just happened to hear this on my radio...

...driving back from the video store and liked what I heard. Fortunately, they back-announced it.



I know nothing more about the artist than you can find here.

OMG U Guyz!

Kevin Greutert is the man who edited the first five Saw movies; directed Saw VI (and did a much better job than the box office, unfortunately, reflected).

He looked at my blog today!

Ok, it was just because he was tracking back a link I'd placed to his blog back in August, and he spent less than a minute here, but nevertheless!

I feel like a 14-year-old girl who's just been smiled at by the captain of the football team.

Come on, January 26!

Our problem was, we forgot they were Democrats

Silly, really, how so many of us thought if the Democrats won in 2008, that it would be a victory for progressives. We forgot--when the Republicans stamp their feet, Democrats run for the middle of the road.

The middle of the road is notable for the yellow line running down....

A little something to keep handy

...for the next time you're feeling defiantly hateful of your parents or conversely, feeling guilty about the mistakes you made with your kid or kids.

Or, you think your family was weird?

The Worst Celebrity Parents of the decade.

Personally, I'd have put Charlie and Denise a little bit higher (like at least in the top half). But that's just me. And I can't argue with their number one.

The Interview: You are Number Six

Jen took up the gauntlet of being "interviewed" by, and then "interviewing" me.

1. What do you like most about libraries?

Seems kind of obvious, but: All the books.

A writer used to say, "Beware he who writes more than he reads." Which means, put metaphorically, if you want to hear the music, you've got to listen.

I also have relatively little formal education but am heavily self-educated in this way. Actually, the same man who said that* about writers used to say he was "A self-made man--which demonstrates the horrors of unskilled labor."

*It was Harlan Ellison, if you want to know.

And I just like that if I have some enthusiasm I want to pursue--which happens, like, once a day--there's almost always at least one book I can get at the library with information about it.

2. If you could meet any fictional character (not created by you), who would it be, and why?

Someone from The West Wing. As for who, I'd have to flip a coin between Sam or Toby.

Sam, because he says things like this:

"...education is the silver bullet. Education is everything. We don't need little changes, we need gigantic changes. Schools should be palaces; the competition for the best teachers should be fierce, they should be making six figure salaries. Schools should be incredibly expensive for government and absolutely free of charge to its citizens, just like national defense. That's my position. I just haven't figured out how to do it yet."

--Sam, "Six Meetings Before Lunch."

And Toby, because he says things like this:

"If our jobs teach us anything it's that we don't know what the next President's gonna face. If we choose someone with vision, someone with guts, someone with gravitas who's connected to other people's lives and cares about making them better, if we choose someone to inspire us, then we'll be able to face what comes our way and achieve things we can't imagine yet." --Toby, "20 Hours in America."

And because they say things like that, we know they feel things like that, and because they feel things like that, we know they think things like that...and we know they write things like that.



Alternately a Pixar character, like Wall-E, Eve-A, or Remy, because they give me hope, love and inspiration.

3. What was your favourite board game when you were a kid?

I want to play a game...

...oh right, sorry, board game, when I was a kid...I don’t know.

When I was a real little kid, Candyland and Chutes & Ladders.
A little later I have fond memories of the Rescuers movie game.

I liked Monopoly like everyone else (for the record, my piece of choice was the car). Also a game called-

-that had cool shark fin pieces.

By the time I was like 11 I was hanging out in arcades (ah, Tron) more than I was playing board games at home.

4. Your favourite nickname for you?

To coin a phrase:

I can't tell you, but I know it's mine.

(In other words: It's something an ex-girlfriend used to call me; I also had something I called her. I've never said what it was to anyone, I don't know if she has)

5. Which is better: to have loved and lost, or never to have loved at all?

Well, let me put it like this:

You and I won't lose our heads the way some lovers do

Saying "This will last forever" when it's just a year or two

You and I won't be the fools that other lovers are

Thinking every silver bottle top potentially a star

still...


All the world loves lovers.

All the world loves people in love

Don't forget it. - LOVE

Don't forget it. - LOVE

Love whatever the price.

Great.

Terror suspect’s online posts detail ‘loneliness’

The 23-year-old Nigerian man accused of the attempted Christmas Day bombing of an American airliner apparently turned to the Internet for counseling and companionship

Maybe I should just have myself put into prison now...

From where I sit, they left one or two out

The Huffington Post is conducting one of their polls, this time to determine The Biggest Political Disappointments of 2009.

When I voted, two of the top three were The Senate Health Care Bill and the poor quality of the debate which preceded it.

I'm a little put out that "Republican filibusters" is the third. Because to me, the desperation of the Democratic senate and President Obama to pass any bill at any price is a lot more disgusting than Republicans acting like Republicans.

(They stand for nothing. They stand in the way of everything).

Rounding out the top five are the continuing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the destruction of tapes by the CIA recording torture sessions.

Again I question the later of the two. Because surely "disappointment" implies a failure to live up to expectations--and did anybody really expect the CIA under the Bush administration not to obstruct justice?

Anyway, go and vote if you like.

What will happen when my New Romantic synth pop fandom runs into my love of Saw

Help me.

I'm really, really, really, really, really, really, really trying not to go for an easy "time of the month" joke here. But, well, look at these two pieces of information.

Do you remember when former Bush spokeswoman Dana Perino said there hadn't been any terrorist attacks on the US while he was president? No one could believe she'd said anything that blatantly revisionist, right?

Well, today...almost exactly 31 days later...another Bush woman (and believe me, I'd much rather be using those words in another context) decided to put her own little "spin" upon the truth:

Mary Matalin claims President Bush ‘inherited’ the September 11th terror attacks

Now, I've heard how when gals spend a lot of time together, their periods tend to synch up.

So you can see my problem, I'm sure.

Oh no you don't, lady

Look: Probably much like you, I hoped that the only "Palin" I would be mentioning here for the forseeable future would be that nice chap who used to work with John Cleese and Terry Jones. But...

You've probably heard that (sigh) Sarah Palin's "death panels" thing was named "lie of the year" by the non-partisan FactCheck group. I haven't said anything about it because frankly, I'm trying not to promote her. (Yeah, like my little blog makes the difference)

However, this week, I learned that, backpedalling furiously, Mrs. Palin now says she was using a "metaphor" for reduced access to and quality of health care when she spoke of "death panels."

That does it. Mrs Palin, I don't expect you to be substantive. I don't even expect you to stop dropping hints that you're going to run for president. Though I'm reassuringly convinced this is just something you're saying to sell your book to teabaggers.

However, I will thank you, kindly, to stay away from things which writers use.

Thank you so much. Have a good day.