Organ donors

Christi's grandparents gave us a Wurlitzer.

Siege of Vienna

BBC Radio 4's In Our Time recently did an incredible program on the 1683 Siege of Vienna.

It makes me crave a Sacher Torte.

I hate oil

My latest column is a short rant about why I hate oil.

Not canola. The petroleum stuff.

Cereal you can believe in

A happy sight

A happy sight, originally uploaded by andisheh.

Adorable and a reminder to vacuum.

Election theft memo from Iran Interior Ministry (Authenticity NOT VERIFIED) #iranelection

Election theft memo from Iran Interior Ministry (Authenticity NOT VERIFIED) #iranelection, originally uploaded by andisheh.

Confused and Confusing: The only Ahmadinejad Supporter in D.C.

Yesterday evening, a large group of Iranian-Americans and Iranians gathered outside the Iranian consular office on Wisconsin Ave. in Washington, D.C.. to protest election fraud and the violent treatment of Iran's peaceful pro-democracy demonstrators by Iran's government.

Of the 200-250 people in attendance (I stopped counting at 200), only one person in the crowd expressed support for "re-elected" President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Wearing a red "Iran" soccer jersey and holding a picture of Ahmadinejad printed on 8.5" x 11" paper, he stood silent on the opposite side of Wisconsin Ave from the other demonstrators.

He was a very confused and very confusing young man.

I say he's confused because anyone who would peacefully demonstrate in support of someone who just gunned down peaceful protesters clearly isn't thinking. Either that, or he's a prankster.

And I call him confusing because despite his willingness to face down a crowd outnumbering 200-to-1, he repeatedly covered his face with his Ahmadinejad picture when people tried to take his photo.

Perhaps he's worried people are going to post his picture on the Internet, which will in turn let the people he encounters daily in Washington, D.C. that there's a cheerleader of fascism in their midst.

He's free to told whatever stupid opinion he'd wishes. And I'm free to tell everyone I can that this man applauds the massacre of innocent people.

DC Rally to Support democracy and freedom in Iran

Some photos.

Help: Hit-and-run injures man, kills dog

Reed Thodeson and his dog Madchen were victims of a hit-and-run at 5:40PM on Tuesday, May 12 as they were crossing S. Candler street in Decatur. Thodeson is okay, but Madchen died last weekend after surgery.

If you see a purple pickup truck with dark, tinted windows, and custom chrome bumpers, please contact Officer Bellis at the Decatur Police Department at 404-373-6551. The Case# 0902316.

Fox 5 reported the story last week, prior to Madchen's surgery.

60 Minutes: Is a two-state solution possible?

An extraordinarily intelligent story on Israel/Palestine from 60 Minutes:

Can foreign governments bribe the U.S. Secretary of State?

The list of important things I don’t understand is long, and growing.

Why, for example, do my dog Mathilde’s feet always smell like Fritos? My other dog Sarah’s feet never smell like anything. They live in the same house and go on the same walks. Their feet should smell the same.

And would anyone buy the Mamma Mia! movie soundtrack?

Fun movie, yes. But why would you listen to Pierce Brosnan singing ABBA songs if you’re not also looking at him. Why not just listen to ABBA?

On a slightly different topic, why oh why oh why did Barack Obama select Hillary Clinton to be Secretary of State? And why did only two U.S. Senators vote against her confirmation?

I’m not a knee-jerk Hillary-hater. I sincerely believe that most of the public anger directed at her over the years is misogyny masquerading as informed opinion.

I nevertheless have two big problems with Obama picking Clinton to run the American diplomacy shop.

First, despite her obvious intellect, Hillary Clinton is a proven failure as a political leader.

Read the rest

Did Bush's War on Terror™ succeed in Somalia?

With just a few pages remaining on our “countdown to a president who can actually pronounce the word ‘nuclear’ and who doesn’t look or act like he sprouted from the egg of a dim-witted chimpanzee fertilized by the irradiated sperm of Roy Rogers” page-a-day calendars, George W. Bush has already given up even pretending he’s president.

Instead, Dubya is in ex-president mode, focusing his energy on legacy-management.

Roughly half the White House home page is now occupied by links to documents that attempt to spin a positive, alternate history of the Bush years.

The most obnoxious is the 40-pager titled, “100 Things You May Not Know About The Bush Presidency.”

In the “every day is opposite day” dream-world from which the document emanates, Bush actually boasts about his economic leadership.

