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October 31, 2004
CAMILLE UNCUT
Art is full of crimes — Camille Paglia
Camille Paglia, like my mayor Jerry Brown, is libertarian, unpredictable, exasperating, but like most intelligent people, usually interesting. No one did more to savage PC in the 90s than Paglia, a Sixties rebel who launched a rear-guard assault on academe to reclaim liberalism from Stalinist dogma.
She respected the intelligence of Limbaugh & Hannity, & actually listened to them, surely not the case for 99% of liberals. And I can't fault a woman who's a die-hard Young & the Restless fan. I don't agree with her Kerry endorsement, but her anthropological skills were on display in last week's Salon interview:
On Kerry's wimp factor: "Kerry's weakness as a personality became clear when he wasn't able to dislodge McAuliffe from the DNC. He wanted to get rid of McAuliffe -- that servile water boy of the Clintons -- and he choked."
On Swift Vets: "There really is ambiguity about how Kerry won his medals. There was a story there. I absolutely believe Kerry was injured, but I was certainly very surprised to learn that he won 3 Purple Hearts for wounds that never required hospitalization. He had minimal medical treatment & never missed a day of work."
Paglia suggests the tipping point in energizing the Republican base was Fahrenheit 9/11. "For Moore to turn a sitting president of the United States into a joke, & to use his position abroad to foment anti-Americanism, has had a huge backlash."
On Bush the campaigner: "If Bush wins this election, he did it on his own. Ever since the Republican Convention, he's been on fire, with a dynamic energy that makes him look like the underdog. He's cast off his paternalistic mentors & come into his own as president."
On electoral shift: "Republicanism is becoming populist. Republicans believe that tax cuts to large & small businesses help growth, encourage spending & investment, & create jobs. The Democrats have no answer to that except hysterical rhetoric."
On Michael Moore: "I'm sorry, I cannot respect people who deliberately try to fool the public."
On Marygate: "I was absolutely sickened by the use of Mary Cheney as a political gambit by both Kerry & Edwards. I found it utterly offensive & manipulative. What the hell do you know, John Edwards, about what's going on in that family? As a lesbian, I strongly object to the Democrats' amoral use of sexual orientation as a wedge issue. The Democrats are using an assertion of gayness to unsettle the Evangelical followers of the Republicans. They're deliberately fomenting & reinforcing hostility to gays!"
On Hannity: "He's a dynamo on the radio. Even though I don't agree with his politics, I find him riveting. He's funny, he's ebullient, he has endless energy, & when he gets going on a tirade, he has the rhythmic passion of generations of Irish-Catholic priests!"
On O'Reillygate: "Unlike Rush or Hannity, O'Reilly doesn't really have core values. And now we know why!"
- I don't buy her analysis of the war, or her suggestion that Kerry will make the world like us (yeah, right). She calls out Kerry's abysmal campaigning & utter paralysis in the face of Swift Vets, but comes to the wrong conclusion. The punishing American election marathon is just a small taste of the pressures an elected president faces; with Swift Vets, Kerry failed the test.
• Madeleine Albright: Possible Secretary of State. When Al Qaeda attacked the USS Cole, murdering 17 US sailors, Albright argued against strikes on Al Qaeda camps because it would be bad PR. Argued US should wait until Israeli/Palestinian conflict 'settled'. If Gore had been elected, Albright would still be negotiating with the Taliban.
• Jimmy Carter: Angling for admin post. Angel of death, friend of tyrants. Presided over worst foreign policy of 20th Century. More recent successes: Oslo accords inviting terrorist army to rule West Bank with predictable results, handing nuclear materials over to North Korea, & lending credibility to thug Hugo Chavez. If Carter had won in 1980, the Soviet Union would still exist.
• Joe Biden: Possible Sec of State, already getting foreign policy experience trying to clean up Kerry's Allawi insult fiasco.
• Paul Krugman: Said to be in running for admin post. Malignant narcissist who projects all his anxieties onto mythic figure of George Bush. Opposed every single Bush initiative to stimulate economy, but could never admit he was wrong.
• Jamie Gorelick: Possible Attorney General. Clintonista with blood on her hands: author of infamous Justice Dept memo that reinforced walls between intelligence agencies & placed good PR over needs of intelligence (this, after 1993 WTC attack), & directly contributed to 9/11 intelligence failures.
• Richard Holbrooke: Another Sec of State wannabe, whose beliefs dovetail nicely with Kerry's faith that War on Terror is really a police action, not a war.
Robert Reich: Clinton Labor Secretary, who famously penned essay stating Terrorism is not the greatest danger we face, equating murderous Islamonazis with Christians who oppose abortion & gay marriage. Cut his teeth writing economics treatises with Marxist Bernard Bluestone, in effect calling for central planning of US industry, scorned Reaganomics & lacks fundamental understanding of market economy. For successes of Reaganomics, see here. For Reich's amusing list of Bush's 2nd term goals, see here.
