Naughty cookies

From Pipparkakan (thanks Gizmodo!)

Evel Knievel

Dead.

This depresses me

yet amuses me at the same time. I've never watched this show, but it looks like a good place to go when I want to feel better about myself. After all, I know that France is a country and Europe is not one. It bums me out that this is on YouTube and people all over the world will (suddenly!) realize that Americans are uneducated idiots. Nah...only some are. (the ones in red states). Heh.

 

Thanks Volker!

Torture?

Last night during the CNN/YouTube Republican debate, Mitt Romney used the old "I'm against torture" line when asked specifically about waterboarding. He of course, wouldn't answer whether waterboarding was torture. John McCain was all in his face about it, understandably.

To me, it seems so obvious. Would we consider waterboarding (or other "interrogation methods") torture if they were applied to US military?

I'm sure the weasels would reply that it's different cause they're military and we're talking about "enemy combatants", which the government says is different. But to me, if something is torture when used against one person, it pretty much qualifies as torture when used against another. Seems pretty simple.

If they're okay with our enemies using the same exact methods against our military, then it's not torture, right?

Sigh.

(By the way, "enemy combatants" is just a made up term so that they can withhold Geneva Conventions and other rights from these people. That's also why they are held in Cuba and not in the U.S., which would, ya know, treat them humanely.)

Thanksgiving back East

So, as you know, I traveled to the east coast last week to spend Thanksgiving with my dad and family in CT and the day after Thanksgiving with my mom and family in NY.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, my dad let me use his Cadillac (I mistakenly referred to it as a Lincoln earlier). My dad is gadget crazy like I am, but he's an older guy so he interacts with his gadgets in a different way than I did. Please  note on the photo to the right the GPS device towards the top of the picture. Then, look down to notice the GPS REMOTE CONTROL! Sigh....

The room where I stayed had lots of toys stored in there. They tend to be pretty old - for example, my brother, his (then) wife and I were playing Trivial Pursuit a few years ago. One of the answers to a question was East Germany.  Anyways, I was most amused by the inclusion of the game "Southeastern Connecticut's first game of FUN and CHANCE. Unfortunately, I didn't have time to examine this game in more detail, but I'm sure that it's fascinating. I wonder how many copies of it were sold?

And lastly, I have included a couple of pictures of fall in Connecticut. Unfortunately, there was a lot of wind just before I arrived, so a lot of the trees had already lost their leaves. However, there were still some really beautiful scenes. I love going back east this time of year because the air feels crisp and it's clear and pretty. It really sets the tone for the holidays.

I know I've been kinda writer's strike gaga

I'm all about the entertainment...

Seriously, this is about the employees of major corporations asking to share the wealth. Obviously, I think that's reasonable. :-)

I love Sandra Oh and think she's super talented but now I love her even more. (Thanks Slog)

Another "speechless" video to support the writers

CAST: David Schwimmer, Kate Beckinsale, Chic Eglee, Susan Sarandon, Benito Martinez, Walton Goggins, Sean Penn, Richard Benjamin, Paula Prentiss, Paula Garces, Garry Marshall, Lizzy Caplan, Holly Hunter, John Amos, Gary Dourdan, Matthew Perry, Bill Hader, Robert Patrick, James Lemar, Joshua Jackson, Matthew Modine, Bill Macy, Andre Benjamin (aka Andre 3000), Rosanna Arquette, Jill Kushner, Chazz Palminteri, Cch Pounder, Tim Robbins, Sean Penn, Christine Lahti, Eva Longoria, Patricia Clarkson, Amy Ryan, Frances Fisher, Justine Bateman, Jason Bateman, Ed Asner, Nicolette Sheridan, Felicity Huffman, America Ferrera, Judith Light, Rebecca Romijn, Ana Ortiz, Ashley Jensen, Mark Indelicato, Tony Plana, Freddy Rodriguez, Eric Mabius, Christopher Gorham, Michael Urie, Laura Linney, Alan Cumming, Michael Jace
CREATIVE TEAM: George Hickenlooper, Alan Sereboff, Kamala Lopez, Jill Kushner, Michal Shemesh
MUSIC: Mother Tongue
TECHNICAL TEAM: Joel Marshall, Justin Shumaker

