Abandoned Places
Pretty. A. Continue reading Abandoned Places
Month: August 2010
Summer Afternoon
Rachel Maddow Meets Rising Tide…
…panelist Clancy DuBos on the air in a discussion of the Vitter campaign. p align=”center” class=”asset asset-video” style=”margin: 0pt auto; display: block;”>http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32545640 I haven’t said that much about the Louisiana Senate campaign because it’s such a bummer, man. Vitter’s political success has never involved being likeable. He’s a loner without any friends but also one who will do whatever it takes to win. Charlie Melancon is, of course, way too conservative for my taste but I still plan to vote for him in general election since our choice is an imperfect one. I do, however, think he’ll have a chance … Continue reading Rachel Maddow Meets Rising Tide…
Now It’s Just Another America
Time was, we called it“a bunch of pig-ignorant fucknecks who should be shamed on the pages of our learned publications,” but hey: But there’s another America as well, one that understands itself as a distinctive culture, rather than just a set of political propositions. This America speaks English, not Spanish or Chinese or Arabic. It looks back to a particular religious heritage: Protestantism originally, and then a Judeo-Christian consensus that accommodated Jews and Catholics as well. It draws its social norms from the mores of the Anglo-Saxon diaspora — and it expects new arrivals to assimilate themselves to these norms, … Continue reading Now It’s Just Another America
Today on Tommy T’s Obsession with the Freeperati – Levis Stink-To-Fit edition
Well, folks – I have to report that the Freeperati haven’t been all that happy about the next Mayor of Wasilla. First – straight from the horse’s – um – mouth: Johnston Checks In I MIGHT OF GOT SIX GIRLS PREGNANT LAST WEEK No, the title of this shit ain’t literal. Of course I didn’t get six girls pregant in one week. In case you haven’t heard that’s the sort of nintenduendos been circulating about me courtesy of the Palin fucking family. One unplanned pregnancy with an ex-girlfriend and suddenly you’re the bad guy. Bristol has cancelled the wedding again … Continue reading Today on Tommy T’s Obsession with the Freeperati – Levis Stink-To-Fit edition
Abbey Lincoln, R.I.P.
The great jazz singer and pianistAbbey Lincoln has died at the age of 80.I recall seeing her one year in the jazz tent at Jazz Fest and her performance was so mesmerizing that people stopped talking and listened intently. A major accomplishment at any outdoor festival. Intent in the tent, y’all.. Here’s to you, Abbey: p align=”center” class=”asset asset-video” style=”display: block; margin: 0pt auto;”> Continue reading Abbey Lincoln, R.I.P.
Out of Touch
So far, nobody can explain to me why that matters at all: Earlier this month a New York City agency cleared the way for the construction of Cordoba House, a 13-story building that would include meeting rooms, a prayer space, an auditorium and a pool. Some of the families of those killed in the attacks have mounted an emotional campaign to block it, calling the center provocative and a betrayal of the memory of the victims. “It does put salt on the wound,” King said. He urged Muslim leaders behind the project to reconsider the location. [snip] A CNN/Opinion Research … Continue reading Out of Touch
Saturday Night Music
Runnin’ Down A Dream is my favorite Tom Petty song. This is a live version from the Heartbreakers’ 30th Anniversary show a few years back. I’m not sure if Mike Campbell or Benmont Tench is more awesome on this song. Decide for yourselves: p align=”center” class=”asset asset-video” style=”display: block; margin: 0pt auto;”> Continue reading Saturday Night Music
Weekend Question Thread
In honor of the party we’ll be out of town attending this weekend, what’s the best party you’ve ever been to? A. Continue reading Weekend Question Thread
Saturday Blogwhoring Thread
Post away. Expectant kitty expects it. A. Continue reading Saturday Blogwhoring Thread
Quote Of The Week
It comes from Project Runway Judge Michael Kors commenting on the dress below: “She looks like a transvestite flamenco dancer at a funeral.” The challenge involved making clothes out of party favors. Casanova, the designer in question, not only made this hideous dress, he also wigged out his competitors by skinning some plush puppies. I am not making this up. Continue reading Quote Of The Week
Friday Night Music: Don’t You Wish It Was True
Despite his penchant for wearing awful plaid flannel shirts, John Fogerty is a national treasure. He’s written so many great songs that I lost count years ago. Here’s a more recent one from 2007: p align=”center” class=”asset asset-video” style=”display: block; margin: 0pt auto;”> Continue reading Friday Night Music: Don’t You Wish It Was True
Malakas Of The Week: The Louisiana Coffin Cartel
The Gret Stet of Louisiana has all sorts of weird boards and such, which ostensibly regulate commerce but are just as often set up to protect special interests and fatten someone’s wallet. That, in turn, leads to malakatude as you’re about to see.The latest story involves a dispute between the Benedictine Monks and the Louisiana Board Of Embalmers and Funeral Directors over coffins: When St. Joseph Abbey decided to open a woodshop on All Saints Day 2007 to sell handcrafted caskets to the public, the hope was that the sales would pay for the medical and educational needs of 36 … Continue reading Malakas Of The Week: The Louisiana Coffin Cartel
Taking a leak on the Internet
Got an email from a former student about two weeks ago with the word “wikileaks” in the title. The email was about a former employee of a place at which I’d worked who had been “let go” prior to my arrival. He worked in the newsroom with college kids and rumors had flown around for years about this guy and his “proclivities.” “So… I’d heard the (NAME) stories, I knew a little about it. But for our reading (dis)pleasure, wikileaks provides his actual emails.” I knew more about this situation than the kid did, even though I never met the … Continue reading Taking a leak on the Internet