Imagine this crew at the helm, & then imagine Bill Clinton as UN Sec General to boot. I think I'll pass. For more of Camille's bracing opinions, see
Reason Magazine interview with Camille; Yale Journal of Ethics Interview. Also: Young & the Restless Official Site.Posted by Jeff at 07:02 PM | Comments (0)
October 30, 2004
BLOGGER BABES WE LUVS
| RAE | ||||
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| SONDRA | |||
| SPIRIT FINGERS | |||
| ACE | ||||
| MISS O'HARA | ||||
| JULIETTE | |||
Posted by Jeff at 01:24 PM | Comments (0)
October 29, 2004
THE ART OF THE UNENDORSEMENT
Andrew Sullivan: I completely understand those who look at this man's record & deduce that he is simply unfit to fight a war for our survival. They have an important point.
Andrea Dworkin: Because my Massachusetts amoeba is better than Texas primordial sludge.
Sara Dickerman, Slate food writer: I'd like to see the right to choose preserved for my newborn child.
Washington Post: Some of Mr. Kerry's strengths strike us as potential weaknesses.
Sharon Stone: Women, if you vote thoughtfully ... for violence against women to be thoughtfully considered, then vote John Kerry.
Paul Berman: I'm voting for Kerry, with no great belief that he will be a first-rate president
Writer Dan Chaon: Seems like a decent fellow — perhaps capable of rising to the occasion.
John Perry Barlow, Reason: I'm voting for John Kerry, though with little enthusiasm.
Diana Kerry: John Kerry's promises are not empty. I'm his sister & an educator & I can vouch for that.
John Rennie, Scientific American editor: Of course, I'm keeping my expectations low.
Paul Boutin, Slate: I'll take a chance on Kerry, but if he wins I'll skip the victory party.
Howard Stern: Payback is a bitch.
Robert Wright, Slate: At least he's not the anti-Christ.
Philadelphia Inquirer: You've heard that John Kerry is a flip-flopper. No doubt, he's a man who relishes nuance.
Dan Drezner: I remain completely unconvinced that Kerry understands the limits of multilateral diplomacy.
Economist: Seems to have made up his mind conclusively about something only once, & that was 30 years ago.
Christopher Hitchens: Kerry should get his worst private nightmare & have to report for duty. [Note: endorsed Bush in the Nation]
Mickey Kaus: [As vote against Bush's War on Terror] I don't expect Kerry to be a successful president in any other respect.
Kathleen Kincaid, Slate: Is he a strong candidate? No. Do I agree with all his positions? No. I've decided he's good enough.
Deirdre Hall (Marlena on Days of Our Lives): I can't wait to have more of the real thing — & Kerry is the real thing.
Scott Moore, Slate: These times demand strong positive leadership. I don't know if John Kerry can provide it, but...
Michael Moore: There's a reason that they're saying Kerry is the No. 1 liberal in the Senate. It's because he is the No. 1 liberal in the Senate.
Timothy Noah, Slate: John Kerry is the least appealing candidate the Democrats have nominated for president in my lifetime.
Rosie O'Donnell: Because America knows the difference between genuine and junk.
Meghan O'Rourke: Kerry may not be quick with the quips, but he appears to struggle with the contradictions in his beliefs.
Peggy Kerry: Let me tell you what my brother is going to fight for — pay equity.
Leonardo DiCaprio: We've got to get off Middle East oil dependency. We have to vote for the future.
Jacob Weisberg, Slate: I remain totally unimpressed by John Kerry.
Peter Bagge, Reason: If it looks like my home state could go either way by Election Day, I'll vote for John Kerry.
Chris Suellentrop, Slate: He can't be any worse than Bush.
Economist Jude Wanniski: I'm leaning toward Kerry because I prefer recession to imperialist war.
Chicago Sun Times: Yes, he sometimes changes his mind, but what the Republicans tar as waffling strikes us as flexibility.
AND NOW FOR ANOTHER POV: Watch this priceless Good Morning America clip where Curt Schilling dumbfounds the ABC crew by endorsing Bush! Gibson is speechless!
Posted by Jeff at 04:29 AM | Comments (0)
October 28, 2004
ASIAN AESTHETIQUE
Hong Kong pop star Faye Wong in upcoming sci-fi movie 2046; Ruan Lingyu, the Chinese Garbo: when she took fatal overdose in 1935 at age 25, 3 women committed suicide during 3-mile long funeral procession & NY Times ran front page story as 'the most spectacular funeral of the century'
Mark Cousins has a sensational overview of Asian cinema, arguing that its current energy & artistry puts it at the forefront of world film. Michael Moore's schlockfest may have copped the Palme d'Or, but this year's Cannes was mesmerized by 4 Asian films: House of Flying Daggers, Zhang Yimou's sensual Hero followup; 2046, Wong Kar Wai's Bladerunner-noir; Nobody Knows, an urban fairy tale from Japan; & Tropical Malady, a homoerotic Zen fable from Thailand.
