Friday, July 30, 2004
Esquire Esquay
I have trouble coming up with catchy titles...
Friend Joyce in the Mts. brought this essay to my attention, written by Ron Reagan Jr Re: GWB. Funny, articulate, yes. Read it now. Here is a teaser...
During his campaign for the presidency, Mr. Bush pledged a more "humble" foreign policy. "I would take the use of force very seriously," he said. "I would be guarded in my approach." Other countries would resent us "if we're an arrogant nation." He sniffed at the notion of "nation building." "Our military is meant to fight and win wars. . . . And when it gets overextended, morale drops." International cooperation and consensus building would be the cornerstone of a Bush administration's approach to the larger world. Given candidate Bush's remarks, it was hard to imagine him, as president, flipping a stiff middle finger at the world and charging off adventuring in the Middle East.
Heh.
Friend Joyce in the Mts. brought this essay to my attention, written by Ron Reagan Jr Re: GWB. Funny, articulate, yes. Read it now. Here is a teaser...
During his campaign for the presidency, Mr. Bush pledged a more "humble" foreign policy. "I would take the use of force very seriously," he said. "I would be guarded in my approach." Other countries would resent us "if we're an arrogant nation." He sniffed at the notion of "nation building." "Our military is meant to fight and win wars. . . . And when it gets overextended, morale drops." International cooperation and consensus building would be the cornerstone of a Bush administration's approach to the larger world. Given candidate Bush's remarks, it was hard to imagine him, as president, flipping a stiff middle finger at the world and charging off adventuring in the Middle East.
Heh.
Wednesday, July 28, 2004
Nummy Nemo
Tuesday, July 27, 2004
Ann Coulter - Democrat?
Hardly. But she was at the DNC covering the events for USA Today. Was, that is, until she submitted her column. They refused to print it. Here is the story on Salon - hopefully I've gotten you to a page where you don't have to log in...
From the article: "the idea of hiring Coulter stemmed from the paper's wanting "a fresh approach to events that have largely become four-day commercials for political parties." The idea was that she'd write "wry columns that would appear under the heading "Crashing the Party."
USA Today editorial page editor Brian Gallagher, defending the choice, told a reporter Coulter "was a voice from [the conservative] side with standing and visibility." Notice how credibility was not a requirement. By contrast, for the Republican convention in August, USA Today has tapped Academy Award-winning director Michael Moore to file dispatches. Are the two really compatible? Nowhere in his movie "Fahrenheit 9/11" does Moore suggest, for instance, that Republicans hate America or that Bush's Cabinet members are akin to Iraqi terrorists. Moore is an accomplished and, yes, partisan filmmaker; Coulter is a factually challenged name-caller. Could USA Today honestly not tell the difference?
USA Today's Gallagher told a reporter for his own paper that the column had "basic weaknesses in clarity and readability that we found unacceptable."
Here is the article, at her website, titled Put The Speakers In A Cage.
Sad that such a moron can get any air time, press time, etc. Such is the nature of free speech.
From the article: "the idea of hiring Coulter stemmed from the paper's wanting "a fresh approach to events that have largely become four-day commercials for political parties." The idea was that she'd write "wry columns that would appear under the heading "Crashing the Party."
USA Today editorial page editor Brian Gallagher, defending the choice, told a reporter Coulter "was a voice from [the conservative] side with standing and visibility." Notice how credibility was not a requirement. By contrast, for the Republican convention in August, USA Today has tapped Academy Award-winning director Michael Moore to file dispatches. Are the two really compatible? Nowhere in his movie "Fahrenheit 9/11" does Moore suggest, for instance, that Republicans hate America or that Bush's Cabinet members are akin to Iraqi terrorists. Moore is an accomplished and, yes, partisan filmmaker; Coulter is a factually challenged name-caller. Could USA Today honestly not tell the difference?
USA Today's Gallagher told a reporter for his own paper that the column had "basic weaknesses in clarity and readability that we found unacceptable."
Here is the article, at her website, titled Put The Speakers In A Cage.
Sad that such a moron can get any air time, press time, etc. Such is the nature of free speech.
Friday, July 16, 2004
"Give Me Time Give Us a Kiss
Tell Me Your Own Politik...."
Regular article about sex workers and the National Party Conventions.
Campy article about sex workers and the National Party Conventions.
"Open Up Your Eyes..........."
Regular article about sex workers and the National Party Conventions.
Campy article about sex workers and the National Party Conventions.
"Open Up Your Eyes..........."
Republic of the Condo
From today's Oregonian - an article about a woman that lost to Jeopardy phenom Ken Jenning's.
