tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-244495742011-07-07T22:50:24.716-04:00with the stars up above in your eyesUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger1181100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24449574.post-12391512884735740212009-10-21T19:54:00.001-04:002009-10-21T19:54:09.579-04:00

Library joke Originally uploaded by jessamyn

Robnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24449574.post-6017625179676538792009-01-13T15:09:00.001-05:002009-01-13T15:09:03.705-05:00

Orestes Pursued by the Furries Originally uploaded by xeni

Robnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24449574.post-38643057463440694882008-02-08T15:11:00.000-05:002008-02-08T15:12:51.361-05:00

Further updates will appear here.

Robnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24449574.post-47390340981629789212008-01-23T12:46:00.001-05:002008-01-23T12:46:23.070-05:00

General view of part of the South Water Street freight depot of the Illinois Central Railroad, Chicago, Ill. (LOC) Originally uploaded by The Library of Congress The Library of Congress is on Flickr now. If you aren't excited, you should be.

Robnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24449574.post-47628152396925068132007-10-29T15:12:00.000-04:002007-10-29T15:28:36.308-04:00

Florida natives Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers have been around for thirty years. Whatever you think about them, that's a pretty impressive achievement given that most bands burn out in a few years or have a revolving door replacing members or are tired shells of themselves on the nostalgia circuit. To celebrate, Peter Bogdonavich has directed a four hour (yes, you read that right) documentary

Robnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24449574.post-22335915769710961912007-10-02T23:58:00.000-04:002007-10-03T00:03:45.339-04:00

This Dubya anecdote isn't exactly hot off the presses; it comes from a February Haaretz review of Uri Dan's book Ariel Sharon: An Intimate Portrait":Speaking of George Bush, with whom Sharon developed a very close relationship, Uri Dan recalls that Sharon's delicacy made him reluctant to repeat what the president had told him when they discussed Osama bin Laden. Finally he relented. And here is

Robnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24449574.post-51966087091955063592007-09-05T15:37:00.000-04:002007-09-05T15:38:41.684-04:00

From the Land Down Under:GEORGE Bush is a man who likes a short sentence. Which is not to say the President of the United States reduces ideas to bite-sized chunks. Or maybe it is.Either way, during the course of his first 24 hours in Sydney, there were plenty of efficient exclamations. Like the exchange on the tarmac as Deputy Prime Minister Mark Vaile inquired how things were going in Iraq. "

Robnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24449574.post-53092878816453200622007-08-08T18:41:00.001-04:002007-08-08T18:53:45.019-04:00

via Think Progress:For a mere $37 Oklahomans can fight the war on terror from the comfort of their SUV, while those too poor to afford the SUV, or even the $37, are off fighting for them. Of course, all those SUVs are one of the reasons we're in this mess, but the irony would escape anyone who would actually buy one of those things. I'd be surprised, but I learned a long time ago that we live in

Robnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24449574.post-26740483964399292502007-08-08T14:46:00.001-04:002007-08-08T14:46:27.477-04:00

Robnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24449574.post-7909678599589423702007-08-02T14:39:00.000-04:002007-08-02T14:41:41.914-04:00

Who will win?

Robnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24449574.post-81558980168422204392007-08-01T15:08:00.000-04:002007-08-01T15:11:20.477-04:00

From the press release: "In the late 1920's and early 1930's, the Depression gripped the Nation. It was a time when songs were tools for living. A whole community would turn out to mourn the loss of a member and to sow their songs like seeds. This collection is a wild garden grown from those seeds." - Tom Waits, from the IntroductionSongs of death, destruction and disaster, recorded by black and

Robnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24449574.post-69169272886507195902007-07-30T12:07:00.001-04:002007-07-30T19:44:31.050-04:00

Today's New York Times:Ingmar Bergman, Famed Director, Dies at 89Ingmar Bergman, the "poet with the camera" who is considered one of the greatest directors in motion picture history, died today on the small island of Fårö where he lived on the Baltic coast of Sweden, Astrid Soderbergh Widding, president of The Ingmar Bergman Foundation, said. Bergman was 89.

Robnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24449574.post-19286922685331676442007-07-30T11:28:00.000-04:002007-07-30T11:30:05.960-04:00

From Warren Ellis:They always worry me when they pass wherever I'm signing. They never bring books -- I guess I don't appeal to that crowd. But I still get a little shudder. An actress acquaintance of mine once got shot by a costumed fan. He was a mass of fur, a human-sized Tribble from Star Trek. He asked the actress to pose for a photo with him, which she duly did. And as she put an arm around

Robnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24449574.post-40231129251362411542007-07-23T13:48:00.000-04:002007-07-23T13:50:23.691-04:00

Rejected Wii play games.

Robnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24449574.post-25740816913388799522007-07-11T18:39:00.000-04:002007-07-11T19:13:20.071-04:00

New words included in the Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, Eleventh Edition. Funny thing, if you click on some of the words in their press release, it says "The word you've entered isn't in the dictionary." Oops. * 1. agnolottiGreat, another thing on the menu at Olive Garden that I won't recognize. * 2. BollywoodSalaam Bombay! * 3. chaebol * 4. crunkDrop it like it's hot.

Robnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24449574.post-77173889615190195272007-07-11T12:41:00.001-04:002007-07-11T12:41:46.796-04:00

Robnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24449574.post-64384597217260566702007-07-09T18:18:00.000-04:002007-07-09T18:25:34.911-04:00

When we weed stuff, it goes on the free book cart. When something ends up there that's interesting or readable, I snatch it up to keep or share with friends. When something ends up there that is so fucking weird I have to have it, I snatch it up to scan in and share with the internet. Here's one of them, Triple Jeopardy, a paperback collection of a trio of Nero Wolfe mystery novellas by Rex

Robnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24449574.post-79173844394233601832007-07-05T17:51:00.000-04:002007-07-05T17:52:59.405-04:00

From today's White House press briefing:Q: Scott, is Scooter Libby getting more than equal justice under the law? Is he getting special treatment?MR. STANZEL: Well, I guess I don't know what you mean by "equal justice under the law."

Robnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24449574.post-21930384816591904272007-07-05T12:24:00.000-04:002007-07-05T12:27:02.180-04:00

Robnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24449574.post-66168562402648920222007-07-03T15:52:00.000-04:002007-07-03T15:53:16.713-04:00

CNN: Study: Video games rob reading, homework timeIn other news: Sky blue, Hitler in hell.

Robnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24449574.post-39400802036677110682007-06-20T17:23:00.000-04:002007-06-20T17:28:15.719-04:00

A special prize to the person who comes up with the best explaination of what the hell exactly is going on here.

Robnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24449574.post-62212582918128584032007-06-19T13:46:00.000-04:002007-06-19T15:04:22.844-04:00

First, an explanation. I've been on the American Family Association's mailing list for a couple months now. I ended up on there because I signed up for some free stuff. A meme popped up on my friends list suggesting that people drain their coffers by signing up for as much free stuff as possible. Apparently, the AFA is still around and has responded with the cunning ploy of not sending out

Robnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24449574.post-65911157318332035062007-06-18T18:40:00.000-04:002007-06-18T19:27:36.203-04:00

I've never been a fan of Charles Krauthammer. While I generally dislike conservative columnists, I have a special ire for Krauthammer, who likes to abandon the ethics of his first profession of psychiatry (Harvard, '75) to score cheap points in his current profession by publically "diagnosing" the supposed mental issues of Democratic politicians. In his latest column, Dr. Krauthammer voices his

Robnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24449574.post-44150115942269089832007-06-04T15:47:00.000-04:002007-06-04T15:48:05.207-04:00

Robnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24449574.post-70953507324430819412007-05-31T11:40:00.000-04:002007-05-31T11:55:55.065-04:00

From the Dallas Morning News:Friends of [George W. Bush] from Texas were shocked recently to find him nearly wild-eyed, thumping himself on the chest three times while he repeated "I am the president!" He also made it clear he was setting Iraq up so his successor could not get out of "our country's destiny."

Robnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24449574.post-21792600656258685522007-05-16T14:52:00.001-04:002007-05-16T14:52:47.635-04:00

Robnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24449574.post-66548406468731464422007-04-12T18:37:00.000-04:002007-04-12T19:08:16.695-04:00

This is a good sign: Protests at Brigham Young University over an upcoming appearance by Veep Dick Cheney. Too often those on the right give lip service to the values they claim to uphold while ignoring them when their public standard bearers blatantly violate them, like electing a drunk-driving, draft-dodging cokehead to "restore dignity to the Oval Office" and cheering while his flunkies

Robnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24449574.post-57399003035211483982007-04-02T14:47:00.001-04:002007-04-02T14:47:51.076-04:00