This is the 12th of the Writers Guild Of America member-conceived Internet videos for Project "Speechless" featuring A-list Screen Actors Guild talent. For the first time in the TV and movie industry, high-profile SAG actors are together taking their talents directly and exclusively to the Internet, the very medium which is at the center of the current WGA labor strike against the Alliance Of Motion Picture & Television Producers. The project, conceived by director/writer George Hickenlooper and writer Alan Sereboff, made its exclusive weekend debut here on my Deadline Hollywood Daily with 11 videos. Starting today, the "Speechless" campaign now debuts on its new site, SpeechlessWithoutWriters.com, which will be adding new videos every day in both high-res and low-res versions.

 

(from DeadlineHollywoodDaily)

Do you support the writers?

I do and I just found out about bringtvback. Here's the info from their site:

Tell the studios and networks to negotiate a fair new media deal with the writers!

Download as a .pdf here.

SCROLL DOWN TO:
1. Learn about the issues.
2. Get the addresses of the major studios and network CEOs who are calling the shots.
3. Read a sample letter you can use.
4. Check out a SHOW GUIDE, allowing you to find your favorite show, then write the CEOs who are responsible for keeping that show off the air!

The writers are on strike, seeking to negotiate a historic deal that will establish how writers profit from NEW MEDIA -- including add supported streaming video, direct downloads and mobile. Until they get a respectable deal, our favorite shows are not being produced.

The writers are willing to talk.

The studios and networks are not.

We, the viewers, need to tell the studios and networks, loud and clear, that we, the people who watch their channels, download their shows and support their new media enterprises, want them to NEGOTIATE A FAIR NEW MEDIA DEAL WITH THE WRITERS!

Anything less is a slap in the face to their consumers and stockholders. (Learn more at UNITEDHOLLYWOOD.)

WRITE! CALL! MAIL A POSTCARD!

SEND PENCILS!

MAKE THE STUDIOS AND NETWORKS LISTEN:

ABC network/ABC Family/Lifetime/Disney Channel/A&E/ABC Studios
Robert Iger
CEO of The Walt Disney Company
500 South Buena Vista Street
Burbank, CA 91521

CORPORATE PHONE: (818) 560-1000
CORPORATE FAX: (818)560-2500

FOX network/FX/MY Network TV/Fox Television Studios
Peter Chernin
CEO of Fox Entertainment Group
10201 West Pico Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90035

CORPORATE PHONE: (310) 369-1000

CW network/Warner Bros. Television
Barry Meyer
Chairman, Warner Bros. Entertainment
4000 Warner Blvd.
Burbank, CA 91522

CORPORATE PHONE: (818) 954-6000

NBC network/USA/Sci Fi/A&E/Universal Media Studios
Jeff Zucker
CEO of NBC/Universal
30 Rockefeller Plaza
New York, NY 10112

CORPORATE PHONE: (212) 664-4444

CBS network/CW network/Showtime/CBS Paramount Television
Leslie Moonves
CEO of CBS Entertainment Network
7800 Beverly Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90036

CORPORATE PHONE: (323) 575-2345

Sony Pictures Television
Michael Lynton
Chairman/CEO of Sony Pictures Entertainment
10202 West Washington Blvd.
Culver City, CA 90232

CORPORATE PHONE: (310) 244-4000
CORPORATE FAX: (310) 244-2626

Comedy Central/MTV
Philippe Dauman
President/CEO of Viacom
1515 Broadway
New York, NY 10036

CORPORATE PHONE: (800) 459-2539

WHAT TO SAY:

First, if you are a SHAREHOLDER -- mention it!

