Big cat terrorizes NYC!

Forget about the lamb lying down on Broadway. How about a tiger on the streets of Queens?

Great cop quote: "Police have no special training on how to deal with tigers."

Shots fired in backwater dispute in Keys

This incident reminds me of a wrong turn we took on the jet skis. There are some scary people living in the thickets of the Florida Keys, despite the generally laid-back atmosphere.

Veep Asks the Race of Photographer with Furrin' Sounding Name Before Coverage Granted

President Bush's re-election campaign insisted on knowing the race of Mamta Popat, a journalist assigned to photograph Vice President Dick Cheney. Organizers claimed Popat's race was necessary to allow the Secret Service to distinguish her from someone else who might have the same name. Organizers then proceeded to laugh so hard they peed themselves a little, and had to send someone to fetch their asthma inhalers so they could once again breathe properly.

Repelling sharks

Some progress here on fending off these vile denizens of the deep (which, for the record, are not fish).

But will this anti-shark substance also repel the kraken? I think not, for the brainpower of the mighty tentacled one is far too great to be fooled by man's folly.

Dentist menace!

Another one in trouble with the law: This one had a nekkid lady on the back of his motorsickle. Who knows what these crazy health professionals will do next?

If you want to hear the Veep speak, you must sign a form saying that the President is wearing clothes.

Don't make the Cheney angry. He's a man-killing robot when he's angry. Just sign the damn form. You too, Mr. Reporter-man!

Will Ferrell as W

Video doesn't work for me, but the audio sounds promising.

More Toys for Hipsters with Too Much Cash

POKIA retro phone of the future

Expect a big bump in NYC Cancer rates in the coming years.

And put the fork in Christine Todd-Whitman's political career. EPA exposed for lying about post-9/11 asbestos levels.

Dep't of Homeland Security Wants to Know Where All the Ayrabs At

The Census Bureau has provided specially tabulated population statistics on Arab Americans to the Department of Homeland Security, including detailed information on how many people of Arab backgrounds live in certain ZIP codes. The requests were made ostensibly to help the agency identify in which airports to post signs in Arabic, though spokesmen for Homeland Security were unable to repeat this claim without breaking into fits of giggles.

In other Civil Liberty Enhancement news, a Sikh student at Boston College was detained by the Secret Service for taking photos of the school.

Pakistan Getting Their Marching Orders from the RNC?

Four weeks ago, the New Republic reported that the administration was pressuring Pakistan to produce a high level operative during the DNC.

Guess what happened earlier this week?

We Just Broke 1000 Visits!

Why do I still feel so empty inside?

In related news, now all three dorky San Filippo brothers have a blog.

Even the National Review is Ga-Ga for Obama

Check out all the pro-W ads on this incredibly pro-Obama review of the young Senatorial candidate's convention speech.

Krugman on Election Fraud

Krugman is always worth reading.

Moore v. O'Reilly

At the DNC.

Go, go Hogzilla!

For the wedding reception, maybe we can do an old-fashioned Southern-style pig-pickin' with this bad boy.

Shark or kraken?

An "undetermined sea creature" stalks our coastline! I say it's showing at least some determination, and I bet the 13-year-old girl who was bittten would agree.

You Can't Buy a Dildo in Alabama

Who Knew?

Twisted dentist!

There's a rumor that Rod Stewart got a root canal from this guy.

When "Keepin' it Real Goes Wrong

Cineplex Odious

Christ on a Popsicle Stick

Iraq get its first reality-TV show.

The Who Sell Out

Perhaps a Little is NOT Enough. From Pete's Diary - 23 May 2004: "We played for the CBS presentation of their forthcoming season and introduced the song they are going to use for their CSI New York series - 'Baba O Riley'

"Coincidentally Hewlett Packard have just started to use an original version of the backing music for the same song for their great new TV commercial....

"In a very real way the use of Who music in this manner keeps it alive, and brings it to a new audience in an era when our music would otherwise never be heard on the radio or TV."

Gee, isn't that just swell, Petey? If only the Beatles had thought of some way to keep their music alive -- like by not tarting it up to go out and sell consumer electronics.

If you're going to be a whore, just be a whore, man -- don't pretend you're "dating" and that $300 for the powder room is just a thoughtful gift.

