A Brief History of My Bad Mood

2003-06-06T09:29:00.000-05:00

Doing The Lord's Work

A wiser man than I once postulated that the best way to combat the mindless ranting from right wing talk radio is with satire. If that's true, than Neal Pollack may very well be our Rush:

6. Finally, and most importantly, the Times needs to provide balanced coverage of the Bush Presidency. It's fine to hate America up to a point, if you keep your mouth shut, but don't make everyone else hate it, too. The failing economy, the wartime lies, the quasi-Triumph Of The Will speeches, the dying environment, these are all minor compared to the warm feeling Americans get when they think about George W. Bush. Why doesn't the Times report on that? If you think about it, and I do, every day, Howell Raines is gone, and George W. Bush is still standing. This is the perfect opportunity for the Times to join the American mainstream in mindless adulation of the President. And I am the perfect man to lead the Times in that quest.

Give that man a TV series. Now.

2003-06-05T14:32:00.000-05:00

Such a Smooth Ride!

Since we're on the topic of Clinton's Dick:

Speaking of Monica Lewinsky, we thank the Jewish World Review Web site for pointing out a Knight Ridder story from Irbil, Iraq, revealing the Iraqi penchant for nicknaming pickup trucks: "Locals call the vehicles 'Monicas,' as in Lewinsky, after the former White House intern whose appearance meets Iraqi standards for both feminine and automotive beauty. 'She's a beautiful girl, and it's a beautiful car,' said Ghazi Abdullah Dormari, whose auto-trading lot in the Kurdish city of Irbil features several late-model Monicas. 'They are a very tempting car,' said Marwan Shaban, a car dealer in the nearby northern city of Mosul. 'Just as Monica tempted Clinton, they will tempt you.' "

Something tells me we won't see one parked outside a certain suburban New York home anytime soon.

2003-06-04T09:55:00.000-05:00

A First Lady's Secret

Hillary Clinton is one of the most polarizing characters in American discourse. I have yet to meet anyone who doesn't either love or hate Hillary with the white-hot passion of a thousand suns. Regardless of how you feel, there is no denying that she is a singular precident for a First Lady. Something tells me you would never have seen Pat Nixon, in her respectable Republican cloth coat, running for office.

Keeping that in mind, out of all the many events in Senator Clinton's life the Liberal Media could focus on, what have they chosen?

Her husband's dick.

I'm not sure why I'm even bothering to be outraged by this. I just hope they cast that spunky Melissa Gilbert as Hillary in the Lifetime Movie.

2003-06-03T01:26:00.000-05:00

There's Totally Not A Spoon, Dude!

While I stand by my belief that Matrix:Reloaded should have been titled Really Crappy Movie: That Never Ends, this is an interesting take on the movie.

2003-06-02T23:45:00.000-05:00

A Star Falls, A Phone Call

Sometimes art imitates life imitating art at just the right moment. Tonight on the Adult Swim repeat of "Futurama", the tagline at the bottom of the opening credits said:

Federal Law Prohibits Changing the Channel

Coincidence, or shennigans in Atlanta?

2003-06-02T11:38:00.000-05:00

My Second Ever Follow-Up!

I'm starting to feel like The Times--but without the intern stringers.

Jesus is In. High School Saved from Hell.

God will be a part of Winneconne High School's graduation ceremony June 8 - or at least his name will come up.

The school has decided to allow 18-year-old Rachel Honer to sing a song at the ceremony with the word God in it after a group filed a lawsuit on her behalf last week. School officials worried about breaching the separation between church and state, while Honer and her representative, the Rutherford Institute, claimed free-speech rights.

What resulted Thursday was a compromise: Honer can sing the song "He's Always Been Faithful" by Christian recording artist Sara Groves, uncensored. In return, she'll be identified in the program as a graduation performer, not a graduation speaker. Furthermore, she won't give a spoken introduction to the song that mentions God

2003-06-01T23:49:00.000-05:00

If You Can’t Win, Kill Yourself

On the off chance one needed more evidence of the DFL’s uselessness, enjoy this:

