Songs of the season

This is "Little Bit Of Snow" by Howard Jones. All I want to say about this acoustic (basically just Howard singing and playing piano) song is that it saved my life.

And this is “The Christmas Waltz,” by Frank Sinatra. Maybe not the most inspired lyric ever written, but a nice holiday song. And I liked the classic Capitol visual on this.

Why do we only ever hear from these dykes when they're sticking up for gay-bashers?

Say...who remembers Tammy Lynn Michaels? She's the partner of Melissa Etheridge. Michaels (and Etheridge) are now defending Rick Warren.

Remember her now? Uh-huh. She's the one who also stuck up for Isaiah Washington. No bad poetry this time, but she's still just as unmusical.

I'd ask how any musician (let alone a gay one) can stand to be partnered to such a woman. But all Etheridge's songs sound alike to me anyway.

Further on the subject of Mr. Warren...looks like somebody forgot the commandment against lying.

I have to say, I've come around to really enjoying this controversy. Because it's putting the civil-rights-for-me, but-not-for-thee homophobic positions of this bigot into a national spotlight and forcing him to have to defend them.

This of course, cannot be done, unless you’re an idiot.

Further to the story that made me tear...

I wonder where those men would've gotten the idea that being a lesbian made this woman less than human?

Oh wait. Now that I think of it, no I don't, really.

Avy Skolnik, of the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs, told the AP that "anytime there is an anti-LGBT [lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender] initiative" -- like the recent anti-gay marriage ballot initiatives -- "we tend to see spikes both in the numbers and the severity of attacks." He added: "People feel this extra entitlement to act out their prejudice."

Ok, so I'm sort of ashamed of myself for this joke

Alec Baldwin Posted in Huffpo:
The Inauguration Cannot Come Quickly Enough

And somewhere, Kim Basinger is saying "And if anyone knows about coming quickly..."

Oh, god.

I've got nothing else to say except that this brings tears to my eyes.

A woman in the San Francisco Bay area was jumped by four men, taunted for being a lesbian, repeatedly raped and left naked outside an abandoned apartment building, authorities said Monday.

Detectives say the 28-year-old victim was attacked Dec. 13 after she got out of her car, which bore a rainbow gay pride sticker. The men, who ranged from their late teens to their 30s, made comments indicating they knew her sexual orientation, said Richmond police Lt. Mark Gagan.

"It just pushes it beyond fathomable," he said. "The level of trauma — physical and emotional — this victim has suffered is extreme."

Yeah, that's great, Joe.

Via TPM Election Central, Joe Biden defends the selection of Rick Warren:

Barack Obama said you've got to reach out. You've got to reach a hand of friendship across the aisle and across philosophies in this country.
We can't continue to be a red and blue country. We can't be divided like we have been.

Uh-huh.

Say, Joe...you know what would be a really great way to promote inclusion?

Showcasing a progressive person of faith with a message of inclusion.

As opposed to, say, Rick Warren.

Just a thought.

Wow.

"If the president does it, it's not illegal.”

Richard Nixon to David Frost, 1977?

Neh-eh.

Dick Cheney, to Fox's Chris Wallace.

Today.

Michael, I can't blame you for not believing in evolution, but as for the rest of us...

Mike Huckabee says it's ridiculous for people to be upset at Rick Warren.

Oh, there you go.

Being called ridiculous by Mike Huckabee.

Mike "Evolution? What evolution?" and "The bible, not the Constitution" Huckabee.

Right.

That's like being called mentally ill by Michael Jackson.

It's like being called short by Mickey Rooney...

Coming soon to a theater near you...

Eva Amurri is Iggy Pop!

Save a Prayer

I've responded to this ad.

Rick Warren says being gay is a sign of immaturity

He really does, I swear it.

Ahem.

Colley says "Well, he's got a point."

Keitha smacks him upside the head.

"...danger at every turn." "I eat danger for breakfast!" "You hungry?" " Starving!"

I saw Bolt this afternoon with my nephew.

I liked it--and liked it a lot--but he loved it, leaning forward in his chair to watch (as opposed to Wall-E, wherein he was a brat) and the first thing he said when it was over was

"Can we see this again?"

I would say it's not the work of art, (nor quite as sophisticated) as say, the best Pixar films have been. But it is full of a great deal of simple pleasures, like fun and excitement; especially if you are (or are with) a child.