I suppose he has to finance that Internet "research" somehow, and trading on the work and "brand equity" he and his dead bandmates built by touring under the "Who" moniker, and selling songs to the highest bidder (as long as they're not anti-imperialist documentarians) is one way to do it. And it doesn't affect the greatness of the records the original quartet made.

But f*ck Pete Townshend.

Florida: Electronic Voting

Successful trial run for upcoming November surprise

It's gotta be Moe.

There's just too many good 'mo jokes to be made.

Effluvia of a cetacean gastric bypass? Or KRAKEN?!

Blobologists Solve an Ancient Mystery

Rahthuh Droll

I don't know that I could define it, but I know it when I see it -- McSweeny's frequently offers textbook examples of drollery.

cAnn Coulter

Not 'humorous' or 'coherent'. Looks like mAnn will have to hunt out periodicals with less lofty journalistic standards than USA Today.

Maybe she can take over 'Howard Huge' or 'Ask Marilyn' in Parade 'magazine'......

No More Bond for Brosnan

Bummer. I thought Brosnan was good, though the films have been mediocre. For a replacement, I vote for Croupier's Clive Owen; 2nd choice, Jude Law. 3rd choice, Samuel L. Jackson, 'cause his wallet's the one that says "Bad Motherf*cker."

DNC is a Great Party... FOR ME TO POOP ON!

Free Triumph!

Iran resumes nuclear program

Bush likes to say "America is safer" since we invaded Iraq. Of course now we have basically no personell to act as a deterrent to Iran. Remember, George: you can't spell 'kwagmire' without a 'W'.

DNC Speeches online

C-SPAN has clips.

RetroPod: iPod case made from a vintage Sony Sports Walkman shell.

For the hipster with too much disposable income.

Advice for Kids

If only we'd had the internay when I was a tot.

IMDb Bottom 100

'Catwoman' debuts at #35.

L.A. farewell

Shaq to Frankie: I'll miss you. Kobe will thank you too after he walks.

Ali G. on NPR

A good interview with Sasha Baron Cohen. Respek!

"Episode III' gets name

Lucasfilm announced today that the next "Star Wars" movie will be called "Revenge of the Sith," which sounds reasonably interesting and edgy.

It's probably too late to save this prequel triology, however. Like "2010," the thankfully forgotten 1984 sequel to the Stanley Kubrick classic, we can forget that "Menace," "Clones" and "Sith" ever existed and stick to the original series, preferrably in their original, undoctored form. 

Sad Day in Mulletville

Pantera breaks up.

Calling all working girls!

You're needed in Boston.

Unlikekely superhero casting

Doonesbury: still biting

Good series this week on Fox News. Start at this link and click forward.

K.I.T.T. for sale!

Arshad?

VOTE, F*CKER

Unfortunately, I'm a cheap f*cker, so I won't be spending $24 for this t-shirt, even if proceeds go to charity. But it's dang cool.

The 9/11 commission's report is superb, but will it change anything?

Fred Kaplan has an overview of the 9/11 commission's report over on Slate.

ARIANNA ONLINE - July 13, 2004 - George W. Bush: Presidential or Pathological?

Saucy, Hellenic, beyond-left-or-right-now-that-the-Republican-I-was-bearding-for-is-out-and-Gingrich-has-been-discredited-for-the-miscreant-that-he-was minx Arainna Huffington has a column on the Freudian projection of flip-flopism from W to Kerry. Worth a read.

(Groaner headline alert) Getting back into the groove

Particle physicists decoding wax, tin cylinders from the 19th century. Soon to register for IMDB developer's program.

This is Why the Daily Show is Winning News Awards

Worth installing the cretinous Real Player for. here's a clip of Jon Jon deconstructing the dissemination of Republican talking points. (Via Scott, who should get his own dang link blog!)

Alan Moore Interview

If you like Alan Moore (which you should), or even if you don't, this is worth sitting through a web ad for.

'Celebrity Poker' Sponsor Folds Support due to Cussin', Drinkin'.

Fools. I kinda like seeing wee Dave Foley drunk. Then he reminds me even more of Jeff Jacks.