"public libraries have become de facto daytime shelters for the nation's street people; while librarians are increasingly our unofficial social workers for the homeless (and often the disturbed)"

Robnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24449574.post-28431991799436095742007-03-27T17:16:00.000-04:002007-03-27T17:17:22.213-04:00

The headline in the morning paper (and you can tell a lot from the chamber of commerce priorities of my local paper considering that they think this is the most newsworthy event of the day) announced that an Ikea would be coming to town. Ikea! I actually squealed with delight. Then I read the bad news: it won't be opening until summer 2009. I want my Ikea now, dammit! Until then, I always have

Robnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24449574.post-48315159638625894802007-03-27T15:11:00.000-04:002007-03-27T15:32:23.784-04:00

Another reason to stay off MySpace: presidential hopeful John McCain's MySpace page was hacked to display an announcement regarding a very important change of his political position:Today I announce that I have reversed my position and come out in full support of gay marriage... particularly marriage between two passionate females.But this wasn't a politically motivated prank. It seems McCain's

Robnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24449574.post-67463636052757704892007-03-26T14:41:00.000-04:002007-03-26T14:45:49.061-04:00

When shopping for wine, don't make your purchases based on the pretty labels. Smoking Loon wine looked pretty damn cool - after all, it's a duck smoking a cigar - but it didn't taste that great. I should have stuck with the Beringer.

Robnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24449574.post-61625246825017608312007-02-02T11:32:00.000-05:002007-02-02T11:38:03.110-05:00

Congratulations to Florida's newest lottery winner, Edward R. Cowal of Jensen Beach, who has just taken an $8 million lump sum payment after grabbing the $14 million jackpot. Cowal is also a registered sex offender. According to the Orlando Sentinel: [Florida Department of Law Enforcement] records show Cowal is a registered sex offender and has a record of arrests for alleged offenses beginning

Robnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24449574.post-17939642098121061182007-01-31T18:22:00.000-05:002007-01-31T18:27:54.332-05:00

Last Thursday, fantasy novelist David Eddings was flushing out the gas tank of his busted Excalibur when he noticed a fluid leaking. "Is the fluid flammable?" he thought. To find out, he lit a piece of paper on fire and threw it into the puddle of fluid. The answer was yes, and Eddings burned his own house down, including the car and the original manuscripts of his 27 novels. At least he hasn't

Robnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24449574.post-59901465462152042472007-01-31T15:14:00.000-05:002007-01-31T15:31:50.121-05:00

Little boys like their toys, and Boy President Bush is no exception. At a visit yesterday to a Catepillar plant in Peoria, he climbed into a D10 bulldozer like the one pictured right, cranked it up, and mockingly pretended to run over the White House press corps, sending them scurrying. When a chimp-brained fratboy like Bush mockingly does something like this, it's a little window into what he

Robnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24449574.post-77858490858627953072007-01-25T13:57:00.000-05:002007-01-25T13:59:28.108-05:00

Katherine Harris passing out business cards before this week's State of the Union Address.

Robnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24449574.post-19055879446425866692007-01-22T18:06:00.000-05:002007-01-22T18:07:14.319-05:00

Robnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24449574.post-6119930848890282662007-01-18T18:59:00.000-05:002007-01-18T19:13:51.256-05:00

So I'm tooling around the iTunes store, which is a pretty new experience for me since until fairly recently I was dead set against the idea of digitizing my music collection. I came across an ad for something called "iTunes Essentials: '00s Alternative Rock" and foolishly clicked on it.It's a good thing the world didn't end on the even of the new millennium.Okay, I'm with you so far. Had the '

Robnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24449574.post-36344126781463265842007-01-16T18:43:00.000-05:002007-01-16T18:44:46.488-05:00

Robnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24449574.post-88655716358195155852007-01-11T17:03:00.000-05:002007-01-11T17:06:11.613-05:00

This week seems to be the week of Orwell. Via Boing Boing, courtesy of the London Metropolitan Police:

Robnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24449574.post-78636660763856741142007-01-10T16:48:00.001-05:002007-01-10T16:59:19.778-05:00

What the fuck?What the fucking fuck fuck is wrong with this country?Not that we would dare allow such a thing, but that such a thing is not universally derided as beyond the bounds of civil discourse and horribly tainted with the bloody connotations of the purges of fascist and communist states. The sage punditry warnes us of the profane wasteland of the blogosphere while bile like this goes

Robnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24449574.post-27489404481805447222007-01-10T16:48:00.000-05:002007-01-10T16:56:33.633-05:00

What the fuck?What the fucking fuck fuck is wrong with this country?Not that we would dare allow such a thing, but that such a thing is not universally derided as beyond the bounds of civil discourse and horribly tainted with the bloody connotations of the purges of fascist and communist states. The sage punditry warnes us of the profane wasteland of the blogosphere while bile like this goes

Robnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24449574.post-52213900141021738922006-12-25T01:15:00.000-05:002006-12-25T01:16:03.695-05:00

"May all my enemies go to hell.Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel."- Hilaire Belloc

Robnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24449574.post-28528947933866274952006-12-14T16:42:00.000-05:002006-12-14T16:44:38.080-05:00

Superhero artist Alex Ross (yes, that Alex Ross) for the cover of The Village Voice's gay pride issue:

Robnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24449574.post-49593222062705416452006-12-12T19:08:00.000-05:002006-12-12T19:18:36.703-05:00

I could have lived my whole life without seeing this, but since I saw it, you have to see it too.Spider-Man's penis. Okay, it's alternate future old man spider-penis, but still...This panel is from a Dark Knight Returns-rip off (and the reviews say it's nearly a page by page rip off) called Spider-Man: Reign by writer-artist Kaare Andrews, featuring Spider-Man as an old broken down florist. (?!)

Robnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24449574.post-91636411575030454152006-12-12T17:32:00.000-05:002006-12-12T17:37:07.658-05:00

Robnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24449574.post-72475239732898742692006-12-11T18:11:00.000-05:002006-12-11T18:14:13.590-05:00

Cat Fancy magazine is fifty years old, while Dog Fancy magazine is only thirty-eight. I wonder what the logic was there. "Okay, we know people like cats, but we're not too sure about these "dogs" I keep hearing about..."

Robnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24449574.post-64015728929926430012006-12-07T17:31:00.001-05:002006-12-07T17:56:37.069-05:00

Part of the fun I get to have here at the library is dealing with the boxes of freshly acquired journals for our new programs, one of which is for veterinary technicians. Idly flipping though a relatively recent issue of Veterinary Medicine, I chanced upon this article about castrating elephants. Yep, castrating elephants. Not something that comes often comes up in the daily itinerary of your

Robnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24449574.post-5403255034014867472006-11-30T16:34:00.000-05:002006-11-30T16:36:12.887-05:00

From the February 1938 issue of Modern Mechanix, via the blog of the same name:

Robnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24449574.post-81044477265795196482006-11-30T13:49:00.000-05:002006-11-30T13:52:48.545-05:00

A selection from an upcoming manga adaptation of Pride and Prejudice drawn by Tintin Pantoja. (By the way, how awesome is the name "Tintin Pantoja"!)

Robnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24449574.post-28462565292886187242006-11-29T13:32:00.000-05:002006-11-29T13:34:24.459-05:00

From the LA Daily News:Every day it seemed more Iraqis woke up to death threats tossed into their carports. At first the death threats were handwritten, but as kidnappings became a daily occurrence, the kidnappers grew more brazen and organized. The terrorists now issue generic, computerized threats with the organization's name as letterhead. Only the name of the victim is written by hand.

Robnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24449574.post-31022916310114418232006-11-28T18:19:00.000-05:002006-11-28T18:22:59.097-05:00

From the New Haven Advocate:Lohse, a social work master’s student at Southern Connecticut State University, says he has proven what many progressives have probably suspected for years: a direct link between mental illness and support for President Bush.Lohse says his study is no joke. The thesis draws on a survey of 69 psychiatric outpatients in three Connecticut locations during the 2004

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24449574.post-59204988749128870702006-11-26T14:45:00.000-05:002006-11-26T14:49:48.631-05:00

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24449574.post-33326647801154420642006-11-22T17:26:00.000-05:002006-11-22T17:39:23.480-05:00

If you haven't been following the progress of this year's Marvel Comics crossover Civil War (and, really, why should you be?) then this hysterical parody of issue 5 might not make much sense, but read it anyway. I don't read this kind of stuff anymore, but I can't help following superhero news on Die IntërWeb with the same lurid fascination that some people have reading about serial killers or

