At what point does this become illegal?

a report by the Pentagon inspector general has finally confirmed that Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld’s do-it-yourself intelligence office cooked up a link between Iraq and Al Qaeda to help justify an unjustifiable war.

At what point do we actually have the onions to impeach the boy president?

Tags: Govmint

This bother anybody else?

Season opener for 24: terrorists assemble their nuclear device, the wacky lawyer from Ally McBeal is double-dealing in Washington, CTU agents scramble to catch Kumar before he offs that kid, Tad Allagash has a breakdown after killing one of his own to protect Doctor Bashir and suddenly, the revered, late President David Palmer shows up to pitch auto insurance.

Tags: TeeVee

Neanderthals Were Cannibals, Study Confirms:

Researchers found cut marks and evidence that bones had been torn apart, which they say could indicate cannibalism."There is strong evidence suggesting that these Neanderthals were eaten," said the study's lead author, Antonio Rosas of the Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales in Madrid. "That is, long bones and the skull were broken for extraction of the marrow, [which] is very nutritious."According to Rosas, there is evidence of cannibalism in Neanderthal remains from other European sites."I would say this practice… was general among Neanderthal populations," he said.

Tags: Science

I'm intrigued by the concept for "Company", John Doyle's everybody-plays-an-instrument version of the Sondheim classic, but I think it may not work as well as it did for his "Sweeney Todd". It did take a bit of getting used to, what with Sweeney and Mrs Lovett stopping now and again to fiddle, as it were, but "Sweeney Todd" is an over the top piece that lends itself to wacky interpretation. "Company", on the other hand, has never struck me as a show that needs wacky interpretation. What it does need is a better book, or a different take on the insufferable Bobby. Great songs, though.

I hope the concept doesn't catch on. I do not want a revival of "The King and I" where Anna whips out her clarinet, say, or "South Pacific" where Nellie Forbush lugs around an Upright Bass.

At Amazon:
Company - A Musical Comedy (1970 Original Broadway Cast),
Sweeney Todd (2005 Broadway Revival Cast)

Tags: Theatuh, Musical

According to this article in Smarthouse, it's a done deal. Apple is introducing some sort of 'living room' device, nicknamed iTV, in the Spring, and a tablet would fit nicely into their scheme.

Given the number of Macs, old and new and yet-to-be-delivered-for-Christmas, in my house, Apple should use me as a Beta Tester. I can't imagine what I'd use a tablet for, but I'm sure I'd find a way to fit it into my daily routine....



tagged Apple, iTV

Tags: Tech

There's a new plug-in from Your Head Software soon to be available for Rapid Weaver, called Carousel. I know we've been threatening to make the Photo Galleries on this site better looking and better behaving, and judging from the Carousel preview, we'll be able to deliver soon. Isaiah has been turning out terrific work for some time now, making it easier even for those of us with 'support staff' to keep up with the Joneses. Of course, the Joneses have better cameras. I guess we'll need to address that , too. Another task for Chet, the intern.

Tags: Site Stuff, Tech

Dave Winer has an interesting take on the film Why We Fight. Not a review per se, but his commentary on how his perceptions have changed since seeing it. I haven't yet seen it, but it appears to be one of those movies that's "a must-see" (Of course, my must-see and your must-see are no doubt different, for any number of reasons). It's his conclusion that rings true, though. Rings loud and clear:

Even so, we should vote Democratic, because it's the clearest protest vote we have. But if we elect Democrats, we should be prepared not to stop there.

Tags: Film, Govmint

DouglasColer.com has been selected as a Featured Site all this week over at RapidWeaved, a showcase site for those of us who use RapidWeaver as our design tool of choice. Check 'em out, and see what's being done.

Tags: Site Stuff

I was walking up 9th Avenue with a Mark today, and he put in a call on his cell to another Mark, for whom I was going to audition while in town. It occurred to me that I know a lot of Marks. A rough count puts in at an even dozen, and of that dozen, six of them are close friends. Two of those six have served in the capacity of Best Friend at different times of my life. I'm staying with one of the Marks...not the walking up 9th Mark...and this Mark was kind enough to invite me to The Concert Of The Season last night : Eric Clapton at Madison Square Garden. We had perfect seats: 19th Row, Center. I'm not a regular concert goer, as Mark is. I did my share of them: David Bowie, Bruce Springsteen,The Go-Gos before they hit it big, and long ago, Sammy Davis, Jr (who was amazing), but I am reasonably well versed in concert etiquette. The Garden was sold out, so space was at a premium. Two rows ahead of us, a shaggy, cap and denim jacket-wearing guy, in his early 40's took his place just as Robert Cray was finishing the opening set. Not took his seat, mind you. His place. In front of his chair. On his feet. Now, sure, there are times when you want to stand, particularly if you're in the nosebleed section. But he wasn't. He was in the 17th row. Center. And he never sat down. Not once. He did a lot of pointing at Clapton in that "you da man!" way that certain guys do. And a lot of swaying. And jumping. And what I'm sure he thought was dancing. But not concert use-the-space-in-front-of-your-chair dancing. He shimmied to one side, then the other. He hooted, he hollered, he screamed, he flailed about, he encroached on the chair space of his neighbors, and seemed to embarrass most of the people around him. Even at concerts where it's socially acceptable to be wildly enthusiastic, when some goofus goes nutty in the a seat near you, you get embarrassed for him, it seems. Mark and I weren't embarrassed; we were alternately amused and annoyed. The guys behind us, though, were downright angry. Livid, in fact. Screaming at the goofus to sit down, to knock it off, to act like a man, dammit! And goofus gleefully carried on, perhaps not hearing them, perhaps hearing and not caring, perhaps so transported by Slow Hand himself that nothing else could possibly matter.