If you are a fan of a specific show (or shows), PERSONALIZE the following template:

Dear (CEO):

As a loyal viewer of many of your TV shows, I'm disappointed that you, along with the rest of the AMPTP, have broken off negotiations with the Writer's Guild. In refusing to negotiate residuals for new media, especially streaming media, you are alienating those who enjoy your product.

I consume my entertainment via new media -- I watch streaming video and download shows. As a viewer, I want to know that the writers who crafted my favorite TV shows and movies are getting a fair residual, no matter what screen I use.

Please respect your audience and respect your writers by returning to the bargaining table and negotiate new media residuals fairly.

Sincerely,

YOU

Now, after that "snail mail" has been sent off, SPREAD THE WORD!

Please reproduce the contents of this site, or refer people here!

---

SHOW GUIDE
Find your favorite shows, write the responsible CEOs!
The first listed name is of the CEO of the network that airs the show, the second listed name is the CEO of the studio who produces it. If only one name is listed, it typically means that show is produced and aired by two division of the same corporation.

24 - Peter Chernin
30 Rock - Jeff Zucker
4400, The - Jeff Zucker, Leslie Moonves
Aliens in America - Leslie Moonves, Barry Meyer
All My Children - Robert Iger
American Dad - Peter Chernin
Army Wives - Robert Iger
As the World Turns - Leslie Moonves
Back to You - Peter Chernin
Battlestar Galactica - Jeff Zucker
Big Bang Theory, The - Leslie Moonves, Barry Meyer
Big Shots - Robert Iger, Barry Meyer
Bionic Woman, The - Jeff Zucker
Bold and the Beautiful, The - Leslie Moonves
Bones - Peter Chernin
Boston Legal - Robert Iger
Brotherhood - Leslie Moonves
Brothers and Sisters - Robert Iger
Burn Notice - Jeff Zucker, Peter Chernin
Cane - Leslie Moonves, Robert Iger
Californication - Leslie Moonves
Carpoolers - Robert Iger
Cavemen - Robert Iger
Chuck - Jeff Zucker, Barry Meyer
Closer - Barry Meyer
Colbert Report, The - Philippe Dauman
Cold Case - Leslie Moonves, Barry Meyer
Criminal Minds - Leslie Moonves, Robert Iger
CSI - Leslie Moonves
CSI: Miami - Leslie Moonves
CSI: New York - Leslie Moonves
Daily Show, The - Philippe Dauman
Damages - Peter Chernin, Michael Lynton
Days of Our Lives - Jeff Zucker, Michael Lynton
Desperate Housewives - Robert Iger
Dexter - Leslie Moonves
Dirt - Peter Chernin, Robert Iger
Dirty Sexy Money - Robert Iger
Ellen Degeneres Show, The - Barry Meyer
Everybody Hates Chris - Leslie Moonves, Barry Meyer
ER - Jeff Zucker, Barry Meyer
Family Guy - Peter Chernin
Friday Night Lights - Jeff Zucker
Game, The - Leslie Moonves, Barry Meyer
General Hospital - Robert Iger
Ghost Whisperer - Leslie Moonves, Robert Iger
Girlfriends - Leslie Moonves, Barry Meyer
Gossip Girl - Leslie Moonves, Barry Meyer
Grey's Anatomy - Robert Iger
Guiding Light - Leslie Moonves
Hannah Montana - Robert Iger
Heroes - Jeff Zucker
House - Peter Chernin, Jeff Zucker
How I Met Your Mother - Leslie Moonves
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia - Peter Chernin
Jericho - Leslie Moonves
Journeyman - Jeff Zucker
K-Ville - Peter Chernin
King of the Hill - Peter Chernin
Kyle XY - Robert Iger
L Word, The - Leslie Moonves
Las Vegas - Jeff Zucker
Late Night with David Letterman - Leslie Moonves
Law and Order: SVU - Jeff Zucker
Life - Jeff Zucker
Life is Wild - Leslie Moonves, Barry Meyer
Lincoln Heights - Robert Iger
Lost - Robert Iger
Mad TV - Peter Chernin
Medium - Jeff Zucker, Leslie Moonves
Men in Trees - Robert Iger, Barry Meyer
Monk - Jeff Zucker, Robert Iger
Moonlight - Leslie Moonves, Barry Meyer
My Boys - Barry Meyer, Michael Lynton
My Name is Earl - Jeff Zucker
Nashville - Peter Chernin
NCIS - Leslie Moonves
New Adventures of Old Christine, The - Leslie Moonves, Barry Meyer
Nip/Tuck - Peter Chernin, Barry Meyer
Notes From the Underbelly - Barry Meyer
Numb3rs - Leslie Moonves
October Road - Robert Iger
Office, The - Jeff Zucker
One Life to Live - Robert Iger
Passions - Jeff Zucker
Prison Break - Peter Chernin
Private Practice - Robert Iger
Psych - Jeff Zucker, Robert Iger
Pushing Daisies - Robert Iger, Barry Meyer
Reaper - Leslie Moonves, Barry Meyer, Robert Iger
Rescue Me - Peter Chernin, Michael Lynton
Riches, The - Peter Chernin
Rules of Engagement - Leslie Moonves, Michael Lynton
Samantha Who? - Robert Iger
Scrubs - Jeff Zucker, Robert Iger
Shark - Leslie Moonves
Shield, The - Peter Chernin, Michael Lynton
Side Order of Life - Robert Iger
Simpsons, The - Peter Chernin
Smallville - Leslie Moonves, Barry Meyer
State of Mind - Robert Iger
Supernatural - Leslie Moonves, Barry Meyer
Talkshow with Spike Feresten - Peter Chernin
Til Death - Peter Chernin, Michael Lynton
Tonight Show, The - Jeff Zucker
Two and a Half Men - Leslie Moonves, Barry Meyer
Ugly Betty - Robert Iger
Unit, The - Leslie Moonves
Weeds - Leslie Moonves
Without a Trace - Leslie Moonves, Barry Meyer
Women's Murder Club - Robert Iger
Young and the Restless, The - Leslie Moonves, Michael Lynton