It has a lesson, too, but doesn't beat it to death, and some pretty well-developed characters for an animated children's movie.

Also it genuinely has...noIcan'tbelieveI'msayingthiseither...heart.

Some of that heart comes from a featured song by Jenny Lewis called "Barking at the Moon." I loved this song much more than I've liked most of the new songs I've heard in animated films in the past 10 years or so.

I never warmed to Randy Newman's Toy Story songs. "Beyond the Sea" at the end of Nemo hit me pretty good, but of course, that's not a new song.

(Speaking of Nemo, there's an inside-joke reference to that movie in this one.)

Anyway, I don't know how long this will last, but with luck you should be able to hear the Lewis song below.

Barking at the Moon - Jenny Lewis

I'm hoping it'll get a Academy nom for best song.

John Travolta and especially Miley Cyrus (it must be said) do good work as Bolt the dog and his person, Penny. But both are bettered by Susie Essman as the cat Mittens, a really honest performance, and Mark Walton, a Disney story artist (!) as the manic hamster Rhino.

And the hamster rules. Driving away, my nephew was "clawing" at the back passenger-side window, making believe he was the hamster in his ball.

Speaking of rules, it occurs to me that Bolt is also an exception that tests one of my rules, which is this: Animated movies that bill their celebrity voice cast, as this one bills Travolta and Cyrus, are usually a sign of a movie pretty bad. It means a movie that can't be sold upon it's own entertainment, humor or charm.

Not here, tho. Not by a long shot.

Here's a TV spot.

(after clicking "Play Now," click on "Widescreen" to get rid of those annoying little boxes in the corner)

Help highlight the top 100 Warner Bros. Cartoons

Just like it says.

And for the record, here's the ones I chose:

1. What’s Opera, Doc?
2. Porky In Wackyland
3. Bully For Bugs
4. Operation Rabbit
5. The Dover Boys
6. Duck Amuck
7. Birds Anonymous
8. 8 Ball Bunny
9. Duck Dodgers in the 24½th Century
10. Long Haired Hare

Second thought

It's hard to be civil when people keep trying to take your liberties away.

But Chris Durang does a really good job of it.

ETA further: Salon asks the very good question: How the hell did Rick Warren get inauguration tickets?

BTW, I know I'm hitting this a lot. It's because I'm truly disappointed in Obama and his staff here.

A thought

It's hard to have faith in God when humans keep using him to take freedom away from others.

Personally, I think I would've gone with "pathetic" or "impeachable."

But "incompetent idiot" works, too. And those are two of the words the public chose to describe Bush in a new poll.

Defending the indefensable

Obama defends choice of homophobic bigoted idiot to deliver the invocation at his Inaugural Ceremony.

Solar paths

Obama chooses homophobic bigoted idiot to deliver the invocation at his Inaugural Ceremony

Via The Washington Monthly...

Obama has chosen Rick Warren.

Warren is opposed, on religious grounds, to abortion rights, gay rights, stem-cell research, and euthanasia. In 2004, he described these issues as "nonnegotiable" and "not even debatable."

What's more, just this month, Warren supported* Prop. 8 in California for absurd reasons, and offered an incoherent theological rationale to Sean Hannity's assertion that the United States needs to "take out" Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Nice thinking, Barack.

It's times like this I'm glad I'm on medication.

And it's over.

The days of Evan Rachel Wood looking like a real woman again, I mean. That was nice for a while.

(Seriously, what is Marilyn Manson, some kind of vampire that instead of sucking a person's blood, robs them of their sexual identity?)

Things you don't get to say often

"Lady, get your ass off that car. You're bringing down the resale value."

Dust yourself down

This record is a terrific collaboration between Junkie XL & Dave Gahan. I like to play it when I need it. The video was made by a Depeche Mode fan on YouTube.



Superb.

Signs of Life?

"Life" has been named one of AFI's Top 10 TV Shows for 2008. I'd be more excited about this, except that it didn't do anything to save "Veronica Mars."

It's still pretty cool, though.

(Among their movie list, "Iron Man" and "Wall-E.")

"Life" actually made it into NBC's top 10 the first week in Dec.

Film news that doesn't suck

1. James L. Brooks (who I want to be) is writing a new movie.




Reese Witherspoon--who I don't seem to have quite as much of a crush on as many do, but still probably have a little one-- has been signed to star.

2. Olivia Wilde has gotten a role in Tron 2.

In a geek sense, this is amazing.

