March 6th, 2004
Posted by fad at 12:47pm
Say, ever notice you can tell someone is working on a weekend because suddenly a long post appears on their site on a day they'd normally never post?
Posted by fad at 12:08pm
The first presidential election that I was really fully aware of was the 1984 between Reagan and Mondale. I was six in 1980, but things such as presidential elections didn't consume my family enough to trickle to a kid about to enter first grade. Besides, there were too many whiffle bat lightsaber battles to be fought, trees to climb, tree frogs to catch and high things to jump off on dares.
1984 was different, most notably for being four years later, amazingly enough. Ten years old now, living in Mission Viejo, CA, and beginning to be convinced that I was a super genius. You know, one of those kids who is so convinced that it is his smartitood which explains why he doesn't have many friends amongst his peers, so spends more time paying attention to the news and "grown-up" stuff (I outgrew most of that stuff, thankfully, and entered the realm of self-loathing instead. Not sure which is better.) Because I spent so much time watching the news, I was terrified of Reagan. It was an absolute surety in my mind that Reagan, given the chance, would blow up the world. Peppers of anti-Reagan propaganda such as "cowboy" and "finger on the button" ground all over my speech (holy crap, what an awful, tortured attempt at clever writing!).
One thing about Mission Viejo, at least 20 years ago, is as a very boring "planned community" in Orange County, just about every one of my friends came from strongly Republican families. We're talking Bob Dornan right wing, here. This meant that my opinions weren't all that popular amongst the other kids. Remember, we were 10 or so. We weren't quite yet rebelling against our parents' ideologies or lack thereof. Their support for Reagan just proved in my head that right wingers were plain dumber. After all, I watched the news; I read the newspaper. Wrapping back into the above, I also was convinced that I did all these things because I was smarter than the others. Therefore, my opinions were those of a worldly, smart kid. Those others just spouted unthinkingly what they were told. Yeah, I was well on my way to those years I was a sympathizer to communism. Which, always careful to note, had never been tried right yet, but when it is, look out!
So here it is, twenty years later, with another presidential election. It's amazing how, at least in some quarters, the discussions and attitudes over an upcoming election can so match those of a bunch of 10 year olds tucked away in the 80s.
Posted by fad at 12:07pm
March 5th, 2004
Posted by fad at 5:23pm
I think I'm going to be sick.
UPDATE: That last post was a bit too much of a downer going into the weekend, so I figured I'd move this horror up here as a buffer.
Posted by fad at 5:10pm
I don't know about the van Gogh shit, but that sure is a purty piktur.
UPDATE: What the hell, I moved this one too.
Posted by fad at 5:04pm
With the current ad furfle, this will add to it.
President Bush, facing criticism from victims' relatives for using images of the destroyed World Trade Center in campaign ads, will visit a Sept. 11 memorial in New York next week.Maybe it's best he get these things out of the way now, he certainly shouldn't go there during intense campaign moments if for no other reason than the media, right or wrong, will hammer him for it.
As to the furfle, I can understand the possessiveness relatives and survivors feel towards the site. This whole thing, though, feels like another part of that attempt to say that if you didn't directly lose someone in the attacks, then you should have moved on by now. In this view, it was an isolated incident which belongs to the victims.
While they were certainly more directly affected by these murders, this was an attack against the country as a whole. On that level, we all own this; we all have right to be angry and upset. Yes, all attempts to politicize it, claim it as a Republican symbol or day are very wrong and exploitive. However, to say that the President, in a time of war, seeking to run on his record in the war, is not allowed to reference the attacks and their murderous results which announced that war was once again on our shores, is short sighted at best.
Posted by fad at 4:39pm
Somebody just called the Roe Conn show (stupid Disney assholes cutting off Garry) on WLS and made this exact joke. I mean, there's no doubt in my mind someone read either that post or the Instapundit one linking to it, and called up the station. Admittedly, it's not like no one else thought something similar, but mentioning the "Williams-Sonoma saucier" was a bit too precise.
Posted by fad at 2:18pm
I don't know why this story just popped in my head, maybe because I need a couple laughs right now, but here goes. It's short, so don't worry.
As many of you probably experienced, grade schools/junior highs often have a Talent Show of some sort at the end of the year (thankfully mine did not). There's no need to go into a description of these things. I'm sure you all know exactly what these are like. Heck, some of you were probably happy participants. What this story is about is perhaps the greatest piece of Performance Art ever at a school Talent Show.
A guy in my high school class was known for doing just plain weird things and not understanding why anyone thought they were weird. He'd hum in a very low-pitch during class. When asked what he was trying to do, he'd say he was practicing his subsonic noises. He also was a sleep talker. His sister told a story about one such talking during a family trip. Suddenly, he just started singing, "RIIIIII-OH, RiodeJaneiro. I can do it. I can do it." in a loop.
Ok, so as the story told to me by witnesses goes, it was the Talent Show their 8th grade year. This guy decided to enter, but wouldn't tell anyone what his performance was going to be. It was a big secret. As the day drew near, anticipation was very high. Then his time came. He walked out with a boombox and a length of PVC pipe. He hit play on the boombox and "Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka-dot Bikini" began to play. While that played, he balanced the PVC pipe on end on the palm of his hand. And that was his whole performance. That song playing while he wandered around the stage with this pipe balanced on the palm of his hand.
Unfortunately, like most great artists, his achievement was not met with as much appreciation as it deserved.
Posted by fad at 1:31pm
It's like 1986 all over again trying to pick which spelling of Gaddafi/Khaddafi/Quaddafi to use. Anyway, he had an impressive set up.
Libya has declared a 20-ton stockpile of deadly mustard gas in a full report on its chemical weapons programmes submitted to the UN on Friday.Throw in that bit of plutonium he had sitting around and we have ourselves a party.
[...]
As well as mustard gas, the report discloses that Libya possessed large amounts of chemical agents used in the manufacture of sarin and other toxins.
Posted by fad at 12:44pm
Via Two Braincells comes this quiz.
Heart of Stone
What is Your Heart REALLY Made of?
brought to you by Quizilla
Posted by fad at 9:47am
The fallout from Janet's flopout continues.
James Rondini was arrested Wednesday after the second time he allegedly drove through the fast food pickup lane with his pants unzipped, exposing himself to a 19-year-old woman who was working at the window.It's getting so that a man can't even flirt anymore.
Posted by fad at 9:18am
The conspiracy spinning over this will be interesting.
Attorney General John Ashcroft has been hospitalized with a severe case of gallstone pancreatitis, his chief spokesman said Friday.As I wish him no particular ill will, I hope he recovers soon. I'm sure, though, there will be Ashcroft Deathwatch parties or toasts to his ill-health this weekend.