HER REP'S IN JEOPARDY
Oh, sure, everybody loves Ken Jennings, the brainiac whose "Jeopardy" winnings soared past $1 million. But are we not caring people? Can we not spare a thought for the vanquished, the hapless souls Jennings clobbered on his way to the record?
Portlander Susan Gress -- she owns a houseboat moorage on the Columbia -- was steamrollered in Jennings' seventh game. Back then, Susan says, she was happy the show aired during the NBA playoffs. "But now that I am not alone as a VoK (victim of Ken), I don't feel so bad about my poor performance. When I sat next to him at lunch, I warned him I was from the same town as Tonya Harding, but he was too nice a guy to pull a dirty trick on."
What Susan remembers most about Ken is his buzzer finger. "I only managed to ring in three times. The first time I answered, 'Republic of the condo' instead of 'Congo.' I only got one correct, making me, according to the 'Jeopardy' staff, the worst player ever in 30 years of the show."
HER REP'S IN JEOPARDY
Oh, sure, everybody loves Ken Jennings, the brainiac whose "Jeopardy" winnings soared past $1 million. But are we not caring people? Can we not spare a thought for the vanquished, the hapless souls Jennings clobbered on his way to the record?
Portlander Susan Gress -- she owns a houseboat moorage on the Columbia -- was steamrollered in Jennings' seventh game. Back then, Susan says, she was happy the show aired during the NBA playoffs. "But now that I am not alone as a VoK (victim of Ken), I don't feel so bad about my poor performance. When I sat next to him at lunch, I warned him I was from the same town as Tonya Harding, but he was too nice a guy to pull a dirty trick on."
What Susan remembers most about Ken is his buzzer finger. "I only managed to ring in three times. The first time I answered, 'Republic of the condo' instead of 'Congo.' I only got one correct, making me, according to the 'Jeopardy' staff, the worst player ever in 30 years of the show."
Thursday, July 15, 2004
Punk Remains Political
Ok, I have to admit, when I looked at the Vans Warped Tour line-up, I thought, "who??". I recognized like 3 out of 30 names. But that doesn't mean that they aren't rockin' for change. An article on Canoe (Canadian website) states: "in fact, many of the bands are featured on a new compilation called Rock Against Bush Volume One on the Fat Wreck Chords label, and if things continue, bet on a Volume Two." Thumbs Up!
Seminal punkers Bad Religion are on the tour, and have named their latest album The Empire Strikes First. They say about Bush: "He's played the God card -- that's what he's playing now," he says. "'I'm doing God's work, God told me I'm right.' And that's horrifying. The separation of church and state has just been eliminated -- 'Cool, we're just going to run the whole package. I'm the Pope.' Even though the Pope yelled at him. He went to go visit the Pope and the Pope chewed him out -- how great is that? I love it."
Maybe there is some hope in the youth yet... (from the same article) - "Every band that goes on stage for their half hour, they have something to say," he says, saying his government's action affect everyone, everywhere. "Sometimes it's quick, sometimes it's long, but it had to do with the current administration and it seems that the reaction from the crowd has always been, 'Yaay.' Our thing is we say we're going to come back on a tour in November and hopefully by that time we'll have a new president, and everybody cheers." Hopefully the people that actually attend the Warped Tour are old enough to vote!
Seminal punkers Bad Religion are on the tour, and have named their latest album The Empire Strikes First. They say about Bush: "He's played the God card -- that's what he's playing now," he says. "'I'm doing God's work, God told me I'm right.' And that's horrifying. The separation of church and state has just been eliminated -- 'Cool, we're just going to run the whole package. I'm the Pope.' Even though the Pope yelled at him. He went to go visit the Pope and the Pope chewed him out -- how great is that? I love it."
Maybe there is some hope in the youth yet... (from the same article) - "Every band that goes on stage for their half hour, they have something to say," he says, saying his government's action affect everyone, everywhere. "Sometimes it's quick, sometimes it's long, but it had to do with the current administration and it seems that the reaction from the crowd has always been, 'Yaay.' Our thing is we say we're going to come back on a tour in November and hopefully by that time we'll have a new president, and everybody cheers." Hopefully the people that actually attend the Warped Tour are old enough to vote!
Tuesday, July 13, 2004
What Dog Are You?
This is a funny test - 10 questions. What is cool about it is the set up, flash maybe, or whatever. It is nice. Except I'm a Pomeranian. ~sigh~ I took it for Owen. He is a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel.
Because We All Want To Feel Guilty About Where We Shop....