New Dictionary from McSweeney's

I wish they'd put out a real dictionary -- everything they produce is so beautiful, and so reasonably priced. (To support them, I buy all my pirate supplies from Dave Egger's shop, and none other.) This will do for now, though (link via MeMo).

Commode Ode

For Laura Fay, who late one day,
Confessed to Jody and me,
"I will not eat asparagus
Because of the smell of my pee."

Robert Smith

Growing old gracefully.

Headline of the Week

Bob Eubanks Wants To Beat Up Michael Moore In A Toilet

Poker With Dick Cheney

Certain so-called "friends" have complained that I'm nothing more than a link-blog, that I need more commentary of my own. Well kiddies, if I could write anything half as funny as this, you'd have pipin'-fresh content every day, but I can't, so you're outta luck. You may have to be a politics AND poker geek to find it funny, so if you're not -- trust me, it's f-ing funny.

(Alright, I'll try to put more of my own writing up here, as soon as I have time to go back and review the difference between adjectives and adverbs, and the proper usage of hemi-demi-semicolons.)

Daily Show Wins News Award

Not a comedy award, but the 20th annual Television Critics Association award for outstanding news and information programming, for which they compete with the likes of "Nightline" and "60 Minutes." That's how bad the Fourth Estate has become in this country. A fake news show is doing a better job covering the news than legitimate journalists.

I don't know if this is awesome or pathetic.

Evidence for Hersh's claims of child sexual abuse at Abu Ghraib?

From Boing Boing.

Howard Zinn on the "Good War

Kudos to whoever at the Smithsonian invited Howard Zinn to speak on the occasion of the opening of the WWII memorial. And kudos to the vet who stood up during the Q&A:Dissent at the War Memorial | Howard Zinn | August 2004 Issue "The first person to walk up front was a veteran of World War II, wearing parts of his old uniform. He spoke into the microphone: 'I was wounded in World War II and have a Purple Heart to show for it. If President Bush were here right now I would throw that medal in his face.'"

Klingons For Christ

Scott, will you please go have some fun with these people and report back? Thanks.

Commentary on Townshend/Moore

Also a somewhat thought-provoking take on selling (out) pop songs for use in commercials. I'm glad the Beatles never approved the use of their masters for advertisements. I know it's only rock 'n' roll, but I like it a lot less when it conjures up images of allergy medication and orange drink.

He's a War President, Alright.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer: U.S. exploring possible Iran-9/11 link: President Bush, despite assurances from the CIA that no such connection exists: "We will continue to look and see if the Iranians were involved," Bush said. "I have long expressed my concerns about Iran. After all it's a totalitarian society where people are not allowed to exercise their rights as human beings....
As to direct connections with Sept. 11, we're digging into the facts to determine if there was one," said the president, who has branded Iran as part of an "axis of evil" along with North Korea and prewar Iraq when it was ruled by Saddam Hussein.

Well, give him enough time, maybe he'll start to realize that there is one nation in the area he hasn't yet invaded that seemed to have really strong ties to 9/11. Unfortunately, they have even stronger ties to the Carlyle Group....

Yahoo! News - Conservatives to Protest RNC Protests

Hey, kids! Want the hip cachet that comes with carrying a posterboard and chanting in the streets, but not yet ready to turn your back on The Man? Here's your chance.

Life in the Thrill Kill Cult

This story about soldiers' attitudes toward killing is a bit disturbing. We can expect a big uptick in domestic violence on military bases when these boys return from the front, I'm sure.

Spidey's hidden agenda!

[CONTAINS SPOILERS]
 
So I finally saw Spiderman 2 today, and it was so-so. It's better than the first installment, with a villain who may not be all bad, a self-assured narrative and, of course, enjoyable special effects. 
 
Yet I grow weary of the self-pitying superhero. First, Superman in his Fortress of Solitude, then Batman in a codpiece, and now Spiderman in agonizing indecision between crime-fighting and hooking up with the girl next door. Why am I being asked to feel sorry for these people? Only rich rock stars deserve our sympathies.
 
Plus, I was put off by the film's subtle slant against alternative energy sources. Doc Ock, after all, was trying to provide inexpensive electricity, not just to the city or the country, but to the world. OK, so the plan goes a little bit awry, and he resorts to assault and extortion to achieve his goal. But give Ock credit for not giving up on his dream of finding cheap, reliable power -- not for his own selfish purposes, but for the benefit of everyone.
 