Great video about the writer's strike

I'm a big fan of Laura Linney and she's one of the actors featured in videos supporting the writers. Here's the info from Deadline Hollywood:

This is the 11th of the Writers Guild Of America member-conceived Internet videos for Project "Speechless" featuring A-list Screen Actors Guild talent. They are being hosted exclusively by DeadlineHollywoodDaily.com over Thanksgiving Weekend. For the first time in the TV and movie industry, high-profile SAG actors are together taking their talents directly and exclusively to the Internet, the very medium which is at the center of the current WGA labor strike against the Alliance Of Motion Picture & Television Producers. The project, conceived by director/writer George Hickenlooper and writer Alan Sereboff, will be releasing three videos here in the morning, afternoon and evening throughout this weekend. See them all!

 

(click on the pic above to see the Laura Linney video). I also officially respect all of the following actors for cutting videos as a part of this project to support the writers: (please note that the actor's union will be negotiating for a similar deal when they renegotiate with the studios in '08). Don't miss the Holly Hunter video - I love her (if you haven't seen her new show "Saving Grace" on TNT, start watching it asap!)

Nicolette Sheridan, Eva Longoria video

Harvey Keitel video

William H. Macy & Felicity Huffman video

Andre Benjamin (aka Andre 3000) video

David Schwimmer & Kate Beckinsale video

"Ugly Betty" cast video

Jeff Garlin video

Sean Penn video

Richard Benjamin & Paula Prentiss video

Holly Hunter video

Slew of posts

I know I've been remiss in posting lately, so I just posted several items that I read about that I thought I'd recycle for my readers, in case you're not aware of them...

