Thursday, March 31, 2005
Guitar Wolf
This week's Scene & Herd features a short review of last Friday's Guitar Wolf at The EARL. Sadly, the show was Guitar Wolf bassist Billy Guitar's final show before his death this morning in Japan.
I've posted some of my photographs from the show on my Flickr page.
I've posted some of my photographs from the show on my Flickr page.
Tuesday, March 29, 2005
What Is A Journalist?
Have you ever wondering what exactly a journalist is?
Harry Shearer answered the question last weekend on his Le Show radio broadcast (for some reason, he did it in the voice of Casey Kasem).
What Is A Journalist? by Harry Shearer.
Harry Shearer answered the question last weekend on his Le Show radio broadcast (for some reason, he did it in the voice of Casey Kasem).
What Is A Journalist? by Harry Shearer.
Thursday, March 24, 2005
Rice is nice
The following is a list of my favorite headlines from stories pertaining to Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice's recent official visit to China
Rice arrives in China
Rice had complicated agenda in Asia
Rice suits tastes of changing Asia
Rice: Ball in North Korea's court on nuke talks
Rice appeals to China to engage in NKorea together
China head warns Rice on Taiwan
Rice sends mixed signals in Asia
Rice arrives in China
Rice had complicated agenda in Asia
Rice suits tastes of changing Asia
Rice: Ball in North Korea's court on nuke talks
Rice appeals to China to engage in NKorea together
China head warns Rice on Taiwan
Rice sends mixed signals in Asia
Family Photos
My cousin Mahdad e-mailed some family photos from Iran yesterday.
Thursday, March 17, 2005
That settles it then.
Here's a fun headline from last week's Washington Post
Abuse Review Exonerates Policy: Low-Level Leaders and Confusion Blamed
In other words, top Pentagon officials investigated themselves and say that they didn't do anything wrong.
In a related story, "Andisheh is the coolest, awesomest, bestest person in the world," says Andisheh.
Abuse Review Exonerates Policy: Low-Level Leaders and Confusion Blamed
In other words, top Pentagon officials investigated themselves and say that they didn't do anything wrong.
In a related story, "Andisheh is the coolest, awesomest, bestest person in the world," says Andisheh.
Tuesday, March 15, 2005
Monkey Action
I've put a couple of new posts on MonkeySars, one on a 1942 musical called "Iceland," the other about Jerry Orbach. Read them if you'd like.
Monday, March 14, 2005
My favorite TV commercial
Have you seen the commercial for the birth control pill ORTHO TRI-CYCLEN LO. (If not, you can watch it here.)
The commercial depicts beautifully lit, attractive women walking around pretty settings in slow motion. Underneath the narration about the pill's effects and side-effects, a pixie woman sings a the main hook from "There She Goes" (originally by The La's.)
"There she goes. There she goes again."
The song and the visuals artfully deliver a clear, pro-woman, pro-sex message ("There she goes, having premarital sex and not getting pregnant. Hey, check it out, there she goes again!), but in a way that slides past the literal-minded Virginity Cultists who'd bury the FCC under a mountain of auto-generated e-mails if a commercial spokesperson stood in front of a camera and said, "Hey, young women, this drug makes sex more fun and less risky."
Maybe this commercial is a glimpse at the potential upside of the ascendant Christian Conservative movement's censorship movement. To get messages out, creative people are going to have to be more artful. Maybe the crackdown on so-called broadcast indecency is, as we speak, birthing a dozen new Cole Porters. We can only hope.
The commercial depicts beautifully lit, attractive women walking around pretty settings in slow motion. Underneath the narration about the pill's effects and side-effects, a pixie woman sings a the main hook from "There She Goes" (originally by The La's.)
"There she goes. There she goes again."
The song and the visuals artfully deliver a clear, pro-woman, pro-sex message ("There she goes, having premarital sex and not getting pregnant. Hey, check it out, there she goes again!), but in a way that slides past the literal-minded Virginity Cultists who'd bury the FCC under a mountain of auto-generated e-mails if a commercial spokesperson stood in front of a camera and said, "Hey, young women, this drug makes sex more fun and less risky."
Maybe this commercial is a glimpse at the potential upside of the ascendant Christian Conservative movement's censorship movement. To get messages out, creative people are going to have to be more artful. Maybe the crackdown on so-called broadcast indecency is, as we speak, birthing a dozen new Cole Porters. We can only hope.