Sen. Tom Bakk, a DFLer from the Iron Range town of Cook, pulled out of his party's governing caucus late Thursday and others indicated they may follow, leaving control of the Senate in question.
Bakk, a first-term senator but longtime legislator, said he would remain a Democrat but he wouldn't support the party's current leadership. He said he felt "sold out" by his leaders and thought his region has been neglected.
Bakk said he intends to remain a Democrat in name, but is speaking with other members about withdrawing support for Majority Leader John Hottinger of St. Peter.
"We are badly represented by the DFL leadership in the Senate," Bakk said.
Republican Minority Leader Dick Day of Owatonna says he's already been approached by other disaffected DFLers about abandoning their caucus.
"I'm going to try and talk to them as soon as I can get with them, probably by Monday, Tuesday. Oh, definitely. The're very, very unhappy and there's more than just the Iron Range. There's about four of them that are very unhappy," Day said.
If just two DFLers defect, it could tip the balance of the Senate into GOP hands, giving Republicans control of both houses plus the governor's office. But Hottinger says it's unlikely the heavily Democratic Iron Range will link arms with the party that pushed the tax bill in the first place.

Iron Range DFLers are actually willing to throw control of the party to Pawlenty in order to make their point. I can’t decide if these guys are crazy or brilliant. Only time will tell…

2003-06-01T23:31:00.000-05:00

Unclear On The Concept

From the Sunday Strib:

Fresh from the contentious 2003 legislative session, Republicans and DFLers will begin crisscrossing the state Monday, dispensing completely contrary messages.
The war is over, GOP leaders will say.
Let's fight on, DFL leaders will say.

Fight on? Doesn’t “on” require there to have been some sort of original fight? It’s sad just how unaware the DFL is of its own irrelevancy. The level of cynicism in this statement from the Majority Leader is stupefying:

Hottinger acknowledged that DFLers might not have done the smartest thing politically by fighting through a two-week special session for a bonding bill and other concessions that took the "sharpest of edges" off some of the Republican proposals in order to "give people some hope."

If you missed it, the highest-ranking member of the state’s opposition party is concerned that helping people is less politically “smart” than making some sort of point by increasing their suffering.

Then again, I believe Nader voters operated under a similar mind-set in 2000.

2003-06-01T23:07:00.000-05:00

Thanks for the Observation, Murrow

I was watching a few minutes of CNN this evening, and under the now omni-present “Breaking News” banner were the following two lines of text

Eric Rudolph Captured

Hard to Catch

Huh? I’m not sure which is worse, the fact that CNN would put such a stupidly simple-minded “bullet-point” under the headline, or the fact that someone at CNN thinks its viewing public needs such a reminder.

2003-05-30T00:12:00.000-05:00

Two Fisted True Tales from Minnesota's Other Senator

Remember the other guy we elected a couple years ago?

It took Mark awhile, but during this time of economic stress, international unrest and teenage Canadian singer-songwriters, he finally found it:

Flag Burning.

Missing the irony, he says he had his moment of clarity in....France.

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Sen. Mark Dayton, D-Minn., says he came to understand the value of the American flag when he visited the beaches of Normandy and gazed upon the graves of thousands of U.S. soldiers.

"It's just an indescribably profound experience to see all of these crosses and realize that underneath every one of them is a young man . . . who paid that ultimate price for the freedoms that we enjoy," he said.

Former Mayor and member of the "Get Things Done" club, Norm Coleman was quick to sign onto this important campaign issue:

"Obscenity is a form of expression, but it's not legal," he said. "I'm a great supporter of the First Amendment . . . but there are lines to be crossed."

Thank God we have these brave men willing to take this contraversial stand on an issue that is unlikely to resonate with voters.

2003-05-29T23:59:00.000-05:00

Summer Is In The Air...

...and that can only mean one thing: The annual round of lawsuits over commencement speeches!

WINNECONNE, WIS. -- A teenager is suing her school district for refusing to let her sing a religious song at commencement unless she changes the lyrics.

Rachel Honer, 18, alleges that the Winneconne High School violated her constitutional rights of free speech and religious expression when it ordered her to substitute the three references to God in "He's Always Been Faithful" or not perform at the June 8 ceremony.

The lawsuit was filed last week in U.S. District Court in Milwaukee by the Rutherford Institute, a Virginia-based group that fights for religious freedoms.

"I am incredibly proud that she has taken a stand and not backed down," Debra Honer, her mother, said. "God is No. 1 in her life, so how could she talk about anything else?"