I have pictures and will post about my adventures in the great NorthEast shortly.

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and yummy leftovers.

Recycle your old gadgets

Do not throw your old gadgets, computers and electronics out in the garbage! They go to landfills and take gazillions of years (okay, perhaps I exaggerate - slightly) to break down (if ever). I just found out that Costco has a program that will recycle your old consumer electronics.

Costco recently teamed with a company called GreenSight to start a trade-in program for consumer electronics. They’ll take computers, monitors, mp3 players, camcorders, and more. The trade-in values are rather low, but may be worthwhile in some cases. Payment is made in Costco Cash Cards.

GreenSight will recycle items for which they’re not able to offer trade-in credit. (For a limited time, there’s not even a shipping charge.) According to the company’s policies:

Our recycling program employs a zero tolerance landfill policy meaning all of the material that is subject to recycling is disassembled by hand, carefully separated and eventually utilized as feedstock for various raw material extraction processes (including smelting and refining).

If you have old computer equipment in the garage that you’ve been meaning to get rid of, this may be a great opportunity to do so.

(Thanks Get Rich Slowly!)

How to find deals on gifts

Wired has an article about how to find the best deals when shopping for gifts online. One of the things that was totally new to me was:

Clean your cookies. Retailers base a lot of their online promotions and price points on shoppers' habits. So, it's not uncommon for shoppers to notice price fluctuations after repeated purchases on the same site. Prices typically drop for these power shoppers as an incentive, but there have been documented occurrences of increases, too. You can check to see if this is happening to you by logging out from the retail site, clearing your browser's cookies, and then revisiting the product page. If you find a lower price, buy it -- re-registering with a new customer account if necessary.

Here's the whole article. (Thanks Lifehacker!)

Producers respond to the Daily Show writers

Well, not really. It's writers from Colbert Report "responding" to the Daily Show's explanation of the writer's strike.

Talking cats

You may have seen this. Now watch the translation.

(Thanks Volker!)

Connecticut is cold

I know...it seems self-evident, but it's really chilly here. I flew in today with my dog Gus, who refrained from barking on the flight until we were at the gate (sometimes he feels compelled to bark in excitement as we approach landing. He just wants out of the bag I shove him into to fly.)

Anyways, my dad picked me up and brought me up here to his house in Ct. and it is mighty chilly. It may even snow tonight, which is good. I figure if it's going to be cold, it may as well snow. Then it's pretty and I can throw snowballs at Gus the dog.

So, my dad loans me his car when I'm here, which is really sweet because it means that I don't have to rent a car. But my dad's car is a Lincoln Continental, so I feel like a Jewish grandpa when I'm driving it. You know, the whole can't see over the steering wheel kinda thingy. It's not pretty. I'll have a friend take a picture and I'll post it for your viewing pleasure.

I'm pooped, so I'm gonna go read now.

Not the Daily Show

For me, the hardest part of the writer's strike is missing the Daily Show. (Of course, compared to all the writers who aren't being paid at all, that's probably insignificant).

The writers of the Daily Show have put together a piece that (in standard Daily Show format - which means very funny) explains the writers perspective (and how evil large corporations are).

Oh yeah, have I mentioned I work for a large corporation? Sigh.

(Thanks Bob)

!)

Does anyone else watch Heroes?

I enjoy it - it's lighthearted popcorn kinda stuff. But this season, they seem to need to find a reason to get Peter to take his shirt off in every episode. I'm pretty sure that we haven't gone one episode without him flashing his pecs.

Are they trying to attract more girls/women? Is that all it takes?

He's lovely and all, but I'm not sure that's how you drive ratings. (although I am sure it would help in the other direction - if a young attractive woman was stripping down each week, that would definitely drive men to watch the show. But men work differently than we do.)

And while I'm on the subject, make sure you start watching 30 Rock if you're not already watching it. It's really hysterical and we're about to run out of new episodes of all the tv shows soon, so it's a good time to discover good new tv that you've been missing.