Not that Wilde has a role...



(still), that Tron 2 is actually happening!

This just in...

Bush is a liar.

Yes, I was shocked, too.

There's a joke in here about how females are always trying to take your nuts

But I'm too cool to make it.

I think it may be time to start the countdown to Danielle ‘Topanga’ Fishel appearing in Playboy

Lord knows, she doesn't seem to have a whole hell of a lot else to do...

Oh, no.

Peter Falk has Alzheimer's, according to his daughter.

"As you wish," Lt.

Must not...revel in...failures of...others...must not...

About 3.4 Americans per 1000 filed for bankruptcy over the 12-month period ending in September. Tennessee saw the highest per-capita filing rate in the country, with 7.3 residents per thousand filing.

I need this.

The first pop/rock act I ever saw live was Greg Kihn. Which seems appropriate given how much of my identity has turned out to be wrapped up in growing up in the SF Bay Area.

This is the video for the first single from his '85 solo album. If memory serves, the woman in it later became his wife, but still later they divorced.



Greg's a DJ now and also an author. I remember being struck by how different his speaking voice sounded to his singing. I also remember looking at one of his books in a bookshop and not being impressed, but admittedly I've never actually read an entire one of his.

In retrospect, I think future historians are going to be spending a lot of time deciding exactly when it was that George W. Bush began drinking again

Personally, I think he's been bagged for most of both terms.

Most recent evidence.

Not content with selling her getting you drunk, Anne Hathaway is now selling advertising space on her tummy

Psst! Anne! You're gorgeous and rich! You don't need to do this!

Note to self

When next you fly somewhere over an ocean, rather than purchasing insurance, rent Jessica Simpson to fly with you.

Because if the plane goes down, you know she'll keep you afloat.

Also, she could probably use the money.

Ahem.

The "mid-season finale" of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles airs tonight at 8:00pm ET/PT on FOX. Therefore this is my last chance to try to bludgeon you into watching until mid-February, when it will move to Friday nights.

It's a good show, damnit. Show some support.

Psst! Sam!

There's an "e" at the end of my name...

I never tire of it

I will never know/ cause you will never show/ come on and love me now

I will never know/ cause you will never show/ come on and love me now
Originally uploaded by .furia

I've heard of the other shoe dropping, but this is ridiculous*

Via McClatchy:

An Iraqi television journalist hurled two shoes at President Bush on Sunday during a joint news conference Bush was holding with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki to mark the signing of a U.S.-Iraq security agreement.

Bush had just finished his prepared remarks in which he said the security agreement was made possible by the U.S. surge of troops to Iraq last year, when the journalist, Muthathar al Zaidi, pulled his shoes off and hurled them at the president. "This is a goodbye kiss, you dog," Zaidi shouted.

"This is a goodbye kiss, you dog."

I love it.

*(Do you suppose I beat anyone to that joke?)

The fact that my favorite comes from Paris Hilton says something about the state of Notable Quotables in the world

The Top 10 quotes of 2008, as compiled by the editor of the Yale Book of Quotations.

Really.

John McCain sideswiped the Republican National Committee on Sunday for the intense focus it has placed on Barack Obama's relationship (however thin) to Gov. Rod Blagojevich.

Saying he was confident that information would be made public regarding the president-elect's contacts with the embattled Illinois governor -- who is accused of putting up Obama's vacant Senate seat to the highest bidder -- McCain urged his Republican colleagues to keep their political priorities in order.

How nice. A lecture on keeping political priorities in order from the man who put Sarah Palin on the national stage.

Go back to bed, John. It's OK.

It's times like this I think people are glad we have a secret ballot.

People who voted for Bush twice or even once are now desperate to deny it.

This is one of my favorite clips from Drews Line is it Anyway:

The first game is "Show Stop," the setting, an Accounting firm...



Wayne's "impudence" line kills me.

It's followed by the game called "Scenes From a Hat."

I love a good game of "Scenes From a Hat."

Come to think of it Wayne also has my favorite line in this game: "In español, I am El Grande Ricardo, but you can call me..."

I want to find this place and to retire there

(and the first bright spark who says "retire from what?" is getting poked in the ribs.)

Well, knock me over with a feather

The physical and mental abuse of detainees in Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, was the direct result of Bush administration detention policies and should not be dismissed as the work of bad guards or interrogators, according to a bipartisan Senate report released Thursday.