Cousins details the 100-year panorama of Asian cinema - largely unknown in the West - & the influence of Buddhist, Tao, & Hindu aesthetics on the films of China, Japan, & India. Among the great directors profiled: Yuan Muzhi, Kenji Mizoguchi, Mikio Naruse, Yasujiro Ozu, Mehboob Khan, Bu Wancang.
Predictably, Hollywood is turning Japanese, with 7 American versions of Asian hits in the works, including:
- • Tom Cruise in remake of Hong Kong horror hit The Eye
• Scorsese is remaking crime thriller Infernal Affairs, possibly with Brad Pitt
• Jennifer Connelly in remake of Dark Water, supernatural tale by Hideo Nakata (The Ring)
• Gurinder Chadha (Bend it Like Beckham) is remaking Korean comedy My Wife is a Gangster with Queen Latifah
Posted by Jeff at 11:39 AM | Comments (0)
October 27, 2004
ROMANCE OF THE INTELLECTUALS
2004 Booker Prize winner The Line of Beauty; Margaret Thatcher, of whom Francois Mitterand said "She has the lips of Marilyn Monroe & the eyes of Caligula"
In a 1994 essay that upset liberals, Norman Rush contemplated the end of the socialist dream & its implications for artists & writers whelped on utopianism. (Perhaps he spoke too soon, judging by the vacuous homogeneity of our effete literati.) British author Alan Hollinghurst just copped the Booker Prize for his 4th novel, The Line of Beauty, about the Thatcher era. Any guesses as to Hollinghurst's take?
Hollinghurst: "There was a sort of collective longing for punishment & chastisement, a sense that a really strong grip had to be exerted over the country. It was so extreme what she did ... terribly destructive."
Hollinghurst: "It was such a ghastly period to live through. We're very much living with the consequences of what happened in the Thatcher years now."
Money quote: "I was someone who felt very politically unhappy in the '80s, but nonetheless did rather well. I got a nice job [deputy editor at Times Literary Supplement]. I published my first book [The Swimming Pool Library] & earned more money than I expected, & having previously never had any money at all, began to feel rather comfortable."
Hollinghurst is a good writer whose first novel smoked, but like most novelists he's an economic illiterate & faux-populist. Thatcher was the only 20th Century PM elected to 3 consecutive terms. When she took office in 1979, England was the "sick man of Europe," hobbled by corrupt, tyrannical trade unions & stagnant government monopolies. Thatcher's crimes:
- • Brought down inflation from 18% to 3%
• Reduced public expenditures from 45% to 39% of the GDP
• Privatization: in 1979, 33 state enterprises absorbed £500 million in public funds & £1 billion in loans; by 1987, these same privatized companies contributed £8 billion to the economy, reducing the tax load
• Competition in energy sector reduced gas prices 31% by 1997, electricity by 20%
• From 1981 to 1987, British economy grew at 2.9% per annum, 2nd only to Japan, & productivity outpaced all other EC economies
- Better the greed crimes of capitalism than the mass crimes of ideology. - Andrei Codrescu
Dickens & Hugo wrote eloquently about the poor, but never suggested people had a right to a job, or a right to healthcare. Such notions imply a monolithic government to pay for such things (ie, make someone else pay for them), & stem from a misperception that wealth is finite, & therefore anyone with money must have gotten it at someone else's expense. Hence Hollinghurst's guilt, which has now earned him a fat Booker wad! Capitalism rocks.
Posted by Jeff at 01:37 AM | Comments (0)
October 23, 2004
JOHNNY DAMON
Born: Fort Riley, Kansas, Nov. '2 190. Red Sox CF. Bats/throws L. Known for speed.
American father, Thai mother who met during Vietnam War. Overcame childhood stuttering. High school straight A student in Orlando (with close friend Joey Fatone of NSYNC). 1992 scouted by Royals as senior. 1st full season in majors in 1996, Royals relentlessly compared Damon to George Brett in ill-fated PR campaign. Signed with Oakland 2000. Signed with Red Sox Dec.21 2001, $31 million 4yr contract. Nickname: Caveman.
1998, 2002 - Only ML player to reach double figures in doubles, triples, home runs, & stolen bases. Married to HS sweetheart, 2 kids Jackson & Madelyn. Favorites: Food- Filet Mignon, medium rare. TV - That 70's Show. Music- Cake, Creed, Pearl Jam, Our Lady Peace. Hero- Cal Ripken Jr.