Why aren't you on Skype?

If you're one of my geek buddies, move on, there's nothing to see here.

Now, for the rest of you...

Most of you people live far away and I don't get to see you very often. All you have to do is install Skype on your computer and slap on a video camera and we can talk and see each other - for free! (If you need a video camera, let me know - I can get you one from work for a discount).

It's really nice to be able to see people who are far away. My dad & I talk a lot like this and today my brother came walking in the room and he was looking all svelte and we realized that we haven't seen each other since I was back east for last Thanksgiving. It's too long.

It's a simple program to set up and use. C'mon folks!

Take a stand!?!

All of the Senators who happen to be running for President somehow neglected to vote on the Attorney General confirmation for Mukasey (you remember - the guy who isn't sure if waterboarding is torture, but is sure that porn is bad.)

Now they don't have to explain or defend why they chose to vote a certain way. Isn't that handy?

Don't you want a President who is informed and intelligent (traits that we just assumed all of our Presidents had until recently...) and is willing to take a stand in what they believe in?

These weasels (Clinton, Biden, Dodd, Obama and McCain) are playing politics and I don't like it at all.

By the way, the Democrats that voted in favor of the Mukasey nomination are:

Chuck Schumer of New York (who initially had recommended him), Diane Feinstein of California,  Evan Bayh of Indiana, Tom Carper of Delaware, Mary Landrieu of Louisiana and Ben Nelson of Nebraska. Of the Senate's two independents, Joe Lieberman of Connecticut (duh) voted for confirmation and Bernie Sanders of Vermont voted against.

Fascinating blog I just found out about

Check out BraveNewLeaf to follow a Seattle woman's journey through the process of becoming "green". If you scroll to the bottom of the blog entries (read from the bottom up so you read from oldest to most recent), she explains her conversion to believing that this is important (and she was the kind of person who would throw out the soda can even though there was a recycle bin next to the garbage - just to irritate the "greenies" she worked with). Follow along as she determines her energy usage, what items use the most energy in her house, how much water she uses, etc.

She intends to cut down significantly on her household's negative impact on the planet. It's fascinating and I'm definitely going to read along and play along at home.

Here's a quote from the blog:

Like most of America, I’ve been raised in an environment that takes for granted the centralized systems and conveniences we enjoy on a regular basis.  As a result, I don’t fully understand what impact my patterns have, or how I can improve them.  At first glance, it seems clear that our society on the whole needs to evolve, but forced government intervention seems unlikely at the present moment, so I’m on my own.

Bad priest. Bad bad priest.

“David Ajemian, a Boston priest, was arrested last week while trying to get into a taping of NBC's "Late Night with Conan O'Brien." Father Ajemian has allegedly been sending the TV host "threatening emails, postcards, and letters" for over a year.”

Mr (Father?) Ajemian is allegedly under psychiatric evaluation at this moment and faces charges of aggravated harassment and stalking. Jesus could not be reached for comment.

What's on Amy's desk?

Someone loaned me a Bush-head. I had to do something to entertain myself.

Anyone?

Can one of my smarty pants friends please explain this to me?

Hmmm...how would this be handled here in the U.S.?

A cartoon calendar for kids, sold by the city of Hanover in Germany, has a tiny drawing of local serial killer Fritz Haarmann, who murdered 24 people during the 1920s. He's holding a meat cleaver and peeking out from behind a tree, while happy men, women, and children enjoy the holiday all around him. He's one of 24 famous people from Hanover who appear on the calendar; "It's part of our history," says Hans Nolte, the director of the town's tourism board.

The town is not recalling the calendar—in fact, now that word has gotten out about the unsavory character on it, sales have gone up. "People are queuing up to buy the calendar now," says Nolte, who expects the full run of 20,000 calendars to quickly sell out. However, Haarmann will be removed for next year's version.