Thank you for staying on top of things, senators. I'll just slip into my DeLorean and hop back a couple of years to when this might have had a good effect for our country.

Who gives a fuck what they blame them for now, they've gotten away with it.

My stomach hurts.

Pictured behind [George W. Bush Library foundation president Mark Langdale] in the photo provided along with the Morning News article is a photo of Bush superimposed over Martin Luther King, Jr.

Need some inspiration?

Well, here's more than three dozen movies worth of it, squashed into just over two minutes.

If by "hotter" you mean "less and less like an actual human being"--then yes, she is.

Looking over there...

I don't know about you, but personally I'm enjoying watching the "Religious Right" lose their minds because the homos just won't go away. Most recently, prude Pat Boone issued a statement saying that homosexual rights demonstrations

will eventually and inevitably boil into violence

Right.

He's joined in this by TV whore and raging Catholic bigot Bill "Hollywood is controlled by secular Jews" Donohue, who

took out a full-page ad in the New York Times on December 5 titled "No Mob Veto," decrying the "violence and intimidation being directed against the LDS or 'Mormon' church and other religious organizations" in the aftermath of Prop 8

Only without, you know, citing any.

And Bill Donohue is one of those jackasses who if you've pissed him off-you can be fairly certain you've done something right.

Politics, as usual

Or "Ok, the triple-C (corruption; controversy in Chicago) thing." As I see it, the most important thing about all of this is how the Republicans and what is sometimes called the "mainstream media" are falling all over themselves.

They're trying to paint Obama with it only with very little...oh, what is the phrase...oh yeah: Proof.

A writer named Bob Cesca has a good post on this up at Huffington.

It began yesterday with the RNC demanding to know the full extent of the president-elect's relationship with Blagojevich even though Patrick Fitzgerald was perfectly clear about the relationship when he said on national television that the president-elect had nothing to do with any of it. But to suggest that the former junior senator from Illinois never communicated with the governor of Illinois is ridiculous on its face -- of course there was the usual level of professional communication there, though it entirely fails to prove or even implicate any corruption on the part of Barack Obama. Then again, since when does reality matter?

It's probably for the best that I didn't know about this in advance

Because if I had, I would've been hitting up my friends and relations to loan me a few hundred dollars each.

Known about what?

This:

Anne Hathaway sells a date with her for $12,000 for charity

I hope you saw this

Huckabee on the Stewart show, I mean. If not, then (via Pam's House Blend) here's a link that leads you both to another link to the video, and a transcript. Stewart spoke truth to power. It was awesome.

To quote one of my favorite parts:

you keep talking about, jeez, it would be redefining a word... and it feels like semantics is cold comfort, when it comes to humanity

ETA this from Think Progess:

Huckabee — like other conservatives who make similar claims — is wrong to suggest that American public opinion is on his side. A recent poll found that a full 75 percent of Americans favor either gay marriage or civil unions, with nearly 50 percent favoring gay marriage itself. More importantly, the next generation is much more open to gay rights: According to CNN exit polls, an overwhelming majority — 67 percent — of 18-29 year-olds voted against stripping gay couples of their right to marry in California.

And ETA, again, that there's more discussion at The Washington Monthly.

When the reign comes

Vinnie Zummo, a solid, jazzy guitarist who used to play with Joe Jackson, has recorded a kinda cool tribute to the Beatles in general and in specific..."Ringo."

Check 'im out.



ETA: Vinnie asked me to mention that the vid was directed by Paolo Marchica.

God help me, I'd actually like to see that

There's talk of Fran Drescher running for Hillary Clinton's senate seat.

That's how much we hate Bush.

Look. I'm a Democrat. As is obvious. I'm glad Obama is the President-elect, and I think he'll do a good job. That said, I don't take very seriously his approval ratings at this point, for the--again, obvious--reason simply that he hasn't done anything yet.

His first "real" report card comes, as far as I'm concerned, after the first 100 days, fabled in song and story. After that, we see how it goes until 2010 (The Year We Make Contact).

However.

Serious-taking or not, how can you not like this line from CNN Senior Political Analyst Bill Schneider?

"An Obama job approval rating of 79 percent! That’s the sort of rating you see when the public rallies around a leader after a national disaster. To many Americans, the Bush Administration was a national disaster,"

Aropos of nothing...

The finale of Scream Queens aired last night. Unfortunately, not only didn't my pick--Lindsay Felton--make the top two, the eventual winner was the one I didn't like at all.