Any genius is bound to step on a few toes on the path to discovery.  I say, give Ock his props.

Everything on hooks!

The next Dullard feat of strength?

Foreign Aid to Saudi Arabia Voted Down

Aid to Saudi Arabia? Those poor people. If only they had some valuable resource they could export to the rest of the world, maybe they wouldn't need a handout from Unca Sam.

Hmmm, if we cut off aid, though, there's a chance Saudi Arabia may become a breeding ground for terrorists....

Bah.

He's back

Programming note: Ali G returns to HBO on Sunday night. A marathon of previous episodes airs tonight.
 
As Steve Forbes told him, "Peeps, keep off the pipe and stay in school."

Touching

Let's do all our online flower orders from The Organic Bouquet from now on.

Libertarians

Man, that party's just chock full o' nuts.
 
[Heh. In the comments of the post linked above, I found this quote, which both Roy and my Dad may find amusing: "anarchists are libertarians who rent."]

Paintings of gum

Not portraits of gumballs, but works actually composed of chewed gum.

Jack Black as Green Lantern?

That would blow hot, sticky chunks.

The Powell Doctrine

As defined by the CATO Institute: "Articulated by Gen. Powell when he was chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff during the [First] Gulf War, the Powell Doctrine was designed to avoid, as Powell once put it, 'halfhearted warfare for half-baked reasons that the American people could not understand or support.' The Powell Doctrine held that military force should only be used if there was a clear risk to national security; that the force used should be overwhelming; and that the operation must have strong public support and a clear exit strategy. "

If only Powell had been a big enough man to resign over going into Iraq in a manner that contradicted his own doctrine on every level, perhaps he could have derailed plans and averted some of the current tragedy.

But probably not.

GB Tredeau on GW Bush

Amazon.com: Barbie as Halle Berry in Catwoman

I always thought Barbie was a bit of a star-f%cking Malibu skank ho, but who knew she was into S&M?

Seymour Hersh says the US government has videotapes of boys being sodomized at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq.

"The worst is the soundtrack of the boys shrieking."

"Boy, they were big on crematoriums, weren't they?"

-- George W Bush, after touring the Auschwitz death camp, Chicago Sun-Times, 29th January 1992

"You're all going to hell." George W Bush joking about what he would say to Israeli Jews upon arriving in the Middle East in 1993, Austin-American Statesman, 1st December 1998

If even half of these are taken out of conext or unfairly edited, it's still impossible to misunderestimate what an embarrassment this chimpanzee is.

Scary guide to easily concealled weapons

This'll make you feel better about airport security. Courtesy of the FBI.

I guess McCain isn't angling to replace Cheney on the ticket.

On the gay-marriage-ban ammendment, McCain had this to say: "The constitutional amendment we're debating today strikes me as antithetical in every way to the core philosophy of Republicans."

McCain is one of the last remaining traditional, party-of-Lincoln Republicans around. How long before he realizes that the party has changed out from under him, and it's time he left? Why does he stay?

Constitutional hate-ammendment defeated

From the AP: Sen. Rick "Dick" Santorum, R-Pa., complained more than once during the Senate’s debate that supporters of the amendment had been disparaged as intolerant.

“I would argue that the future of our country hangs in the balance
because the future of marriage hangs in the balance,” he said shortly
before the vote. “Isn’t that the ultimate homeland security, standing up and defending marriage?”

Kerry's Campaign Manager Kicks Ass!

Read the whole thing, it's short. I hope Kerry follows her lead, and stays on the attack. Letting Rove set the agenda for the campaign and playing defense is a recipe for disaster, as Al Gore can attest, after nearly losing the last election....

Thanks, Tim

Now I remember why I liked acid so much....

New Secretary of Army candidate has ties to Carlyle

Big surprise. Ali G reportedly inquiring, "Hisn't it a bit embarrasing to be a secretary even though you's a bloke?"

Lost Beatles' songs unearthed

Sweet!