Posted by fad at 8:11am
Hobbit feets are going to be very jealous of youngsters in Birmingham.
Youngsters at Turves Green Boys' Technology College in Birmingham are being offered weekly after-hours lessons in Sindarin, a conversational form of Elvish invented by "Lord of the Rings" creator J.R.R. Tolkien and based on Welsh sounds.It's the Klingon of a new generation.
"A couple of the boys are very into role-playing games. Knowing Sindarin is useful when giving orders to their Elvish armies," Thorp said.Personally I prefer Oompa Loompa armies. They take up less space and sing to me when I'm blue.
Posted by fad at 7:59am
Are thumbs Atkins friendly?
Stark County Health Commissioner Bill Franks said an employee at Red Robin Gourmet Burgers in the Canton suburb Jackson Township was chopping lettuce at about 7 p.m. Monday when he cut off a part of his left thumb, including part of the fingernail.I don't know. Fingernails probably contain carbs.
Employees at the restaurant about 70 miles south of Cleveland searched for the tip of his finger, but could not find it. The area was cleaned and sanitized, but the lettuce was placed in the cooler. The lettuce was then used for salads the next day.
"It wound up being served at lunch time Tuesday to a 22-year-old woman," Franks said.I've found that many people who spent time working in a kitchen or restaurant tend to prefer to prepare their own meals.
She had eaten most of her salad when she put the human tissue in her mouth, Franks said.
She thought it was a piece of gristle, a health department report said. She then alerted a manager.
Posted by fad at 7:53am
Minnesota is considering joining Wisconsin in allowing a portion of costs for organ donation to be deducted from taxes.
Posted by fad at 7:44am
Ok, one quick thing about marriage. Actually it's more a pet peeve about bad use of statistics. Everyone loves to trot out the 50-or-so percent divorce rate, but I'm pretty damn sure that is a bit of a lie. I may be wrong, but as I understand it, it's not that 50-or-so percent of all marriages end in divorce, but that in a given year there are a certain number of marriages and a certain number of divorces. The number of divorces is about half that of the number of marriages, in that given year. The real divorce rate is lower. Though I'm sure it will start going up because of the popularity of "starter marriages". I know of quite a few people married at 24 and divorced at 28.
Posted by fad at 7:39am
The only active duty combat unit in Missouri that went to Iraq is home now. And I need to add that "Funkhouser" is a damn cool name.
Posted by fad at 7:29am
I've lived here just short of three years now, but haven't really bothered to get in to the local politics much. One thing I have learned, though, is that when you're looking for wacky, the St. Louis School Board is the place to go.
The St. Louis School Board is contemplating its next move after board member Rochell Moore was arrested for dousing a high-ranking school administrator with a pitcher of ice water on Wednesday.Moore first came to my attention for sending this letter to the mayor and media.
Posted by fad at 7:25am
A Friday Five to start off another day of bad, dull posts.
What was...
1. ...your first grade teacher's name?
Miss Thiesfeld.
2. ...your favorite Saturday morning cartoon?
The Bugs Bunny show, easily.
3. ...the name of your very first best friend?
Mike Trotter. As of just a couple years ago, his parents still lived in the same house two doors down from where I used to live. When we moved in, he rode over on his Big Wheel and said, "Hi, I'm Mike. Wanna be friends?" "Ok." Ah, the simplicity of being 5 years old. His dad worked for Boeing and built a satellite dish for their home. He didn't buy one; he built one.
4. ...your favorite breakfast cereal?
Fruity Pebbles. Second is Lucky Charms.
5. ...your favorite thing to do after school?
I wish I could say it was something cool like getting drunk or doing drugs with friends or screwing chicks before parents got home, but sadly it was basketball. Always basketball, one of the two great passions of my youth (though according to papers my mom kept, when I was even younger it was all about drawing, writing stories and lots and lots of poems). Because of this, I can understand why some people love ballet or other dance. There is a beauty and joy to coordinated human motion that is also found in a well played basketball game.
Sorry for the lack of jokes.
Posted by fad at 7:06am
March 4th, 2004
A dispute at the salad bar turned into a food fracas at an upscale retirement home, with a man taking a bite out of another's arm and other residents suffering minor injuries.No man can stand by when he's being disrespected for his food fondling habits.
Police said resident Lee Thoss, 62, of the Spring Haven Retirement Community was picking through the lettuce, which disgusted 86-year-old William Hocker, who was standing in line behind him.
Hocker told Thoss no one wanted to eat food he had been playing with. Thoss yelled and cursed at him, Hocker told police, and Hocker called him a nasty name. Then, witnesses said, Thoss then began punching Hocker in the face.
Posted by fad at 4:49pm
Is G. Gordan Liddy disguising himself as the mayor of Villarino?
"I endorse killing criminals on your farmland, I endorse it," said Jorge Simoni, mayor of the municipality of Villarino in southern Argentina.Then again, maybe it's Ted Nugent.
"The life of the guy who gets up at 5 a.m. to produce, to work, comes first," he said in a television interview aired on Thursday.
Speaking of Nugent, back in the day, I was briefly addicted to "Pop Up Video" on VH1. One of my favorite 'toids was during a video for, I think, Damn Yankees (that's not my type of music, so I'm a bit unsure on all that). Nugent spent the whole thing just sort of wandering around aimlessly in the background. Turns out they let him do whatever he wanted because the director was afraid of him.
Posted by fad at 3:45pm
Yeah, since it's less than two weeks to the show, pretty much everything is reminding me of a TCS song.
A Brazilian crook shot himself in the foot while trying to burglarize a bar, then left a trail of blood that led police straight to his home, police said Thursday.From "The Safecracker"
Got impaled on a nail,
Once I left a trail behind me.
A bloody tale, to no avail.
Posted by fad at 3:26pm
Hey, let's pick on lawyers for a bit.
No Shakespeare quote about lawyers, please. We all know it and are not impressed that you do too.
Posted by fad at 3:02pm
So you think you're so smart, do you? Well, let's test your knowledge with real questions from a college multiple choice exam.
- How many goals are on a basketball court?
- How many quarters are in a high school basketball game?
- How many points does a 3-point field goal account for?
Posted by fad at 1:54pm
What is it about universities and oppressive phallic symbols? Since women make up the great majority of students and graduates, isn't about time we brought low these reminders of dickery?
The university I graduated from had one of these, too. It was off on a section of campus that no one ever used, but it was visible from one of the roads. Around it were bricks that alumni could have their names on for a price. The school wasn't as bad as I make it out to be, but I can't for a minute imagine anyone having enough pride in Mankato State University (as it was then known) to spend money on a brick. One tradition a friend of mine had was on the first nice spring day, he and a bunch of his friends would gather out there and play "ring around the phallic symbol", then get drunk or stoned or both.