Coolest typographical error ever.

Still, as American Prospect co-editor Robert Kuttner said on ABC's "This Wee," it'd be far better if Obama's economic team included "someone who really believes deeply that casino capitalism is a menace ... however, at the same time, every time I second-guessed Obama in the campaign, he was right, and I was wrong."

--What would Obama do?

ACTION RACCOON!

Cow. Cowgirl.

sunset moolevard
Originally uploaded by thornypup

IMG_4481
Originally uploaded by anson ong

Love And Happiness

You have to watch about a 15-second ad first, but this is a sweet video of two men who married only to see their marriage banned.



Further on that subject, Proposition 8 and similar measures in other states were obviously a step back. But there's reason to think that taken as a whole, this country is becoming more and more supportive of gay rights

And now...

...Bill Hicks, with his message of love. No need to thank me.



What a gifted, cursed man.

A question for the ladies

Look at this photo of "supermodel" Alessandra Ambrosio. Specifically, look at her feet.



She can't be comfortable...

Irony or something like it

At the beginning of this television season, I would've said my favorite show was "Life." Now it's almost time for midseason, and my favorite show is "Terminator."

Irony, or something like it.

Do you ever get the feeling that Madonna would really rather go home and go to sleep?

Last remaining Bush supporters continue to become parodies of themselves

But, wow, it's rarely that blatant.

Dear god, no

Paris Hilton wants to play Tinkerbell - not her pet Chihuahua, but the famed fairy from "Peter Pan." A source tells us the celebutard is lobbying for the title role in Disney's live-action version of "Tinkerbell," in which the pixie finally gets a chance at life as a real girl.

On the other hand, I can't decide whether I like this one or not. What do you think?

Sometimes even I don't think that green makes a person look better

Y'know...

...I'm used to laughing when I watch Jon Stewart. Whether he's (quite rightly) dubbing Robert Novak "Douchebag of Liberty," doing a commentary or other piece.

One of the many reasons why I love the man is because he expresses the frustration that you and I and many others feel. But he does it without losing his sense of humor, as you and I would.

So yeah, I'm used to laughing.

I'm not used to having my mouth drop open in literal, actual, I'm-not-kidding-around-here horror as it did last night.

The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c

Indecision 2008 - Chambliss vs. Martin

Barack Obama Interview
John McCain Interview

Sarah Palin Video
Funny Election Video

Shudder.

And she calls him "Big Daddy"...

Good news!

According to straight male conservative pundit and expert on lesbians Bill Kristol, we have won the war in Iraq!

Isn't it about time somebody hit him in the face with a pie again?

Interview with CNN's incomparable Christiane Amanpour

Can be heard here.

Fantastic

those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it

Or die.

Headlines that should have been rephrased.

Clinton Will Not Seek Wife's Seat

C'mon. Bob Clark (bless his soul and all that) could write the punchline to this joke.

Deslumbramiento.

"Vaya al oeste"



Neil Tennant, Chris Lowe, the Pet Shop Boys

Whereas...

I've been keeping one eye (get it?) on this "reality" TV show, Scream Queens wherein:

actresses...will vie for an unprecedented prize -- a break-out role in "Saw VI" from Lionsgate and Twisted Pictures.

Now, by "break-out role," I'm assuming they mean the girl who wins will be in a trap (in the movie) that requires her to break her jaw or something to get out. Saw being Saw. Still:

I imagine I'm alone in this (or at least nearly so), especially as the series has progressed. But I stand stubbornly by my belief that the Saw series requires a better class of actor than the wriggling asses and pretty faces (male and female) that make up your Texas Chainsaw Massascream 3's.

Tobin Bell is the most obvious example, and Costas Mandylor is IMO underrated. But of course, they're both men.

Representing the opposite sex, I think that Beverley Mitchell did a nice job with her small, supporting role in Saw II.

But most prominently, we have Shawnee Smith, who is sexy indeed (clock her one unbilled scene in Leaving Las Vegas) but also very much "in the moment" as an actor.

(That's her below. And also, come to think of it, by Mitchell's side above.)


Smith acted in the first three Saw films and she's now one of the three hosts of Scream Queens. This brings up one reason why I’m only keeping one eye on the series.

The young actresses all seem to be taking the "break-out" part of this hype terribly seriously, as though it's just Saw VI and then next stop, romantic comedies opposite Vince Vaughn.