On steroids: "I'm gaining weight the right way: drinking beer."
On steroids again: "I was talking to Tommy Lasorda & he was looking at my arms. I could tell he was thinking, This guy must be juicing. My dad was 6-2, 280 pounds, so I've got the genetics to be a body builder. I can start lifting weights & have a whole new me in a couple of days."
On Sox rivalry with Yanks: "It's time to give the Babe a shot of tequila & take it to the next level."
On the Bosox: "We were just a bunch of cowboys out there last year. We are not the cowboys anymore. We are just the idiots this year. We've got the long hair, we've got the cornrows, we got guys acting like idiots. And I think the fans out there like it."
Boston mgr Terry Francona: "As a group, they are borderline nuts."
Damon in 2002: "Imagine playing in a World Series in Boston. Imagine what that would be like."
On Royals fans: "These people here, they've got no clue what talent is or what winning is about. The people here are comfortable with losing."
On dropping Kevin Millar in April 2004 collision: "Think [Patriots coach] Belichick was watching that one?"
A .J. Burnett, Marlins pitcher on Damon's 2004 look: "He looks like a caveman, like he's been iced up awhile."
On baseball egos: "I go out & play not for the numbers, but for a chance to win & the thrill of playing in front of a packed crowd."
On baseball legend Ted Williams: "To willingly go off & serve your country, that's a true gentleman, a true American."
On gratitude. "I grew up with pretty much nothing. My parents worked all day. I was always very humble with anything that was given to me or I was blessed with. That's why I've kept this even keel."
On playing with injured knee in 2003: "When you put on a uniform, you feel like you have to have some kind of respect for the game & a little injury is not going to force me to take off. They pay me a lot of money to play this game & play it well & I felt I did that."
On his hirsute look: "I feel like a good-looking guy."
See also Johnny Damon Fan Club ; Llama Butchers: Gratuitous Damon Slam
UPDATE: Sox up 2-0 in World Series, but Keith Burgess-Jackson looks forward to their crash: "Those of us who love watching Boston fans suffer wouldn’t want St Louis to win in 4, 5, or 6 games. It must be a 7-game Red Sox defeat, & it must come after Red Sox hopes have been raised to their highest level. The question is not whether Boston will lose in 7 games, but which player becomes the Bill Buckner for a new generation. I say Manny Ramirez."
Posted by Jeff at 06:34 PM | Comments (18)
October 18, 2004
LIBYAN GOTHIC
The Colonel's kids: Hannibal, Aisha, Saadi, & Seif
The debauched spawn of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi have been behaving badly again. This time it's the old horror's youngest, Mutassim, aka Hannibal. French police arrested 2 of his bodyguards last month after his Porsche zipped through several red lights on the Champs-Elysees at 100mph around 2AM.
When police tried to question him, 2 of Gaddafi's imperial storm troopers assaulted them, injuring 1 cop & trashing a police transmitter. According to the cops, Gaddafi's Porsche reeked of booze, & Gaddafi was 'unable to speak coherently.'
In case you're keeping track, this is the same Hannibal who was escorted to the Rome airport after attacking police with a fire extinguisher at the Hilton, & was involved in another Rome fracas that sent 6 photographers to the hospital (which could explain why photos of the international drunk are few & far between).
He's also unwelcome in Sardinia, where he was thrown out of a nightclub for screaming at waiters, blocked a disco with his Lamborghini, blasted music all nite from his 70 foot luxury yacht the Che Guevara (which flies the Cuban flag) then blaring the Muslim call to prayer after a night of hard partying.
Brother Saadi continues his fantasy life as a soccer player. He sacked the Libyan national soccer coach who described him as useless; Libyan players were said to run backwards in order to avoid having to tackle him. Having delusions of playing for Manchester United & being Africa's greatest soccer player, he signed with Perugia in 2003.
Saadi promptly failed a drug test, perhaps modeling too closely on his coach Ben Johnson, who was stripped of his Olympic gold for the same reason. (Billionaire Saadi did concede that he wasn't actually being paid by Perugia.)
Seif, the Colonel's only semi-respectable scion, negotiated unsuccessfully for Kenneth Bigley's release, having earlier obtained the release of hostages in the Philippines & Mali. This week he announced that Libya was separating from 'the so-called Middle East' & demilitarizing.
Seif previously distinguished himself by keeping a pair of Bengal tigers in his Vienna bachelor digs & becoming fast friends with right-winger ( & fellow Jew-hater) Jorge Haider. The Colonel himself is in Berlin this week for rehabilitation, where he startled Gerhard Schroeder by demanding compensation for landmines left by Erwin Rommel 60 years ago.