I caught Kerry & Edwards on 60 Minutes over the weekend

My God, they're awkward weith each other. Edwards sure seemed like the alpha male there, which may not be good for the campaign. They should probably campaign seperately. And Kerry needs to keep Theresa out of the campaign as much as possible -- she's not going to win him any votes -- they're more awkward together than Edwards & Kerry. Edwards' wife seemd pretty sharp, though. Actually, the lower profile Kerry keeps, the better I like his chances. Just let Dubya keep screwing up, and the anyone-but-Bush contingent should grow large enough to sweep him into office.

I really hope Kerry makes a better president than he does campaigner.

"I do believe the President of the U.S. just gave you boys the finger."

The single greatest event of a young boy's life.

Cheney Faces Criminal Indictments

He'll probably only be indicted in France, but still. I'll bet the White House uses something like this as an excuse to have Cheney step down from the ticket. He's only hurting W's chances, and they need someone who can debate the more charismatic Edwards. Plus, if the Republicans do somehow win another term, they'll want someone who is electable in 2008 on the ticket.

Shaq fu on South Beach!

He's apparently going to Miami.

Bush losing conservative base

They're really going to have to look into something drastic -- like, I dunno, capturing bin Laden before the election, or having their Saudi friends lower oil prices, or postponing the election....

People That Need to be Punched in the Head, Weekend Edition

W Ketchup

Am I a nut to be worried about this?

I don't think so -- I would put very little beyond this current administration, especially considering Bush's joking comments about a dictatorship being so much easier. I've posted about this before, but it's hitting the mainstream press now: The Department of Homeland Security asked the Justice Department last week to review what legal steps would be needed to delay the vote if an attack occurred on the day before or on election day.

Bit of a slippery slope....

Townshend - Moore Spat

Pete Townshend, taking time off from his internet "research," posted an interesting account of why "Won't Get Fooled Again" is not heard in F9/11.

Florida Scraps Flawed Felon Voting List

Inneresting.

Terror Alert -- pah!

No one's buying it.

Cole Porter

I'm a big Cole Porter fan -- looking forward to seeing De-Lovely. Perhaps The Girl can be talked into it this evening.

More Moore

Many of Moore’s critics decry his not presenting "objective" documentaries (like the ones we think we remember seeing on PBS back before Reality TV got so good and we got sidetracked by whether or not a hot model would marry a dorky computer geek). Moore has said in interviews that he doesn't see his role as presenting "both sides" because the public has already been getting the "other side" in spades for the last 3 years. We don't need to be reminded that Saddam was a bad man -- that's a given. There's not that much that is genuinely NEW information in the film, if you follow poitics closely; for most people, though, it's an eye-opener, and for me, it was very powerful to see the interviews with our soldiers in Iraq, and very moving to follow the story of Ms. Lipscomb and her family.

Does Moore present footage in a way that best supports his theses? Uh, yeah -- that's what a good filmmaker does. I think he was a little heavy-handed with the guilt-by-association between the Bush and Saudi and bin Laden families, but on the other hand, shockingly few Americans know what a deep history the Bushes have with the House of Saud, and it sure has at least the appearance of influencing US foreign policy. Why isn't that reported on Fox News? Probably something to do with Rupert Murdoch being a wealthy conservative -- which is exactly why we need a Michael Moore making films like this.

One significant criticism of the film: Moore doesn’t go into the Neo-conservative agenda at all, which is a glaring omission. It may be overly charitable, but I believe the Neo-cons advising Bush in some cases had what they think are the world’s best interests at heart: that the Middle East would be a better place if Democracy were to take hold; and that establishing a Democracy in Iraq by force would be a shortcut to jump-starting that change. But they forget that our very own nation was founded on the belief that people have a right to self-government. You can’t force Democracy on people. Democracy spreads by example. We didn’t have to bomb the Soviet Union for them to realize the advantages of a free market and Western-style democracy; we just needed Levis, and the Beatles, and grocery stores with food in them. That’s what spreads Democracy.

Rant about "Fahrenheit 9/11"

On one of the mailing lists I'm on, someone posted a link to this article about Michael Moore's latest film (which you may have heard about). He seemed to think this was a well-reasoned critique of the film, so I decided to try to edumacate him as follows:

The writer of the article (who curiously doesn't sign his or her work) casts aspersions on Moore's allegedly ersatz blue-collar roots by alluding to his growing up in a suburb of Flint, rather than the cold, hard city streets, but doesn't actually explicitly say -- did Moore grow up poor? Upper middle class? And how does this affect how we should view his movies? I'm not sure that whether he grew up in a white, middle-class suburb of Flint really changes the impact of watching Lila Lipscomb cope with her grief over the loss of her son and betrayal by her government in sending him off to fight a war under false pretenses.