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24449574.post-41775955419638062542006-11-21T18:24:00.000-05:002006-11-21T18:26:02.884-05:00

Stan Lee meets Jack Chick:

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24449574.post-87878354582967589782006-11-20T18:15:00.000-05:002006-11-20T18:43:59.489-05:00

I'm sure you remember the memorable clip from this post, which featured two Bank of America drones singing an ode to their assimilation of MBNA to the tune of U2's "One". The video is so popular on Die IntërWeb now that even the New York Times is writing about it, noting that humorless lawyers from the Universal Music Publishing Group are now deploying the cease and desist letters. (See this

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24449574.post-1163786623400697552006-11-17T12:55:00.000-05:002006-11-17T13:03:43.416-05:00

Here's an interesting way of distributing Wikipedia's free content in a way I'd never thought of: Wikipedia comics by Greg Williams of the Tampa Tribune. Only four so far but I hope more to come. Also, here's a bonus comic from Ken Jennings' blog.

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24449574.post-1163712813802333062006-11-16T16:32:00.000-05:002006-11-16T16:33:33.823-05:00

...of your favorite superheroes.

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24449574.post-1163636663004979222006-11-15T19:21:00.001-05:002006-11-15T19:24:23.023-05:00

Check out this leaked memo from The Ministry of Truth: "Let's be on the lookout for any statements from Iraqi insurgents, who must be thrilled at the prospect of a Dem-controlled Congress."How can there be any sane adult who doubts that Fox news is openly advocating conservative positions and acting as a wholly-owned subsidiary of the GOP? How can people continue to deny the evidence of their

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24449574.post-1163635844816257312006-11-15T19:00:00.000-05:002006-11-15T19:10:44.843-05:00

Six years ago I saw my first pull tab on a can of soup, and was driven to rant, my sputtering rage at the indolence and laziness of the world forever preserved on Die Interweb. Since then, pull tabs have become ubiquitous, lulling me into a false sense of security when I should have feared my impending comeuppance. A few days ago I purchased some delicious looking cans of Walnut Acres organic

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24449574.post-1162947785301508772006-11-07T19:52:00.001-05:002006-11-07T20:03:05.593-05:00

one bank on VimeoThis is a clip of a Bank of America employee celebrating the absorption of MBNA by BoA in 2005. To the tune of "One" by U2. No, I'm not kidding. Watch it all the way through, if you can. Great, you've made some money. Congrats. But let's not pretend this represents any sort of achievement in "hiiiiger staaandards" or anything else except squeezing more money from Americans,

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24449574.post-1162947784643174442006-11-07T19:52:00.000-05:002006-11-07T20:03:04.656-05:00

one bank on VimeoThis is a clip of a Bank of America employee celebrating the absorption of MBNA by BoA in 2005. To the tune of "One" by U2. No, I'm not kidding. Watch it all the way through, if you can. Great, you've made some money. Congrats. But let's not pretend this represents any sort of achievement in "hiiiiger staaandards" or anything else except squeezing more money from Americans,

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24449574.post-1162924336174597712006-11-07T13:30:00.000-05:002006-11-07T13:32:16.190-05:00

Thanks to early voting in this state, I voted two weeks ago. If you haven't voted yet, there is still time. Molly Ivins reminds us why it is important: May I remind you what this election is about? Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo, unprecedented presidential powers, unmatched incompetence, unparalleled corruption, unwarranted eavesdropping, Katrina, Enron, Halliburton, global warming, Cheney's secret

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24449574.post-1162494207815118642006-11-02T13:48:00.000-05:002006-11-02T14:03:27.833-05:00

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24449574.post-1162424978305072402006-11-01T18:43:00.000-05:002006-11-01T18:49:38.320-05:00

Well, here's a treat you don't get everyday. Last month, a student found an unpublished poem by Sylvia Plath in her archives at Indiana University. Written in 1955 while she was a depressed undergrad at Smith College, the sonnet has now been published in the journal Blackbird:EnnuiTea leaves thwart those who court catastrophe,designing futures where nothing will occur:Read the rest of it here.