At least some of these are built without nice sniper access.
Posted by fad at 11:04am
Generally speaking, I don't have any problem with requiring schools to provide healthier meals. If it's been decided that our taxes should be used to feed kids at school, then we should make it as unpleasant...er...healthy as possible. If they want junk, their parents can provide that. However, there is one bit in this story out of Texas that goes too far.
Deep fat frying is banned altogether, and so are pizza fund-raisers that compete with the cafeteria. There are also limits on how often french fries can be served, how much fat and sugar a meal can have, and what kinds of milk can be offered (2 percent, 1 percent or skim).They've banned pizza fund-raisers? I hereby announce that I shall file papers to officially question their patriotism as allowed under section 2112 of the Patriot Act. Soon their dissent against pizza shall be crushed like the grapes I stash in my grapewalking shoes!
Posted by fad at 10:31am
You'd think a place like Fox News would have a custom 404 page. You'd think that, but you'd be wrong. That's just tacky.
(Yes, I don't have one either, but my entire existence is dedicated to tacky.)
Posted by fad at 8:51am
When fighting with your loved one, always remember to use non lethal devices.
A Jordanian woman knocked her husband out by hurling a tear gas canister at him during a domestic fight, Al Rai daily newspaper said Thursday.I assume all people in loving relationships keep canisters of tear gas on hand just in case.
The paper did not say what the couple had been arguing about.I'm going to guess it wasn't gay marriage. More likely it was steroids in baseball.
Posted by fad at 8:31am
Africa is starting to fight back over DDT and the West's preference to write off millions of deaths rather than see a few thin eggshells for birds that don't even exist where the people are dying.
Posted by fad at 8:03am
Hmmm....a spam invitation to a local speed dating event. Usually I just creep out and scare away one woman at a time. It might be interesting to see how many would say "Oh good God no!", the phrase I most often hear from women, in one evening.
Posted by fad at 7:40am
March 3rd, 2004
Posted by fad at 6:49pm
Sky watching could result in wealth redistribution.
Amateur astronomers could receive awards of $3,000 for discovering and tracking near-Earth asteroids under legislation approved by the House Wednesday.The lone "no" vote was from Ron Paul (R - Where The World Ain't Our Business), whose weakest point always has been on national defense.
"Given the vast number of asteroids and comets that inhabits Earth's neighborhood, greater efforts for tracking and monitoring these objects are critical," said Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Calif., sponsor of the legislation that passed 404-1.
Posted by fad at 4:48pm
Really, it is about time.
British awards-show addicts dreading withdrawal after Sunday's Academy Awards can prolong their pleasure with a new addition to the calendar — the first-ever Awards Awards.But this isn't just the ones that hit the TeeVee.
But in a slightly more real world, awards are big business. Buchanan estimates there are 18,000 awards ceremonies in Britain each year, ranging from the Rescue Cat of the Year Awards to the glitzy British Academy Film Awards.I wonder if this includes the trumped up awards in the general business community. I think every year I've worked here my company has won the First Annual 'Somethingerother' Award given by some new group that, amazingly enough, just received a healthy endowment from us.
[...]
To that end, trophies will go to organizer of the year, personality of the year, supplier of the year, sponsor of the year and — the booby prize — faux pas of the year.
Posted by fad at 3:16pm
I know I'd feel safer knowing my airplane could be broken apart for my safety.
The proposal, which received a patent last month, calls for aircraft to be built in separate parts, then sealed together. In an emergency -- anything from mechanical failure to a missile attack -- the pilot could push a button to sever the parts with controlled explosions or by using a "laser cutting" device.Of course genius is never appreciated in its own time.
Each section would be equipped with parachutes, shock absorbers, inflatable rafts, and propulsion jets that would guide it to the ground, the patent said.
"For a big airliner, it's just not feasible," said David Greatrix, associate professor of aerospace engineering at Ryerson University in Toronto.Close minded fool! Beware the revolution!
"It's just such a wacky idea. If you talk to anyone in the aerospace industry, you'd see that this is pretty far fetched."
Posted by fad at 2:21pm
This may be the ultimate "Ain't Love Grand?" story.
A Houston jury on Wednesday convicted a woman of murder for stabbing her husband 193 times, rejecting her claim of self-defense after suffering years of spousal abuse.Unfortunately they had a couple kids, too. 193 stabs does seem a bit excessive for simple murder and only $200,000 in life insurance. Then again no one cares enough to try to kill me, so what do I know?
UPDATE: Ok, we have another contender. Yipes.
UPDATE: They keep coming.
Posted by fad at 1:16pm
Only the best for Americans!
Drug traffickers are targeting middle-class Americans with high-purity heroin that users can smoke rather than inject, a U.N. drug agency warns in a report being released today.Excellent! I've always wanted to try heroin. It sounds so pleasant. It's the whole dirty needle thing that gets me.
Posted by fad at 12:41pm
Sixty years seems like a long time when we talk recent history (though some boomers, particularily in media and politics, are desperate to make nearly 40 years into yesterday). But sixty years isn't remotely considered a lengthy lifetime. It should not be surprising when things that we think should be in the past, are not, such as anti-Semitism which has lain dormant until given excuse and legitimacy by elites.
No matter what, sixty years is an awfully long time to wait.
The Swiss government on Wednesday pardoned a 79-year-old woman who was convicted of smuggling Jewish refugees into Switzerland during World War II.Symbolic, but not meaningless. She was in her teens when she was helping Jews escape.
Aimee Stitelmann is the first person to benefit from a new law that pardons anyone imprisoned or fined for helping Jews get into Switzerland during the war. The law does not allow for compensation to be paid.
Posted by fad at 12:26pm
I'd like to nominate as "One of the Worst Jobs In America" the task of going through and cropping child porn images in order to post the pictures of the unidentified abusers.
Posted by fad at 11:55am
You know, when I think mouthwash, I think poultry.
The same chemical used in most mouthwashes for more than half a century has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for use on poultry as a way to reduce food-borne illness.I don't know. I rather enjoy living on the edge with cross-contamination in my kitchen.
[...]
The chemical compound CPC provides effective protection against salmonella, E. coli, listeria and other germs.
"Bleach is an effective anti-microbial, but it will discolor the meat," Compadre said. "Other chemicals can make the skin soapy and give you what is called 'slick chicken.' We've tested all those chemicals and none was effective as CPC. And bacteria are usually smart enough to build resistance and there's almost no resistance to CPC."Nothing worse than a bout of "slick chicken".