You want to say to them (I do, anyway): Guys, Shawnee Smith was in on the ground floor of Saw. Her character actually had an--whatchamacallit--emotional arc.

And what's more, even before that she had a career going back to the '80s. Her first role in a movie was in the 1982 adaptation of Annie, and she was also in Summer School and the Blob remake.

In the latter, BTW, she was an admitted inspiration for Joss Whedon when he was creating Buffy. And she's appeared on several television shows. Now she's one of three hosts of Scream Queens.

What I'm saying is: I don't think this is necessarily going to be the boost to your career that you imagine.

Another reason I've yet to be able to get though an entire episode without occasionally flipping away: You're familiar with my "actors shouldn't talk" rule?

Picture a show that is virtually nothing but actors talking. Talking about each other (with the long knives out) & about themselves. Actors who may not necessarily be all that bright. Not that it's a requirement, but, well, one of them--I won't say who--has an Official Web Site with the word "Official" misspelled.

Interspersed only with chances to emote! -either in I-want-attention-getting emotional outbursts (at least one or two of them are not so much Scream Queens as drama queens) or in acting "challenges."

James Lipton would blow his brains out after more than half an hour of this.

The third reason is summed up by the fact that I put "reality" in quotes when discussing "reality" TV shows. They're not reality.

So anyway, why am I telling you all of this? I'm telling you all of this because next week is the "big" final episode and I feel like declaring my colors.

Of the women remaining, Michelle Galdenzi is gorgeous, but I've just seen nothing else really compelling about her. Plus, she's a Ren Fest chick, and such behavior should not be rewarded.

Tanedra...well, I'm just not seeing the talent. And again--maybe I stand alone in this, but I happen to think being in a Saw film requires talent (at least some).

So I'm team Lindsay (Felton). I like the look of her:
But it's not just infatuation...more importantly, I think she's shown the most talent.

I also like that when the girls got a scare in last night's episode, Lindsay didn't even spill her wine. Now that's my kind of woman.

Anyone Who Had A Heart

As most of you know by now, sometimes I find some of the best things in quasi-random Google searches. Most recent example: Shelby Lynne. I didn't really know very much about her, but searching her website, I find that...

"I Am Shelby Lynne" — an album embraced by rock and country audiences alike — snagged her a Best New Artist Grammy. It was her sixth album, but Grammy rules are funny like that.

...and that she played the role of Johnny Cash's mother in "Walk The Line," which I saw and rated highly, but I don't remember her specifically. Maybe I'll rent it and watch it again.

Anyway, Lynne's singing sounds like a soul-country hybrid, and her latest album is a tribute to Dusty Springfield. You can hear samples of it at her website linked above; her myspace page. Or here, watch this. She's dangerously, frighteningly good:

Seattle Proposition 8 protest

Seattle Proposition 8 protest
Originally uploaded by joeszilagyi

Remember what I posted about

"One of the little perks for us straight boy allies and the lesbians in the crowd?"

Just thought I'd back that up...

Briefly noted as a revelation of absolutely no curiosity whatsoever

   /ˌkyʊəriˈɒsɪti/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [kyoor-ee-os-i-tee]

2. a curious, rare, or novel thing.

The Bush White House was warned about the looming financial crisis, but chose not to pay attention.

Is it wrong that I'd kinda like to see Bush and about a dozen of his staff vs. my man Jigsaw?

Do you ever get the feeling that the Pentagon is being run by Phil Hartman's character from the Sgt. Bilko movie? (ETA additional excerpt)

...which is a very funny film, BTW. But this ain't so much.

A man called "Matthew Alexander" (a pseudonym) is having a book published about his experiences as an army interrogator. He's also written an article for the Washington Post:

I'm not some ivory-tower type; I served for 14 years in the U.S. Air Force, began my career as a Special Operations pilot flying helicopters, saw combat in Bosnia and Kosovo, became an Air Force counterintelligence agent, then volunteered to go to Iraq to work as a senior interrogator. What I saw in Iraq still rattles me -- both because it betrays our traditions and because it just doesn't work.

But what really made me think that Hartman's Major Thorn was in charge is what "Alexander" says about the-

extraordinary amount of unclassified material -- including passages copied verbatim from the Army's unclassified Field Manual on interrogations and material vibrantly displayed on the Army's own Web site.

-which the Army tried to redact before permitting the book to be published.

