June 13, 2005
The End Of The World
You'd think Governor Schwarzenegger was calling for the end of the world, by the way the Democrats, the unions and their fucking media accomplices
are carrying on. Here's what the Governor's special election is about:
1. A spending cap.
2. Teacher tenure in five years instead of two.
3. Ending gerrymandered districts.
But, Oh My God, the special election is going to cost EIGHTY ZILLION DOLLARS!
Yes, we already know how the liberals feel about democracy. They oppose it. Fabian Nuñez says the election is too expensive. Well, i never thought that one could put a price on the voice of the people in a democracy, for pete's sake. This is supposed to be a democracy isn't it?
Oh that's right, the liberals oppose the special election because it threatens to restore democracy.
You wouldn't believe the character assassination of Governor Schwarzenegger that has been going on in this state for about a year now. Fully funded by the teacher's and nurse's unions, and out-of-state special interests. The lies i hear every day in those below-the-belt political attack ads are enough to make me physically sick. And the worst thing about it is that they are working. Our indefatigable governor is doing an excellent job, and those dinosaurs in favor of the status quo know that the only way to stop reform is to turn people against the reformer.
It's dirty politics at its worst.
Here's another union attack ad on tv right now. You can't trust Governor Schwarzenegger, he broke his promises, he wants to take money away from schools.
Hey, what about the fact that this state has been run by the Democrats for decades, we keep throwing money at education, and our schools still suck? The unions and the bought-and-paid-for Democratic legislature have been all-powerful, but what has it gotten any of us? Their way is not working. We need to go in a different direction. The opposite direction. That's what this special election is all about.
Posted by: annika at
10:34 PM
| Comments (13)
| Add Comment
Post contains 340 words, total size 2 kb.
1
I hope California can turn around before it goes in the same direction as the ninnies across the Atlantic.
Posted by: reagan80 at June 13, 2005 11:19 PM (hlMFQ)
2
Annika,
I'm also an admirer of Governor Schwarzenegger and of your state, which I used to visit frequently.
However, the governor made a HUGE strategic mistake during that stupid recall campaign in not calling for a repeal of Proposition 13 under cover of Warren Buffett's public recomendation. That was the last best chance to do so without few, if any, political consequences.
Given the dynamics of the Recall, it was a given that he would win. He didn't face the horrors of California's Republican primary, which is often a contest in who is the craziest and can lose most effectively. The governor will never have the opportunity again, and neither will any Republican. It should go without saying that no Democrat even has the balls to go after Prop 13.
More than anything else, 13 is the root of all of California's evils. More than anything else, and California has been riddled with insane government for nearly a century, Prop 13 has been responsible for starving local public services.
All of the debt ceilings in the world will do nothing to restore fiscal sanity to California with 13 in place. Debt ceilings are easily circumvented by a vote in the legislature, as the national Republicans did three times in the early 1990's with President Clinton's signature.
California's problem is that the state is forced to fund the localities because the state constitution refuses to let them do it for themselves.
Arnold could have chaned that and it is a tragedy that he didn't.
Posted by: skippystalin at June 13, 2005 11:54 PM (ruCNe)
3
Fuck off Skippy. The cocksuckers (Demoncrats) in the statehouse have too much moolah.
Posted by: Casca at June 14, 2005 12:13 AM (qBTBH)
4
caca is a tough act to follow, but i wanted to tell you annika that i added your button to my blog's side bar.
ive always liked it and your blog and now maybe it will remind me to come here more often because ive liked you for a long time, as ive said before, but im such a stoner i forget to get over here.
lets runaway away together. k?
Posted by: tony at June 14, 2005 02:51 AM (l7rkq)
5
Annika,
Arnie doing a great job? I must disagree. Any governor, repub or dem, who approves of, supports & signs into law a ban on certain bolt action rifles is doing a terrible job - unless you're a statist (which I know you not to be). Sure, he hasn't done too badly on the econimic tip (which he seems to have borrowed more thna a few ideas from the real republican in that race - McClintock) but on the freedom-meter his job performnce is in the negative.
& no; we're not a democracy. We're a republic. democratic representation & all that - sure. But here are some things even the majority cannot or should not do. Granted, none of the things on the ballot seem out of line, but the point is that a democracy* is NOT a good thing. Hell, I'd wager good confederate money that the majority of Californians would approve of ya'lls head RINO banning those bolt actions. a Democracy is not for a free loving people; those types should seek a constituionally limited republic.
* yes I know - democracy is all too commonly meant to mean a democratically elected government rather than a pure democracy - but it's a dangerous misapplication of the connotation & should be corrected whenever it can be.
Posted by: Publicola at June 14, 2005 04:42 AM (bXrfV)
6
Welcome Back Publicola!
Tony, celebrities and stoners are always welcome here!
Uncle Joe, i like Prop 13, but you may be right about Arnold's window of opportunity closing during the election. But there sure was a shit storm after Buffett made that comment, and i'm not so sure Arnold would have won if he had endorsed any change to prop 13. Californians love prop 13 almost as much as they love their abortions, meaning that if anyone tries to do away with either, you'll have revolution.
Posted by: annika at June 14, 2005 07:37 AM (9ei5+)
7
I'd say if Arnold is even breathing wrong around teacher unions, he's quite a courageous guy. Unions generally are like dragons protecting their pile of gold, and woe to the poor soul who tries to reform anything that threatens their $.
Students and their education be damned. (Time for vouchers.)
Posted by: Mark at June 14, 2005 09:50 AM (8IsTQ)
8
Annika,
Therein lies the beauty of the recall, as it didn't allow for a primary, there wasn't enough time for anyone to take down Arnold. Within that time frame, there wasn't anything another Republican could do about it. Besides, Arnold would be more than capable of saying, "I'm not going to run to be the governor of an ungovernable state. Here are the numbers, you do the math. If you don't like it, you can run that brain damaged idiot Bill Simon again. Davis only beat him by five points last time."
Since there are only about four Republicans in California and three of them are batshit, fucking nuts, Arnold calls the shots with the state party. How else do you think he gets away with being pro-choice and for gun control? It's because the state party knows that if they DON'T allow for it, they'll be a rump party that represents about four square blocks of Orange County. Knowing that his election was a sure thing, Arnold had a lot of latitude that other Republicans don't have.
Arnold could have done that during the Recall and can't now. Even if I thought he was going to run for his own term (which I don't), he get annhiliated in the primary if he tried.
The choice in the Recall could have been simply framed: lose 13 or keep Davis in office. Since Davis had the aproval rating of your average pedophile, there wouldn't have been a choice at all.
Although Governor Mary Carey would have been fun, and all things being equal, not notably worse than some of the people California routinely elects anyway.
Posted by: skippystalin at June 14, 2005 11:18 AM (ruCNe)
9
I'd also like to point out something to Casca that he or she may have forgotten in high school civics. Property taxes generally do not go to Sacramento, they go to city hall.
Now, if I remember my Republican dogma correctly, it is preferable for local communities to control as much government as possible, the theory being that, say, Costa Mesa can run Costa Mesa better than Sacremento or (god forbid) Washington can.
The problem with that theory - as it applies to California - is that you need money to provide for things like schools, police and fire departments. With 13, the local governments can't finance those things, so Sacramento has to. To resort to a cliche, he who pays the piper calls the tune. As a Canadian, I know a lot about how that works.
The effect of 13 has ben to force the state to cover the cost of the municipalities, while the voters complain about service cutbacks and state over-regulation. This is much like desiring a place in heaven without dying. And reserving the right to bitch about how God runs the place.
Assuming that Republicans
really like small government, then they should favor repealing 13. Getting rid of a city councillor is a whole hell of a lot easier than icing a state reprenstative or senator. And once you get to the federal level, forget about it. Barbara Boxer is boderline retarded and she won by what last year, 13 points?
Controlling your destiny largely depends on keeping the people who control your money very close to you. The further away they get, the less control they have.
Besides, your paying as much (or more) to the state than you would to your city with 13 as you would without. Where do you think your state taxes and sales taxes go?
Proposition 13 turned out to be a political shell game. It allowed an already big government in Sacramento to become an enormous government.
Posted by: skippystalin at June 14, 2005 11:38 AM (ruCNe)
10
My money says we (loyal member of CTA writing here) win this one. We'll lose the tenure vote, but we'll win on the budget and we will win on the union dues, just as we did back in 1998. It'll be close, but I think we on the left have a more energized base on this than the right does.
We'll see.
Posted by: Hugo Schwyzer at June 14, 2005 03:21 PM (2bqBq)
11
"Hey, what about the fact that this state has been run by the Democrats for decades"
http://www.answers.com/topic/list-of-governors-of-california
Earl Warren 1943 1953 Republican
Goodwin Knight 1953 1959 Republican
Pat Brown Sr. 1959 1967 Democrat
Ronald Reagan 1967 1975 Republican
Jerry Brown Jr. 1975 1983 Democrat
George Deukmejian 1983 1991 Republican
Pete Wilson 1991 1999 Republican
Gray Davis Jr. 1999 2003 Democrat
Arnold Schwarzenegger 2003 - Republican
Posted by: Preston at June 14, 2005 03:32 PM (wkfsI)
12
look at the legislature preston.
Posted by: annika at June 14, 2005 03:50 PM (zAOEU)
13
"I call dem economic GURRLIE MEHN."
Posted by: Mark at June 14, 2005 09:40 PM (Kng4J)
Hide Comments
| Add Comment
The Jackson Verdict: It Was Just Milk And Cookies
Not guilty on all counts.
Today's big winner: Geraldo.
Posted by: annika at
02:29 PM
| Comments (16)
| Add Comment
Post contains 27 words, total size 1 kb.
1
Proves the same thing that the OJ jury did... even a rich black man can't get justice in America.
Posted by: Casca at June 13, 2005 03:20 PM (qBTBH)
2
In MJ's case, that would be a rich white woman, Casca.
Posted by: The Owner's Manual at June 13, 2005 05:36 PM (asvHL)
3
Annika - wait, wait, go back. Geraldo said he would SHAVE OFF HIS MUSTACHE if Michael was convicted? What??
I mean, it's Geraldo, right, why am I surprised ...
But still. Woah. That's feckin' nuts, Geraldo. Way to make a stand, dude, way to make a stand.
Posted by: red at June 13, 2005 05:55 PM (Tx1kD)
4
i liked hugh hewitt's comment:
How angry must Martha Stewart be? She's less likeable than MJ, Robert Blake, and OJ? Or is it just California? Duane suggests that Saddam may be seeking a venue switch to the Golden State.
Posted by: louielouie at June 13, 2005 06:50 PM (xKfMm)
5
Quoting hugh hewitt?...time to move off the wetspot
Anyway...I like Martha
Posted by: Fletcher at June 13, 2005 07:47 PM (pO1tP)
6
just milk and cookies?
i heard that he also used vaseline, to stop them squealing.