Posted by fad at 10:37am
Hobbit feets rejoice! The Return of the King is returning to theaters (unless it never left).
Posted by fad at 10:18am
I just shared an elevator with a woman whose perfume smelled of Watermelon Bubble-Yum, or at least a childhood memory of it. Not pleasant at all.
Posted by fad at 8:57am
In this hazy, crazy world of ours, it's nice to know there are still some old fashioned terrorists out there.
A previously unknown terror group is threatening to blow up French railway tracks unless it is paid millions of dollars, authorities said Wednesday.At least their motivation is money rather than the destruction of civilization.
Information from the group led to the recovery on Feb. 21 of an explosive device buried in the bed of a railway line near Limoges in central France, the government said. The bomb would have been powerful enough to break a track, it said.
Posted by fad at 8:23am
Here's a trend I hope catches on.
By the end of 2004, super size will no longer be available at the nation's 13,000-plus McDonald's outlets except in certain promotions, McDonald's spokesman Walt Riker said.Not because I care one whit about claims blaming McDonald's and others for people's own idiot choices, but because I'm sick of being asked, "Would you like to super-size your order?" or similar question all the time. Speaking of idiot personal choices trying to be blamed on a restaurant.
An award-winning documentary called "Super Size Me" has heaped on more unwanted publicity for McDonald's. The documentary, which chronicles the deterioration of filmmaker Morgan Spurlock's health during a monthlong experiment eating nothing but McDonald's food, won a directing prize at the Sundance Film Festival and is set for wide release this spring.Wow. He discovered that being an complete jackass can be bad for your health. Well, that's not what we're supposed to think, but it's the truth. I think I'm going to do a documentary chronicling my health as I beat my face and head with rocks for a month. This will raise awareness about the danger of rocks and hopefully lead to rock regulation.
Posted by fad at 7:02am
Do I have any doubt this year's presidential race will at times be very nasty? Of course not. Why? Because they always are. With Kerry being settled on so early, we face a very long, boring campaign in which there will be many cycles of attacks looking for one that sticks. Now the story being cast right now is that poor Kerry is about to face the nastiest onslaught of campaigning since slaught has been on. What is the proof of this? Well, because that's what the media says! Take this lead article from the Post-Dispatch.
And he may provide the Republicans with a tantalizing target for a hard-edged campaign that questions his patriotism and casts barbs at his home state of Massachusetts for a court ruling that opened the door to gay marriage.Now, notice it's just assumed those evil Republicans will go that way. While Democrats and others constantly whine about their patriotism being questioned, I haven't seen that happen yet. It's a myth of victimization they are desperate to build. Another assumption here.
Today, Bush plans to unveil an advertising campaign to begin airing Thursday across the country as part of a re-election drive that is shaping up as the most expensive in history. The campaign is spending $4.5 million for an initial positive ad that will air on cable outlets around the country and on networks in more than a dozen selected states.It's an "initial" positive ad. They assume that the Bush campaign can't stick to positive for long, so has a plethora of attack ads ready to make El Guapo blush. This is probably true, but it's just amusing this "he's trying to trick us into thinking he's positive" assumption in most of the reporting I've read about these ads.
Already, the president has raised more than $150 million and laid the groundwork for a withering assault on Kerry as a taxing liberal light on national security credentials.Again the assumption that there will be a withering assault, as well as an assumption on which topics, and the assumption that the Bush campaign can't wait to break nasty.
Ken Warren, a political scientist at St. Louis University, predicted a hard-fought campaign.My degree is in political science just to prove along with this guy it doesn't take a genius to get those degrees. Just state the conventional wisdom and the obvious, and there you go. Again, though, he's putting words, tactics and motivations on to the Bush campaign before any of it has started. The media has decided to define the campaign before it really gets going. The story has been set: Evil Karl Rove will unleash his hounds upon a scared and confused electorate. The first moment the Bush campaign goes nasty, that will be played as the expected norm whether it is or not.
"Kerry is going to be a target because he is a real Massachusetts liberal. I know if I were running the Bush campaign, I could make him look pretty bad and even unpatriotic, which is why this is going to get very nasty," he said.
Doing a little unfair assuming of my own, I wonder when the first ad, or attempted ad, from a MoveOn type group referencing the count of soldiers lost will appear.
Posted by fad at 6:48am
March 2nd, 2004
Two weeks!
Posted by fad at 5:34pm
From the new issue of The Onion:
"Al Franken Announces New Book Project: Ha Ha, Bush, Your Dog Is Dead"
Posted by fad at 4:54pm
And now they're fucking with the nickel. Will it never end? I'll be dead in some ditch a long time before I use one of those. So, probably next Tuesday.
Posted by fad at 3:46pm
And with the passing of Marge Schott goes my favorite comparison to use with Patty Murray. Schott became infamous for this:
she continued to publicly praise Hitler -- saying he was "good at the beginning" but then "went too far"Whereas Murray said:
"[Osama bin Laden]'s been out in these countries for decades, building schools, building roads, building infrastructure, building day care facilities, building health care facilities, and the people are extremely grateful. We haven't done that.["]Schott lost her team essentially over her remarks. Murray will likely continue in the Senate.
Posted by fad at 2:50pm
Well, this gets interesting.
Jean-Claude ''Baby Doc'' Duvalier, the deposed Haitian dictator living in exile in Paris since 1986, said Monday he wants to return to his homeland as soon as possible."Still the friendliest nickname for a dictator.
Asked if he plans to return to Haiti to run for president, Duvalier said through a translator: ``That is not on my agenda.''Well, that's good to know.
Posted by fad at 2:12pm
It's not often you are given the very day to start avoiding commercials like crazy.
A Democratic-leaning online group will run television commercials in 17 presidential battleground states starting Thursday to counter President Bush's multimillion-dollar advertising blitz that will begin the same day."Democratic-leaning"? That's like saying I merely lean towards the tastiness of a nice, juicy steak.
Posted by fad at 2:05pm
It's definite. There is strong evidence that suggests at one time there was water on Mars. Ok, so that contains enough weasel in it, but still neat to see. We already know what happened to it. It was privatized and stolen away by the multinationals.
Posted by fad at 1:32pm
Did you know that they have quantified the monetary loss to society for a non-seatbelted traffic death? Well, you do now.
Each fatality costs society about $977,000, mainly through lost workplace and household productivity, Healing said.Amazing bit of ciphering there. Since we're coldly calculating lives in terms of the monetary benefit to society (basically considering citizens as little more than tax-machines), do they offset for how much wealth redistribution in the form of various tax credits and other government benefits that will not be required over a lifetime? I suspect they are just considering the lifetime tax shell out of the average worker. What is the median age of death for this calculation? A 16 year old's death "costs" society far more than a 65 year old's. This is all a bit too much of a "cogs" discussion for me, so I'll stop there. What is this all about?