If memory serves--and it does--this is very similar to what the CIA did to the gorgeous Valerie Plame Wilson when her book was written. (Her book is also important and fascinating, BTW--I don't mean to suggest she's only gorgeous.)

Back to "Alexander:"

I sued, first to get the review completed and later to appeal the redactions. Apparently, some members of the military command are not only unconvinced by the arguments against torture; they don't even want the public to hear them.

We're told that our only options are to persist in carrying out torture or to face another terrorist attack. But there truly is a better way to carry out interrogations -- and a way to get out of this false choice between torture and terror.

I repeat: Watch this series.

(8PM on FOX, “A” Channel in Canada)
Rumor Alert: Summer Glau loses all of her clothes in an action-packed shoot-out (And yes, we’re not above making stuff up to get you people to tune into this show!)

-The TV Addict

A choice of replies.

In an interview with the conservative online publication Newsmax, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush said the GOP must broaden its appeal to avoid becoming “the old white-guy party,” and recommended that Republicans create a “shadow government” to work on its own agenda.

-Think Progress

1. Ok, quick hands up: Who here thinks the GOP is going to be listening to any Bushes ever again for at least another eight years?

2. Isn't that what some used to call...um I dunno what is the phrase...oh yes: Treason?

Cecile Richards has an entry in the Huffington Post this morning.

Richards is president of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) and the Planned Parenthood Action Fund.

As most of you know, I'm a little wary of Sen. Clinton becoming our next secretary of state. I don't oppose it per se (I mean, it's not like she was Dick Cheney)...I'm just a little wary. Suspicious, you might say.

Ok, so I once said I thought she had vinegar for blood, and I hated some of the things she got up to when running against Obama. But I digress. Richards argues that this (Clinton's nomination) is a good thing; I think she makes some good points.

I'm still not 100% convinced yet, but I'm willing to give Clinton a chance.

Especially since Rush Limbaugh has endorsed her. The only reason I can think of why he'd do that, is to make liberal Democrats like myself wary and suspicious of our president's selection process.

I refuse to give him the pleasure.

For one brief shining moment, President Bush speaks for us all

Political Wire's Bonus Quote of the Day:

"I wish the intelligence had been different, I guess."

-- President Bush, in an interview with ABC News,

You and us both, Dub. You and us both.

I still think she's overly hyped, but times like this I don't mind so much

Tina Fey does Vanity Fair.

As every single person in California says "Who cares? It's Modesto."

Via the McClatchy Washington Bureau...

Parishioners of St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Modesto have been told they should consider going to confession if they voted for Barack Obama, because of the president-elect's position condoning abortion.

Hey, Corey

This looks like to you what it looks like to me, right?

Mystery impossible-to-defend-serious-failure-of-an-selected-president theatre 3000

Bush on what he wants to be remembered for:

"I would like to be a person remembered as a person who, first and foremost, did not sell his soul in order to accommodate the political process," Bush said,

It's hard to sell something which, if it ever existed, died a long, long time ago.

"I came to Washington with a set of values, and I'm leaving with the same set of values. And I darn sure wasn't going to sacrifice those values...

What's really sad is that this might actually be true.

Ah, Schadenfreude!

You've come back to me!

...As one or two of you may remember, I do not like Rosie O'Donnell a whole awful lot. And by "a whole awful lot" I mean "at all." I think she's out-of-tune (and I don't mean musically--I've never heard her sing, for which I am thankful), classless, and suffers from a severe case of talent-lack.

This being the case, it will not surprise you that I found other things to do than watch her live variety special Wednesday night. This may have been a mistake.

Because if the reviews are to be believed it was not so much live as...well, there's an obvious pun to be made, but I'm going to have the good taste not to make it.

This sounds as though it may have been a bomb of historical proportions.

Things to be thankful for, 2008 (part three of three)

The other two parts are posted in my other blogs.

As always, in no particular order:

Film and TV:

Doctor Who



Most of Babylon 5

Stranger Than Fiction.

Bender's Game. After the first two Futurama straight-to-DVD movies had my faith wavering, the third helped to restore it.

The Bond movies that I like and not the ones I don't

Monty Python!



Sideways

Jon Stewart.



Monk, which is approaching its eighth and final season.


Tron 2! That it's coming.


Gone Baby Gone

Muppets

Richard Williams' The Thief Who Never Gave Up.

U wanna get Dirt?
Originally uploaded by LukeFill

Dirt. For me, the biggest casualty of the writers' strike.