Posted by: wegglywoo at June 13, 2005 08:11 PM (uzn/d)
7
Okay, I'll offer to be the apostate here and submit that I do not see much of a comparison with the O.J. case. I didn't follow the MJ case real closely, but what I read suggested that the state's case consisted mostly of what we lawyers call "propensity" evidence, which would have given him an excellent issue on appeal had he been convicted. I read very little that seemed actually probative of what he was charged with doing in this particular case. I therefore don't have a problem with the jury's conclusion that the state had failed to meet its burden, here.
Help me out. What did I miss?
Posted by: SWLiP at June 13, 2005 10:00 PM (geWFa)
8
Common Sense 101?
Q: What forty-something man sleeps with "boys only" who aren't his children?
A: A fucking pervert who wants to ass fuck them.
Posted by: Casca at June 13, 2005 10:14 PM (qBTBH)
9
Another possible explanation is that this is not a person who has any sexual feelings at all. A normal grown man -- even a normal grown male pedophile -- would know better than to openly admit to spending the night with young boys.
My own theory (and I admit it sounds off the wall but it's the only theory that explains everything about him) is that MJ's father had him castrated when he was a boy. That explains the voice, the Peter Pan complex, and would likely play a role in his apparent gender dysphoria. But most of all it explains why this is not someone who relates to the world as a sexually developed adult.
Posted by: SWLiP at June 13, 2005 10:21 PM (geWFa)
10
Jackson was found "Not Guilty". That doesn't mean that he was found "Innocent".
The allegations were simply unproven by the marginal witnesses and skimpy proof. The jury chose to disbelieve the testimony of people who had been proven to lie before.
In case anyone forget, that's our system of justice. What we need is another possibility, one that allows the jury to find that the allegations are "Not Proven". I submit that both the O.J. jury and the Jackson jury would have reached that alternate conclusion, as opposed to "Not Guilty".
Justice prevailed in Santa Barbara; the American people won, and they lost.
Posted by: shelly at June 14, 2005 01:39 AM (pO1tP)
11
Shelly is right. This case was about the burden of proof. Should Sneddon have brought this case? i don't know. It may have been his best and only shot to get MJ, but it seems to me that a conviction on any of the lewd act charges would have bordered on jury nullification, given the evidence presented.
What do i think? i follow the conventional wisdom. MJ probably did it to other kids, probably did it to this kid, the mom was out for money and willing to sell her kid for it, and MJ will move to france soon, where he can have his next video directed by Roman Polanski.
Posted by: annika at June 14, 2005 07:58 AM (9ei5+)
12
Roman P. direct next video: very funny...Polanski is weird, I have a sneaking (and totally baseless) suspicion that he had more contact with the Manson family than the police discovered.
Casca, I think you should work on expressing yourself more freely, i.e., I'm still unsure about your opinion on 40 year old guys sleeping with children??
Posted by: Jason O. at June 14, 2005 08:37 AM (2CAKL)
13
I have a...suspicion that [Roman Polanski] had more contact with the Manson family than the police discovered.
Normally, I take anything with a grain of salt, but *that* one...Just when you think conspiracy theories can't get any weirder, along comes...Jason, I am laughing at you, not with you.
Posted by: Victor at June 14, 2005 09:19 AM (L3qPK)
14
You conveniently omitted my qualifying term "totally baseless" in your quotation. Wait a moment...are you Dana Milbank in disguise??
It takes a Ciceronian command of the language to read the generally frivolous nature of the previous posts, and then assume I was dead serious with the Polanski thing. Bravo.
If you want to defend the honor of a child rapist and fugitive, be my guest.
This exchange has caused me to hatch another conspiracy theory....Victor's family and friends work together tirelessly to hide from the world Victor's sexual obsession with reindeer.
Posted by: Jason O. at June 14, 2005 09:41 AM (2CAKL)
15
Annika,
Perhaps if MJ grow tired of boys, he can entertain himself with Roman Polanski.
Posted by: Mark at June 14, 2005 09:53 AM (8IsTQ)
16
Say what you want, Jason. Had I included the "qualifier", I'd still be laughing at you. Conspiracy theories frequently begin with a "totally baseless" sneaking suspicion.
Further, keep in mind the typed word doesn't convey any facial expressions that would convey you were joking (this gave rise to the emoticon). At the same time, sometimes context helps convey intent. Be careful when throw in a qualifier stating your suspicion is "baseless"--to me, that was an admission you're serious.
Now, putting words into someone's mouth...that's low. I never have, and never will, defend the "honor" of a child rapist and fugitive. It sounds more like you're the one doing that, not me.
ahhh, bite me. Everyone knows I'm attracted to rats, not reindeer.
Posted by: Victor at June 14, 2005 10:48 AM (L3qPK)
Hide Comments
| Add Comment
Stick It
Now that the election is long over, isn't it time to do something about that faded "W" sticker on the ass of your car?
Annoy your liberal friends and neighbors anew with this baby.
Posted by: annika at
10:58 AM
| Comments (14)
| Add Comment
Post contains 38 words, total size 1 kb.
1
Great idea, but the font is not so easy to read.
Posted by: Mark at June 13, 2005 12:29 PM (Vg0tt)
2
Truth is the enemy?
Or corporate profits?
Maybe missing white females.
Posted by: Preston at June 13, 2005 03:05 PM (wkfsI)
3
Too hard to read, and painfully obvious.
Posted by: Casca at June 13, 2005 03:22 PM (qBTBH)
4
The reason it's hard to read is to lure the unsuspecting liberal closer to your bumper...
Posted by: annika at June 13, 2005 03:28 PM (zAOEU)
5
They should make a bumper sticker based on this priceless Team America soundbite:
http://geopolitics.ytmnd.com/
Posted by: reagan80 at June 13, 2005 05:56 PM (hlMFQ)
6
I am no liberal; I just can't figure out what it says.
If we lure them that close, sounds like a bunch of rear-enders to me.
Can you put it in common print so I can understand it?
P.S. Wear RED on Fridays to support our troops.
Posted by: shelly at June 14, 2005 01:44 AM (pO1tP)
7
Christ, folks, it's clear as day, and it's about damn time someone came forward to declare that the Mebil is on the Sibe of the Enema. I've known this for years, and obviously so has Annika. The difference is that she had the balls to say it while I cowered in my spider hole.
Now the question is: what do we do about the Mebil? Attack it when the Enema is up-Sibe-down?
Seriously-- Annika, I'm invading your comments thread with a special request for my buddy Mike, the Maximum Leader, whose birthday is June 15. That's Poetry Day on your blog, and I was wondering whether you'd see your way clear to either plucking out a nice, juicy, wriggling poem from your collection, or perhaps even (dare we hope?)
writing a poem for the ML.
I know that's not your usual style, to "take requests," so to speak, and I'll understand if you can't do it, but remember this: the Baby Jesus is watching your every move, scanning your every thought. Much like Lord Voldemort, the Baby Jesus
aaaaalways knows.
No pressure. I'm sure you'll do what's right.
Kevin
Posted by: Kevin Kim at June 14, 2005 05:31 AM (1PcL3)
8
Gotta agree w/ the others, kiddo: It looks like you used a "b" where you shoulda used a "d".
Posted by: Victor at June 14, 2005 08:19 AM (L3qPK)
9
crap. the font is called "tagster" and the d does look like a b.
i'll try something else when i get home. nice focus group.
Posted by: annika at June 14, 2005 03:49 PM (zAOEU)
10
I don't put bumper stickers on my car 'cause all the loser libs here in leftist loony-land (Boulder, CO) would key the paint ...
However, I'd buy this as a T-shirt in a heartbeat.
Posted by: io hk at June 16, 2005 04:01 PM (oCke8)
11
it is enemy because media owned by NaZI corperations and there bush fellating facist shareholders!
Posted by: Um Yeah at June 16, 2005 05:13 PM (MhJuU)
12
Um Yeah is clearly the product of those great union-controlled public schools.
Posted by: Mark, Annika's Practologist at June 16, 2005 11:50 PM (PBiSp)
13
Fuck you youre a rascist im intellegent!
Posted by: Um Yeah at June 17, 2005 04:02 PM (MhJuU)
14
Hey Um Yeah, you don't happen to be from Boulder, CO, do you?
Posted by: foo at June 20, 2005 02:16 PM (XdWz/)
Hide Comments
| Add Comment
June 12, 2005
A Forgotten Great American
John Hawkins has a post about the
Greatest Americans of all time. Allow me to mention a forgotten great American, who didn't make anybody's list, without whom life would be very different all over the world.
The man is Willis Haviland Carrier, the father of air conditioning.
In 1902, fresh out of Cornell University and working as an engineer at Buffalo Forge Co., Carrier developed the world's first modern air conditioner, combining temperature and humidity control in one system, for a Brooklyn, NY, printing plant. He earned a patent for this system design in 1906. His air conditioner used a centrifugal system, under low pressure, to gather air through a filter and pass that air over coolant-filled coils. That cooled and dehumidified air was directed at its target location while warmer air around the motor was vented out of the location. The technology behind Carrier's air conditioner was patented in 1911 and is the basis for air conditioner technology available today.
The ability to control indoor temperatures has influenced almost every aspect of our daily lives. Think about it -- where we live, where we work, what we eat, what we wear, what we smell like, how we travel, our architecture, our modern healthcare, our life expectancy, food storage, what we read, how much leisure time we enjoy, even the existence of the computer you are reading this on --
all influenced by or made possible by air conditioning.
Look back for a moment to the world before the widespread use of refrigeration and air conditioning—a world that was still very much present well into the first decades of the 20th century. Only fresh foods that could be grown locally were available, and they had to be purchased and used on a daily basis. Meat was bought during the daily trip to the butcher's; the milkman made his rounds every morning. If you could afford weekly deliveries of ice blocks—harvested in the winter from frozen northern lakes—you could keep some perishable foods around for 2 or 3 days in an icebox. As for the nonexistence of air conditioning, it made summers in southern cities—and many northern ones—insufferable. The nation's capital was a virtual ghost town in the summer months. As late as the 1940s, the 60-story Woolworth Building and other skyscrapers in New York City were equipped with window awnings on every floor to keep direct sunlight from raising temperatures even higher than they already were. Inside the skyscrapers, ceiling and table fans kept the humid air from open windows at least moving around. Throughout the country, homes were built with natural cooling in mind. Ceilings were high, porches were deep and shaded, and windows were placed to take every possible advantage of cross-ventilation.
By the end of the century all that had changed. Fresh foods of all kinds were available just about anywhere in the country all year round—and what wasn't available fresh could be had in convenient frozen form, ready to pop into the microwave. The milkman was all but gone and forgotten, and the butcher now did his work behind a counter at the supermarket. Indeed, many families concentrated the entire week's food shopping into one trip to the market, stocking the refrigerator with perishables that would last a week or more. And on the air-conditioning side of the equation, just about every form of indoor space—office buildings, factories, hospitals, and homes—was climate-controlled and comfortable throughout the year, come heat wave or humidity. New homes looked quite different, with lower rooflines and ceilings, porches that were more for ornament than practicality, and architectural features such as large plate glass picture windows and sliding glass doors. Office buildings got a new look as well, with literally acres of glass stretching from street level to the skyscraping upper floors. Perhaps most significant of all, as a result of air conditioning, people started moving south, reversing a northward demographic trend that had continued through the first half of the century. Since 1940 the nation's fastest-growing states have been in the Southeast and the Southwest, regions that could not have supported large metropolitan communities before air conditioning made the summers tolerable.