No news on swanky moll 'Doctor' Aisha, last seen heading to Baghdad to assist in the legal defense of fellow Sunni gangster Saddam Hussein.
Posted by Jeff at 05:12 AM
| Comments (0)
"Like virtually everyone I know, I'm voting for Kerry." Joyce Carol Oates,October 13, 2004
I'M JOYCE CAROL OATES & YOU'RE NOT
Film critic Pauline Kael, on Nixon's 1972 landslide
who probably hasn't met anyone outside a prep school since Nixon was president
In Slate's Bush/Kerry roll call of American writers almost all declare for Kerry, & almost none mention Islamofascism. This explains why there's no literature of 9/11, the seminal event of our time. Jihad can't fit into the tiny worldview of Vietnam-era liberalism, blinkered by sentimental Rousseau & neo-Marxist canards (see Dissent: Can There Be a Decent Left?). These poseurs purport to chronicle their world, but their Richter Scale 9/11 silence gives them away: they're not writers, they're tourists.
Much of this is the poisonous influence of academe. London, Hemingway, Dumas, Dickens, Colette -- all had wildly different lives, but none were effete academics mincing towards tenure. American writers have committed suicide by interring themselves in the one place you can't speak your mind for fear of offending someone.
Take Joyce Carol Oates. Right now. Post 9/11, Oates - who likes to prattle about texts & being transgressive - announced her new novel would explore such blind hatred. Did she write about militant Islam? Of course not, she teaches at Princeton, she wouldn't DARE write about militant Islam. Her villains of choice in The Tattooed Girl are neo-Nazis, precisely because they're guaranteed to offend no one. Oates is a wimp.
The few novelists who support Bush in Slate's survey all cite Islamofascism as their chief concern. The Kerry supporters completely ignore the elephant in the headscarf, while breathlessly reciting DNC talking points & NoEffect.org conspiracy theories. Here they are, with idiot rankings:
Millionaire airhead Amy Tan: "I'm voting for Kerry because I have a brain & so does he." Hates tax cuts she made a killing on. No mention of Islamofascism.
George Saunders. Kerry. On Islamofascism: Complicated question for which Bush has simple answer - "Exterminate the brutes." [Frankly, when jihadi psychopaths are gunning for me, I prefer a simple .45 mm answer to discourse, however outre.]
Thomas Mallon: Supports Bush's "strong & measured,"response to 9/11. Notes Bush has extended "once-unimaginable degree of freedom to Afghanistan & Iraq." Compares to Reagan, also vilified by effete literati.
Dan Chaon: Anyone but Bush. "He's probably not the Antichrist but he's as close as I've seen." Hates tax cuts. No mention of Islamofascism.
Joyce Carol Oates. "Like virtually everyone I know, I'm voting for Kerry." To enumerate reasons "redundant & unnecessary". No mention of Islamofascism.
Orson Scott Card: Democrat for Bush. On Islamofascism: "Electing a president who is committed to losing seems the most foolish thing we could do."
Diane Johnson: Expat for Kerry. Claims sees events differently from Paris. Hilarious litany of why Euros hate us: "Guns, the auto, torture, & war." No mention of Islamofascism.
Jonathan Franzen: Claims supports Kerry. "He's the candidate whose defeat Osama bin Laden is praying for." On Theresa: "Hot, hot, hot!" Has to be satire.
Jane Smiley. Millionaire lunatic for Kerry. Repeats debunked conspiracy theories about voter disenfranchisement. "I consider a vote for Bush a vote for tyranny!" No mention of Islamofascism. [Isn't 'vote for tyranny' an oxymoron?]
Lorrie Moore: "Are there really any novelists voting for Bush?" No mention of Islamofascism.
Robert Ferrigno: Bush. "Most novelists live in their imagination, which is fine until the bad guys come knocking." On Islamofascism: Bush's approach to "stopping the people who want to kill my children is the right one: kill them first."
Jennifer Egan. Lunatic for Kerry. Bush's crimes: plunged us into war, wrecked the economy, widened the chasm between rich & poor, savaged the environment, tried to "mess with" our Constitution, "swatted away" [?] intl community. No mention of Islamofascism.
Roger Simon: Democrat for Bush. "We are in a war with Islamofascism & I don't trust Kerry to lead us for 1 minute." On Dems: "My party has been hijacked by a cult of know-nothing isolationism out of the 1930s." Simon is also a blogger.
Gary Shteyngart. Kerry. From sophisticated Europe, recites debunked conspiracy theories about intimidation of black voters, Swift Vets ("a team of cowards"). Wonders if "dark ages" are imminent in US. Notes Italians have elected their own "homegrown monster Berlusconi". [This is tragic, since Shteyngart is a great writer.]