“[S]ix years of uninterrupted economic growth and 52 consecutive months of job growth,” says one bullet point. Conveniently missing are the bits about how he steered the economy into its deepest hole since the Great Depression.

Even more asinine is this bullet-point boast, appearing under the header “Kept America Safe”: “For more than seven years after September 11, 2001, prevented another attack on our homeland.”

Excuse me? Um, George, you were actually president on 9/11. It was the deadliest ever foreign attack on U.S. soil, and unless Wikipedia is lying to me again, the deadliest violent event in the U.S. since the Civil War’s Battle of Antietam.

“We haven’t had an attack while I was President except for that huge one that happened while I was President,” isn’t much of a boast.

It’s a bit like your wife standing up at your 10th wedding anniversary dinner and toasting you with “Honey, I just want you to know I haven’t been unfaithful to you since that weekend seven years ago when I snuck off to Vegas to star in Gangbang Party 14: Under the Milfy Way. Other than that, honey, totally faithful.”

(Read the rest)

Holiday energy tips from Georgia Power

* Leave a light on in each room at all times so Santa doesn’t trip, fall, and sue you.

* When you’re not home, keep your pets happy by tuning all the televisions in your home to Animal Planet.

* Bright, outdoor Christmas and Hanukkah displays are an easy way to reassure your neighbors you're not atheist.

* Compact fluorescent bulbs give off a green-ish light that makes you look unattractive and your mate more likely to cheat on you with a more handsomely-lit neighbor.

* On cold nights, leave your windows open a crack to let-in some of that fresh, Christmas air.

* Energy-efficient LED lights contain toxic LED; known to cause brain damage in children.

* 150-watt incandescent light bulbs make a great stocking-stuffer.

For more holiday energy tips, visit GeorgiaPower.com

Don't Panic: The year in lists

For news writers, the year-end list is a subtle signal to readers that their publication has early holiday deadlines and they had to hurry up and turn something in.

For critics, it’s often an exercise in hipper-than-thou opacity.

“Wouldn't it be sweet if an album took the prickly psych damage of Black Dice but made it work in the context of epic rock, so that it had the cathartic build of early Mogwai?"

That’s an actual sentence from Pitchfork’s “The 50 Best Albums of 2008” list. And for the record, no it wouldn’t be sweet.

I’ve written two year-end lists.

Read them both and save a puppy's life.

Top Five Best-Named World Leaders of 2008

Five People Who Also Should Have Had Shoes Thrown At Them In 2008

Bostock reflects on Creative Loafing's problems

CL columnist and former editor Cliff Bostock has a provocative piece on his blog about the paper's woes:

Another myopic aspect of the discussion is the apparent belief that CL has ignored the changes in journalism. I find this claim staggering. The reason I decided to go back to school for a master’s degree in psychology (and, later, a PhD) was because journalism ceased to be intellectually challenging and fun. I’ve raged about this too much, no doubt, but journalism has been deteriorating at least since 1982 when USA Today began publishing telegram-length news stories and analysis, all gussied up with colorful graphics.

CL has for years been part of that movement. Ken Edelstein managed to build a highly competent staff that has done some great investigative reporting. I think he’s the best editor the paper’s ever had. However, I think it would be wrong to say that CL hasn’t been part of the movement away from the writing of depth that characterized much of alternative media’s original mission.

And Wayne had the pork tenderloin.

Read the rest.

An open letter to Sunday Paper

On November 28, Sunday Paper published a column by John Sugg about Creative Loafing's bankruptcy.

John and I are former employees of Creative Loafing. I still write a weekly column for CL on a freelance basis.

The online version of Sugg's column allows readers to post comments.

A commenter using the pseudonym Lazarus posted a comment containing several false and slanderous personal and professional allegations about my friend and former CL editor Ken Edelstein.

Edelstein flatly denies Lazarus' accusations, adding "I have no idea what 'Lazarus' is talking about."

Several biographical details in Lazarus' letter strongly suggest the author of the comment is Sunday Paper News and Business Editor Stephanie Ramage.

Lazarus claims to be a former CL writer who left the paper in 2001. Ms. Ramage is a former CL writer who left the paper 2001.

Lazarus says (s)he had a less-than-pleasant working relationship with Ken. Ms. Ramage told me the same thing during our only meeting, a lunch last Spring to discuss a story I wrote about Iraqi refugees in Metro Atlanta.

Lazarus claims to be the parent of a young son. Ms. Ramage has a young son.