Living in Sacramento, i should thank Mr. Carrier every day. Come to think of it, so should George W. Bush, as the great southern migration of the last few decades, which increased the electoral value of the red states, can be traced back to the widespread use of indoor air conditioning.
More: Jeff Harrell names another forgotten great American, Norman Borlaug. After reading Jeff's post, i'd have to agree.
Posted by: annika at
10:50 PM
| Comments (13)
| Add Comment
Post contains 763 words, total size 5 kb.
1
I am impressed that you would have Carrier on your list. A very insightful choice.
The two events that had the biggest effect on the South were the Civil War and the invention of air conditioning.
Annika, you are full of pleasant surprises.
Posted by: jake at June 12, 2005 11:41 PM (r/5D/)
Posted by: annika at June 12, 2005 11:44 PM (GcTxN)
3
Yes! And the time has come for us to share this technology with the British and the French, who have yet to recognize the existence of
ice cubes, let alone air conditioning!
Kevin
Posted by: Kevin Kim at June 13, 2005 01:42 AM (1PcL3)
4
Hey! What happened to the Baywatch banner?
Posted by: Victor at June 13, 2005 04:37 AM (L3qPK)
Posted by: scof at June 13, 2005 05:08 AM (x8hF4)
6
Glad to see you mention Carrier...on hot days, I've often had the same thought.
There are billions of people without air conditioning, some of them in very hot places. As economic development permits some of these people to afford a/c for the first time, the impact on world energy demand is going to be pretty powerful.
Posted by: David Foster at June 13, 2005 06:31 AM (7TmYw)
7
A very thoughtful choice, Annika. My family has often wished to canonize "whoever invented air conditioning" as a saint. Now I finally know who he is.
Thanks!
Posted by: Mark at June 13, 2005 07:21 AM (Hk4wN)
8
Hey Annika. That is an important post. I wonder, how did he accomplish that great feat without the benefits of affirmative action and diversity? Oh yes, that's right, by working hard and being smart as an individual.
On an unrelated note, I couldn't find you email so I thought I'd put this link down of a new post of mine you might like to link:
http://www.affbrainwash.com/chrisroach/archives/019951.php
Posted by: Roach at June 13, 2005 07:42 AM (MRlvg)
9
While you are at it, send the Frenchies and Brits some soap and deoderant to discover as well.
Having endured Sacramento during the summer months in a dark suit and tie, I can testify that Carrier deserves not only to be on the list; he deserves to head it.
There is nothing like Sacramento in the summer to make one want to settle in Southern California.
Posted by: shelly at June 13, 2005 08:47 AM (pO1tP)
10
every now and then i intend be a wet blanket.
this is one of those times.
i think a lot of people mis-use the adjective "great" as a description of an american.
atticus finch was a great american.
yes he is/was real, and i also believe in santa claus.
neil armstrong was a great american. he came into service of his country when it needed his skills, and then went to private life.
truth be told, he was probably afraid of having family members kidnapped, ala lindbergh.
while mr. carrier's contribution to our way of life in this country is at the very pinnacle of achievement, i don't see him as a "great" american. i do agree with everything said about the influences to our behaviour, health, and everyday way of life. however, i.e., what would air conditioning and refrigeration be without electricity? that would make tessla a "greater" american, even though he was italian, i think.
i'll just pull this wet blankie over me and just log off.........
Posted by: louielouie at June 13, 2005 02:29 PM (xKfMm)
11
Since you make some great points about the founder of my employer's sister company, I just thought I'd point out this link
http://www.global.carrier.com/details/0,2806,CLI1_DIV28_ETI3684,00.html
Carrier had it's 100th anniversary in '02, and they still have some neat links on this page.
And louielouie, I agree that perhaps the term "great American" needs to be qualified, or perhaps better defined, but I do have one quibble. Tesla was born in Serbia, but emigrated to the U.S. and did most of his inventing here. I think that qualifies him as an American.
Posted by: Trevor at June 13, 2005 03:47 PM (GtBBB)
12
"There is nothing like Sacramento in the summer to make one want to settle in Southern California."
There's six years on the Gulf Coast. Sacramento in the summer can't POSSIBLY touch New Orleans or Tallahassee for unmitigated hot humid hell. God bless Mr. Carrier. Someone once asked me what people did in New Orleans before A/C. The short answer that a hell of a lot of them died. There's a reason Tulane's med school is especially well-known in the field of tropical diseases.
Ah, hurricanes, earthquakes, pestilence, whatever: thank God I'm back in New England where the only freakish natural phenomena are the 8+ months of winter each year. ;-)
Posted by: Dave J at June 13, 2005 08:36 PM (ZKuUj)
13
I read the post without reading the comments and was inspired to write
my own post about someone I consider a greater American than Carrier. Imagine my surprise when I read LouieLouie's comment. LOL
Tesla became a United States citizen in 1891, so I do believe that he qualifies as a Great American. His inventions created the modern world we enjoy today. Edison's most famous invention would be little more than a limited use curiosity without Tesla's alternating current generating/transmission system.
BTW, Trevor, Tesla was born in Croatia, not Serbia.
Posted by: delftsman3 at June 17, 2005 09:37 PM (vooSr)
Hide Comments
| Add Comment
The Big Sleep, Great Lines
Sheila posted about
The Big Sleep last month, and raved about it. i was always put off by the movie, although i love Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall and Raymond Chandler. It was the fact that i couldn't follow the plot that bugged me. But even the writers, including William Faulkner and Chandler himself, couldn't figure out what was going on.
So when it came on TCM yesterday afternoon, i gave myself permission to watch it without trying to understand the story and just enjoy the great film noir dialogue. Like this:
MARS
(threateningly)
Just a minute. The girl can go. I'd like to talk to you...
MARLOWE (Bogart)
Suppose I don't wanna talk to you.
MARS
I've got two boys outside in the car.
MARLOWE
Oh. It's like that, eh. Mm-hum. Run along, angel.
MARS
Your story didn't sound quite right.
MARLOWE
Oh, that's too bad. You've got a better one?
MARS
Maybe I can find one.
(looks under the rug.)
Blood. Quite a lot of blood.
MARLOWE
Is that so?
MARS
(pulls out a gun.)
You mind?
MARLOWE
No. I'm used to it.
. . .
MARS
Convenient. The door being open when you didn't have a key.
MARLOWE
Yeah. Wasn't it? By the way, how did you happen to have one?
MARS
Is that any of your business?
MARLOWE
I could make it my business.
MARS
And I could make your business mine.
MARLOWE
You wouldn't like it. The pay's too small.
Imagine the quick back-and-forth delivery of those lines. Mars was the straight man to Marlowe's wise-guy in so many scenes.
MARS
I think you'd better get out here.
MARLOWE
Oh, by the way, how's Mrs. Mars these days?
MARS
You take chances, Marlowe.
MARLOWE
I get paid to.
Here's some more favorite lines:
MARLOWE
You alone, Joe?
BRODY
(pulls out a gun.)
Yeah. Except for this.
MARLOWE
My, my, my. Such a lot of guns around town, and so few brains. You know, you're the second guy I've met today who seems to think a gat in the hand means the world by the tail. Put it down, Joe.
Any time Lauren Bacall is on screen, in any movie, you can't take your eyes off her. The only other actresses of any era who had that kind of presence were Bette Davis and maybe Marilyn Monroe.
When Bogey and Bacall were on screen together, in The Big Sleep, Key Largo, To Have and Have Not and Dark Passage they were doubly riveting. Everybody knows the "you know how to whistle" scene from To Have and Have Not (one of the greatest scenes in movie history), but this dialogue from The Big Sleep is just as electric:
VIVIAN (Bacall)
I'm very grateful to you, Mr. Marlowe. I'm very glad it's all over. Tell me, uh, what do you usually do when you're not working?
MARLOWE
Mm. Play the horses, fool around.
VIVIAN
No women?
MARLOWE
Well, I'm generally working on something most of the time.
VIVIAN
Would that be stressed to include me?
MARLOWE
I like you. I told you that before.
VIVIAN
I liked hearing you say it.
MARLOWE
Mm.
VIVIAN
But you didn't do much about it.
MARLOWE
Neither did you.
VIVIAN
Well, speaking of horses, I like to play them myself. But I'd like to see them work out a little first to see if they are front runners or come from behind, find out what the whole card is, what makes them run.
MARLOWE
Find out mine?
VIVIAN
I think so.
MARLOWE
Go ahead.
VIVIAN
I'd say you don't like to be rated. You'd like to get out in front, open up a lead, take a little breather in the backstretch and, and come home free.
MARLOWE
You don't like to be rated yourself.
VIVIAN
I haven't met anyone yet who could do it. Any suggestions?
MARLOWE
Well, I can't tell 'til I've seen you over distance of ground. You got a touch of class but... I don't know, how far you can go?
VIVIAN
That depends on who's on the saddle, Marlowe. I like the way you work. In case you don't know, you're doing all right.
MARLOWE
There's one thing I can't figure out.
VIVIAN
What makes me run?
MARLOWE
Uh huh.
VIVIAN
I'll give you a little hint. Sugar won't work. It's been tried.
Haha, that's beautiful. They don't make stars like that anymore. i can't think of a single actor today who could make that scene work like Bogart and Bacall did.
Posted by: annika at
08:24 AM
| Comments (6)
| Add Comment
Post contains 763 words, total size 6 kb.
1
Big Sleep is all about atmosphere, characters and attitude. With all that, who needs a plot?
Howard Hawks was the director of the two films you mentioned in your post. Hawks discovered Lauren Bacall and had a huge crush on her. He cast her in her first movie "To Have and Have Not" and was looking forward to having Lauren as his mistress.
Lauren had other ideas after she met Bogart on the set. They immediately fell for each other. This made Hawks very angry with both of them.
Posted by: Jake at June 12, 2005 04:32 PM (r/5D/)
Posted by: Casca at June 12, 2005 08:12 PM (qBTBH)
3
I've been thinking of what present day actress could carry off that bit of Bacall dialogue, and no one comes immediately to mind. Part of the reason, I suspect, is that modern day actresses who carry movies are usually written as super-empowered action characters. They hold amazing jobs, they live in amazing residences, and they are sometimes amazing Moms and expert computer hackers on the side. There's not enough hours in a week for what they supposedly accomplish each day.
As a result, these female characters exude very little classical sexuality. Often we learn that these women have amazingly sexy husbands/boyfriends, or they are amazing talented in the boudoir - but these are sort of side categories - additional skills, which are mentioned only as plot points.