This is one of those issues that, frankly, I could care less about. I don't think the republic is going to fall because some uptight virgin in Camel's Ass, Georgia wants to spend ten minutes in her graduation address talking about how much the Baby Jesus has changed her life. In fact, I say give it to her. Remember, this is going to be the peak of her life. This fall she's going to go college, realize that no one in college really cares how pretty and smart and fun she was in 10th grade, move back home, go to community college and give up her job to stay home "because it's important to spend time with the kids." Then, every Tuesday, at the Gated Community Authorized Play Group, she can thrill all the other moms--for the umteenth time--with the tale of how she stood up for the First Amendment...and won!

Preach on, Rachel Honer. Preach on.

2003-05-29T23:48:00.000-05:00

My First Ever Follow-Up!

Xcel swears everything will be fixed by 2013. Really. They're going to get right on it. Soon as they get some coffee. And clean the kitchen....And, oh, look, a New Yorker they hadn't read...well, right after "Talk of the Town". Then they'll get to work.

2003-05-29T23:43:00.000-05:00

Score One for the Good Guys. Final tally: Good Guys 1, Bad Guys 158

The bonding bill passed the house with the Guthrie and the CTC intact. Too bad no one picked up on my suggested rider to fire Michael Graves.

2003-05-29T23:30:00.000-05:00

Happiness Is A Warm Gun

It's wonderful when mothers care this much.

On May 8, Gappa's senior year came to an abrupt halt at Cannon Falls High School when a police officer and school officials found a small-caliber rifle in a case behind the seat of his pickup truck. Nearby was ammunition for the gun, which Gappa said he uses for squirrel hunting and target practice.

Gappa, 17, said he'd forgotten the gun was there and he apologized. He'd never been called to the principal's office before. But school officials, citing federal law banning firearms on school grounds, suspended him, first for 10 days and then the rest of the school year.

Then came the punishment that hurt the most: He wouldn't be allowed to graduate with his friends or go to the class party or the seniors' breakfast held at the Grandpa's Garage banquet hall south of town. He'd get his diploma quietly, away from the ceremony for the other 133 members of his graduating class.
.
.
.
Debbie Gappa, 44, said she believed her son had made a mistake but didn't deserve the punishment that was handed out.

So she called the principal and the school board members and studied up on the school's discipline policy. Then she wrote a letter to the editor of the Cannon Falls Beacon defending Kenny and posted fliers around town urging people to call school officials on her son's behalf.

On Wednesday afternoon, Cannon Falls school officials relented. Kenny Gappa couldn't attend Thursday's final day of school, the family was told. But he could go to commencement, the party and breakfast.

"What he did was wrong, but two wrongs don't make a right,"

I'm unclear on exactly when discipline became a "wrong".

2003-05-28T23:55:00.000-05:00

Gotta Get Back In Time

So I'm watching Lupin III on Cartoon Network (I'm a sucker for their Adult Swim line-up) and I hear something that really takes me aback. Zenigata says something like "You can get money for it on e-bay!".

Huh?

Lupin aired on and off again from 1969 until 1984, long before e-bay launched. It's a small detail, but it threw me.

2003-05-28T23:48:00.000-05:00

Woo! Taco Bell Six Pack on Me!

This tax cut is going to change my world!

2003-05-28T23:44:00.000-05:00

Piazza, Charlie

No. No effing way. The Italian Job has been re-made into a Marky-Mark action film?

Next thing you're going to tell me is that Kris Kross are going to star in a remake of The Wicker Man.

2003-05-28T23:35:00.000-05:00

Can't They Go See Foghat at the Medina?

Looks like the Guthrie and the Children's Theater are going to get their money. Maybe.

"When you're reducing dollars to nursing homes to care for the developmentally disabled by a percent, how can you come forward and pass a bill for the Guthrie more in the arts/entertainment area?" Sviggum says.

Sviggum's throwing a red herring into the debate. The bonding bill does not have a direct and immediate effect on state operating funds. Sviggum knows this. My theory is that he's playing to the "Jus' Folk" wing of the GOP who think that theater probably makes your kid gay.

Anyway, I'm thrilled that this is probably going to pass. Even though my hate for the Graves Children's Theater design knows no bounds.

2003-05-28T23:23:00.000-05:00

Not At All Related to The Below Story. Nope, Not a Bit.