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24449574.post-1161971557943389342006-10-27T13:41:00.000-04:002006-10-27T13:52:37.956-04:00

Linking to the New York Post twice in a row? What's wrong with me? But you'll want to know about this. Assuming they aren't just making shit up again, the Post reports that Bill O'Reilly gets it in the you know where tonight on The Late Show. Of course, the Post spins the whole thing, calling Letterman "Humorless Dave" in the headline and gently massaging O'Reilly with a loofah by calling him "

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24449574.post-1161815190366007832006-10-25T18:18:00.000-04:002006-10-25T18:26:30.383-04:00

Ken Jennings posts a thoughtful critique of the new game show 1 vs. 100, on which he recently appeared. The New York Post prints a short, gossipy item about this with the lurid headline KILL-JOY JENNINGS TRASHES ‘1 VS 100’. While I've never been a cheerleader for what technophiles call the "New Media" (a term that generally makes me roll my eyes) this is example # 345324231097 why the "Old

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24449574.post-1161126037311961872006-10-17T18:24:00.000-04:002006-10-17T19:01:09.566-04:00

Bonnie Rose, the winner of the Colbert Report Green Screen Challenge, provides a firsthand report of beating "George L." and winning the non-contest. Here's the winning entry:I don't think this entry made it on the air, but I saw it on YouTube and thought it was hysterical:

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24449574.post-1161055559864229552006-10-16T23:25:00.000-04:002006-10-16T23:25:59.946-04:00

Haloscan commenting and trackback have been added to this blog.

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On Friday, Glenn Greenwald and Alicublog posted takedowns of the latest Wall Street Journal column by Peggy Noonan, that partisan hack and former GOP operative who has managed to pass herself off as a font of wisdom. Noonan cherry picks four recent incidents of dubious import and uses them to "prove" her thesis, such as it is, that the left is as a whole lacks grace and civility and is actively

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24449574.post-1161035591263967142006-10-16T16:44:00.000-04:002006-10-16T17:53:11.356-04:00

On Saturday, I spent most the day as part of a volunteer trash cleanup turned impromptu hiking caravan at the Chinsegut Wildlife and Environmental Area in Hernando County. Had to get up astonishingly early but it was worth it to see a patch of land I otherwise wouldn't have seen. They're open from 8am to 2pm Fridays and Saturdays, which insures only retired people will tramp through your woods.

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24449574.post-1160756146812694872006-10-13T12:14:00.000-04:002006-10-13T12:15:46.823-04:00

Check out this anti-Bush television ad via Kos. Hope we see a lot of this one on the air.

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24449574.post-1160690692830901872006-10-12T17:54:00.000-04:002006-10-12T18:05:41.016-04:00

Over at Mister Kitty, a new update to Stupid Comics focusing on the crappy twist endings of Atlas Comics monster stories of the 1950s. Atlas would become Marvel Comics in the 1960s and so fandom has always looked back on this era with admiration while acknowledging its sheer, abundant camp. It's hard not to like the 44 feet and 20 tons of camp that is Fin Fang Foom. There's much that's

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24449574.post-1160591770446696852006-10-11T14:29:00.000-04:002006-10-11T14:36:10.460-04:00

Via Boing Boing: The Guinness Book of Records people have appointed a new winner for the title of the world's smallest horse. The unimaginatively named Thumbelina, owned by Goose Creek Farms in St. Louis, is a tiny tiny 17 inches tall and weighs only 60 pounds. She comes from a line of miniature horses to begin with, but she's about half the size she should be, which means she's a dwarf

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24449574.post-1160516998321179742006-10-10T17:46:00.000-04:002006-10-10T17:49:58.336-04:00

Works Progress Administration posters from the Library of Congress:

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24449574.post-1160436288509906772006-10-09T16:28:00.000-04:002006-10-09T19:24:48.650-04:00

Okay, so it's not exactly The Day the Music Died, but it's been a bad couple of weeks for music establishments. The iconic NYC punk club CBGB will be closing its doors at the end of the month, capping off a 23 year run with a Patti Smith concert. Begun in 1972 by Hilly Kristal as a club to feature Country, BlueGrass, and Blues music, it quickly became a forum for American punk and

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24449574.post-1160087284381114552006-10-05T18:26:00.000-04:002006-10-05T18:28:04.393-04:00

More funny stuff from Boing Boing:

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24449574.post-1160078305250034702006-10-05T15:57:00.000-04:002006-10-05T16:01:59.423-04:00

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24449574.post-1159994090704947232006-10-04T15:59:00.000-04:002006-10-04T16:34:50.760-04:00

From the real life has surpassed satire dept, via Boing Boing.The Montgomery County Courier reports that a Corone, Texas man named Alton Verm has demanded that his daughter's school district ban Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury's classic novel about a dystopian future where firemen burn books. With impeccable timing, Verm's demand comes during the 25th anniversary of Banned Books Week, which is of

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24449574.post-1159988639581040262006-10-04T14:42:00.000-04:002006-10-04T15:04:17.316-04:00

Dick Tracy is 75 years old today. That's three quarters of a century of cool gadgets, freaky villans, and right-wing propaganda. And don't forget that period in the 60s when Tracy was on the Moon. The Daily Cartoonist is collecting a list of comics page tributes to the famous detective, including ones from Gasoline Alley (right) and Alley Oop (left), two pretty venerable strips themselves.