"What says Christmas like a serial killer?"
(Image: Ananova)

Kitty bloopers

Hmmmm....the kitty postings have definitely overtaken the dog postings. Gus would not be happy if he could read (and had a computer and opposable thumbs). Anyways, these are very funny. I especially like when kitties attack babies.

 

Bollywood + Condoms = Great Entertainment

This commercial is longer than 5 minutes! They pretty much cover everything you might ever want to know about condoms. Now I know that they are sealed with lubricant, they save you and increase your longevity and you shouldn't forget to check the date of manufacture.

I like when all the guys are standing around watching them sing. You know, you're on the way to pick up a pack of cigs and you see singing condoms. You stop to watch, of course. I would. (But oddly enough, there are no women.)

Huh. They just mentioned gay sex and they illustrated it (in case anyone requires pictures). Those kooky crazy Indians.

Dancing condoms are your friend. Five minutes of dancing condoms may be a bit much though.

Those kooky Dutch

Check out this website. Just sit back and enjoy the ride. I was trying to figure out what the company did that created this and the only available links (after it's done) are on the bottom - privacy, disclaimer, copyright, etc. don't work. If you hover over them, you'll see Javascript:doNothing(). Interesting...

WGA on strike

By now, you've surely heard about the writers' strike currently in full swing across the television and film industry in New York City and Los Angeles.

The Huffington Post is reporting that Tina Fey (from 30 Rock - a GREAT show, if you don't already know) and Julia Louis-Dreyfus are out there on the picket lines with the writers.

These are people who are going the extra mile to support folks who are not valued by the studio system currently in place.

See, the writers want to be paid for their material being made available on the internet because right now they aren't being compensated for this type of distribution. And the studios (who are posting this stuff and either selling it a la iTunes or making it "free" via PAID commercials) claim that the technology is too new and they don't want to give the writers any compensation for these new media. The writers are asking for a percentage of profits, so that they make money if the studios make money. Clearly, this is unreasonable in Americorp, Bushland.

So, how will this affect you? All those daily shows you may watch (The View, Ellen, Daily Show!!!!, Colbert Report, David Letterman, etc.) are now on reruns. The studios have tried to stock up on the series, so we won't see the effect for a while on those shows. Last time the writers went on strike, it lasted 22 weeks, so you may want to review your Netflix list.

Attack of the cats

Brilliant piece of filmmaking.

Imminent Monks

The house next door to mine is owned by Tawainese female monks. I've been living here for two and a half years and it's been vacant. Suddenly today, someone was mowing the lawn and a saw a man in a suit and a bald person of indeterminate gender in what appeared to be some sort of robe walking around.

Does this mean they're coming?

I'll keep you updated....

Pulp Muppets

This is great, but especially because of the Eric Stoltz reference...

Fall back

Don't forget to set your clocks back this weekend. See you on the other side.

Bill to the C

Went to hear the former President speak this morning. Thought that showing up at 7:30am for a 9am talk would be sufficient to get a seat up front, but there are apparently lots of early rising liberals here in the Pac Northwest (whoda thought?). I ended up in the 10th row after waiting on a pretty long line.

Steve B. introduced him and said that he wouldn't have time to take questions cause they had some press thingy going on right afterwards.

Bill talked about his new book, Giving. It's about how all of us can make a difference in the world. I dig that - it's right up my pseudo hippy left wing communist side. But he wasn't nearly as inspiring as I expected him to be. I hear that one on one, the guy is just magnetic, but I wasn't feeling it in the tenth row. Of course, he wrapped up and said he'd take one question and ended up taking five, thus making Steve B. wait, which probably doesn't happen all that often.

One of the questions asked what he would do in a Hillary administration - he said initially that he and others would travel the world letting people know that the US is back (okay, perhaps I'm paraphrasing...) and wants to work and play well with others. Then he would work on spreading the word about the administrations policies and what they're trying to do. He would also work as a personal ambassador type deal for the President when it wasn't appropriate to send the Sect'y of State.