Vendela Vida: Kerry. Promises to move to Canada if Bush wins. [Unlikely, as this would separate her from her one claim to fame: being Mrs. Dave Eggers. See hilarious gushing PR piece in Guardian, which calls them the Brad & Jenn of American lit.]
Nicole Krauss: Kerry. "If Bush is reelected, it may be the end of life as we know it."
UPDATE: DarkenWilde performs laser surgery on the Slate roster. On Oates: "I know they say Write what you know but your album is starting to skip, Joyce." On Vida's Canada threat: "Jesus, just give Bush a free campaign issue why don't you!" See also SF Gate: Authors Head to Ohio for Kerry, in which Andrew Sean Greer hopes to motivate young voters by repeating debunked conspiracy theories about the draft.
UPDATE: Now British writers are telling us who to vote for! Check out this wisdom from John Le Carre, Antonia Fraser, & Richard Dawkins! Priceless!
Also my story about jihad, Cities of Dust, due out in Barbaric Yawp this month. My most recent story, Angel Moreno, is just out in Caribbean Writer, & is surely the first story in a university journal to feature a cameo by Gabriel Garcia Marquez as Castro's lapdog.
Posted by Jeff at 01:42 AM | Comments (0)
October 07, 2004
THE LEAGUE OF MEAN GIRLS
So I heard my 15-year-old niece & her stone-bitch girlfriends giggling & going Hey Ace, Hey Wiz. "Are those your Sims names?" I asked. They looked at me like I was autistic. "NOBODY does Sims," they said, "those are our BLOGGER names." "Really?? I myself have a--" "Blogs," they explained,"are these utterly LAME websites that LOSERS put up like vanity license plates, & ramble as if anyone gives a rat's ass! SO - we started putting up blogs with fake names, & ranting, & people LOVED it!"
"But you don't know anything about politics," I said. "We just make shit up!" they screamed. "Your average blog-reader has the IQ of a bag of hair! Get this - they actually send us money!! See these shoes? THANK YOU PAYPAL! HA HA HA!" "But that's fraud--" I gasped. "Oh here," my niece rolled her eyes, pulling a wad of cash out of her murderous red-vinyl hobo bag, "go buy yourself some halfway decent clothes. HA HA HA!"
It took the better part of my paycheck, but I finally got my hands on that bloglist, & I'm blowing the lid off this scam:
| BLOGGER | IS REALLY MEAN GIRL | |
| "Bill" at INDC Journal |
| |
| "Ace of â™ " |
| |
| "Anti-Idiotarian Rottweiler" |
| |
| "Jeff" from Protein Wisdom |
| |
| "Daily Kos" |
| |
| "Charles" from LGF |
| |
| "Wonkette" |
| |
| "Black5" |
| |
| "Andrew Sullivan" |
| |
| "Frank J" at IMAO | |
UPDATE: Add Michelle to that gallery of mean chicks. MEOW!
Posted by Jeff at 11:00 AM | Comments (0)
October 06, 2004
THE MERCHANT OF BLESSINGS
Selling blessings in Teheran. (click for fullscreen) © Azadeh Assaran
Azadeh Assaran is a happening young photojournalist whose observations illuminate life in modern Iran. Here, a man purchases blessings from a street vendor, & receives a fortune in the form of a verse from Hafez, a medieval Persian poet. Azadeh's eye captures the merchant's careworn hands.
- Our hands are the point at which we intersect with the world & other people, endlesslly passing along money, food, letters, weapons, gifts, mementos, germs, the mundane tools of daily life, the dust of millennia, verses from a 14th Century mystic.
Hafez, a revered poet in Iran, wrote not only about love & mysticism, but also his struggles with the religious oppression of his time.
Posted by Jeff at 04:45 PM | Comments (0)
October 04, 2004
THE ZEN OF PENGUINS
"It's a beautiful place to wake up, Antarctica." Rhian Salmon
(photos by Rhian, except for beverages)
Rhian Salmon is blogging the poetry & tedium of a year stationed with the British Antarctic Survey on the Brunt Ice Shelf (on her brother's blog at Felix Salmon). Living at the end of the world with 17 humans & thousands of penguins, Rhian's a funny & thoughtful writer, & posts some majestic photos. Some common threads:
Sept. 22 - "We're running out of tea bags. This is serious. We have got through over 13,000 tea bags & about 2 tins of instant coffee. If anything is going to turn us into crisis mode, this is it."
Sept 7 - Dresses as Tank Girl for Antarctic bacchanal
August 31- "Breakfast, cup of tea, melt-tank a bit of a slog & off to work." [Ed. note: have no idea what she's talking about]
Aug 24: The Zen of penguins: "They don't strike me as being particularly intelligent – but they don't seem unhappy, either."
August 12 - Aurora: "Gentle green swirls in the sky, clear starry night, low-level mist, the Milky Way..."