I guess we needed to turn law enforcement over to the masses:

"The crimes that are uniquely federal, gun trafficking, dirty gun stores, lying on the criminal background check form, possessing a gun with an obliterated serial number, transferring selling or possessing stolen firearms those laws uniquely under federal jurisdiction, there is virtually no enforcement whatsoever," Kessler said.

Kessler says Minnesota's prosecution of gun laws is among the lowest in the country.

2003-05-28T23:14:00.000-05:00

Lock and Load

You can now carry a loaded gun pretty much anywhere in Minnesota. Personally, I feel MUCH safer knowing these fine citizens are now packing heat. Citizens like Mr. Adam Hinrichs:

"Adam Hinrichs, 24, a delivery driver from Mound, said he has been waiting for five years to be able to legally carry a gun at his job as a printing-products delivery driver. The way he puts it: "It's a nice tool to have to protect yourself or your family outside your home if you need to." "

Five years? This dude has been chomping at the bit since he was 19 to carry a gun at work. Let me repeat that last part: At Work. "Someday, I'll be a big shot around here. Once I get that Glock old man Johnson will put me up for a big promotion!"

Then we have this lost piece of scripture posted on the MPR message boards:

To those who believe that no American should have the right to keep
and bear arms: I would like to remind all of you of some very
important words written long ago by persons familiar with a
tyrannical government, "A well-regulated Militia being necessary to
the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and
bear Arms shall not be infringed."

In case you don't recognize those words, they consist, in entirety,
as the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. That part of the
Constitution is called the Bill of Rights. It means all American are
granted an unalienable right by God that shall not be infringed by
the government. That is all that is needed in allowing American
citizens the right to keep and bear arms. So all you who worked
against passage of the Minnesota CCW law were working against the U.
S. Constitution and against God. The Constitution didn't give us
this right, God did. The Constitution simply puts it in writing.

So if you are afraid to take your family into a restaurant because
you don't know who might be carrying, think about this. A potential
criminal is also thinking the same thing, and with more citizens
carrying self-protection criminals are much more wary of committing
crimes.

There is one thing that the media have not publicized. It is the
fact that over 2,000,000 times in America last year a handgun was
used to prevent a crime. Why don't you hear about these incidents?
Because the handgun was not fired, it was simply shown, and because
no blood and guts were spilled there is no sensationalism the media
can use to sell advertising.

Thank God, the Minnesota Legislature, and the Governor for concealed
carry!

Robert Giese
Pensacola, FL

Thanks to Chuck and Todd for passing on that gem.

2003-05-23T09:32:00.000-05:00

'Tis the Devil himself!

Don't tell Nancy Grace, but it looks like Satan might have had a hand in Laci's death.

Apparently Satan likes short chicks. Did I mention Laci was only 5'1"?

2003-05-23T09:26:00.000-05:00

The Thing What Wouldn't Die

Like some sort of radioactive monster out of the briny deep, the Prairie Island Nuclear (or, nu-que-lar, as our moron-in-chief likes to say) Plant waste issue is back again. And again. And yet again.

This is a big story, but not for the reasons the filthy hippies will tell you. The real story here is just how unaccountable government holds the corporations it regulates. Part of the 1994 "compromise" was that NSP (now Xcel) would make large investments in "green" energy sources--enough so that they could take Prairie island off-line and still survive. Guess what? They didn't. Well, they did, but at levels far below what the 1994 legislature required. Now, nine years latter, Xcel reacts to this issue as if it just hit them out of no where. Once again, it looks like the state is going to let them off the hook.

What are the alternatives? I'm not unrealistic enough to think Prairie island is going to be shut down. As fast as the metro has grown in the last nine years, the thought that 15 or so percent of our energy production could be taken off-line is unrealistic. However, Xcel should be held accountable and the best way to teach a corporation a lesson is through it's pocket book. Fines by the state, in relative amounts to how far Xcel fell short of the goals mandated by the 1994 agreement, should be levied against the company and then that money should be invested by the state in energy assistance and development of renewable sources.

But, with the GOP House firmly in Xcel's pocket, something like that would require an opposition party that has at least one functioning ball. Sadly, you have to travel to Texas to find that.

2003-05-22T17:33:00.000-05:00

First things first: Howard Dean rocks. Well, not literally. But, in a sort of really cool “Finally, a Democrat I can vote for without throwing up” kind of way.

