Archive for June, 2009
The Biggest Wagon Is The Empty Wagon Is The Noisiest -or- Steve Is Wrong About Subjective Song Preferences
Posted on June 30, 2009 by andrew- Filed Under R.E.M., music | 4 Comments
Steve has posted a list of his favorite R.E.M. songs. Or, more accurately, the following:
I thought I’d share my personal R.E.M. “Best of” list. It consists of nothing more than a list of the songs that I thought I would enjoy listening to if they came up as I played through this list on [...]
The Trainwreck Continues
Posted on June 30, 2009 by andrew- Filed Under 2008 presidential election, Sarah Palin | Leave a Comment
The Todd Purdum piece on Sarah Palin that is being linked across the blogosphere today is phenomenal. Go read it.
I think this is my favorite short anecdote:
When Trig was born, Palin wrote an e-mail letter to friends and relatives, describing the belated news of her pregnancy and detailing Trig’s condition; she wrote the e-mail not [...]
Thoroughly Inappropriate Commentary On The Current News Cycle
Posted on June 25, 2009 by andrew- Filed Under Farrah Fawcett, Mark Sanford, Michael Jackson, obituaries | Leave a Comment
People who are really, really, really happy (even though they would never admit it) right now:
1) Mark Sanford
People who would theoretically be justified in being a bit annoyed to have been totally and inescapably overshadowed:
1) Farrah Fawcett
News cycles are weird.
Sphere: Related Content
Short Memories
Posted on June 24, 2009 by andrew- Filed Under Dana Milbank, The Washington Post, the media | Leave a Comment
Remember President Obama’s first prime-time press conference after taking office? Remember how The Washington Post wasted its question on Alex Rodriguez and steroids, of all things?
Yeah, Dana Milbank should probably STFU now…
Sphere: Related Content
And This Applies To Whom, Exactly?
Posted on June 23, 2009 by andrew- Filed Under Barack Obama, health care, the media | Leave a Comment
Apparently, it’s a big deal that President Obama is walking back from his pledge that the health care reforms he signs into law will not force anyone to lose their existing coverage if they prefer that coverage to whatever might be created by the reforms. Now, I’m not going to say that the president should [...]
Heh, “Cartoonist-American”
Posted on June 22, 2009 by andrew- Filed Under Art Spiegelman, Holocaust, comics, the media | Leave a Comment
I’m having trouble imagining a feature in the Sunday Post that would appeal to me more directly than this one: Art Spiegelman, pioneering comic artist and author of Maus, writes and draws a feature about the St. Louis refugee ship and ends up making a point about our modern immigration policies- not to mention the [...]
Bird Injury Blogging
Posted on June 22, 2009 by andrew- Filed Under Kirby | Leave a Comment
Last week, young Kirby fractured his leg. If you’re wondering how it’s possible for a parakeet to fracture his leg, well, you aren’t alone. Anyway, I thought some of you might be curious to see what his cast looks like:
He’s doing fairly well; he’s figured out how to get around his cage relatively smoothly on [...]
Weekly Routine
Posted on June 16, 2009 by andrew- Filed Under Richard Cohen, The Washington Post | Leave a Comment
Not a Tuesday goes by without Richard Cohen embarrassing The Washington Post.
USHMM Officer Johns Family Fund
Posted on June 15, 2009 by andrew- Filed Under Holocaust Museum shooting | 1 Comment
The Holocaust Museum has now set up a fund which is accepting donations from anyone who might like to help support the family of the security guard who was killed in the terrible attack last week.
Sphere: Related Content
A Concession
Posted on June 15, 2009 by andrew- Filed Under 2009 Iranian Election, Iran, Twitter | Leave a Comment
In light of events in Iran, I guess I might be willing to concede that Twitter does, potentially, have its uses.
They Hypnotized The Summer, 1979
Posted on June 13, 2009 by andrew- Filed Under 2009 Iranian Election, Iran | Leave a Comment
When I saw R.E.M. last year, Michael Stipe introduced Ignoreland by talking about the Iranian Revolution (in a very Michael Stipe-ish sort of way that ended up confusing most of the people sitting near me, naturally). In Stipe’s view, the events of that revolution were the spark that allowed Reagan to come to power at [...]
The Washington Post Fans The Flames
Posted on June 12, 2009 by andrew- Filed Under Charles Krauthammer, Holocaust Museum shooting, The Washington Post, the media, wingnuts | Leave a Comment
On each of the last two days, the front page of The Washington Post has been dominated by the shooting at the Holocaust Museum. Articles on various aspects of the attack have appeared in almost every section of the paper, thanks to the local nature of the crime. In the opinion section of today’s paper, [...]
Things That Almost Make Me Cry At Work
Posted on June 11, 2009 by andrew- Filed Under Holocaust Museum shooting | 1 Comment
Not ashamed to admit that this post made my eyes water a little bit.
My instinct yesterday was to not let this attack feel personal, but Mark Blumenthal is right: It is personal.
Sphere: Related Content
Quote of the Day
Posted on June 11, 2009 by andrew- Filed Under Holocaust Museum shooting, anti-Semitism, race | Leave a Comment
Um, wow:
“The responsible white separatist community condemns this,” he said. “It makes us look bad.”
(Via)
People I Would Vote For
Posted on June 10, 2009 by andrew- Filed Under Sweden, intellectual property | Leave a Comment
If this party existed in the United States and was running on the exact same platform, and if I actually got to vote for representatives in Congress, I would absolutely1 vote for them. Not because they call themselves the Pirate Party, which is stupid, but because our current intellectual property laws are a joke.
Giving myself [...]
Obama At Buchenwald
Posted on June 5, 2009 by andrew- Filed Under Barack Obama, Dick Cheney, Elie Wiesel, Holocaust | Leave a Comment
I can’t seem to find anything articulate to say here (although I’m obviously pleased to see the president pay his respects). I do have three brief and somewhat silly (in comparison to the gravity of where Obama was) thoughts:
1) For reasons I can’t quite explain, I really like that Elie Wiesel quoted The Plage in [...]
The Cairo Speech
Posted on June 4, 2009 by andrew- Filed Under Barack Obama, diplomacy | Leave a Comment
President Obama’s Cairo speech reminds me of nothing so much as the speech he delivered in Philadelphia one year ago on the topic of race. This is the Barack Obama I deeply admire; this is the Barack Obama I was eager and proud to vote for. This is the president who believes in the power [...]
Hey, Token Black Friend, I’ve Got A Question For You
Posted on June 3, 2009 by andrew- Filed Under George W Bush, race | Leave a Comment
Was George W. Bush stupid or evil? I suppose we’ll never get a definitive answer (although the smart money is riding on “both”), but here’s more evidence for the first option:
Bush found himself perplexed by the flap over Joe Biden describing Obama as “articulate and bright and clean” in January 2007. So, naturally, the president [...]
Conan’s Debut
Posted on June 2, 2009 by andrew- Filed Under Conan O'Brien, The Tonight Show, television | 1 Comment
I have to be honest here: I didn’t laugh once during the entire hour (although I had mostly stopped paying attention by the time Will Ferrell showed up; maybe his interview was funny). I spent most of the time thinking, “Really? I’m skipping Colbert for this?” The opening “running across America” gag went on way [...]