These women characters affect tough as nails personas in their day to day activities. They relish emasculating men with verbal samurai swords. Its obvious that men only approach them and flirt with them because men are pigs. The women characters rarely enjoy lively man/woman banter/repartee - that is so passe'! And would so lead to sexual harrassment lawsuits.
So, other than the fact that they have breasts and vaginas(which, sadly for my gender, is enough), one wonders why any man would WANT to approach a modern day female movie character. And not just approach her sexually - why would a man want to become friends with these characters at all? These characters are usually uninteresting, self-involved workaholics. Who needs em?
In this type of national climate, reflected in this type of Hollywood screenwriting climate, there are few graciously sensual women characters like Bacall played in these noir movies. And that, finally, is part of the reason that its hard to think of modern lead actresses who could pull off Bacall's dialogue in that scene.
Posted by: gcotharn at June 13, 2005 12:47 PM (OxYc+)
4
It makes me feel better that you said that you couldn't follow the plot of the movie, bc I've been trying to read the book for about nine months now and just get a hold of it.
Posted by: ginger at June 13, 2005 06:37 PM (jK/kA)
5
Annika:
Did you stay up Saturday night to see the original, pre-release cut? It was followed by a brief documentary by a UCLA prof. who explained the re-shoot scenes. Pretty interesting.
And Lauren Bacall is my all-time favorite screen actress, even if she wasn't in a lot of films and didn't have the range of some actresses. She was absolutely exquisite in her day.
Posted by: SWLiP at June 13, 2005 10:06 PM (geWFa)
6
Must find that one particular pic of Bacall and Harry Truman. Oh yes, here, I knew Sheila would have it:
http://www.sheilaomalley.com/archives/001945.html
Just phenomenal.
Posted by: Dave J at June 14, 2005 07:26 AM (ZKuUj)
Hide Comments
| Add Comment
Useless Sunday Morning Bullet Points
- Three spiders were summarily executed yesterday.
- Meanwhile, somewhere, Victor felt a great disturbance in the force.
- If Jason Bourne and Jack Bauer were each given orders to kill each other, who would win?
- Last night i ate an excellent meal.
- i am already tired of my Baywatch banner.
- Nothing in this world moves slower than a convenience store clerk.
- The word "fuck" is gratuitously hidden somewhere within this post. Can you find it?
- The trick to painting is fat over lean, always.
- Get this, someone has designated June 14th "International Weblogger's Day." Isn't that hilarious?
- Last night, i passed out too early and missed She Spies. i hate missing She Spies.
- Sacramento local nescasters all suck.
- The people who live across the street from me have like ten SUVs. What's up with that?
- They also have a pet chihuahua that got mauled by a pit bull.
- This morning's coffee is Italian Roast, in honor of our allies, the Italians.
- i got nothing else.
Posted by: annika at
07:26 AM
| Comments (13)
| Add Comment
Post contains 173 words, total size 1 kb.
1
Try the Mayor-elect settling the hotel owners/employee's strike with an all-nighter, while the erstwhile almost ex-Mayor slept in San Pedro.
Or, are you no longer an L.A. girl?
Posted by: shelly at June 12, 2005 10:43 AM (pO1tP)
2
"The word "fuck" is gratuitously hidden somewhere within this post. Can you find it?"
Fuck no.
Posted by: Casca at June 12, 2005 03:16 PM (qBTBH)
3
"i got nothing else."
That was plenty.
Posted by: Casca at June 12, 2005 03:18 PM (qBTBH)
4
The word "fuck" is gratuitously hidden somewhere within this post.
Right there, in plain sight, between the quotation marks.
Posted by: Vcitor at June 12, 2005 04:10 PM (YjY77)
5
"© MMIV, MMV This shit is all mine, so don't fuck with it."
Posted by: Mark at June 12, 2005 07:20 PM (C/k/z)
Posted by: annika at June 12, 2005 09:42 PM (GcTxN)
7
Cool! As a prize, I'd like an answer to one question: What color is your hair these days?
Posted by: Victor at June 13, 2005 04:39 AM (L3qPK)
8
"If Jason Bourne and Jack Bauer were each given orders to kill each other, who would win?"
jack would win.
Bourne is a mindless machine, Jack would outsmart him and would not get close enough for Bourne to go hand to hand after the frist battle.
Posted by: cube at June 13, 2005 06:53 AM (nyNr0)
9
The Bourne from the movie: it's a toss up.
Ludlum's Bourne: Bauer is dead as Dillinger.
She spies: Natasha Henstridge forces me to stop and look when I see her image on TV and in print. She is literally arresting.
Posted by: Jason O. at June 13, 2005 07:00 AM (2CAKL)
10
Hmph. The eff word was not hidden in Annika's post. It was hidden near the copyright notice.
Technically, I am the winner.
(Imitating Daffy Duck: "Mine! Mine! Mine!)
Posted by: Mark at June 13, 2005 08:49 AM (Hk4wN)
11
interesting thoughts on jack vs. jason. i think i'll do a poll on it.
V., my hair is as you see it up there.
Posted by: annika at June 13, 2005 10:43 AM (SkWYb)
Posted by: Victor at June 13, 2005 05:38 PM (YjY77)
13
Jason Bourne, no doubt. Jack would overthink it... by the time he is ready to make a move, Jason --the machine that he is -- would have him dead.
Posted by: ginger at June 13, 2005 06:41 PM (jK/kA)
Hide Comments
| Add Comment
June 10, 2005
As i Said...
The media is on the side of the enemy.
Check out this LGF story.
Posted by: annika at
04:33 PM
| No Comments
| Add Comment
Post contains 20 words, total size 1 kb.
June 08, 2005
Legal Update
i've worked in and around the legal profession in the Bay Area, in Los Angeles and now in Sacramento. i'm not yet a lawyer, but i've dealt with them enough to form some rudimentary judgments.
And in my opinion, the Sacramento plaintiff's bar contains a vastly higher percentage of treacherous sons-a-bitches than either of the aforementioned major metropolitan legal communities.
Those fuckin' a-holes better hope i don't end up practicing here when i pass the bar, because i will hold grudges. And i will enjoy kicking their ass.
More:
What i was thinking: "Don't yell at me, muh-fuh. i can count, and i know the Code, do you? Ass-wipe."
What i said: "i'll pass that along to the attorney."
Posted by: annika at
08:21 PM
| Comments (11)
| Add Comment
Post contains 123 words, total size 1 kb.
1
Nope, Annika, you are wrong.
The difference is that in Sacramento, the bar is managably small enough for the jerks to be recognized and dealt with.
In Los Anglees, the bar is so vast that those folks get cloaked in anonymity, and thus get away with it more.
I wrote several pieces on professional courtesy and collegiality when I was President of the LA County Bar. Next year I will be a VP of the State Bar and possibly chair of the RAD committee that deals with discipline, on which I now sit. You'd be surprised to see how many complaints we get about this stuff, but unfortunately, rudeness is not grounds for discipline.
In my firm (pretty big, almost 500 now) we keep tabs on those folks and an email, circulated internally can hurt a rude offender, and we have many repeat cases with the same plaintiff's lawyers. But those folks know not to mess with us; you, on the other hand, probably seemed like an easy mark to put down. Clearly, he did not evaluate his oppoonent correctly.
I take it that your attorney will let him know his displeasure. I do not abide ill treatment to anyone who works for or with me, so I certainly would memorialize the discussion and let him know, in writing how I feel, along with a copy to the bar, for what it is worth, it might go into his file. The attorney whould write the letter, not you.
My direct advice is that you no longer talk to this person. Send a letter asking himn to put everything he has to say in writing and get on with your life. The opposite of love is not hate, it is apathy.
Hang in there kid, it gets worse. I had a lawyer who was seeking a TRO this week tell me in the hall that "they would fight us all the way to the Supreme Court" (he had a really weak case) and I told him "That is your reputation, at least until your client runs out of money".
He then threatened to put that before the Judge. I told him to go ahead, since I know that everyone else in the system knows this guy, and what I said was true. The particular Judge is someone I kow casually, and know him to be bright as a pin.
The guy backed down and didn't mention it, and the Judge refused to issue the TRO, predictably. I had forgotten it until you mentioned this, and it was Monday!
So, you are bigger than some jerk. Deal with him appropriately, and let it go.
Posted by: shelly at June 09, 2005 08:00 AM (pO1tP)
2
I'm sorry to hear about that, Annika. I, too, have found most attorneys to be less than kind or generous or sympathetic.
It's some comfort to know that atleast we know we don't share such qualities.
Posted by: Mark at June 09, 2005 08:04 AM (Hk4wN)
Posted by: Victor at June 09, 2005 09:33 AM (Sx8zO)
4
something about lying with dogs and getting fleas comes to mind.............
Posted by: louielouie at June 09, 2005 09:37 AM (i7mWl)
5
I have derived a funny benefit from blogging/commenting on the internet - and I'll bet most everyone else has derived the same benefit: thicker skin.
Not that I was especially thin-skinned before. Nonetheless, when I first blogged and commented, I couldn't resist really, really wanting anonymous readers to approve of my writings.
Of course, I was inevitably bashed by the anonymous mob. I watched other people's perfectly reasonable opinions be similarly bashed, and I began to realize that the illogical thinking of my fellow human beings was far more pervasive than I had previously estimated. I began to realize that the schoolyard desire to revel in the pain or discomfort of others was far more pervasive than I had previously estimated. These are valuable realizations.
Over time, I came to trust myself more, and to care less about various idiot opinions which were foisted upon me. This is an extremely valuable thing. It doesn't track exactly onto Annie's little incident(she encountered a jerk who was abusing his momentary power over her), but her incident did remind of this unexpected blogosphere benefit. I went into the blogosphere seeking fun, and maybe interesting conversation, and interesting people, and I found this unexpected benefit. Life is funny that way.
Posted by: gcotharn at June 09, 2005 10:33 AM (OxYc+)
6
TRO = Temporary Restraining Order.
Gcotharn: very thoughtful post. I've had a couple similar experiences. While I'd still consider myself thinskinned, I also learned that I'm more courageous than most when it comes to defending what I believe.
Posted by: Mark at June 09, 2005 10:47 AM (Hk4wN)
7
Annika...yeah, yeah, yeah...lawyers vile...blah, blah, blah...We don't care.
What we
do care about though, are the results to
this post on your Economic Survey. Well...?
Posted by: Robbie at June 09, 2005 10:55 AM (lbWbV)
8
you are right roberto. i had planned to do that post last night, but i was so busy channel surfing and being generally lazy that i forgot.
Posted by: annie at June 09, 2005 12:05 PM (zAOEU)
9
The world is full of egotists, particularly the professional world. Most of us express this sort of thing by trying to bang bangable little blonds like you. Occasionally you'll run into the homo who wants to beat you up. In good time you'll have an entire quiver full of tricks for puncturing windbags.
Posted by: Casca at June 09, 2005 04:02 PM (qBTBH)
10
When and if I ever need a lawyer, sister, I'm calling you.
Posted by: Hugo at June 09, 2005 07:57 PM (4BGy8)
11
I find that a point-blank shotgun blast to the nuts is an excellent reminder of the importance of civil conduct and discourse.