Richard Healing, a member of the National Transportation Safety Board, testified Tuesday in support of legislation that would allow Missouri law officers to pull over and ticket motorists they observe not wearing seat belts.I say it every time, but there is huge potential for loss of civil rights from those laws. Yes, they are good hearted and true, but I still fear them.
Posted by fad at 1:20pm
Oof. Crime can be its own bitch, sometimes.
Rather than give up his prize, a German wine thief cornered in a bar gulped down the contents of a stolen bottle, only to vomit repeatedly as the landlady had switched the wine with vinegar, authorities said Monday.Though I have been served wine on some occasions that might match that.
Posted by fad at 12:36pm
Trials for 26 arrested during the anti-property riots in Genoa, famous for making Carlo Giuliani a martyred saint to the movement, began today.
The 26 defendants, all Italian, are accused of vandalism, robbery and illegal possession of explosives. If convicted, they face eight to 15 years in prison.Of course trials of protesters require protesters.
Protesters tried to make their voices heard, shouting "Everybody free! Genoa free!" over booming music. A banner read "Right to Resist," another one said "Let's not leave them alone.""Right to Resist". See, that's what I love about these groups. They claim rights to their violence, but no one else is allowed any rights. They trash your property? Hey, you don't have any rights. Property is theft, man. They attack the police? Hey, they're just resisting the Man, man. The police, by not letting the mobs do as they please, have no rights or recourse. This is not to excuse all police actions during these moments, but let's key on Mr. Giuliani again. Here is how the wire story refers to him.
Many protesters remember the 2001 summit for the death of 23-year-old demonstrator Carlo Giuliani, who became the first victim in anti-globalization protestsVictim, my bold tags point out? What was this meek "victim" up to?
Carlo Giuliani was shot as he rushed toward their parked Jeep with a fire extinguisher in his hands, apparently about to hurl it at the officers.It's actually more than that. The Jeep was surrounded, parts had already been smashed in by the mob, the window was gone when Giuliani rushed it with the fire extinguisher, his intent clear. Those officers were trapped and about to be attacked. Mr. Giuliani, whose death is certainly unfortunate, was not a victim. He was a consequence of his own, violent choices.
Posted by fad at 12:23pm
The people at Urban Outfitters are, quite frankly, geniuses at promotion through properly tweaked controversy. These are the people behind that "Ghettopoly" game, carrying the "Boys are stupid, throw rocks at them" shirts, and the "Everyone Loves a Jewish Girl" shirt speckled with dollar signs. Now they've got the huffys puffing over this one.
A Harvard political institute criticized the hip retailer Urban Outfitters for a new T-shirt campaign declaring that "Voting is for Old People."This Harvard dude hits back hard.
"The shirt's message could not be further from the truth," wrote Harvard Institute of Politics director Dan Glickman, the former congressman and Clinton administration agriculture secretary, and student chairman Ilan Graff in a letter to Urban Outfitters CEO Richard A. Hayne.My, those are some "hep cats" with their katzenjammer ideas there.
"We would be eager to work with you to suggest alternative products that send the right message to America's young people, and better reflect the considerable social conscience and political participation of today's youth," the letter said. "You might consider 'Voting Rocks!'"
The institute on Monday chided the Philadelphia-based clothing chain for appearing to wear its apathy on its chest, calling the T-shirt slogan "the wrong statement at the wrong time" in the pivotal presidential election year.Of course it might help gin up the youth vote a bit more if the boomers could get out of their Vietnam navels for a bit to discuss things that actually happened after the yutes were born.
Posted by fad at 11:21am
I think just about everyone saw that story about the Frenchman with 350 coins in his stomache. Well, "everyone" includes this guy in Romania.
A Romanian who heard about the Frenchman who swallowed 350 coins tried to beat his record.He didn't succeed. There is a very important word in this next quote that might explain things a bit. I'll even emphasize it for you via the application of bold tags.
Gigi Florin, 27, collapsed after downing 120 coins at a bar."To alchohol! The cause of, and solution to, all of life's problems."
Posted by fad at 10:17am
This is out of some lame TV crime drama.
A homeless Eric Nordmark was terrified when police arrested him last May and accused him of attacking three 12-year-old girls in a park.A child predating monster? Nope.
After nearly eight months in jail, Nordmark was set free when one of the girls admitted they made up the story as an excuse for coming home late from school.And they nearly killed a man.
The 37-year-old Nordmark was so scared of being sent away to prison -- so afraid of being brutalized as a child abuser by the inmates -- that he resolved to cut his throat if found guilty.What charming lasses. Though one wonders if they were really that terrified of what their parents would do, or if they just saw this man as disposable. Probably a combination, but the scales have to drop more towards one of those sides.
Posted by fad at 10:15am
Eh? Oh yeah....it's Super Tuesday....
I knew I broke out the cape for some reason.
Posted by fad at 9:38am
Rosetta finally got its launch.
The rendezvous with Comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko is set for early 2014.That is going to be so freakin' cool.
At this time, the comet will be cold and inactive, and Rosetta will be able to release a washing-machine-sized lander, called Philae, on to the object's surface.
As the comet moves into the inner Solar System, radiation from the Sun will make its ices sublime - they will turn direct from solid to gas. Material will be ejected at supersonic speeds.
Gas and dust will be thrown out around the comet to form a coma, and away from the comet to form tails.
The Rosetta orbiter and lander will watch and record these events as the comet hurtles along at speeds up to 135,000km/h.
Posted by fad at 8:13am
Archivists, literary groupies, the curious and historians of a stripe, begin your drooling.
The Scottish government was expected to announce Tuesday its support for the purchase of the John Murray Archive for The National Library of Scotland.Most of it is still uncatalogued. Some archivists are going to get to live out their dream working on this stuff.
[...]
The collection of 150,000 letters and documents records the family's close relationship with its authors and the detail of print runs, costs and sales of their books - from Jane Austen's "Emma," and Byron's "Childe Harold" in the 19th century to Kenneth Clark's "Civilisation" in the 20th.
[...]
"The sheer breadth of material there means every household name of the 19th century is represented," he said. "It's the greatest archive to become publicly available in the last century."
Posted by fad at 8:10am
Well that was a cheery note to start the day out on. Reminds me of that Cheers episode where they hired Irish singers for St. Patricks day, and all they sang were songs about death (one chorus I believe was "Death! Death! Death!"), babies being swept away in floods and killing the English.