(Also, exactly how is Moore anti-capitalist? He may be anti-exploitation, but that's not the same thing.)

And, "all the film's conspiracy theories have either been dismantled or rendered questionable by the American media." How about backing that up? The writer goes on to cite reviews that disagreed with the film's polemic tone, but nothing refuting any of the facts in the film itself. I think that's telling. In fact, the article spends a great deal of time attacking Moore's character, but nowhere refutes a single claim made in the film by showing evidence to the contrary.

And I like this non-sequitur: "If Bush is defeated, Moore will no doubt claim a slice of the credit, and perhaps rightly so. But is he a vote-changer?" If he can rightly claim credit for swinging the vote, isn't he by definition a vote-changer?

Oh, and this! The writer implies that Ms. Lipscomb's loss is mitigated by the fact that "Modernism is at war with medievalism." Yeah, all them Ay-rabs are stuck back in the dark ages. Never mind that Iraq was a fully modern, secular country until we bombed it back to the Stone Age.

I found the film to be highly patriotic. If you've ever really loved someone, you know that it involves not just being supportive, whatever she does, but correcting, and admonishing when she goes astray. That's a mature love, and the sort that Moore seems to have for America.

It's sad that so many on the right in this country don't seem to understand that "My country, right or wrong" is the furthest thing from true patriotism.

Edwards too green for the Veep role?

That's one of the Right's Talking Points. Speaking of which, Josh Marshall has a great rundown of other pols who got on the Big Ticket after brief to non-existent political careers:

Wendell L. Willkie: Never ran for public office before presidential nomination; nominated for presidency in 1940. Zero to sixty in zero years.

Thomas E. Dewey: First run for public office (District Attorney) in 1937, New York Governorship in 1942; nominated for the presidency in 1944. Zero to sixty in seven years.

Adlai Stevenson: First run for public office (Illinois Governorship) in 1948; nominated for the presidency in 1952. Zero to sixty in four years.

Spiro Agnew: First run for public office (Chief Executive of Baltimore County) in 1962, Maryland Governorship in 1966; nominated for the vice-presidency in 1968. Zero to sixty in six years.

Geraldine Ferraro: First run for public office (NY Congressional seat) in 1978; nominated for vice-presidency in 1984. Zero to sixty in six years."

Then of course, there's Richard Nixon, who was elected to the House in 1946 and was Ike's running mate in 1952; and George W., who'd had a failed bid for the House before becoming Governor of Texas less than 6 years before running for President.

Well, isn't that conveeeeeenient.

Bush military records "missing" for the 3 months he may have been AWOL.

Alien in 30 seconds with bunnies.

I can't view it from work, but the title is awfully promising.

Interview with Lila Lipscomb

The mother at the heart of F9/11.

Italian olive oil scam

Good to know, if you cook.

Rumsfeld personally authorised torture at Abu Grabe

According to the London Telegraph.

What the hell are those kids smiling about?

SmartKlamp

Some more people who need to get punched in the head.

'Police Academy 8' in pre-production.

Beautiful pic

Liz Phair unavailable for comment.

He's a Uniter, not a Divider

But he's still not gonna go talk to the NAACP. Why should he? He doesn't plan on letting them vote, anyway....

Jody, who are you wearing?

If you are still in the market for a wedding dress, here is something from Jean-Paul Gaultier...

Free Speech? Wrong country, Bub.

Handcuffed and charged for wearing an anti-Bush shirt at a pro-Bush rally.

Can you imagine how bat-sh%t the right-wingers would go if Clinton had done something like this? The left wing just rolls over and takes it, though....

Whole lotta latte

Another person searching for answers in the wrong place.

Ossama to be captured during the DNC?

Josh Marshall has the tasty bits from this longer New Republic article.

Almost as pathetic as the cuddle party site

Women and Dogs (no Mona, it's not what you think....) It helps if you imagine Alf Bicknel reading the about me page.

Most. Pathetic. Website. Ever.