Kevin
Posted by: Kevin Kim at June 10, 2005 03:55 PM (1PcL3)
Hide Comments
| Add Comment
E.T. Tonight Lies Of The Day
Russell Crowe blamed his phone throwing incident on jetlag, loneliness and adrenaline.
Billy Bob Thornhill wished "Angie" the best and hoped her premiere goes really well.
Emily has some advice for Tom and Katie.
Posted by: annika at
07:26 PM
| Comments (6)
| Add Comment
Post contains 46 words, total size 1 kb.
1
In a certain way, I liked Russell's offense, because it's an old-school movie star thing to do:
Could you envision William Holden, hammered, at 4AM, sidearming a phone at someone in 1963 in the lobby of the Beverly Hills Hotel?
I thought so: Crowe gets a pass on this one. Plus with service the way it is these days the clerk may have deserved it.
Posted by: Jason O. at June 09, 2005 07:06 AM (2CAKL)
2
i was thinking the same thing, jason. that's so frank sinatra!
Posted by: annie at June 09, 2005 08:04 AM (5vxLy)
3
that's so frank sinatra!
NOT!!!!!
if a concierge(sp) had pissed off the chairman the concierge(sp) would get a violin lesson. either that or sinatra would nail his wife, or daughter, or mother.....hell it's sinatra we're talking about here....he'd do 'em all. you saw that picture of crowe walking out of the police station. i can just see a couple of flat foots from hoboken arresting sinatra.
NOT!!!!!
comparing crowe to william holden is a joke.
william holden was (even though he's passed still is) a talent. crowe is a chump.
Posted by: louielouie at June 09, 2005 09:35 AM (i7mWl)
4
I must confess I derive a misanthropic sort of pleasure at watching Mr Crowe get taught some manners. My wife works in a grocery store and is quite familiar with rude and obnoxious people. I hope he gets a sentence that includes jail time. Not because I dislike Russell Crowe, but to send a message that this sort of behavior won't be tolerated, from anybody, ever.
Posted by: MarkD at June 09, 2005 10:41 AM (oQofX)
5
Sinatra would have brought two goons to hold the guy while he punched him out, then told them to break his kneecaps.
He was not into small gestures.
None of new York's Finest would have had the stones to arrest him; all it would have ever been would have been another civil suit, many of which were settled with either cash or some more kneecaps.
Posted by: shelly at June 11, 2005 04:05 AM (pO1tP)
6
Thank for this great post, i like what you read
Menu Board. Thumbs up, and keep it going!Thanks for sharing I’ll email my friends about this too
LED Billboard. This is a really good read for me, Must admit that you are one of the best bloggers I ever saw
Led Signboard.Thanks for posting this informative article
LED writing board. I look forward to more updates and will be returning.Cheers!
Posted by: Advertising signs at January 21, 2011 03:02 AM (zpIH7)
Hide Comments
| Add Comment
Terrorists In Lodi
Lodi is just south of Sacramento.
The Jawa Report and
California Mafia has the latest on the terrorist cell broken up at a Lodi mosque.
Update: Here's a little information about Lodi, to put the strangeness of a sleeper cell in that town within some context.
Lodi was incorporated in 1906. Its current population is about 59,000. From 1992 to 1994, population remained steady at 53,000, but it began to grow slowly after 1995. The city sits on 12.2 square miles in San Joaquin County, and U.S. Highway 99 runs through the town, connecting it with Stockton, six miles to the south, and Sacramento, 35 miles to the north.
San Joaquin County voted for Bush in 2004, by 54% to 46%, although i would guess that the margin was much wider in Lodi than in the more urban and union friendly Stockton.
Crime in Lodi was higher than the U.S. average in 2002. Still, there were only 4 murders, 6 rapes, 75 robberies, 203 assaults, 436 burglaries and 486 auto thefts that year. By contrast, my hometown of Oakland had 108 murders, 249 rapes, 2,452 robberies, 2,852 assaults, 4,252 burglaries and 6,259 auto thefts in 2002.
Lodi's unemployment rate in 2000 was 6.5%, somewhat higher than California's average, which was 4.9% that year. The biggest employer in Lodi by far is the school district, followed by Blue Shield, the one hospital in town, General Mills Foods and a cannery. The local Wal-Mart and Target employ about 200 each.
Median household income in 2000 was $35,391. The median housing price today is $148,500.
Lodi's racial breakdown includes 63.5% White Non-Hispanic, 27.1% Hispanic, 1.3% Indian (from India), and 0.6% African-American. i would guess that Pakistanis would fall under the category of Other Asian, which comes in at 1.2%. Of the 18.8% foreign born citizens of Lodi, 12.7% are from Latin America and 3.9% are from Asia.
And of course, according to Lodi historian John Fogerty, those persons intending to pass through Lodi end up staying an average of seven months or more. And they'll be walking out, if they go.
Update: The late local news on at least two of the tv stations here in Sacramento was very irritating. They seem much more concerned about the possibility of anti-muslim "hate-crimes" than they are about the possibility that some terrorists might have been PLANNING TO BLOW UP HOSPITALS AND SUPERMARKETS!
The media are on the side of the enemy. (That means you KCRA and News 10.)
Update 2: Some excellent commentary is at Varifrank.
Posted by: annika at
08:11 AM
| Comments (8)
| Add Comment
Post contains 427 words, total size 3 kb.
1
makes me want to go out and buy a big ol' bottle of ravenswood.
st. amant?
Posted by: louielouie at June 08, 2005 10:42 AM (i7mWl)
2
The
Rosenblum 2003 Lodi Syrah brims with exciting fruit extractions reminiscent of freshly baked blackberry pie, hints of cinnamon and just a touch of violet and lavender. Drink large quantities during Ramadan near crushed Islamofascist cells with Cherry Garcia ice cream to properly accent the full
terroir experience.
Posted by: d-rod at June 08, 2005 12:47 PM (CSRmO)
3
I'll bet these guys are connected to those camelfuckers who work at the Frosty King outside of Lemore. Nobody is buying frozen custard at that shithole.
Posted by: Casca at June 08, 2005 03:52 PM (qBTBH)
4
I always thought our Lodi is named for the Miwok word for " Dennys - Next Exit".
Posted by: Frank Martin at June 09, 2005 02:27 PM (BIwsj)
5
everything i know about lodi is from fogerty's ccr song. . .
Posted by: bloopy at June 09, 2005 02:30 PM (gHiOW)
6
...and now, from annika!
Posted by: annika at June 09, 2005 05:07 PM (Cj91j)
7
"Here's a little information about Lodi, to put the strangeness of a sleeper cell in that town within some context."
Are we to understand that it is more surprising for a Bush voting community to harbor terrorists than a Kerry voting town?
Posted by: Preston at June 10, 2005 02:07 PM (wkfsI)
8
Actually i was referring to the smallness of the town. i hadn't really thought about the Bush/Kerry thing. But you might be onto something there.
;-)
Posted by: annika at June 10, 2005 04:14 PM (cSzu3)
Hide Comments
| Add Comment
Wednesday Is Poetry Day: Cole Porter
As i did last year, in honor of Cole Porter's birthday
on June 9th, today's poem is a song lyric.
Paris Hilton's sexy new commercial for Carl's Jr. restaurants features the heiress washing a car to the music of Cole Porter's famous "I Love Paris."
Everyone knows the words to that song, written in 1952, for the musical Can-Can, which ran at Broadway's Schubert theater for 892 performances.
That song always reminds me of one night in Paris a few years back, stumbling back to my hotel in the Latin Quarter after a great drunk, smoking a Gitanes and mumbling the words in order to keep awake and upright.
"God... Oh God... do i love Paris... Because my room is near..."
But the same man who wrote I Love Paris, also wrote the following lyric, which i quote for you all as you try to decide where to spend your summer vacation this year.
See America First
Of European lands effete,
A most inveterate foe,
My feelings when my camp I greet
Are such as patriots know.
Condemning trips across the blue
As dollars badly dispersed,
I hold that loyal men and true,
Including in the category all of you,
Should see America first,
Should see America first.
All hail salubrious sky,
All hail salubrious sky.
Observe when I invoke the sky
It echoes reassuringly
That one should try to see America first,
To see America first.
Of course it's really not the sky,
But just a repetition of his battle cry,
To see America first,
To see America first,
So ev'ry true American,
Whether right or red or black or tan,
Should push this patriotic plan
To see America first.
See America First was the first Cole Porter musical produced on Broadway, back in 1916. He went on to write twenty-three Broadway shows over five decades, and something over 800 songs. According to Robert Kimball's
The Complete Lyrics of Cole Porter, the above lyric for the title song was changed to a more "Cohan-esque" version for the actual show. Hard to imagine old George M. finding fault with the original, though.
Posted by: annika at
07:22 AM
| Comments (5)
| Add Comment
Post contains 364 words, total size 2 kb.
1
Good one! I also recall stumbling back to the Latin quarter after smoking something or other and Cole was close by, in l'air as they say. A buddy of mine named his first son Cole too. Seeing America
last was my general philosophy in traveling since the college days, but I'm over that now. Maybe if the Euro drops 50%...
Posted by: d-rod at June 08, 2005 08:34 AM (jPRzY)
2
Very nice! That song has echoed my own sentiments; there are too many things in the US I haven't seen to want to go to Europe (and especially Surrendermonkeylandia--I've hated the froggies for most of my life). In fact, the only thing outside of the US I'd really like to see is the Hockey Hall of Fame.
Posted by: Victor at June 08, 2005 09:17 AM (L3qPK)
3
canada has the best view of the falls.
it's a good thing CP wrote that song in 1916. written today, he'd be accused of being a white christian xenophobe, and promptly crucified by the MSM.
Posted by: louielouie at June 08, 2005 09:53 AM (i7mWl)
4
Nah, louie, he was light in the loafers, thus a protected class.
Posted by: Casca at June 08, 2005 03:55 PM (qBTBH)
5
Yes I too have stumbled home from the Latin Quarter. Good times.
Posted by: ginger at June 08, 2005 06:12 PM (jK/kA)
Hide Comments
| Add Comment
June 07, 2005
Handicapping Bewitched
Is
Bewitched with Will Ferrell and Nicole Kidman going to be worth seeing? Or will it follow in the long tradition of sucky movies based on tv shows that were cool. (e.g.
Dragnet,
Wild Wild West,
The Addams Family,
Lost In Space,
The Flintstones.) Please don't let there be a drug ring or terrorist conspiracy that needs to be foiled by Samantha and Darrin.
What should the new Bewitched have going for it, logically?
1. Nicole Kidman. Always wonderful, any movie she is in is worth a look.
2. The understated comic talent of Will Ferrell. (i wonder if they'll replace him halfway through the movie with Will Smith, and nobody notices.)