Second: The State Senate is pushing for a $210 million bonding bill. It won’t pass, but it should for several reasons. Investing in institutions like the Guthrie, the University of Minnesota and even the friggin’ Zoo is a good idea. Also, money from the state frees up resources in these already-strapped organizations. Instead of focusing on a capital campaign, they can get back to the work of serving the State of Minnesota. Last, and most important, construction projects create well-paying jobs.

Third: Spineless DFL Alert: Sometimes, the truth hurts.

Fourth: Pop Culture Pawlenty is on the beat!

"Local government aid is like a Rubik's Cube," he said. "Is there a
way to address peoples' concerns without starting some new concerns
somewhere else? It's hard to get all the colors to line up."

Last: My comments on “Spirited Away”. I have trouble explaining just how much I love this movie. It’s easily the best animated film since The Iron Giant, and one of the best films of the last decade. Everything in this film works. The character design is engaging, the characters are fully-developed individuals who act with emotion and purpose, the story is compelling and the world Miyazaki-san created is full of wonder and spirit.

At its heart, Spirited Away is the hero’s journey, but instead of going off to slay a dragon or conquer a kingdom. Sen’s journey is much more difficult--Sen’s journey is into adulthood.

But what really sets Spirited Away apart is that it’s a fairy-tale with no clear answers. None of the characters have motives that can be defined in simple terms of good and evil. Just like the real world, there are no easy answers and everyone has more than one side to their personality. It's this aspect of the story that makes Spirited Away an amazing film, not just a good piece of animation.

Oi, I haven't even touched on the animation, the humor, the sense of light and color, I could go on and on.

2003-05-20T00:40:00.000-05:00

Hey, I'm all back and stuff! I'm motivated to try this again. Let's see if it sticks, shall we.

First, a shout out to my homey Jenn at her blog. Not only does she update, like, all the time, her blog looks good. Yay Jenn!

Second, sweet Jebus did Matrix Reloaded suck or what? OK, not Highlander 2 bad, or even Phantom Menace bad, but man was it bad. Someone I know opined that it was "Batman 2 bad", and I think that's a good assessment. It had all the same elements as the first movie, they just couldn't figure out how to use them to make a good movie. Well, except for the rave/fuck-fest. There's no excuse I'm willing to accept for that scene. (Or, as I've taken to calling it, THE REALLY DULL PART THAT NEVER SEEMED TO END!) And there's that whole "Oh, the last five minutes of the first movie never happened" aspect to the movie. At least have Gen-Y's Heavy Metal, the Animatrix, to satisfy our Matrix needs.

Third, on the topic of Anime, I finally saw Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi (Spirited Away) and all I can say is "wow". This was going to be just a passing reference, but I realized that I actually have a lot to say about Sen, so I'll wait until tomorrow when I'm more awake.

Fourth, to paraphrase our greastest national cinematic joke, "Today, I am ashamed to be a Democrat".

2003-02-11T23:16:00.000-06:00

I'll Never Join You!

Equally depressing is this news:

Just got back from the opening night of the ILM/Skywalker Sound tribute at the American Cinematheque @ the Egyptian Theatre. While it was real cool seeing Lucas in person, there really wasn't a whole lot discussed that would be enlightening to most fans. Much of the Q&A revolved around topics that we have seen or heard in the many commentaries or interviews from the last twenty years. Still, it was pretty damn awesome seeing the man, albeit he's kinda of short in person.

Anyway, about the only major piece of info to come from this night may upset the purists. THERE WILL BE NO ORIGINAL VERSIONS ON DVD!!! Lucas flat out said that we won't see the originals on DVD and I'm guessing any format other than those it already exists, ie laserdisc and video. I have both the originals and specials on laserdisc. Of course, you could get bootlegs but that isn't legal, unless the Emperor makes it legal. This news was met with very little snickering or hissing. Lucas feels the originals weren't complete so the special editions are the versions he intended to make 20 years ago.

My big issue isn't even with Kevin Smith's much-hated "Greedo Shooting First" scene. My issue is with the fact that all the ground-breaking work done by ILM will never be seen by future generations of film-makers. ILM invented modern special effects with those three films, and within a generation those films will no longer be viewable. To carelessly discard the work of John Dykstra and Phil Tippet, as Lucas is doing, is a crime - one that I hope leaders in the animation and effects industry stand up and protest.