Lazarus' biography resembles no other person I can recall who has worked in CL's newsroom.

In a lengthy e-mail exchange, I asked her several times directly if she authored the Lazarus comment. Ms. Ramage was evasive, refusing to deny or confirm authorship.

"If I knew who Lazarus was, there still would be no reason to think that information, in your hands, wouldn't be misused," she says. "And what would be the point of that, anyway?"

The point, as she well knows, is that Sunday Paper is a newspaper and Ms. Ramage is the paper's news editor. Newspapers and journalists are bound by a professional code of ethics venerating honesty and transparency.

If she has used her position as an editor at Sunday Paper to launch anonymous personal attacks, and she's violating more professional rules and ethics than I can count.

Reputable news organizations do not permit such behavior. Alongside the more high-minded reasons, such deception undermines the credibility of everything else in the publication.

Ms. Ramage and Sunday Paper management owe the public a clear answer to a simple question: Did Ms. Ramage author a comment to John Sugg's column using the pseudonym Lazarus?

UPDATE:

Here's my unedited e-mail exchange with Ms. Ramage about the Lazarus comment. Because my only question to her was about the authorship of a libelous public comment in a section of the newspaper she edits, I do not consider this e-mail exchange private.

From: andy@andy2000.org
To: Stephanie Ramage
Subject: Are you Lazarus?
Date: Tue, 2 Dec 2008 12:38:31 -0500

Dear Stephanie-

Are you the author of the "Lazarus" comment under Sugg's Sunday Paper piece?

Andy

+++++++

From: Stephanie Ramage
Date: December 15, 2008 1:37:01 PM EST
To: andy n
Subject: RE: Are you Lazarus?

Andy,

I honestly didn't see this until now. I almost never check my [Hotmail] account. In the future, you can email me at [Gmail].

Also, I know this is really late notice, but I barely have a minute to breathe (a look at the news section should explain why), so forgive the 11th-hour invite: Our holiday party is this evening at 7 p.m. at the Hard Rock Cafe. If you and yours would like to come by, I'd be glad to see you. -- Very best, Steph

+++++++

On Mon, Dec 15, 2008 at 2:06 PM, Andisheh Nouraee wrote:

Stephanie-

Thanks for the invitation. We're busy. Christmas shopping beckons.

So, are you Lazarus?

Andy

+++++++

On Mon, Dec 15, 2008 at 2:44 PM, Stephanie Ramage wrote:

My shopping is almost done--there are only so many gnomes I can buy.

I'm sorry you can't make it. Apparently Patrick invited Ken, so it's not like you wouldn't know anyone. Of course, it might be kind of awkward for me. -- Steph

+++++++

From: Stephanie Ramage
Subject: Re: Are you Lazarus?
Date: December 15, 2008 2:53:46 PM EST
To: andy@andy2000.org

Are you "Max Power"?

+++++++

On Dec 15, 2008, at 3:07 PM, Andisheh Nouraee wrote:

I'm not even sure what your question is referring to.

I use my full name when I comment, if that's what you're referring to.

+++++++

From: Stephanie Ramage
Subject: what would be the point?
Date: December 15, 2008 3:53:59 PM EST
To: andy@andy2000.org

If we talk about Max or Lazarus or any of this other distracting but ultimately unsatisfying stuff, why should I trust you? If I knew who Lazarus was, there still would be no reason to think that information, in your hands, wouldn't be misused. And what would be the point of that, anyway? 2001 was nearly a decade ago.

+++++++

On Mon, Dec 15, 2008 at 4:10 PM, Andisheh Nouraee wrote:

There's a comment under Sugg's recent Sunday Paper column attributed to "Lazarus."

All I'm asking is this: did you write the comment?

Based on the details revealed in the comment, it sounds like you wrote it. Instead of assuming, I'm asking.

+++++++

On Dec 15, 2008, at 4:16 PM, Stephanie Ramage wrote:

Well, that's a good reporterly instinct, and I'm declining to comment.

Someone calling himself Max Powers and identifying himself as a former Loaf employee emailed me about my experience working with and for Ken. Was that you?

+++++++

From: Stephanie Ramage
Subject: do you still work for the Loaf?
Date: December 15, 2008 4:46:03 PM EST
To: andy@andy2000.org

Are you freelancing for them? Is this for a story or follow-up? (God help the poor, bored readers--I can't imagine they'd be interested.)