3. A Nora Ephron screenplay.
4. Michael Caine. Everything i said about Nicole is doubly true for this man.
5. Shirley MacLaine as Endora.
However, i don't have high hopes for the remake. i watched the disappointing trailers. The screenplay is apparently a movie-within-a-movie plot, with Ferrell and Kidman playing playing actors in a Bewitched remake. But Kidman's character is a witch in real life too. That augurs ill for a fan of the original like myself.
Also, it looks like they're going to fuck with the original theme song melody. If you're going to go old school by doing a remake in the first place, go old school all the way. i don't know why moviemakers insist on going after an audience of people nostalgic for an old series, then refuse to give them what they want.
In other unrelated entertainment news, tonight's lie of the day from E.T. Tonight is the following:
Brad Pitt says he thinks his seven year marriage to Jennifer Aniston was a total success.
Posted by: annika at
07:02 PM
| Comments (5)
| Add Comment
Post contains 286 words, total size 2 kb.
1
what is there not to like about you?
Posted by: scof at June 07, 2005 11:11 PM (x8hF4)
2
Brad's right.
They are both free of each other. What's wrong with that?
Now he has to figure out how to get free of Angelina.
Word has it that their "romance" is just shilling for support for the movie, and not real. If that's true, then he's OK.
Otherwise, he needs to put her in the tub and give her a good scrubbing, starting with her mouth and other orifices.
Posted by: shelly at June 08, 2005 01:53 AM (pO1tP)
3
Hey! It's Wednesday! Cough up some poetry or I start the Tom Cruise/Katie Holmes Haiku Contest!
Posted by: Victor at June 08, 2005 07:33 AM (L3qPK)
4
Looks like a disaster waiting to happen.
Posted by: mark at June 08, 2005 08:50 AM (Hk4wN)
5
Thank for this great post, i like what you read
Menu Board. Thumbs up, and keep it going!Thanks for sharing I’ll email my friends about this too
LED Billboard. This is a really good read for me, Must admit that you are one of the best bloggers I ever saw
Led Signboard.Thanks for posting this informative article
LED writing board. I look forward to more updates and will be returning.Cheers!
Posted by: Advertising signs at January 21, 2011 03:02 AM (zpIH7)
Hide Comments
| Add Comment
Popular Science Debunks 911 Myths
A Western Heart links to an article in
Popular Science that debunks a number of ridiculous 911 myths, some of which i hadn't even heard of. Like the one where someone claims one of the New York planes didn't have windows, which proves it was a military tanker and therefore Bush did it. There's some wacko people in this world, but we already knew that.
Another crazy theory is that the planes should have been intercepted almost immediately and since they weren't, therefore Bush did it.
CLAIM: 'It has been standard operating procedures for decades to immediately intercept off-course planes that do not respond to communications from air traffic controllers,' says the Web site oilempire.us. 'When the Air Force "scrambles" a fighter plane to intercept, they usually reach the plane in question in minutes.'
FACT: In the decade before 9/11, NORAD intercepted only one civilian plane over North America: golfer Payne Stewart's Learjet, in October 1999. With passengers and crew unconscious from cabin decompression, the plane lost radio contact but remained in transponder contact until it crashed. Even so, it took an F-16 1 hour and 22 minutes to reach the stricken jet. Rules in effect back then, and on 9/11, prohibited supersonic flight on intercepts. Prior to 9/11, all other NORAD interceptions were limited to offshore Air Defense Identification Zones (ADIZ). 'Until 9/11 there was no domestic ADIZ,' FAA spokesman Bill Schumann tells PM. After 9/11, NORAD and the FAA increased cooperation, setting up hotlines between ATCs and NORAD command centers, according to officials from both agencies. NORAD has also increased its fighter coverage and has installed radar to monitor airspace over the continent.
Oh, i can hear the moonbats now: "
Popular Science is a stooge of the Bush administration."
Posted by: annika at
11:20 AM
| Comments (1)
| Add Comment
Post contains 300 words, total size 2 kb.
1
A book was published in France on lunatic conspiracies that all pointed to "Bush knew" and /or "the US gov. knew."
It was a best seller.
Your moonbat detector is well-tuned. Of course, it's hard not to hear them either. They're quite loud and obnoxiously illogical.
Posted by: Mark at June 07, 2005 12:06 PM (Hk4wN)
Hide Comments
| Add Comment
June 06, 2005
The Celebrity Liars Show
E.T. Tonight should be subtitled "The Celebrity Liars Show." It pains me to watch
E.T. Tonight, but i consider it a duty to my own "Celebrity Watch" rubric. In tonight's episode, the obvious, bold-faced celebrity lies included the following:
Angelina Jolie said she would never be attracted to a man who cheats on his wife.
Russell Crowe's spokesperson said Crowe actually threw the phone at a wall after the concierge gave him "attitude." Yah right. You don't get to be concierge at a world class five-star hotel by being anything but obsequious to the rich and famous.
Katie Holmes said "engagement" is something she and Tom haven't talked about. Someone please stop the hype about this boring couple.
and perhaps the most laughable,
Lindsay Lohan said her shocking weight loss is merely the result of "growing up."
Posted by: annika at
07:42 PM
| Comments (7)
| Add Comment
Post contains 145 words, total size 1 kb.
1
You are a celebrity in the blog world.
What lies do you have for us tonight?
Posted by: Jake at June 06, 2005 08:11 PM (r/5D/)
2
Growing up? Oh hell, I thought she said her weight loss was a result of
throwing up.
Posted by: Robbie at June 06, 2005 08:44 PM (htx4h)
3
LOL at Robbie.
Let's see, if you LOSE weight once you pass your eighteenth birthday, then perhaps alcohol IMPROVES your mental capabilities, and repeated hair coloring is HEALTHY for your hair. Yeah, that's the ticket.
Posted by: Ontario Emperor at June 06, 2005 09:26 PM (jXV5s)
4
Robbie, that was so good, i'm ashamed i didn't think of it.
Posted by: annika at June 07, 2005 06:50 AM (VqqY6)
5
that was really funny... thx for the laughs annika. robbies post is good! heeee...
tk
Posted by: maizzy at June 07, 2005 07:16 AM (ZjMmS)
6
What? No info on Mary Carey? She's a celebrity (cough) too!
Oh wait, here's one:
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=44624
Posted by: Mark at June 07, 2005 07:45 AM (Hk4wN)
7
What lies do you have for us tonight?
she'll tell ya your the best she's had.
what about brad pitt scolding the media for covering him so much, and not reporting on poverty, aids, yada yada.
whatacroc?
deep throat yields to deep shit.
Posted by: louielouie at June 07, 2005 10:11 AM (i7mWl)
Hide Comments
| Add Comment
Dot Com Bubble
Over at
The Sheila Variations, there's a very interesting excerpt from the book
Dot.Con: How America Lost Its Mind and Money in the Internet Era, by John Cassidy. Here's an excerpt from the excerpt:
On the morning of March 30, 10 million shares of Priceline.com opened on the Nasdaq National Market under the symbol PCLN. They were issued at $16 each, but the price immediately jumped to $85. At the close of trading, the stock stood at $68; it had risen 425 percent on the day. Priceline.com was valued at almost $10 billion -- more than United Airlines, Continental Airlines, and Northwest Airlines combined.
. . .
Priceline.com started operating on April 5, 1998. By the end of the year it had sold slightly more than $35 million worth of airline tickets, which cost it $36.5 million. That sentence bears rereading. Here was a firm looking for investors that was selling goods for less than it had paid for them -- and as a result had made a trading loss of more than a million dollars. This loss did not include any of the money Priceline.com had spent developing its Web site and marketing itself to consumers. When these expenditures were accounted for, it had lost more than $54 million. Even that figure wasn't what accountaints consider the bottom line. In order to persuade the airlines to supply it with tickets., Priceline.com had given them stock options worth almost $60 million. Putting all these costs together, the company had lost more than $114 million in 1998.
How could a start-up retailer that was losing three dollars for every dollar it earned come to be valued, on its first day as a public company, at more than United Airlines, Continental Airlines, and Northwest Airlines put together?
Crazy stuff. Here's
a graph of Priceline's wild fortunes.
Posted by: annika at
11:11 AM
| Comments (9)
| Add Comment
Post contains 309 words, total size 2 kb.
1
I remember those days well. Seemed like everyone threw caution (and their money) to the wind.
Posted by: Mark at June 06, 2005 11:26 AM (Hk4wN)
2
It ranks up their with the Tulip bubble 1593 as one on the great follies of mankind. At one point, a single tulip bulb was selling for more than the cost of a mansion.
The end of the dot.com bubble started when an analyst in the Fall of 2000 stated that 200 dot.coms would run out of cash within a year and fail. He was somewhat wrong as 206 companies failed in 2001.
Posted by: Jake at June 06, 2005 11:58 AM (r/5D/)
3
Thanks for the link, Annika!
Posted by: red at June 06, 2005 12:00 PM (qxKkx)
4
Annika -
Why do unproven (in professional competition) draft picks in major team sports get paid big bucks? Same reason - potential.
Actually, the IPO seemed fairly well priced at $16 in hindsight - the stock now makes accounting profits and I don't think that 114M loss was accurate (given the way the author notes the 60M option as a direct 60M loss). Of course, the business model didn't pan out to support the post-IPO market price..but then again, I bought Microsoft in summer 1987 after an already large price gain and saw its net income fall for two consecutive qtrs (but the stock price did okay - fell 25% on that Oct 1987 day) because "the model" made long-term sense even given the price. The difference, a decade plus later, is more people and more money chasing promising results drives the price up faster, ahead of the company delivering, or showing greater promise to deliver.
Remember, in the same draft, both Peyton Manning and Ryan Leaf got a 11M + signing bonuses!
Posted by: Col Steve at June 06, 2005 01:59 PM (DmFF+)
5
This sounds like piling on, but the airline business is not exactly a money maker either. There are plenty of 3rd world countries that can't even feed their people that run national airlines at a loss. In this country, until one major carrier goes bust, don't look for a lot of profit from the others either.
Posted by: Mark at June 06, 2005 03:34 PM (nQAo8)
6
The Fed mucked with the economy by lowering interest rates back in the 90's to help create an expansion of credit in order to fuel an economic boom. What this did was to create an environment of easy money where business which didn't look profitable before now became attractive (at the marginal level) and drew resources away from firms that were very likely better suited to have them. One may say "well if the market worked like it was supposed to that money would've gone to the right people" and you would be right, but with the aforementioned expansion of credit provided by the Fed, lenders have easier terms so to speak (witness the boom of Venture Capitalists, the number of failed startups -- hmm, where did this extra money come from to invest in BuildYourOwnCar.com and advertise on the Superbowl for it?)
Credit expansion does not create real wealth so the boom that resulted in the 90's lacked a solid base. Again witness stock prices as an indicator, as the anectdote with Priceline shows. There was too much cash on the market. Eventually interest rates will rise to reflect the scarcity of real resources. What we have been seeing lately is deflation marked with contrasting incredibly low interest rates, but this is still failing (somewhat) to stimulate the economy. What the gov't needs to do is let the bad capital wash away, figuratively speaking, so that a solid base can re-establish itself. Also regulate in an intelligent manner (i.e. do more like Sen. McCain's words and less like Eliot Spitzer's actions).