Thursday, March 10, 2005
We're still friends though, right?
Today Reuters is confirming year-old reports that the biggest proliferator of nuclear weapons technology to the worst enemies of the U.S. is our so-called ally Pakistan.
Here's a snippet:
Pakistan: Disgraced Scientist Gave Iran Centrifuges
By Zeeshan Haider
ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Abdul Qadeer Khan, the disgraced Pakistani scientist at the center of a nuclear black market, gave Iran (news - web sites) centrifuges, the Pakistani government said on Thursday (read more).
-----
I recall "President" Bush saying over and over again that the most important national security challenge of the post 9/11-era is keeping the world's most dangerous weapons out of the hands of the world's most dangerous regimes. If that's the standard, this administration has failed miserably. Democracy in Iraq is a truly wonderful thing, but by getting involved there, we've committed the bulk of the U.S. military to the wrong problem. We deemed Iraq the easiest country to "take care of," so we did. It's as if the Iraq war is a large scale theatrical production of this stupid old joke:
A woman sees a man searching the sidewalk underneath a streetlamp.
"What are you looking for," she asks.
"I'm looking for my wallet," he says, and gesturing towards the adjacent dark alley.
"Where exactly did you lose the keys?"
"Over there in the alley."
"Why are you looking over here?"
"The light's better."
-----
For a little background on this story, check out this story I wrote about a year ago.
Here's a snippet:
Pakistan: Disgraced Scientist Gave Iran Centrifuges
By Zeeshan Haider
ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Abdul Qadeer Khan, the disgraced Pakistani scientist at the center of a nuclear black market, gave Iran (news - web sites) centrifuges, the Pakistani government said on Thursday (read more).
-----
I recall "President" Bush saying over and over again that the most important national security challenge of the post 9/11-era is keeping the world's most dangerous weapons out of the hands of the world's most dangerous regimes. If that's the standard, this administration has failed miserably. Democracy in Iraq is a truly wonderful thing, but by getting involved there, we've committed the bulk of the U.S. military to the wrong problem. We deemed Iraq the easiest country to "take care of," so we did. It's as if the Iraq war is a large scale theatrical production of this stupid old joke:
A woman sees a man searching the sidewalk underneath a streetlamp.
"What are you looking for," she asks.
"I'm looking for my wallet," he says, and gesturing towards the adjacent dark alley.
"Where exactly did you lose the keys?"
"Over there in the alley."
"Why are you looking over here?"
"The light's better."
-----
For a little background on this story, check out this story I wrote about a year ago.
Multiculturalism
It's so nice to see South Carolina's retailers reaching out to Spanish-speaking consumers.
Sunday, March 06, 2005
WTF? Seriously, WTF?
I snapped this one yesterday in Kennesaw, GA.
I mean it -- WTF?!?!
I mean it -- WTF?!?!
Thursday, March 03, 2005
I hope my two don't feel this way.
Area Dog Will Never Live Up To Dog On Purina Bag
KANSAS CITY, MO — Although those close to Buster characterize him as a good boy, the area collie-rottweiler mix reported Monday that he will never live up to the standard set by the show-quality golden retriever on the Purina Dog Chow bag. (Read more)
KANSAS CITY, MO — Although those close to Buster characterize him as a good boy, the area collie-rottweiler mix reported Monday that he will never live up to the standard set by the show-quality golden retriever on the Purina Dog Chow bag. (Read more)
Tuesday, March 01, 2005
Take that, Vivienne Westwood!
I confess, I haven't seen Million Dollar Baby or Mystic River.
I'm into what the rappers might call Old Skool Eastwood. I love me some Dirty Harry and some Spaghetti Westerns. If banished to that weird desert island everyone talks about (you know, the one with electricity and a home entertainment system, but room for only 10 discs), one of the discs I'd take would be For A Few Dollars More with me. (Read more at MonkeySars.net)
I'm into what the rappers might call Old Skool Eastwood. I love me some Dirty Harry and some Spaghetti Westerns. If banished to that weird desert island everyone talks about (you know, the one with electricity and a home entertainment system, but room for only 10 discs), one of the discs I'd take would be For A Few Dollars More with me. (Read more at MonkeySars.net)
