more blood, the Athenians not getting their share of credit and even more blood.
Any questions?
March 18, 2007
Phenom
Barack Obama attracts a crowd. Its a year away from anything and he bringing out huge crowds. I'm being chatted up about him at my dentist office and overhearing him being excitedly talked about at my gym. I am attempting to maintain some sort of cynical detachment about it, but the possibility that the man represents is exciting.
March 17, 2007
Everyone is Irish Today
Dropkick Murphys - I'm Shipping Up To Boston
The Wolfe Tones - A Nation Once Again - This song is a rebel song.
U2 - Sunday Bloody Sunday - This song is not a rebel song.
The Wolfe Tones - A Nation Once Again - This song is a rebel song.
U2 - Sunday Bloody Sunday - This song is not a rebel song.
March 16, 2007
Judgement Day
Schwarzenegger just signed into law a bill moving the California Presidential primary up to Feb. 5. With several other States slated to do the same. Feb. 5 is turning out to be the big showdown in the Presidential primary calender.
This means two things. First, California really is going to matter in this process. So I expect the ass-kissing to get underway soon.
Second, this contest is going to be over quickly. A few early states and then bam, Feb. 5 and its over.
This means two things. First, California really is going to matter in this process. So I expect the ass-kissing to get underway soon.
Second, this contest is going to be over quickly. A few early states and then bam, Feb. 5 and its over.
March 15, 2007
Quote of the Day
"We've only had subpoena power for the last six weeks and every tree that we've barked up so far has had a cat in it," said a senior Democrat who spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak publicly. "Imagine where we'll be after six months."
Via Alterman
So many Bush Administration Officials. So little time spent with the family. Let's send them home.
Via Alterman
So many Bush Administration Officials. So little time spent with the family. Let's send them home.
Biden Goes Off
I think he's running somewhere like 15 out of 18 candidates in the Democratic Primary, but Joe Biden put together an excellent rant yesterday on the Senate floor.
Funny
A Norwegian researcher has determined that humor will help you live longer:
Adults who have a sense of humor outlive those who don't find life funny, and the survival edge is particularly large for people with cancer, says Sven Svebak of the medical school at Norwegian University of Science and Technology.
He released his study of about 54,000 Norwegians, tracked for seven years, at the American Psychosomatic Society meeting here.
At the start, patients filled out questionnaires on how easily they found humor in real-life situations and how important a humorous perspective was.
The greater a role humor played in their lives, the greater their chances of surviving the seven years, Svebak says. Adults who scored in the top one-quarter for humor appreciation were 35% more likely to be alive than those in the bottom quarter, he says.
So because I find the fact that Clarmont Institute is going to be giving giving Don Rumsfeld something called the Winston S. Churchill Award to be absolutely hilarious and not pathetically sad means I'm going to live longer, right?
Adults who have a sense of humor outlive those who don't find life funny, and the survival edge is particularly large for people with cancer, says Sven Svebak of the medical school at Norwegian University of Science and Technology.
He released his study of about 54,000 Norwegians, tracked for seven years, at the American Psychosomatic Society meeting here.
At the start, patients filled out questionnaires on how easily they found humor in real-life situations and how important a humorous perspective was.
The greater a role humor played in their lives, the greater their chances of surviving the seven years, Svebak says. Adults who scored in the top one-quarter for humor appreciation were 35% more likely to be alive than those in the bottom quarter, he says.
So because I find the fact that Clarmont Institute is going to be giving giving Don Rumsfeld something called the Winston S. Churchill Award to be absolutely hilarious and not pathetically sad means I'm going to live longer, right?
March 14, 2007
March 13, 2007
Cheney
Less Popular than Torture.
"In fairness to torture, it might be more popular if Cheney wasn't dragging down its poll numbers."
I can only hope. In fact, there is a whole list of things that I hope end up less popular, thanks to Cheney.
"In fairness to torture, it might be more popular if Cheney wasn't dragging down its poll numbers."
I can only hope. In fact, there is a whole list of things that I hope end up less popular, thanks to Cheney.
March 12, 2007
Plan Out
Turns out the Pentagon is, in fact making plans for what to do after the "surge" fails:
American military planners have begun plotting a fallback strategy for Iraq that includes a gradual withdrawal of forces and a renewed emphasis on training Iraqi fighters in case the current troop buildup fails or is derailed by Congress.
Such a strategy, based in part on the U.S. experience in El Salvador in the 1980s, is still in the early planning stages and would be adjusted to fit the outcome of the current surge in troop levels, according to military officials and Pentagon consultants who spoke on condition of anonymity when discussing future plans.
But a drawdown of forces would be in line with comments to Congress by Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates last month that if the "surge" fails, the backup plan would include moving troops "out of harm's way." Such a plan also would be close to recommendations of the Iraq Study Group, of which Gates was a member before his appointment as Defense Department chief.
Which means that soon as President Clinton, Obama or Edwards get into office, they will have a plan all ready to get out of Iraq waiting for them. But untill then US troops are going to suffer. The Army is ordering injured troops to go to Iraq.
American military planners have begun plotting a fallback strategy for Iraq that includes a gradual withdrawal of forces and a renewed emphasis on training Iraqi fighters in case the current troop buildup fails or is derailed by Congress.
Such a strategy, based in part on the U.S. experience in El Salvador in the 1980s, is still in the early planning stages and would be adjusted to fit the outcome of the current surge in troop levels, according to military officials and Pentagon consultants who spoke on condition of anonymity when discussing future plans.
But a drawdown of forces would be in line with comments to Congress by Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates last month that if the "surge" fails, the backup plan would include moving troops "out of harm's way." Such a plan also would be close to recommendations of the Iraq Study Group, of which Gates was a member before his appointment as Defense Department chief.
Which means that soon as President Clinton, Obama or Edwards get into office, they will have a plan all ready to get out of Iraq waiting for them. But untill then US troops are going to suffer. The Army is ordering injured troops to go to Iraq.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)