Posted by: Scof at June 06, 2005 04:40 PM (7z8ua)
Posted by: Casca at June 06, 2005 07:22 PM (qBTBH)
8
good comments, all. And glad to see you back Col. Steve.
Posted by: annika at June 06, 2005 07:28 PM (wSNSb)
9
The credit boom really did not come from lowering interest rates. Whether a bank borrows at 2.00% or 2.01%, it still loans the money out at interest rates which today routinely exceed 30%. (And it makes fully 25% of its money from fees and penalties.)
The dot-con days were a bubble, just like the tulips, and they created the same problem: a massive amount of "cash" in people's hands which really has no basis in fact. A massive amount of lending which will produce loans that can never be repaid. And today, a massive effort on the part of banks to cover-up the true extent of those loans. Loans that should never have been made. Loans that were made using Federally insured money.
Posted by: Mike at August 02, 2005 04:20 PM (K2Nfr)
Hide Comments
| Add Comment
June 05, 2005
Sucky CD Giveaway
i'm trying to clean out some stuff this afternoon and i found these in my closet. An old beau left them with me years ago. i hate throwing shit like this away. i could sell them on eBay, but that seems like a lot of trouble. So if anyone wants these six sucky CDs, i'll give them to you for free.
They are Chris Isaak's Heart Shaped World; The Lightning Seeds' Cloudcuckooland; k.d. lang's Ingénue; Sweet's The Best of Sweet; Roy Orbison's Mystery Girl; and Springsteen's Lucky Town. An eclectic mix.
Let me know if you want them by clicking here. Too late. We have a winner!
Posted by: annika at
11:56 AM
| Comments (8)
| Add Comment
Post contains 113 words, total size 1 kb.
1
You went out with a guy who liked Sweet so much that he purchased their greatest hits? Wow, I'm speechless. What an extraordinary lapse!
Posted by: Pursuit at June 05, 2005 03:10 PM (VqIuy)
2
Fuck, how can you give away Roy Orbison and Chris Isaak?
Posted by: Casca at June 05, 2005 03:19 PM (qBTBH)
3
Casca,
How can you give away "Sweet"? Their album cover is blown up 10x and posted above my bed.
Annika,
Not that it's my business, but did you break up with this ex-beau over music taste? If you did, I clap my hands in your direction.
Posted by: Mark at June 05, 2005 03:43 PM (Vg0tt)
4
Hey, I really dig that Lightning Seeds album. "Pure" is a terrific pop tune. Maybe it's just my eighth grade nostalgia, but they are truly an underrated "group" (it's just one dude, actually - Ian Broudie). I even bought a couple of the band's other discs off ebay ("Perfect" is another great tune).
Also, giving away Chris Isaak? For shame.
This is a good idea. I've got TONS of crap CDs stockpiled from my college radio days.
Posted by: Micah at June 05, 2005 07:17 PM (v/oTo)
5
Their album cover is blown up 10x and posted above my bed.
i'd rather be on somebody's bed and blown 10x.
sorry, toooooo many shiner bocks.
Posted by: louielouie at June 05, 2005 07:34 PM (i7mWl)
6
oh yes, pure is the only good song on that cd, tho. and i have some bad memories connected to the chris isaak album so i never listen to it anymore.
Posted by: annika at June 05, 2005 07:43 PM (rC1od)
7
"i'd rather be on somebody's bed and blown 10x."
You are absolutely correct LouieLouie, exept you're not ShrimpLouie.
As for the rest of you cretins, you're cretins. Poor Roy, anyone want a bootleg of "Black & White Nights"?
Posted by: Casca at June 05, 2005 08:33 PM (qBTBH)
8
Very poetic of you louie.
Posted by: Mark at June 06, 2005 07:52 AM (Hk4wN)
Hide Comments
| Add Comment
French Open Fashion Break Point
Today's exciting French Open final between two absolute hotties, Argentina's Mariano Puerta and Spain's Rafael Nadal, is a great match. But i had to break away between sets to comment about their awful fashion choices.
Puerta chose an orange shirt to wear on a clay court. Not good. Really bad, actually. Maybe that was part of his strategy, to distract Nadal with some sort of ill-conceived camouflage idea.
But Rafael Nadal's outfit takes le cake. A chartreuse sleeveless top with white capris? Qu'est-ce que c'est? Il est terrible! i want to match them with some cute lace-up espadrilles, dude. No guy can pull off that look, not even one as gorgeous as Rafael. Tennis player thighs are the best looking thighs in the world; why cover them up?
And the panty-lines! Guys, white pants are why they invented thongs. Any girl will tell you. That's embarrassing. They should try some lycra boxers or something.
Okay, time for me to get back to the sweaty grunting latins. They're tied, one set all, in the third set.
[Welcome, Slate readers! Why not bookmark annika's journal?]
Posted by: annika at
08:14 AM
| Comments (14)
| Add Comment
Post contains 185 words, total size 1 kb.
1
At least they weren't wearing matching outfits like the girls. What was up with that?
Posted by: d-rod at June 05, 2005 11:38 AM (tMu1E)
2
i don't think tennis is as good as it was say a few years back, but then again maybe I just like watching Americans win. Was a decent match today though, looking forward to wimbeldon.
Posted by: scof at June 05, 2005 12:16 PM (x8hF4)
3
As a tennis player I must say that I favored the mid to late 80s stuff -- maggia, tacchini, etc. Sometimes I don't know what in the world these people are dressing in these days!!
[spam portion deleted]
-Christopher King, Esq.
Posted by: christopher king at June 05, 2005 12:27 PM (ywZa8)
4
Wow, that's spam with a personal touch. Mixing a topical comment with a totally unrelated one and links to your agenda site, although not in html format. Still, spam is spam, so i'm going to delete the portions irrelevant to the subject post. i generally allow a free-wheeling discussion in my comments section, and if people want to move the subject, that's okay with me. But such an abrupt change in topic gets my spam dander up. Especially since i've have to waste time deleting a couple dozen spam comments every single day lately. My spammer tolerance is not as big as it used to be.
Posted by: annika at June 05, 2005 12:50 PM (hUYup)
5
Booger green will always be a fashion statement.
Posted by: Mark at June 05, 2005 03:35 PM (Vg0tt)
6
So
that's chartreuse!
Apparently it's a great color for fishing lures.
Posted by: Matt at June 05, 2005 09:29 PM (vQvTM)
7
They are terrible outfits. I always liked Sampras in his classic whites...
Posted by: Hugo at June 06, 2005 03:19 PM (2bqBq)
8
Best tennis fashion? Aggasi in the late 80s. I owned a pair of those black with hot-pink paint splash Nike Airs.
And you think Nadal is hot? He's got a great body, but his face? He looks like the damn missing link, sloping brow and jutting jaw and everything.
Posted by: ken at June 07, 2005 10:47 AM (xD5ND)
9
Hey,
Nadal does have a wierd looking face for a guy, but who cares? He has a fantastic body. Take a look at that BUT. Who cares what he wears. Plus, he plays fantastic tennis.
Posted by: N Diane at June 07, 2005 12:52 PM (CAT+l)
10
VPL? Visible Panty Lines? Only on Puerta, I do not think Nadal was wearing any! Maybe a thong? My husband says there is no way he could play tennis that long without some sort of support...
Posted by: Gretchen at June 08, 2005 07:37 PM (RENXF)
11
Hey Annika, I'm a Slate reader and I'd gladly bookmark your site, but I took a quick look around and it's pretty clear you're an idiot.
Posted by: Jon at June 22, 2005 11:22 PM (Dbae2)
12
Well, Jon, your razor sharp wit proves that you are a discerning reader. what can i say?
Posted by: annika at June 23, 2005 12:22 AM (j8BB9)
13
Nadal is jjust 100% WOW!!! My god that body and that ass easily distract me from the game. I'd definitely like to meet somene with a smile as cute as his, he's just so incredibly hot, even with the weird face.
Posted by: sabrina at July 05, 2005 07:00 AM (TNL66)
14
Hey! WOWOWOW RAFA IS AN AMAZING PLAYER! I think he is so cute-c'mon you have to admit-he has one heck of a smile! When he smiles his whole faces lights up!! I thinks he is so cute and a great player lol of course!
Posted by: Ilar at July 11, 2005 03:52 PM (LENMf)
Hide Comments
| Add Comment
June 04, 2005
Democrats Dean Forgot
Howard Dean,
on Thursday:
Speaking to the Campaign for America's Future, Mr. Dean called for easier rules for voting, saying it is difficult for working parents to make it to the polls on time and wait to vote.
'Well, Republicans, I guess, can do that, because a lot of them have never made an honest living in their lives,' Mr. Dean said.
Two words: pot. kettle.
Posted by: annika at
04:26 PM
| Comments (17)
| Add Comment
Post contains 71 words, total size 1 kb.
1
best thing to happen to the GOP I have to say. Right now our party has enough troubles what with bloating the budget (anybody recall '94) and new entitlement programs, etc. Dean allows us all to come together still because he makes it easy to realize just how shitty things could be...
Posted by: scof at June 04, 2005 05:51 PM (x8hF4)
2
How can Republicans cater to corporate America (so the accusation goes) unless other Republicans are "working for a living"?
Excellent collage there, but it is lacking someone. Can you guess who it is? I'd like to forget him, but he insists on inserting himself in the news every few weeks, like Jesse Jackson and Jimmy Carter, politics answer to Paris Hilton.
Posted by: Mark at June 04, 2005 11:35 PM (jm1lB)
3
True the absence of William Jefferson Blythe is glaring. I prefer his real name as opposed to his chosen one.
Posted by: Casca at June 05, 2005 09:53 AM (qBTBH)
4
Comparison is a weak argument. However, the corruption in Washington is at an all time high, and it includes the Infamous 5 members of the Supreme Court who broke the law to appoint Bunnypants. To think that Democrats as a whole are as corrupt as the Bunnypants Gang is fundamentally absurd. Can we compare the damage, corruption and lies pre-Bunnypants to all that happened since he fraudulently took office? It makes Clinton and Gore look like freaking saints. And, I don't like them either. It seems a waste to rant and rave about crap you know ain't true, don't you think? Never mind.
Posted by: Citizen Milenko at June 05, 2005 10:06 AM (gINUe)
5
Oh gawd. Not another troll with a three dollar copy of a logic 101 textbook. Do you guys all shop at the same used book store?
Posted by: annika at June 05, 2005 11:36 AM (wNjyE)
6
Get over it, Milenko. Bush won Florida fairly in 2000 and his re-election reaffirms the predominate "redness" of Florida's electorate.
If it will help Milenko's logic skills out, he can have my old differential eguations solutions manual.
Posted by: reagan80 at June 05, 2005 12:44 PM (hlMFQ)
7
Comrade, throw yourself on the bayonets of the capitalists! I have a few that I reserve for unwashed ignoranimi, that I'm prepared to lend out for this sort of thing.