He was definitely interesting and amusing and well spoken, but I thought I'd be more taken with him. Another dream dashed...

------------------------------------------------

Edited at 6:37 to add:

I just remembered the part that I found most inspiring. He talked about the Climate Summit meeting of the US Mayors that Seattle Mayor Nichols is holding this week. They're not waiting for the federal government to do something about climate change - they're talking about and making changes to their own cities to address climate change. Anyways, after talking about how that is good, Bill talked about how the changes that are necessary should be looked at as a way to increase jobs and the economy. He used Denmark and the UK as examples of countries that found a way to increase jobs, create new industries and stimulate their economies all around things like harnessing wind energy. I think that this is a brilliant way to approach the changes that are oh so necessary. He also said that Al Gore's Nobel Prize was long overdue (lots of applause to that line from the approving liberals in attendance...)

Fly the sleepy skies

Two commercial pilots allegedly fell asleep on a flight between Baltimore and Denver, with one pilot waking up to "frantic" calls from air traffic controllers warning them they were approaching the airport at twice the speed allowed.

Thanks Yahoo!

Go View ladies go!

The war on pornography

Okay, so there's this guy named Michael Mukasey who's up in front of Congress being interviewed about how he'd function as Attorney General (replacing good ole 'I don't recall Gonzales). He's not sure how he feels about waterboarding - you know, he hasn't been briefed on it, so maybe it's legal and reasonable and fine with him. He doesn't really think it's appropriate to take a stand on it at this point.

btw: Waterboarding (aka "water boarding") is the practice of immobilizing an individual on his or her back, with the head inclined downward, and pouring water over the face to force the inhalation of water and induce the sensation of drowning. Waterboarding has been used to obtain information, coerce confessions, punish, and intimidate. In contrast to merely submerging the head, waterboarding elicits the gag reflex,[1] and can make the subject believe death is imminent while leaving no physical damage. (from Wikipedia, of course).

But when questioned about how the government doesn't really go after the pornographers in our country, suddenly, he's all on top of it:

Over at Salon.com, Glenn Greenwald liveblogged the Mukasey confirmation hearing, reporting:

"The Senate Judiciary Committee today begins its confirmation hearing for Michael Mukasey, the Bush administration's nominee to replace Alberto Gonzales as Attorney General. As he always does, Sen. Hatch makes clear that — even as we battle the Global Epic War of Civilizations against Islamo-fascism — his primary concern is that the Department of Justice is not doing enough to battle the evils of what even he calls 'mainstream, adult pornography.'

"Hatch explains that 'pornography and obscenity consumption harms individuals, families, communities.' Unfortunately, Hatch said, the DOJ has a 'terrible record enforcing adult obscenity law' — such enforcement stopped during the Clinton administration and there is not much more to show for it during the Bush administration.

"The problem, Hatch explained, is that the DOJ is prosecuting only 'extreme' obscenity — not what he calls 'mainstream obscenity.' Since most consumers only access 'mainstream obscenity,' not 'extreme obscenity,' this strategy is misguided — it prosecutes 'too narrow a range of obscenity.' Also, warned Hatch, there are far too few FBI resources being devoted to 'mainstream obscenity prosecutions.'"

"Mukasey promised to review the policy of only prosecuting 'extreme' rather than 'mainstream' pornography, and vowed: 'I recognize that mainstream materials can have an effect of cheapening a society, objectifying women, and endangering children in a way that we can't tolerate.'"

Your tax dollars at work, ladies and gentlemen...

Oh, and by the way, since there's been such an overabundance of hypocracy in the Republican party by one after another "straight" guys who vote against gay rights and then are busted for having gay sex, what's the possibility that there are Republican lawmakers against pornography that kinda sorta like it? Just sayin'.

Snogging pandas

Click on the picture to see video of two pandas making out. It's awfully cute.