Posted by fad at 6:31am
Huge, deadly explosions in Iraq against Shiites on an important holiday. At current count, 87 are dead. After the attacks, one member of a Shiite party had this to say.
"How is it possible that any man let alone a Muslim man does this on the day of al-Hussein," said Thaer al-Shimri, a member of the Shiite Al-Dawa party. "Today war has been launched on Islam."I think it is beyond time to realize they don't care who they kill. This is a war against civilized humanity. They are so nihilistic that prompting a civil war would be a dream come true since it would provide more blood and more chances for martyrdom. Death is all they want. Death and glory for themselves; death and anihilation for everyone else.
Posted by fad at 6:24am
March 1st, 2004
The Pew Internet and American Life Project, in a study released Sunday, found that somewhere between 2 percent and 7 percent of adult Internet users in the United States actually keep their own blogs.I call bullshit! That's not my experience, and my experience trumps all! This is just the media trying to keep us bloggers down by dimissing us once again. They fear and tremble before our clackity fingers They know we're fact checking their asses and driving the evolution of mankind to some new, finer form, probably an energy being with telepathic powers.
Of those, only about 10 percent update them daily, the majority doing so only once a week or less often.
As Howard Roark said, get the hell out of our way, old media. We're bloggers. We're better.
Though, these small numbers do stroke my blogger ego of being exclusively powerful and cool.
Posted by fad at 5:03pm
Looking for more ways to put out the eyes of your friends and enemies? Look no further!
Posted by fad at 3:25pm
Your heart doesn't like you angry.
It also found that men who are generally hostile and contemptuous of other people are 30 percent more likely to develop the irregular heart rhythm than men with less hostility.But they are 80% more likely to hook cute chicks with low self-esteem.
Posted by fad at 3:23pm
It is rather difficult to phonetically spell out how Inspector Clouseau pronounces the word "monkey". The closest I can get is "meinkee". Yeah, that's been running in my head since last night.
Posted by fad at 1:53pm
March introduces crunch time on taxes, so here's the IRS' list of favorite new scams. Here's my favorite.
--Shared or borrowed children. Unscrupulous tax preparers sometimes lend one client's children to another client for purposes of claiming a larger earned income tax credit, a tax benefit intended to raise low-income families out of poverty.Though the "deduct all my pay as necessary expense for producing income" one is pretty keen.
Posted by fad at 1:24pm
John Edwards refuses to take donations from lobbyists. That's why he only takes them from friends. They just happen to be lobbyists.
Edwards' campaign said it accepted the money because the donors weren't registered to represent a specific client at the time of their donation,And, of course, they'd never do active lobbying in the future. Live in the now!
Posted by fad at 1:19pm
Damn.
Two policemen died from gunshot wounds after what appears to have been an old-fashioned duel in the Tajik capital, Dushanbe, police said Monday.Now we'll never know who won. I hate been left of the edge like that.
Posted by fad at 10:35am
Politics, especially election politics, can be embarrassingly lame sometimes.
In the coming days, Republicans will step up their push to register 3 million voters this year with the help of an election-year prop -- an 18-wheeler full of computers, plasma TVs and multimedia equipment designed to communicate the GOP message.That's not the lame part. This is.
In the tradition of marketing efforts in private industry, the RNC has even given the big truck a name -- "Reggie the Registration Rig."Oy. I wonder how many hours were spent coming up with that gem.
Posted by fad at 8:49am
In case you hadn't noticed, Michael Jackson is all fucked up.
Pop star Michael Jackson was pulled over by police and asked to identify himself after shopping at a Wal-Mart while wearing a ski mask.There's just so much in that little sentence. In the first place, he's actually shopping at Wal-Mart. Jackson at Wal-Mart is weird (even for him, I'd say) to begin with, then you throw in the ski mask. I wonder what would happen to me if tried to shop around my local Wal-Mart wearing a ski mask.
Posted by fad at 8:10am
Oh boy! Election year Trade Wars! In this special edition, Euro shoots first.
An extra five 5% tax will be put on some US exports with the rate rising the longer Congress and the Senate refuse to change the law.Goodie.
If no changes are made, the duty will reach 17% by March 2005.
Posted by fad at 7:29am
Uh oh, some trouble in Sharptonville.
Sharpton's campaign has paid him tens of thousands of dollars, and given little or no explanation. It has also received donations in excess of the $2,000 per-person limit. In addition, the Democratic presidential candidate's financial reports show the campaign has a little more than $1,000 on hand, but the candidate regularly stays in luxury hotels on the campaign trail.With Clark and Dean begging for cash to pay off their debt, it'll be interesting to see what Sharpton's books look like when he finally drops out. At this rate he'll drop out after the convention as he appears to be living quite the life right now.
Speaking of campaign finance, there's this guy running for the Democratic nominee for Senate in Illinois, Blair Hull, who brags in his commercials that his campaign accepts no more than $100 per donation from individuals. Makes him sound all grass rooty. Opensecrets reveals that he has received $52,244 from individuals. It is, I suppose, rather impressive that a minimum of 5,200 people have given him $100. However when you see that he has put in $11,675,000 on his own (personal wealth, loans and such), it's a little less "man of the people". Second in money to him is someone who has raised only $3,500,000, almost all by individual donations. Even more interesting is that he has already spent $11,283,156 leaving him with just around $500,000 on hand, worse off than most other Democratic candidates.
Posted by fad at 7:03am
Here are all the Oscar posts. Just start there and scroll up. Charles and Andrea also had as-it-happened reactions.
Posted by fad at 12:42am
Friday night, out with some friends, I happened to glance at one of the TVs (I always watch TV...it is my best and dearest friend) to see a Taco Bell commercial revealing that they have added bacon to one of their food assemblies. I commented aloud, "Hey! Bacon!" At which the table murmured universal approval as to the complete goodness of bacon. One of my friends said, "There is nothing that bacon doesn't make better." I, being the amazing wit that I am, came back with, "Yeah! Even ice cream!" We all laughed heartily at my comedic genius.
But then I thought for a second.
Bacon on ice cream did sound kind of good.
This, my friends, this is something that could not remained uninvestigated. So, since I care not if I live or die, I decided to put my health to the risk for your edification. It is time we all found out: Does bacon taste good with ice cream? Even though there are dozens of choices when it comes to bacon and ice cream, I decided to keep things as plain as possible. Just plain bacon and plain vanilla ice cream. One small bowl of ice cream with about a strip and a half of cooked bacon crumbled in.
Come on, you have to admit, despite the poor photography, that looks pretty damn good. And you know what? It actually tastes pretty damn good too! The saltiness and crumbliness of the bacon went very well with the ice cream. Neither was overpowering; the effect was rather subtle, in fact, but a definite enhancement.