Posted by: Casca at June 05, 2005 03:24 PM (qBTBH)
8
Milenko,
The only law the Supreme Court broke in 2000 was "Liberals must always win at all costs."
Yes, that law was broken.
See also "Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment" as well as the one which forbids a state supreme court from extending deadlines by fiat.
Posted by: Mark at June 05, 2005 03:38 PM (Vg0tt)
9
I must say I am astonished that a Bunnypants supporter would know anything about logic and/or advanced math. I thought that stuff was, you know, fuzzy. Fortunately, I know that any thinking person, even with conservative, non-progressive tendencies knows that the 2000 election was a con job,...and for documentation could read "The Best Democracy Money Can Buy" by Greg Palast. I am, of course, referring to the minority of conservatives who actually read;...I'm not talking about those folks who buy an Ann Coulter, Newt Gingrich, or Bill Bennett values book and set it in the center of their coffee table to collect dust. Better for a working mind that these books aren't read anyway, I suppose. Anyway, the rambling point I am trying to make is that any effort to learn about anything from a news source which isn't Yell TV and Hate radio would do wonders for the inquiring mind. Critiques I've just read remind me of watching Fox News...(whose viewership is down by 58%. Phew.) I will give you all the benefit of the doubt by assuming you don't always believe what you're saying;...you just merely want to be on the winning side...and for now, Bunnypants wears the crown. Regrettably, there's not going to be room for all the Bunnypants apologists under the tent. It's by invitation only.
Posted by: Citizen Milenko at June 05, 2005 09:42 PM (gINUe)
10
Milenko:
We don't need to read that liberal trash propaganda.
We have the Supreme Court Reports to read, and the President of the United States, not to mention a firm 55 to 44 (plus one special idiot on the way out) majority in the United States Senate, and a large un-reversible majority in the House of Representatives. Can you hear the People of the United States talking?
We are trying to tell you something; your shopworn tripe and slogans, augmented by citing writers using bootstrap logic don't sell anymore.
The battle is joined over IDEAS and you guys are fresh out.
So, trot out the Flori-Duh results (which have been over-analysed by everyone, and still come out with GWB WINNING) and mentally masturbate all over the web, but in the end, WE rule and YOU drool.
Shelly
P.S. It gets harder to increase the majority and easier to close it, so I was preparing to take a few losses this coming election. But with Hootin' Howard Dean installed in the Catbird Seat of the Democratic Party, I find new hope that we may yet net a few Senate seats and a few more House seats.
YaaaaHOOOO for Howard!!!
Posted by: shelly at June 06, 2005 01:18 AM (pO1tP)
11
Milenko, with all due respect, please put it to rest.
To reiterate what Shelly posted, the American public isn't being suckered by the sloganeering, the illogical pseudo-arguments put forward by certain politicians. The internet has much to do with this; the truth is much more accessible, and BS more easily exposed.
True it may be harder to increase a majority, but I have good faith that as long as Dean et al keep talking, 58 Senators isn't such a crazy idea.
Posted by: Mark at June 06, 2005 07:57 AM (Hk4wN)
12
i should add that, like all true Republicans, i adore Howard Dean. Hate his politics, but i love it when the man speaks his mind.
Go Howard! Keep up the good work!
Posted by: annika at June 06, 2005 01:31 PM (zAOEU)
13
I sense ideologies on y'all's part which I would categorize as "backwards thinking." Not all conservatives are stupid, but nearly all stupid people are conservative. It's a quote I read somewhere. In a book. Anyway. Conservative ideology...(I guess, it doesn't include balanced budgets or states rights anymore,)...is basically a fear of change. Well,...unfortunately, change happens. It's inevitable. So is losing power. Which is what will happen to the conservatives once the state-run media propaganda machine is exposed for what it is,...and once we have a verified voting trail. Once the masses become educated and all for the most part vote...fairly,...the Bunnypants loyalists will no longer have the numbers to control anything but backwoods towns in former slave states.
Posted by: Citizen Milenko at June 06, 2005 01:42 PM (gINUe)
14
"the Bunnypants loyalists will no longer have the numbers to control anything but backwoods towns in former slave states."
Typical Leftist Democratic elitism. The party of the "little guy" my ass.
Posted by: reagan80 at June 06, 2005 02:02 PM (hlMFQ)
15
To reiterate what reagan80 posted, Milenko is of the same league of people who are masters at fuzzy, feel-good sloganeering.
1. We're to honor "diverse" opinions and backgrounds.
2. Similarly, we're to be "tolerant" of those who are different than us.
The list could go on.
Of course, the above two are immediately null and void whenever a conservative is at issue.
Hypocrites.
Posted by: Mark at June 06, 2005 02:53 PM (Hk4wN)
16
A verified voting trail is going to help the Democrats?? Boy are you in for a surprise, Stedenko.
Posted by: annika at June 06, 2005 07:59 PM (wSNSb)
17
I want to know who are these people who claim \\\"they\\\" rule LOL LOL I\\\'m sure they don\\\'t hold office anywhere, because office holders don\\\'t have to time to visit silly blogs like this... Therefore I highly doubt them rulling anything... not even their own lives.. they sound more like puppets bowing to corrupt politicians who just happen to say things that will please their micro egos hehe...
Posted by: ofakind at June 13, 2005 12:34 AM (8c4Q2)
Hide Comments
| Add Comment
Victim Number Three
This is one of the jumping spiders that i saw
attack and kill a daddy longlegs thingie outside. They're very quick. i found victim number three on the wall next to my computer. Poor thing had to go because i don't want to find it crawling on my feet at some unsuspecting moment. If it had stayed outside, it might have lived, but rules are rules. And a death sentence is a death sentence.
In my room there shall be no pardon from the death sentence. i am the governor, the judge, the jury and the executioner.
Posted by: annika at
11:48 AM
| Comments (12)
| Add Comment
Post contains 103 words, total size 1 kb.
1
As a former tarantula-owner from way back when (I had four), I have to express sadness at all this arachnicide. Jumping spiders have fantastic eyesight, which allows them to lock on to their prey from a distance and perform a kill quickly.
Unfortunately, as little predators, they're hard-wired to detect insect-sized targets, not gargantuan Annikas bearing down on them. Alas for my exoskeletal friends.
Kevin
PS: If you kill a male jumping spider with spray and flip its little corpse over, you'll see it has a camouflage pattern forming the words "White Men" on the underside of its abdomen. Flip a female jumping spider over, and you'll find "Can't Jump." Most of these spiders were specially bred in a lab by a team of scientists working for Woody Harrelson. The team is currently developing a species that displays the word "HEMP."
Posted by: Kevin Kim at June 04, 2005 12:20 PM (1PcL3)
2
Damn that's one nasty looking spider, how do you kill one of those bad boys? Nunchuks?
Posted by: Wayne at June 04, 2005 12:26 PM (7I7f5)
3
Would not want to get bitten by one of those bastards.
Posted by: Mark at June 04, 2005 12:53 PM (Vg0tt)
4
how'd the spider get in the cottage cheese?
Posted by: louielouie at June 04, 2005 01:50 PM (i7mWl)
5
Shall I fuel your paranoia? I think I shall. I was once bitten by a spider that had nested in one of my combat boots. It took about two weeks for the swelling to go down, and it was quite nasty.
Posted by: Casca at June 05, 2005 10:10 AM (qBTBH)
6
is that a riddle, Louie?
i don't know, how
did the spider get into the cottage cheese?
Posted by: annika at June 05, 2005 11:38 AM (wNjyE)
7
It's a common wolf spider. They're hunters, don't build nests, and are about as harmful to people as a baseball cap. annie, didn't anyone ever tell you it's bad luck to kill a spider?
It rips my heart out every time you brag about murdering a spider.
Posted by: Victor at June 05, 2005 04:22 PM (Sx8zO)
8
Hey Victor, i wrote a poem, just for you:
Every time a spider die
Sammy Sosa hit pop fly.
get it, huh? GET IT?! i think that's pretty funny, ain't it Victor?!
(i'm just kiddin dude. i'm destined to remain in last place this year, no matter what moves i make.)
Posted by: annika at June 05, 2005 07:50 PM (rC1od)
9
I'm jealous over how you managed that multi-player deal. I guess being a hot...uhhh...whatever your hair color is these days...must have something to do with it.
Posted by: Victor at June 06, 2005 07:09 AM (L3qPK)
10
Sosa somehow made the All-Star ballot this year. How did that happen? As of this morning, he has 37 hits in 153 at bats with a .242 avg and only 17 RBIs and 16 runs. Not so great after 40 games. Maybe the Cubs had the right idea (for once).
Posted by: Mark at June 06, 2005 08:01 AM (Hk4wN)
11
Or me, for trading him to you.
BTW, I cut the guy I traded him for. Saw him play Saturday and decided he sucked.
Posted by: Victor at June 06, 2005 09:43 AM (L3qPK)
12
Looks like we both got a raw deal on that one.
Posted by: annika at June 06, 2005 01:33 PM (zAOEU)
Hide Comments
| Add Comment
My Donnie Darko, The Director's Cut Review
A pithy and/or lame movie review.
Okay, somebody wanna explain that shit to me?
So he went back in time? i don't get it. How did he go back in time?
This movie is a bizarre cross between The Shining, Ordinary People and Harvey. Plus, it's a comedy.
Set in the eighties, it features a really cool soundtrack. Tears for Fears, INXS, Duran Duran, Joy Division and Echo and the Bunnymen, who are especially appropriate, since the key figure in this movie is a guy in a grotesque bunny suit.
i think i have identified a new movie genre, the "nostalgic suburban period movie." Add this film to the list that includes The Virgin Suicides and Dazed and Confused.
i can't watch the mom without thinking "kickinggggg bird."
Set design was very good. All the details were there. My family had the same antique Sony Trinitron.
If you were to take a poll of bloggers, i imagine this movie would be most popular with self absorbed LiveJournal types. You know, the type of kids who dress in black and think they're artistic and unique because they write free verse poems about death that sound exactly the same as all the other free verse poems about death written by all the other kids who dress in black and think they're artistic and unique.
In other words, i would have loved this movie when i was in high school.
Stylish enough to earn three Netflix stars from me, but ultimately frustrating. i know i might understand it better if i watched it again, but i just didn't like it enough to go through the extra effort.
Posted by: annika at
09:04 AM
| Comments (3)
| Add Comment
Post contains 288 words, total size 2 kb.
1
Never heard of it. Antique Trinitron? For shame ya freakin whippersnapper.
Posted by: Casca at June 04, 2005 08:27 AM (qBTBH)
2
As an old whippersnapper who appreciates eighties bands, i bet you'd like the soundtrack, Casca.
Posted by: annika at June 04, 2005 09:26 AM (aHVt9)
Posted by: scof at June 04, 2005 05:49 PM (x8hF4)
Hide Comments
| Add Comment
155kb generated in CPU 0.1061, elapsed 0.1634 seconds.
79 queries taking 0.1246 seconds, 378 records returned.
Powered by Minx 1.1.6c-pink.