The website www.responsibleshopper.org allows you to compare and contrast various categories of companies (ie: drug/discount stores, airlines, shoe retailers, insurance companies, etc) to see who has been naughty and who has been nice. For example, Rite Aid got a Red Flag because of 11 issues, including the following: "In 2002 four ex-Rite Aid executives were indicted on charges of inflating the company's profits while understating losses, which caused the company's stock to soar." "Oregon's state attorney general's office alleged that Rite Aid had employed misleading pricing at its pharmacies in the state. The Attorney General claimed Rite Aid pharmacists had offered senior citizens discounts on cash-only prescriptions but then added hidden charges to erase or diminish the discount." Rite Aid had two items praising the company. Walgreens, on the other hand, had two negative issues, but had 5 positive issues.
To find out how your favorite box stores did with regards to sweatshops, head here. Not sure how to choose the best out of this bunch!
To find out how your favorite box stores did with regards to sweatshops, head here. Not sure how to choose the best out of this bunch!
Monday, July 12, 2004
You'll Shoot Your Eye Out!
For fans of the movie A Christmas Story, this site is for you. Great things to buy!! I think we will be decking the halls (fa ra ra ra ra) this year with the Christmas Lights!
For fans of Kevin Smith movies, you can buy cool things related to his movies here, including the Buddy Christ Dashboard Statue, Jersey Girl shot glasses, and Jay and Silent Bob bookends!
For fans of Kevin Smith movies, you can buy cool things related to his movies here, including the Buddy Christ Dashboard Statue, Jersey Girl shot glasses, and Jay and Silent Bob bookends!
Wednesday, July 07, 2004
Art, Blogs, etc
For those of you that don't read the Willamette Week (either by choice or geography), their main article was on local bloggers...
BLAH, BLAH, BLOG Portland is home to thousands of Web logs. Most of them suck. Here are 17 that don't. I'm sure Whomp Power was #18....
Got this from Wil Wheaton's blog (as he is a contributor - I should Trackback, but don't know how. Guess I could write a book called Just a Pseudo-Geek, all the geekyness without the technical prowess). ANYWAY...
SENT
It is an art show that is made up of photos from phone cams. "The gallery show for SENT opens on Saturday, July 10 at the Standard Hotel Downtown LA. Images from invited artists will debut alongside digitally-displayed images submitted by the public." Invited artists include Wil Wheaton, Megan Mullaly, and Weird Al Yankovic.
In other art news, I signed up to be the featured artist at our gallery next June. !!
Some current artwork on the moblog...
BLAH, BLAH, BLOG Portland is home to thousands of Web logs. Most of them suck. Here are 17 that don't. I'm sure Whomp Power was #18....
Got this from Wil Wheaton's blog (as he is a contributor - I should Trackback, but don't know how. Guess I could write a book called Just a Pseudo-Geek, all the geekyness without the technical prowess). ANYWAY...
SENT
It is an art show that is made up of photos from phone cams. "The gallery show for SENT opens on Saturday, July 10 at the Standard Hotel Downtown LA. Images from invited artists will debut alongside digitally-displayed images submitted by the public." Invited artists include Wil Wheaton, Megan Mullaly, and Weird Al Yankovic.
In other art news, I signed up to be the featured artist at our gallery next June. !!
Some current artwork on the moblog...
Friday, July 02, 2004
Unbrand America
Because my country has sold its soul to corporate power
Because consumerism has become our new religion
Because a small group of neocons has hijacked our national agenda
And because we've forgotten the true meaning of freedom
I pledge to do my duty and take my country back.
unbrandamerica.org
a flashpoint for civil disobedience
Thursday, July 01, 2004
Link-O-Rama! [07/01/04]
Once again, I have a huge list of links that I've been meaning to blog about but haven't had time. Here they are:
Clean Graffiti
Alice In Wonderland - popup book done in Flash. Very cool.
Roast your own - roast your own coffee beans with an air popcorn popper!
Barbie Enchiladas
Abortion Foe to Be Reappointed to FDA Panel
25 Free Digital Prints from Target - I took advantage of this last time and they actually turned out really good.
Toronto Rocks
The first rule of office supplies is, you do not talk about office supplies
Clean Graffiti
Alice In Wonderland - popup book done in Flash. Very cool.
Roast your own - roast your own coffee beans with an air popcorn popper!
Barbie Enchiladas
Abortion Foe to Be Reappointed to FDA Panel
25 Free Digital Prints from Target - I took advantage of this last time and they actually turned out really good.
Toronto Rocks
The first rule of office supplies is, you do not talk about office supplies