August 7 - Stars: "So many stars you have no idea, I am clapping with joy. There's big smiley Scorpio & the bright lights of the Southern Cross. The Milky Way streaking like a great smoky line across the sky, even the magellanic clouds."
July 6 - Stares at sky. Has mug of vile-sounding malted beverage called Horlicks.
June 8 - "Get up, chat over a cup of tea, peg out, tog up & go out." [Ed note: What is she talking about?]
May 10 - "Blowing an absolute hoolie outside." ??????
May 4 - "Come inside for cup of tea & see that my sprouted mung beans have gone nuts."
April 19 - "Aurora smoking its way across the sky, green above, wisping eastwards, curling at its edge to meet the Milky Way. So many thousands of stars, they look like a bright white cloud in the sky. We're on the edge of this disc of stars. Two more puffs of clouds, Magellanic Clouds, two more galaxies. So clear, so unbelievable. Immense."
April 11 - "Drank a lot of tea, talked a lot of shit, saw a lot of orange."
March 14 - Drunken orgy & Antarctic porn photos. ADULT CONTENT.
Feb 27 - Photoblog. Gets pissed in snow
Feb 25 - Teabags & rusks. [Ed note: Brits love this sort of thing]
Feb 3 - "The scenery is huge & vast & dismissive. I am here, in the middle of nowhere, far, far, far away from the politics of the world."
Jan 17 - Cuts her bum.
Jan 8 - "O! the wildlife. I saw whales swimming under us, and seals: leopards and weddels, a pup sliding right close, snapping at the lines. Emperor penguins, the occasional adelie, so sweet, so comical. Wilson's storm petrels, & the ever beautiful snow petrels."
UPDATE: Rhian is THRILLED to learn that as a result of my post, she's now a cult figure. Please send Rhian a care package (with lots of tea) at Rhian Salmon, Halley, Antarctica c/o British Antarctic Survey, Falkland Islands [NOTE: We are willing to overlook the fact that Rhian's brother Felix is a Kerry supporter. IT'S NOT HER FAULT.]
Posted by Jeff at 03:01 PM | Comments (0)
October 03, 2004
SCANDINAVIA UBER ALLES
Agnetha, Bjorn, Benny, & Anni-frid
Sweden: Essentially Nazi collaborators in WWII
Number of top 10 ABBA singles in Germany: 18
What does it mean? I DON'T KNOW
Vdare.com: Jared Taylor on how hate crime laws have led to the end of free speech in utopian Sweden - at least for Swedes.
Pentecostal preacher sentenced to PRISON for preaching against homosexuality in a SERMON, citing Biblical injunctions. Q: How many imams have been sentenced to prison in Sweden for hate speech?
Article suggests that similar draconian restrictions in France - most notably affecting Brigitte Bardot, France's answer to Oriana Fallaci - are one reason behind French reticence to express support for Iraq War. (Via Gene Expression: The Slippery Slope is Real)
Bawer: Excepting UK, "no Western European nation approaches America's journalistic diversity": "Most Norwegians are so accustomed to being presented with only 1 position on certain issues that they don't even realize there exists an intelligent alternative position."
See Also Robert Spencer The Mullahs' Europe, ABBA - the Site.
UPDATE: Sweden as bad as Taliban! Via Don Luskin
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The irrepressible Tammy Faye, who's undergoing chemo for inoperable lung cancer, has passed a milestone:Responding to gang-rapes of Swedish women by Muslim immigrants, a man was sentenced to 2 months in prison for writing "I don't think I am alone in feeling sick when reading about how Swedish girls are raped by immigrant hordes."
A man emailed public officials that he opposed housing subsidies for Arabs because he thought they were criminals. Avoided prison by paying fine of 10% of his pre-tax income.
Swedish man-hater Joanna Rytel wrote piece for major daily: "I Will Never Give Birth to a White Man," extolling hatred of white men. When Neo-Nazi group played tit-for-tat & contacted authorities, they were in for surprise.Public prosecutor: "The purpose behind the law against incitement of ethnic hatred was to ensure legal protection for minority groups of different compositions & different religions. Cases where people express themselves in a derogatory way about men of ethnic Swedish background were not intended to be included in this law."
In Norway, Jewish teacher prohibited from wearing Star of David under his shirt, because it might offend Muslims, who are allowed to wear hijab to school.