This is not to take away from the outstanding work done by ILM on the Special Editions, mind you. As always, the ILM crew went above and beyond what was possible in the medium. However, this doesn't mean the original works have any less vaule in the history of film-making.

Now...does anyone have an old Laser Disk copy they want to bootleg on to DVD for me?

2003-02-11T23:03:00.000-06:00

The Illusion of Life

I am a huge animation nerd. While other kids were busy learning every minute factoid about Rod Carew's career, I was learning every minute factoid of Bob Clampett's career. Becoming an animator was my Big Dream as far back as I can remember. I'd read, watch, and draw everything on animation I could. I even went so far as to cut the acetate pages from my mom's photo album to make cels. (That didn't go over so well.) In the end, dreams of art school gave way to dreams of employment, so I took the "easy" way out and studied design. As much as I love what I do, I still find myself frame-by-faming my way through the Lilo and Stitch DVD to see just how they staged the motion of Stitch picking up a VW Bug and swinging it like a bat.

That's why this story is so depressing. While there's no dobut that predicting the "death" of hand animation is so much hyperbole, there's equally no doubt that hand-animation is definately the red-headed step-child of the animation world right now.

There is one thing about this otherwise well-written article that irks me:

But since the mid-90's, when Hollywood began to embrace computer technology, the only rule in animation these days is that there is no rule. Instead of the painstaking task of drawing and painting characters frame by frame, the technique perfected by Walt Disney in the 1930's and 1940's, animators are now doing just about everything with the click of a mouse — melding hand-drawn characters into computer-generated backgrounds or placing lifelike animals made of pixels on the screen beside human actors.

The task of computer animation is no less painstaking than hand animation. True, the mundane tasks of cleanup and cel painting aren't there, but the equally mundane tasks of shader coding and rigging are there. The Big Myth is that computer animation is cheaper and faster than hand animation. Thankfully, studios seem to have figured out the truth, but the general public still seems to labor under the same misconceptions. It's a shame, because it downplays the genius work of people like John Lasseter and Pete Doctor.

2003-02-10T23:29:00.000-06:00

Burying the Lead for February 11, 2003

You know what? It could have been worse. Considering the anti-intellectual bias of this administration, I'm pleasantly surprised that only $384,000 was cut from the state arts board.

However....

This is worth it's own story, yet it got tagged onto another article and not referenced in the headline:

The larger news in the arts world was the cancellation of $2 million earmarked for land acquisition in the Guthrie Theater building project. A new theater complex is planned for the Minneapolis riverfront.

For those of you who don't live in Minnesota, or aren't theater fans, this, is is Big Effing News. The Guthrie needs this money not only for it's own move and expansion, but the Walker Art Center can't add on while the Guthrie is still there. This one funding move has, in effect, shut down the expansion plans for two major cultural institutions in one fell swoop.

Granted, most of this conversation is academic, since neither is anywhere near the fundraising goal they need to start construction. (The city-funded parking ramp that's going in the hill behind the Walker is what is currently under construction, not the actual museum addition.) Also, Lord knows I'm not a huge fan of the Guthrie move anyway. I'm not impressed by Jean Nouvel's design, nor do I think that the Guthrie/Walker relationship should be severed. Still, when an institution as popular and "bulletproof" as the Guthrie can be hit that hard, the arts community in Minnesota can't help but get nervous.

2003-02-10T23:05:00.000-06:00

Talking Out of Both Sides Of Your Mouth Award

Everyone agrees that bullying and harassment of any student is intolerable. But that does not mean that forced acceptance of homosexuality is the solution. Students must be taught civility and kindness without being compelled to accept an unsafe, dangerous behavior that invariably leads to destructive emotional and physical outcomes.

That little nugget is from the Minnesota Family Council. Right now they're all in a lather because Tim Pawlenty, the new Minnesota governor, fits right in with their twisted little worldview. Of course, the stories about people losing their job for disapproving of the "homosexual worldview" is a huge load of crap. Chuck over at Confederacy of Dunces has all the dirt right here.