+++++++

On Mon, Dec 15, 2008 at 5:04 PM, Andisheh Nouraee wrote:

Why not just admit you wrote the Lazarus comment? In this instance, "declining to comment" is a clear admission, too.

I already answered your "Max" question in a previous e-mail, but I'll answer it again.

No. I didn't e-mail you using the name Max or any other pseudonym. I use my real name when I e-mail people. I also use my real name when I leave blog comments.

If someone named "Max" is writing to you and calling herself/himself a former CL staffer, it might be Max Pizarro (sp?). He was a CL staffer for a few months. I believe he left in early 2007. I have neither spoken to him nor communicated with him in any way since he left, so I'm only guessing.

+++++++

On Mon, Dec 15, 2008 at 5:11 PM, Andisheh Nouraee wrote:

I write my weekly Don't Panic column for CL on a freelance basis.

+++++++

On Mon, Dec 15, 2008 at 5:28 PM, Stephanie Ramage wrote:

Declining to comment is not an admission, as any reporter knows.

Jarrett has declined to comment on the Blagojevich affair, but that certainly doesn't mean she's guilty of anything. People sometimes decline to comment because they don't want to get dragged into a news story that they feel has nothing to do with them.

I've never talked to Max Pizarro and wouldn't know him if I saw him. In fact, until you said the name, I couldn't remember there ever having been a Max at the Loaf and I see no reason to think this Max is that Max.

Why does what Lazarus wrote matter to you?

And whoever Lazarus is, why should that person admit anything? Have you asked "Mr. T" to reveal himself?

Andy, you never said that this was for an article or column or blog or anything else. In fact, I asked you whether you were still working for the Loaf (freelancing or otherwise) and you haven't answered. My invite was in good faith. I would hope that you would be professional enough to say whether you're asking me questions for a story or column or blog, etc. Please be the decent person I hope you are and keep our emails between us.

-- Very best, Steph

+++++++

From: Stephanie Ramage
Subject: Re: do you still work for the Loaf?
Date: December 15, 2008 5:31:59 PM EST
To: andy@andy2000.org

So, what was this line of questioning for?

+++++++

From: Stephanie Ramage
Subject: Re: what would be the point?
Date: December 15, 2008 5:35:02 PM EST
To: andy@andy2000.org

Furthermore, as you know, I use my real name on blog comments.

++++++

On Dec 15, 2008, at 5:55 PM, Andisheh Nouraee wrote:

I asked you because I wanted to know.

What is Lashkar-e-Taiba?

Lashkar-e-Taiba sounds like the name of a perky, South Asian ice-dancing duo. “Taiba’s triple lutz was the crowd pleaser, but it was Lashkar’s flawless camel spin that really wowed the judges.”

But don’t let the cute moniker fool you. Lashkar-e-Taiba is a terrorist group headquartered in Pakistan. It’s a very, very, (very!) dangerous organization.

Audience shouts: “How dangerous is it?

It’s soooo dangerous, when she steps on a talking scale, the scale says “ouch.”

I’m sorry. That’s how fat your mama is.

Lashkar-e-Taiba is soooo dangerous, it very nearly started a nuclear war.

(Read the rest)

Don't Panic picked up by Columbia City Paper

Don't Panic, my weekly humor column about world affairs, was picked up by South Carolina's Columbia City Paper last week.

If you have a moment, please visit the web site and thank/admonish them.

Take this job and fill it with another person

I have resigned my senior writer position at Creative Loafing effective December 5.

It's likely I will continue to write my Don't Panic column for CL and others. I'm still discussing the details with the paper.

For December and most of January, I plan to focus my energy on the book I'm writing with Jodi Anderson and Daniel Ehrenhaft.

They've been very supportive and patient with me while I've dealt with work-related stress and put aside the book to have a wedding and honeymoon. I owe our project my focus for a while. The book is scheduled to be published in early 2010.

My other project at the moment is a Don't Panic-style blog — a daily compendium of international news, commentary, my crappy Photoshopping, a podcast, and, I hope, animation and video.

I've had two opportunities to turn Don't Panic into an animated series. One was a bad offer that I turned down. The other, was a good offer I squandered through inattention. I'm hoping a third attempt will succeed -- if not financially, then at least creatively.

I'm thinking of calling the site Turban Legend for no other reasons than the name makes me laugh and I already have an illustration of myself in a turban.

Marley the cat is missing

Marley the cat went missing from my friend's home in Little Five Points this week.

Please share this photo with people who live near L5P. If you know where Marley might be, please call 404-751-8884.