Shoot 'Em Up


A Midwinter's Tale (AKA In the Bleak Midwinter)


Cave of the Yellow Dog


Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day

Triumph the Insult Dog

Stephen Colbert

The Saw film series




Artists of the guitar and synthesizer:

David Bowie
Erasure
Colin Hay
Peter Gabriel
The Fixx
Scritti Politti
Emily Easterly
Teachers (more the soundtrack than the movie, but...)
"How Soon is Now," by The Smiths.
Howard Jones
Nik Kershaw
Oingo Boingo
Leonard Cohen
Upstairs At Eric's

Arts and entertainment:

Harlan Ellison
George Carlin

Favorite color:

Green

Buddies:

Jeopardygirl, Corey and the usual suspects.

Don't Watch That...Watch This

For those of you who are tired of my nudging you about watching Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, a heads-up:

Friday Night Lights will be back on NBC on January 16, 2009.

I'm telling you this now so you have time to go out and rent the first two seasons and be all caught up when I start nudging you about watching this series.

And by the way...

Watch Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. The show started out good and has only gotten better, but it's being beaten in the ratings even by Chuck. And that ain't right.

Who else you got?

The wingnut Peggy Noonan stopped on the way to her mental vacation of fantasizing about Ronald Reagan just long enough to say:

"I happen to think the media is up to a bit of mischief here. I think the media wants to take Sarah Palin and make her, subliminally, the face of the Republican party. They want to make her: this is what Republicans are, the face of the party, the leader of the party, because it amuses them to do that."

Who else you got?

PS: As the Political Wire reminds us, and as I blogged about at the time:

During the presidential election, Noonan was caught on a live microphone saying Sen. John McCain's pick of Palin doomed the Republican ticket.

The Beckhams were winning when I voted, which I don't understand at all.

C'mon now, we know she doesn't eat.

My favorite Celebrity poll site is asking:

Which of the following celeb families would you like to spend Thanksgiving weekend with?

The Hiltons
The Lohans
The Jonases
The Spearses
The Beckhams

I voted for The Lohans, but I'm assuming they mean Lindsay and Sam. If the rest of her family has to be there, then I'm switching my vote to the Hiltons. Yes, there's just as much a chance I'd be going to jail before the weekend was over, but there's an ever better chance I'd get to have sex.

Of course not. Emotions are for human beings, and this is a monster.

A Missouri mother on trial in a landmark cyberbullying case was convicted Wednesday of three minor offenses instead of the main conspiracy charge in a cruel Internet hoax that apparently drove a 13-year-old girl to suicide.

The federal jury could not reach a verdict on the conspiracy allegation against 49-year-old Lori Drew and rejected three other felony counts of accessing computers without authorization to inflict emotional harm on the girl.

Instead, the panel convicted her of three misdemeanor offenses of accessing computers without authorization. Each of those counts is punishable by up to one year in prison and a $100,000 fine. Drew faced up to 20 years in prison if convicted of the four original counts.

I have only three words to say about this: It's a start.

Drew did not show any visible emotion when the clerk read the verdicts.

See post title.

I don't really know who Taylor Momsen is

Apparently she's on Gossip Girl, which I don't watch. But I do know this: Tan/pink flesh is not a good color for a lollypop.

A song to sing.

Fun!

...Love that duck.

Oh, to be a fly on the wall.

Bush meets with Nobel Award winners

WASHINGTON (AP) — Three 2008 Nobel laureates from the United States lined up with President George W. Bush on Monday for an Oval Office photograph to mark their achievements.

The third laureate at the White House was Paul Krugman of New York, who won the Nobel Prize in economics for his work on international trade patterns. Krugman, a frequent critic of the Bush administration who opposed the recent $700 billion financial bailout, is a Princeton University professor and New York Times columnist.

I'll bet that was a funny, funny meeting.

My little chickadee

This photo was taken by Joe Baker.

This. Is. Just. Wrong.

So much so, I'm not even going to stain my blog by reproducing its image. Go here...if you are of stout heart and strong disposition.

Robert Reich showing why he impresses me

If the man can write about economic issues in a way which I can understand...he's good.

Stylish.

The party of Still President Bush can run but they can't hide from the truth: They're a party that was defined by Richard Nixon's dirty tricks--and remains so. Most recent example: Accusing a man whose child was kidnapped of being "soft" on crimes committed against children.

Yes, really.

Via TPM Election Central.