EC put together a terrific band for this tour: Doyle Bramhall II and Derek Trucks, Steve Jordan on drums, Tim Carmon and Chris Stainton on keyboards, great horns, too, and a couple of back up vocalists. All of them were on it last night, and so was Robert Cray. The interesting thing to me was that all them were dressed so casually....Carmon was wearing a striped polo shirt that made him look like that kid in the wheelchair on Malcolm in The Middle, and Clapton himself looked like a suburban dad. Cray's band, too. All about comfort, I suppose. Can't fault the musicianship, though, particularly Trucks. Another thing: Clapton is not a chatty performer. Except for introducing each band mate after solos, and saying thank you, hardly a peep. Mark counted 18 non-sung words. They wrapped up a little after 11:45...for the record, he didn't play Lay Down Sally or Tears In Heaven...and the crowd dispersed fairly quickly.

What of goofus? He boogied, he leapt, he bopped, he marched to his different drummer all the way out the Garden. And those angry guys? We overheard them plotting to "kick that guy's ass".

---

Check out Clapton on iTunes ,and Bramhall,and Trucks.

Tags: Peeps, Name Check, Musical

Doctor, I've Got This Pain...
Okay, the vote was 6-3, with O'Connor writing for the dissenters, but still

“Our national medical system relies on proven scientific research, not popular opinion. To date, science and research have not determined that smoking marijuana is safe or effective,” John Walters, director of National Drug Control Policy, said Monday.

Oh. Lung cancer, emphysema, cirrhosis, blindness, et al...all determined by “science and research” to be side-effects of indulgence in perfectly legal products, those are okay. But pain numbing, slight euphoria, and the munchies...no can do.

Hippie.

To quote Dickens: The law is a ass.

Tags: "News", Govmint

Via Gothamist:
Garden State Has Best Heroin

The DEA announced that New Jersey has the purest heroin in the country. Because NJ tends to be the first stop in the US for drug traffickers, the heroin is usually not cut, therefore making NJ's heroin purity over 71%, which is twice the national average; heroin in NY is 61.5% pure. This means that there are more overdoses and drug choices.

One DEA agent told the Star-Ledger, “You can't buy any better heroin in the world than you can buy in New Jersey.”
I should add that I can't get it in my town - at least, not regularly, but a quick hop over to Newark isn't out of the question.

Tags: Location, Smack, Horse

As if we didn't already know that John Ashcroft is a total asshat, this post at Whiskey Bar states the case rather nicely.

Tags: Govmint, Ass Hats

We know they exist, they're evil and pernicious and ruinous to society, but there's no proposal to create an amendment that would ban ill-advised heterosexual marriages.
I'm just sayin.

Wil Wheaton has written a deeply felt response to GWB's latest bonehead move. Read it, and read the follow-up comments from his visitors. Then, make sure you're registered to vote.

Tags: Govmint

Via Associated Press:

For the fifth straight year, members of Congress will see a jump in their paychecks in 2004, with election-year salaries rising from the current $154,700 to about $158,000. The Senate, on a 60-34 vote Thursday, rejected a proposal to exempt senators from a cost-of-living increase going to all civilian federal workers and military personnel. Last month the House, by a similar convincing margin, also turned back an attempt to deny lawmakers an automatic share of the COLA increase.

Note to Congress: Belt tightening only works if the whole belt is tightened! What a wonderful way to thank the troops for their sacrifice.

Tags: "News", Govmint

The Austrian has been elected Governor of California. Hokey Smokes, Bullwinkle! Now, one doesn't get to be one of the wealthiest movie stars ever by being a complete idiot, and from most reports he is anything but a complete idiot...still, I hope he finds a place in his administration for his fellow celebretitians Gary Coleman and Mary Carey.

Tags: Govmint

From The Washington Post via AlterNet comes this sobering thought:

The Washington Post notes that “the $87 billion request is nearly triple the amount the federal government plans to spend on elementary and secondary education this year, and more than twice as much as the budget for homeland security.”

The $166 billion that has already been spent or requested exceeds “the inflation-adjusted costs of the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, the Mexican War, the Civil War, the Spanish American War and the Persian Gulf War combined” and “approaches the $191 billion inflation-adjusted cost of World War I.”

I'm sure, with very little prodding, we can up this to include WWI, WWII, Korea, and Viet Nam. We are a determined society, after all.

Tags: "News", Govmint