So I am here to write to you all, while maybe not an every day thing, I highly recommend at least one bowl of ice cream with a bacon topping as part of a healthy, happy lifetime diet.*
UPDATE: I made the pictures links.
Posted by fad at 12:15am
February 29th, 2004
And the Hobbit feets celebrate.
Seriously, it was an amazing achievement, but "Return of the King" was the weakest of the bunch. Of the nominated movies, I only saw two, and "Lost in Translation" was much better. But these awards have a habit of later on rewarding unacknowledged achievement. Consider Judy Dench getting hers after appearing for 2 minutes.
Congrats to the Hobbit Feets, but it should have been earlier for better films rather than belatedly for the weakest.
Posted by fad at 11:08pm
Three left, I believe. Stupid hem, boring hair, but nice dress for Nicole. Understated is always best.
And now to the actors. Please, give it to Bill (though Johnny was brilliant)...Oh fuck....Sean Penn??? This is like Jimmy Carter getting the Nobel a couple years back (though more meaningful than the Nobel). I call bullshit. I want my money back.
Posted by fad at 11:02pm
Random note: My grandfather's name was "Oscar". Therefore, for my brother and me, Oscar the Grouch had special meaning. Also, we found the idea of an award named after Grandpa to be highly amusing.
Posted by fad at 10:54pm
Oh, and the "Sounds of OSCAR" is the worst innovation of the night.
Posted by fad at 10:53pm
I remember years ago the awards had the theme of "year of the woman". It was probably the early 90s when that theme showed up everywhere. Diane Keaton, I think, gave some speech in which she expressed her wish that someday there would be no "best actress" or "best actor" but just the "best". Unisex roles for all!
Ok, that fresh breath moment by Brody was the best joke of the night.
Anyway, best actress is: Charlize Theron, continuing the tradition of "I'm hot, but in this role I'm ugly, but now I'm hot again with a tan to make George Hamilton question his existence" women winning the award. From all reports, she deserved it, though.
Posted by fad at 10:50pm
And now the "give the damn thing to Peter Jackson because you should have years ago" award goes to....Peter Jackson! Really, with that name, it would have been awkward to give it to someone else.
Posted by fad at 10:43pm
Oh great, Timmy is getting another shot at screen time. At least it's in a controlled environement.
Honestly, I only saw one of these movies, and that was the winner "Lost in Translation". Though "In America" sounds quite good as well.
Sophia really is an awkward woman. This is not a criticism, but an observation. It's frankly rather surprising to see considering her pedigree. Maybe, then, because of it.
Posted by fad at 10:39pm
No matter the context, it's always cool to hear the classic "Spiderman" theme, even just a snippet.
Posted by fad at 10:37pm
Adapted writing...
Ok, I never saw "Godfather III", and I don't intend to. Seeing Sophia as a presenter, I can see, now, how bad she'd be trying to act in a role. The only thing flatter than her reading will be Renee Zellweger after she starves off the Bridget Jones weight.
...back to the award. I think we all know who's going to get this one. Yup, Hobbit feets.
Posted by fad at 10:33pm
Too many Peters!
Posted by fad at 10:27pm
Cinematography is something I've only learned to appreciate over the last few years. These guys truly are artists, painting the screen. I'm noticing where "Return of the King" isn't involved, "Master and Commander" is taking it.
Posted by fad at 10:26pm
Grrr...ferriners! This category wouldn't exist if NRO had its way!
Posted by fad at 10:22pm
Jack Black and Will Ferrel. Here's hoping they aren't constrained by the show writers.
This song could be the theme for the Oscars™©Ð ...
(I loved the pronunciation of "Sting" by Will)
Yeah, this is a "Fuck, we ignored it for two years but it, like, held up and shit so let's give it every award" year.
Posted by fad at 10:19pm
I know I consistently wet myself when seeing "Freaky Friday". Oh, wait, that was just last Friday and some chick called me a freak.
Ah, the rest of the songs. I guess now is to see if they actually kiss at the moment.....(actually this is the most interesting song of a very boring batch so far)...and they do!
UPDATE; I assume the last nominated song is next. And here's Jamie in her bathtowel to introduce the last. Ok, now I can tap my damn toes. I've never seen a bicycle as an instrument. Have to say I like it. Ok, this is easily the most fun song of the night.
Posted by fad at 10:09pm
I really thought the editing in "Return of the King" was pretty bad. You could *tell* when there was something cut, which I don't like in movies. But having not seen the other movies, I can't complain. I thought the other LotR movies had better. Then again, the effort to get it short enough for the theaters was definitely something.
Posted by fad at 10:03pm
These shows just aren't the same since someone finally put a stop to Debbie Allen. I miss my interpretive dance to the nominated scores. So much so, that I have decided to do my own. If you are near the intersection of 141 and Olive, check me out in the parking lot of the Steak 'n' Shake.
UPDATE: And on the topic of scores, here is that award. Please don't let that piece of shit by Howard Shore win..... It was inevitable, but damn, I really thought the score was awful. So cheezy, so distracting. I really hated it.
Posted by fad at 9:58pm
Hey, Elia Kazan got a nice hand. It's always creepy who gets applause and who doesn't. Oh, and, um...the applause for Leni Riefenstahl, was that a continuation of Kazan's or what was up with that? Also, since there didn't appear to be an alphabetical order, any reason Leni and Elia were paired?
(maybe it was in order of when they died...)
Posted by fad at 9:52pm
Someone should have cut off the drinks to that head of the Academy hours ago. I might as well say for the record, "To Kill A Mockingbird" is in my top five books and movies. And no one could have brought more dignity and perfection to Atticus Finch than Gregory Peck.
Posted by fad at 9:49pm
Docu time. This year untainted by Michael Moore (I'm sure he'll be back with his next one). I have to admit that on some of these "lesser" categories I tend to judge the winners on whether or not they'd be fun at a party. The winner for short docu would not be.
"Fog of War"? Isn't that about wack-job Robert McNamara? Ok, this guy for long docu finally hit it. Hey, bippy, millions died *after we left*. Someone had to pop on the war, and he was the choice guy.
Posted by fad at 9:46pm
Oprah. She could buy everyone in that room. Most of all, she carries herself in a manner that says she knows it.
Posted by fad at 9:38pm
Hey, don't forget I tested out bacon topped ice cream for y'all today!
Posted by fad at 9:36pm
Julia Roberts. Never understood it; never will.
Posted by fad at 9:28pm
You can tell which awards they think are the most boring to us folks at home because they always have "Wacky Presenter Banter™" for them. In this case, sound. Guess who won? Yup, you guessed it: Hobbit feets! Again, like anything was close.