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24449574.post-1159914974118897602006-10-03T17:31:00.000-04:002006-10-03T18:37:39.210-04:00

Last night on Heroes, after the police detained Hiro, they noted that he didn't have much in his wallet besides an honorary membership to the Merry Marvel Marching Society. Most of the audience missed the joke, of course, but there's no reason they should have caught. So what the heck was the MMMS? It was a company fan club founded in the early days of Marvel Comics, born out of Stan Lee's

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24449574.post-1159395050482121712006-09-27T17:29:00.000-04:002006-09-27T18:10:52.273-04:00

An article in the latest issue of Science (and yes, I read it, smart guy) discusses the discovery in Cascaja, Veracruz, Mexico in 1999 of a small (36 x 21 x 13 cm) stone block from the Olmec civilization which they proclaim to be the "oldest writing in the New World". The glyphs are faint and difficult to discern in photographs, so instead of showing you this boring looking rock, you get to

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24449574.post-1158185938486133782006-09-13T18:18:00.000-04:002006-09-13T18:18:58.486-04:00

It offers a catchy melody around a hook-laden riff. The song was masterfully written, performed, and produced, even drawing comparisons to the work of [[the Beatles]] with its flawless execution of post-[[WWII]] [[pop rock]]. To be sure, the song quickly established Ratt as a force to be reckoned with in the realm of [[music]] and stands as an eternal testament to their golden era during the mid-

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24449574.post-1158185547730395422006-09-13T18:09:00.000-04:002006-09-13T18:12:27.750-04:00

Including suggestions from the peanut gallery. Keep 'em coming!Anal Cunt"Let's see, we can't play or write songs worth crap, we aren't clever....I know, let's be offensive dicks!"ColdplayIs it some form of compress? A sex game? Both? I don't think we want to know.HoobastankThe jokes just write themselves with this one.Limp BizkitEven if they weren't named after the disgusting frat boy party game

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24449574.post-1158090899875678422006-09-12T15:53:00.000-04:002006-09-12T15:54:59.893-04:00

From Reuters via mkbscratch:

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24449574.post-1158080946512467222006-09-12T12:48:00.000-04:002006-09-12T16:16:09.080-04:00

...that I could think of on the way to work.Bay City RollersEven if they weren't named after rollerskating (and I don't care to do the research to find out), it's still a stupid name. Def LeppardDo I really have to explain this one to you?Frou FrouYou'd think someone at the coffee house would have told Imogen and Guy that their name was really dumb.Guess WhoThey started out with an even dumber

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24449574.post-1157080274610193742006-08-31T22:57:00.000-04:002006-08-31T23:11:14.626-04:00

It's back:The Edvard Munch paintings "The Scream" and "Madonna," which two armed robbers yanked from the wall of a museum here in August 2004, were recovered in relatively good condition during a police operation Thursday afternoon. No arrests were made and the case remains far from solved, with the police saying little apart from confirming that the pictures were safe. But Norwegians rejoiced in

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24449574.post-1156884799301044252006-08-29T16:51:00.000-04:002006-08-29T16:53:28.783-04:00

On my daily commute, when I do listen to the radio, I incessantly change the station to avoid commercials and Nickelback songs. Yesterday morning I heard this:"I'm craving something maddeningly delicious."/me changes station"Blood!"