Also Bruce Bawer's Hating America, on living in the socialist utopia of Norway, where a TV station was censured for violating "media balance" guidelines after running an Oprah show featuring debate on Iraq War. Social-democratic govt subsidizes several major newspapers, runs 2 of 3 TV channels, & most of radio. Norwegian PM: journalistic diversity "too important to be left up to the marketplace". (Cf. Castro, Stalin, Hitler)
October 02, 2004
GOD BLESS TAMMY FAYE
"I believe in class. I believe that people should have a bit of class about them." Tammy Faye"Believe it or not, I did go without eyelashes for several days. Ha Ha! Was I BRAVE or what? It turned out to be one of the most FREEING things that has ever happened to me. People still knew me; in fact they didn’t seem to even realize that I had no eyelashes on!!! [Ed. note: Hard to believe] And my husband still loved me. He said, 'Honey, I didn’t marry you for your eyelashes!' Man, that was a relief! Ha Ha! I think God knew that losing my eyelashes would be a good lesson for me and IT WAS!"
Then Tammy went to an auction for her son's ministry: "I had signed a pair of shoes (leopard, of course) and someone paid $275.00 for them! Man, I almost took the ones off my feet and auctioned them off!"
Then Tammy did something she never thought she'd do: "I got to tattoo a cross on a tattoo artist! I was so scared I thought I was going to throw up! Now wouldn’t THAT have been embarrassing! It was a wish of his for a long, long time. So, my hand shaking like a leaf, I dipped the needle in the black ink. Well, after a couple of minutes he didn’t faint & I didn’t throw up."
And Tammy has BIG news: "I have a new makeup line! Be watching for it because we are putting together my favorite colors just for you! They are GREAT products, I wear them myself every day! You are going to love it! FINALLY - my own makeup line!"
See also NPR Tammy Faye Bakker: Gay Icon
Posted by Jeff at 01:39 PM | Comments (0)
October 01, 2004
I C H I R O
"I don't know too much about history." Ichiro Suzuki
Seattle Mariners #51. Right-fielder. Throws right, bats left. Bat: white & blue ash from Japan. Unique athlete who excels at everything but home runs: .300+ for 4th straight year, 5th in league in steals, dangerous throwing arm, 3 5-hit games this season. One hit short of broke George Sisler's 1920 season hits record of 257.
Born Oct. 22, 1973 Honshu Island, Japan. 5'9, 170. Father was baseball phreak, gave son 1st baseball & bat at age 3. Joined Little League at age 6. Father specified special protein diet; not allowed to eat anything without father's approval. On father's relentless drilling as a child: "Sometimes it was pretty hard to take. It bordered on hazing. I suffered a lot."
At age 18, selected in 4th round by Orix Blue Wave due to small stature. Japanese batting champ for 7 years, 3x MVP, 7 consecutive Gold Gloves.
1st Japanese position player to sign with MLB. 1st Seattle contract $13 million. Second contract: $44 million, 4 years. 1st season .350, MVP, Rookie of the Year, Players Choice, league stolen base leader. Gold Glove 3 years running. 1st player to top All-Star voting first season. 1st & only MLB player to use given name on jersey. Dream: to pitch 1 major league inning.
Favorite food: beef tongue. Likes: golf, rap, washing car (Nissan Cima). Favorite movie: Miss Congeniality. Has never studied martial arts. Married sportscaster Yumiko Fukushima in LA to escape Japanese media. On why he fell for his wife: "She cooks very well. She can make anything, Italian, French, Japanese, Chinese, everything. She makes breakfast, lunch, dinner, every day. It's great."
Given private dressing room after Japanese website offered $2 million for nude pics.
On the Zen of baseball: "You don't turn in a spectacular performance because you happen to be in supreme condition that day. It's the times when you're in a normal mental state that you have a chance to turn in a great performance."
Ichiro on Ichiro: "Hopefully kids could look at me & see I'm not muscular & not physically imposing, that I'm just a regular guy. "
On becoming only other player besides Pete Rose with 2 50-hit months: "It's probably harder to dig those records up than to get the records."
On the Zen of glove maintenance: "It is imperative to set aside a period of self-reflection each day. That's what the time with my glove represents for me. There's a special meaning in reflecting back on your day's work while paying homage to a piece of equipment that helped you."
On difficulty with English: "Vocally, I can't be more of a leader. What I can do is lead by example."
On playing the national anthem before games: "I like it. Japanese don't do that. It makes you think Americans really value their country and have a lot of pride in it."
On cultural anthropology: "The Japanese have a strong tendency to suppress their own feelings. That's the Japanese character. They kill their emotions. They don't throw bats or break things like Brett Boone."
On the Yankees signing ARod: "The Yankees should just practice until October & start playing in the playoffs."
Brilliant Seattle sportswriter David Locke 4/28/04: "The reality is bleak. The Ichiro that Seattle fell in love with may no longer exist. The player who made opposing teams look like the Coyote in the Roadrunner cartoons is gone."
See Bio at JockBio, Ichiro Daily Update site, Robert Whiting interview in TimeAsia, Ichiro Sunglasses
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