It's been easy to dismiss the MFC in the past. They've been a small but loud fringe group that's been easy to ignore because of the outrageousness of the rhetoric. No more. They have sympathetic legislators in the house and, more important, in the governor’s mansion. (or, more accurately, the Governor's tract-house.)

2003-02-06T13:22:00.000-06:00

Burn Hollywood Burn for February 6, 2003

From IMDB:

Rocker Courtney Love allegedly stripped down to her underwear during the air rage incident which led to her arrest and police caution yesterday. Scottish tabloid The Daily Record says passengers in the first class section of Love's flight from Los Angeles to London made furious complaints after friends joined the former Hole singer from economy class. The gang then reportedly plowed through free alcohol. The widow of grunge legend Kurt Cobain proceeded to 'entertain' passengers with a string of lewd jokes before the pilot was forced to abandon the cockpit and confront her. After a barrage of foul language, he was forced to contact air traffic control and instructed police to meet the star at Heathrow Airport. A passenger says, "She wasn't bothered at the thought of being arrested. As the plane landed she was taking her clothes off and singing loudly."

See, all the good stuff happens in first class. The last fight I was on, all we got was a drunken Vicki Lawrence waving a gun around and threatening to take off the Mama costume in front of the whole plane.

It's just not fair, I tell you.

2003-02-06T11:08:00.000-06:00

Burying the Lead?

The New York Times has a story on Powell's report claiming links between Al Qaeda and Iraq. However, that's not the real story in this article. The Zarqawi story has already been coverd ad infinitum elsewhere in the paper.

No, the real story is this:

Private support from prominent Qataris to Al Qaeda is a sensitive issue that is said to infuriate George J. Tenet, the director of central intelligence. After the Sept. 11 attacks, another senior Qaeda operative, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, who may have been the principal planner of the assault on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, was said by Saudi intelligence officials to have spent two weeks in late 2001 hiding in Qatar, with the help of prominent patrons, after he escaped from Kuwait.

But with Qatar providing the United States military with its most significant air operations center for action against Iraq, the Pentagon has cautioned against a strong diplomatic response from Washington, American and coalition officials say.

So, long story short, it's OK for SOME countries to support terroism, but it's wrong for OTHER countries to support terrorism.

Consistancy, let's buy some today, shall we?

2003-02-06T01:41:00.000-06:00

Daniel Libeskind is a finalist for the WTC site, proving that the Port Authority perhaps does recognize the importance of the site afterall. No huge surprise, but Muschamp doesn't like it. Muschamp doesn't like much that Phillp Johnson or Frank Gehry didn't design, but this is a hack job even by his already low standards. His logic can be summed up as follows: There should be Two Towers, and Liebeskind designs too many memorials.

I don't have a problem with the THINK proposal, it's a nice design. My main objection is that the literal re-creation of two towers on the site is an historical allusion that is both unnecessary and clumsy. Libeskind addresses the site very well (though I do agree that the 1776 foot height is a bit much) and his buidling becomes part of the skyline but still has a distinctive enough profile to do justice to the gaping hole left by the Towers destruction.

Anyway, I was rooting for was SOM's plan. I was intrigued by the idea of pulling the public space into the tower itself, rather than leaving it at the base. It's an idea that is done quite successfully at the Chicago Public Library (and, sadly, the only thing done successfully at the Chicago Public Library.) Plus, there's something really powerful to the notion of allowing New Yorkers to claim ownership of space within the towers themselves.

No matter which project gets chosen, the new development will be a good one. The Port Authority has shown good judgement thus far in the process - after a disasterous start - and I have faith that they'll see it all the way to the end.

2003-02-06T01:23:00.000-06:00

Oh, and yes, I'm aware of the fact that the design sucks moose cock. (Can I say moose here? Yes? Very well then.) However, if you've ever seen the templates that blogspot offers, you'd understand. As soon as things calm down in the rest of my world, I'll make the layout a little snappier.

2003-02-06T01:19:00.000-06:00

OK, Take Two at this thing called Bloging. If I can just get in the habit of updating once a day, I'll be in great shape. Actually, if I could get in the habit of getting off the couch once a day, I'd be in great shape. If I update this once a day, I'm just being self-centered.

Anyhoo...Here's the deal: Politics, Music, Design and Type. Those are your four menu options. If you would like, our steward can recommend a good wine to go with your choice. No? Thank you, then. I'll be right out with your order.