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24449574.post-1156370051004974322006-08-23T17:53:00.000-04:002006-08-23T17:54:11.016-04:00

From the Louisville Courier-Journal via This is True:The water in the fountains and pools in Louisville's Waterfront Park tested about 30 times the healthy limit for bacteria, which city officials blame on homeless people using them to bathe and dirty diapers. Frustrated by their inability to keep people out of the water, David Karem, executive director of the Waterfront Development Corp., had

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* "As the pictures were being taken, I knew they were disgusting, but I thought, in 20 years this is going to be an iconoclastic hysterical moment in rock. I get taken off to Bellevue on a gurney? Come on, Lydia Lunch didn't even get that."* "Crack! I quit that, it was a bad phase. My problem was, you think they're talking about you on TV? Well, they were talking about me on TV. You think

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24449574.post-1153892320405038752006-07-26T01:33:00.000-04:002006-07-26T01:40:04.850-04:00

From The Onion:Wikipedia Celebrates 750 Years Of American Independence Founding Fathers, Patriots, Mr. T. Honored NEW YORK—Wikipedia, the online, reader-edited encyclopedia, honored the 750th anniversary of American independence on July 25 with a special featured section on its main page Tuesday.[...]The commemorative page is one of the most detailed on the site, rivaling entries for

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24449574.post-1153798242387478892006-07-24T23:20:00.000-04:002006-07-24T23:30:42.400-04:00

Another list rejected by McSweeney's. I'd feel bad, but their rejection letters are so polite.Paintings by Gustav Klimt That Did Not Sell for $135 MillionThe Firm HandshakePortrait of Friedrich Matzek, the Slovenly Bum Who Lives in a Cardboard Box on Schwazenbergplatz in Downtown BaumgartenBright Shiny ThingsPainting to Adorn a Freshman Girl's Dorm Room WallPiss ChristIn other McSweneey's news,

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Some people think that libraries are or should be repositories of every thing that's ever been published. Not even the Library of Congress can do that and they disabuse you of that notion fairly quickly in library school. Your typical library has to function as a working collection, serving the current needs of its users (students, the general public, whoever) instead of being an archive of out

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24449574.post-1153428710901982582006-07-20T14:53:00.000-04:002006-07-20T18:22:35.876-04:00

Since I'm now working out in the sticks, I thought I'd see more of what's out here there in the vast rural wasteland east of the city. I've mostly been hitting the outdoor highlights to avoid people, but after a harrowing encounter with a cow out in the wild, I thought my next stop should be a little more indoorsy. So last week I stopped by the Mulberry Phosphate Museum. Small town! Big industry

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24449574.post-1152829841011513142006-07-13T18:30:00.000-04:002006-07-13T18:31:17.750-04:00

Don't ask. I have no idea.

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I've started listening to the radio a lot more (read: at all) to pass the time on my commute, and also to get that hideous mashup of Tommy James' "Draggin' the Line" and Captain Blunt's "Beautiful" that’s nested inside my brain out of my head. While whatever the format or location, the playlists aren't that varied, and none of these songs are anything close to underplayed, these particular ones

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24449574.post-1152331383250197662006-07-07T23:38:00.000-04:002006-07-08T09:53:18.263-04:00

A week ago I had a burst of hubris and inspiration and fired off a submission to McSweeney's for their lists section. For a little while, I entertained dreams of drinking overpriced coffee concoctions with the likes of Dave Eggers and John Hodgman, trading witty bon mots and mocking Dave's love of Journey. Alas, my induction to the comedy literati will have to wait, as my submission has been

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24449574.post-1152285128911607562006-07-07T10:48:00.000-04:002006-07-07T11:12:08.926-04:00

via Boing BoingWu Yulu is a 44 year old farmer from east Beijing. In his spare time he's built a robot army out of junk and spare parts. Well, not so much an army as a small collection of robots to light cigarettes, make tea, and pull a rickshaw very, very slowly. Still, it's more impressive than any of my hobbies. But as hobbies go, this is a dangerous one, as he's nearly blown his head off

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24449574.post-1152047728619770432006-07-04T17:14:00.000-04:002006-07-04T17:15:28.633-04:00

Seen on The Comics Reporter:

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24449574.post-1151685964071338482006-06-30T12:39:00.000-04:002006-06-30T13:17:39.616-04:00

Obviously, I realize this is the most redundant headline imaginable, as Trudeau has pissed somebody off about twice a week since Doonesbury started in 1970. This one is noteworthy - or at least amusing - because of the particular complaint. Editor & Publisher reports that the Polish American Congress is in an uproar over the innocuous May 14th strip in which a character named Justin Kaminski

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24449574.post-1151680553532213862006-06-30T11:15:00.000-04:002006-06-30T11:15:53.546-04:00

'What will your obituary say?' at QuizGalaxy.com

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0