Cuddle Party. It's bad enough that adults would go to a pajama party where they could be "cuddle monsters." But these folks are actually trying to build a business around throwing such parties. Doesn't that just make you want to fwow up?

These people need a stiff drink and a punch in the head.

Oddly Disturbing

Winnebago Man

This is making the email rounds. It's pretty funny. I've done some recording of cartoon actors in the past (most famously, Dave Thomas and Tom Kinney, Mr. Sponge Bob himself), and this is actually fairly typical of how folks blow off steam when they have to say the same damn thing over and over. So even though the guy is cussing like a sailor, he's not as unstable as he seems. Still, cussing is funny.

Laurie Anderson Receives NASA Grant

It would be easy to mock something like this -- and surely, it's easy to argue that NASA might be better served investing in maintenance of their fleet or R&D to replace it. But interdisciplinary stuff like this often pays dividends. Artists put the sciences into context for the non-scientist. I look forward to seeing what this strange union produces.

DNC Video: McCain on Bush

Heh-heh. Good to see Democrats fighting back.

Kerry Announces Edwards As Running Mate

Yay! At least the debates should be interesting. Edwards is a skilled and charismatic orator, in contradistinction to Cheney (or Kerry, for that matter).

Fourth of July pop-bottle rocket dodgeball game ends in tragedy

Who would see that coming? Jonathan L. Reed and several friends were firing pop-bottle rockets into the air on Sunday when they decided to play an impromptu game of dodgeball, substituting the fireworks for the traditional rubber or foam ball. Quoth their unfortunate victim of collateral damage, Honor-student Reed's 65-year-old grandmother: "Accidents sometimes happen, especially when you are dealing with dumb-ass teenagers.”

LA Times: Army Stage-Managed Fall of Hussein Statue

Anyone suprised by this?

Exhibit With Human Bodies Debuts in L.A.

We are so going to this. Mary Roach describes the plastination process used to preserve these bodies in her quirkily entertaining book, Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers
-- well worth a read.

UN asked to observe upcoming elections

in America. It's all for show, of course, given how much respect Bush & Co. have shown the U.N. But good for these congresspersons for making their point.

Colin Powell, boosting our nation's image...

...one gay anthem at a time.

Krugman: Moore's Public Service

Good review of F9/11, acknowledging its flaws but explaining why it was vital that somebody make this movie. If you haven't seen it yet, do -- it's powerfully effective, though it's also the saddest movie I've seen in years.

Yahoo! News - Actor Marlon Brando Dies at 80

Bummer. He certainly had a full (or too full) life, though.

Jon Stweart on Larry King

Transcript

King: OK. Here we go, the vice president cursed out the Senator Leahy of Vermont, what do you make of that?

STEWART: I think it's probably the nicest, perhaps conversation that a Republican and a Democrat have had in Capitol Hill for quite some time.

KING: He told him to go blank himself.

STEWART: Yes.

KING: That's encouraging to you?

STEWART: I think so. The encouraging thing to me is knowing the Republican platform against gay acts to tell him to go f-himself, I thought, was a real advance.

KING: Oh, I see. It's progress.

STEWART: I think it's them opening up their hearts to a different lifestyle. It's Cheney. He said it. It's all about tone. What he said was, go F yourself, I'd like to see that.

KING: Oh, I see! So, you always have a way of looking at things that helps us.

STEWART: Have you had Cheney on, is he...

KING: He's been on the show.

STEWART: Is he a pleasant man, because he seems like, and again I've never met him.

KING: I've known him a long time, he's not unpleasant. He's been very good to our cardiac foundation.

STEWART: Right.

KING: He was an honorary chairman.

STEWART: You know, self-interest is a great motivator. If I was him I'd be a member of your cardiac foundation, too, you know what I mean. In fact, I'd be hanging out there every day going, you guys got anything? Anything today?

KING: OK, now let's switch things...

STEWART: When I see him, and this is again (UNINTELLIGIBLE) he seems like a murderous cyborg.

KING: A what?

STEWART: Like the robot, but with murderous intentions.

KING: I see.

Clinton's Bracelet

Jody was asking me about this the other day. It's a nice story.

Churchgoers Get Direction From Bush Campaign

"The devil is in the details," indeed.