UPDATE; Oh yeah, another sign is when they have the same presenters give two or more in a row.
Posted by fad at 9:24pm
Makeup...gee, wonder who will get this one? Yup, the ones who made those feets so hobbit-y. Like there was any other film that came close.
You know, it would be nice if Scarlett Johansson could try just a little to appear more bored. I'd just like to see if that is indeed possible. She was recently photographed with a "Dean for President" button. Maybe she's still in shock.
Posted by fad at 9:21pm
Bill Murray! Nothing more need be said. Lost In Translation was such a wonderful movie.
Posted by fad at 9:18pm
"How Great Thou Art"??? Ok, Carey had the powers of God in that movie, but still...
Ah, Blake Edwards....and he's looking rough....almost as rough as the transition to the clips with Jim saying, "Here? Here....here?" trying to find his mark.
UPDATE: I saw a clip of "Breakfast at Tiffany's" for the first time about a year ago. Can I just say how shocked I was to see that George Peppard was the guy in it? That just seems wrong.
UPDATE: Oh. Edwards in the wheelchair was a joke. I get jokes.
Posted by fad at 9:06pm
Ah the "work the hardest of everyone on a film, but ain't all that pretty" awards!
At least they throw a pretty girl at them every year.
Posted by fad at 9:02pm
Time for the award for those who make film lie to us with fakery and witchcraft: Hobbit feets again!
Good God, I hope Peter Jackson is at least drunk to go along with the condition of his suit.
Posted by fad at 9:01pm
Oh boy, a time wasting comedy bit! Just what this taut, tight show needs!
Posted by fad at 8:57pm
Oh my...Liv Tyler got caught up in a terrible windstorm blowing from her right to her left! Glad she survived.
Song time! Is that a Zither in Sting's hands?
Man, their voices do not blend well at all.
Yeah, that was dull.
UPDATE: Oh boy! Another song already! This one has a better chance just from the names.
Ok, better, but I still feel like it's nap time....oh wait, is it still going...Nope, Liv was just off somewhere.
UPDATE: I guess this will become the song post. Annie Lenox up now for the Hobbit Feets tune. This is definitely the Year of the Dirge. Ain't no one gonna play something I can tap my toe at?
UPDATE the last: That's all the songs? Nah, there's two more later I guess.
Posted by fad at 8:45pm
Animated short award....this is always a bit nostalgic. When I was in high school, my dad and I went to the "Spike and Mike's" twisted animation festival every year. They would always show almost everything that was going to be nominated. One year they showed an amazing German animation involving a balance board, a bunch of figures, and a treasure chest. I'm pretty sure it won that year. Man, I miss going to that festival.
Posted by fad at 8:41pm
Remember that dude in the 80s famous for talking all fast (he was also in the "Transformers" movie)? Yeah, these speeches by the "little people" are turning into impressions of that.
Posted by fad at 8:38pm
Does Disney have money behind the "Starsky & Hutch" movie?
Live action short went to something I've never heard of. I'm guessing you haven't either. If you have, then I owe you a Coke.
Posted by fad at 8:35pm
First Dead Guy moment reserved for Bob Hope. It's not cool to like him much, but, frankly, watching all those old movies on KTLA when I was growing up gave me an affection for him. I loved his rapid style of comedy.
Posted by fad at 8:30pm
Nice applause for the troops....weird to segue into "Hail to the Chief" for Tom Hanks.
Posted by fad at 8:26pm
Best Supporting Actress wasn't won by, mind you, but went to... Renee and her tits! (Catch 'em while you can)
Posted by fad at 8:24pm
Joke about Rumsfeld being dangerous gets more chuckles than a Saddam in a hole joke....
And now "Master and Commander". I tried to get the people at work to call me that, but they insist on calling me "Matt". By the way, that's not my name. And yes, there are still multiple people in my department that think that's my name.
Posted by fad at 8:20pm
This is turning into "How I stalked my wife into loving me forever and ever" acceptance speech night.
Posted by fad at 8:18pm
Another win for the Hobbits. Took their sweet time to get up there to speechify. I guess they took the pacing of the end of that movie to heart.
Richard Taylor's speeches are always interesting since every moment seems to be the greatest, and every person amazing. I envy him. I should kill him and take his strength. Maybe just a cup (ok, pint) of his blood would do the trick.
Posted by fad at 8:16pm
Hey look! Renee Zellweger has tits again! Sadly we all know she'll be pruning back to skelator soon.
Posted by fad at 8:12pm
Insert "Nemo is sushi" joke.
Posted by fad at 8:07pm
Hey, Williams, the voice ain't funny.
(By the way, I created a category for all these posts.)
Posted by fad at 8:05pm
All the Hobbit Feets movie's nomination is being discussed. That whole "bowing to the hobbits" scene actually caused huge applause the first time I saw it. What a weird fucking time to applaud.
And now the movie won its first award for making the sets all purty.
Posted by fad at 8:02pm
Oh yay. Timmy Robbins won. Hell, he probably deserved it since I didn't see his movie, but there's that weird "Oh crap, what's his speech going to contain" feeling that comes with his win....waiting for it....waiting....hey, he seemed nice and nervous and touched. I'm pleasantly surprised. And all you abused, listen to Timmy and stop being abused!
Posted by fad at 7:54pm
Yeah, I said I might post up the Oscars™©Ď unless something came up. Well, something in fact did not come up: any motivation. I'll spit out something now and again, but that's about it.
Posted by fad at 7:42pm
They can go no lower.
The Mad Tea Party ride with 18 giant spinning teacups was recently modified in the name of safety to make it harder for people to spin.The teacups at Disneyland were a highlight of the trip. You went on them at night when all those crazy lamps were lit above. You worked your ass off getting that thing whipping around so you could throw back your head and kiss it all good-bye. Wait, that's "Doing the Unstuck". Well, same principal. The lamps streaking against a dark sky spinning above is still one of my favorite images.
Side teacup story. Last place I was that had them was Six Flags in Gurnee outside Chicago. I was there with a friend who had never been on teacups. I decided to initiate him. I taught him how to your legs almost like with rowing in order to get the most spin. These cups flew, too. I've never gone so fast. Afterwards, we stumbled out. One father who had been watching his kids ride actually waited for us to bomble through the exit, pointed a finger of doom at us and said, "You guys are nuts!" My friend threw his hands up in exultation until he almost slipped in someone else's pile of puke. We hit the nearby bathroom afterwards, but I couldn't find my friend at first. I finally found him sitting on a bench with his head in his hand trying desperately to smoke a calming cigarette. We had to ride kiddie rides for the next hour as he recovered. Wuss.
Posted by fad at 4:53pm