Friday Ferretblogging
Riot, discovered curled up in the box where he keeps his stuffed bunny and his favorite toys: Itty bitty tiny Claire: A. Continue reading Friday Ferretblogging
Friday Catblogging: More Awesomeness
Oscar came to live with us in the Spring of 2005 when he was about three years old. The timing was tough since we crapped out of NOLA and were in exile for about 6 weeks but it seemed longer. The Queen of out household when the Big O arrived was the late, great Pogo who was so good natured that she didn’t mind bouncing around from Shreveport to Dallas to Baton Rouge before coming home. As far as she was concerned, she was touring the country and visiting her admirers. Her greatest admirer was Oscar who she treated with … Continue reading Friday Catblogging: More Awesomeness
‘We have to be able to discuss these things’
Wow, it’s like the 90s all over again, without Winona Ryder’s awesome haircut and me being 20 pounds lighter. Newt’s being listened to like a serious person, and via the Crack Den, “Dr.” Laura’s being a hideous wench: CALLER: I’m having an issue with my husband where I’m starting to grow very resentful of him. I’m black, and he’s white. We’ve been around some of his friends and family members who start making racist comments as if I’m not there or if I’m not black. And my husband ignores those comments, and it hurts my feelings. And he acts like … Continue reading ‘We have to be able to discuss these things’
It is Just a Matter of Time
AMERICA. FUCK YEAH. The line to marry is out the door. 9:30 AM: Ehhalt interviewsRoger and Ron, the first folks in line to get married, should the stay be lifted. “If it doesn’t happen, it’s just a matter of time, it it does, well, we’re here” they said. It is just a matter of time. For people seeking justice, it is just a matter of time. The bigots get tired. The bigots go home. The bigots get old and they die off. The bigots are turned away from the courthouse steps with a great big mightyfuck youand I know that’s … Continue reading It is Just a Matter of Time
Euphemism Of The Day
It comes from a Politico headline:Willits offbeatcandidates hurt GOP? Offbeat = Crazy. Continue reading Euphemism Of The Day
Age and Acid Reflux Determine Your Ideal Location
I used to live your stupid life but then, magically, when I turned 29: You move to the city and it’s so exciting. You meet such interesting people. There are bars, clubs, the Manyunk bike races, regattas and Boathouse Row. There’s the skyline at night, concerts and Fairmount Park. The roaring subway, the rattling El. The cuisine from a thousand lands, the cacophony of a million happy souls crammed into a few downtown blocks on New Year’s Day. Fine for a few years. Then you’re not 24 anymore. You’re pushing 30 and, without warning, you sour on city life. Maybe … Continue reading Age and Acid Reflux Determine Your Ideal Location
Because He Only Has Eyes For Newt
FromAlbum3 And remember, the Newtcissist is considered the intellectual heft of the Republiclowns. Speaks volumes. Continue reading Because He Only Has Eyes For Newt
Rand Paul: Aqua Buddha Worshipper
Greg Sargent has spoken to the woman who was involved in Rand Paul’s wacko in Waco episode. She confirms that it was an elaborate exercise in sophomoric hazing but not kidnapping. She was, however, expected to smoke herb and worship Aqua Buddha by Weird Rand: “The whole thing has been blown out of proportion,” she told me. “They didn’t force me, they didn’t make me. They were creating this drama: `We’re messing with you.’” The woman said that much of the subsequent coverage of her allegations missed a key nuance: As a participant in a college ritual, where lines between … Continue reading Rand Paul: Aqua Buddha Worshipper
Taking Advantage
Considering many newspapers haven’t taken advantage of the “newspaper” platform, I’m not surprised to see this: There are many available smartphone apps — in summer 2010, more for Apple’s iPhone than any other mobile platform — that provide news and information to users, but not all of them do it well. Most are relatively simple in design anduser interface, while only some have pushed the creativity envelope. A. Continue reading Taking Advantage
“A breakdown at the intersection of ideology and reality”
Take a look at the following excerpt from a recent editorial on the conservative reaction to the outcome of the Prop 8 trial. It rather neatly removes each of the already-shaky legs holding up the conservative Right’s attempts to paint Judge Vaughn Walker as nothing more than anungodly sodomite and biased activist tyrant intent on destroying Constitution and pissing all over California voters: Conservatives cannot deny that our Founders intended the judiciary as an equal and independent branch of government purposed to ensure the protection of every citizen’s rights. The Supreme Court has previously ruled that the right to marry … Continue reading “A breakdown at the intersection of ideology and reality”
Solidarity
No, this is not about Lech Walesa, his mustache and dock workers in Gdansk. I do, however, enjoy saying Gdansk. This post is about the way those of us who deal with the public reacted when we heard aboutthe flight attendant dude who was abused by a passenger and flipped out in a flamboyant way. Disclaimer time: I think it’s a horrible idea to open the escape slide on a jet plane since it could have hit some poor sucker on the tarmac. Mercifully, that didn’t happen so we can have some fun with this story. Having said that, I … Continue reading Solidarity
One of the great ones
Quite fittingly, there have been plenty of tributes to Patricia Nealfollowing her death earlier this week. Despite some of herconservative political views, it was difficult (at least for me) not to admire her tenacity and style in the face of a remarkably difficult life. She didn’t make nearly enough films but was responsible for more than her share of completely unforgettable moments on screen. The movie was marketed and is probably best remembered as a Paul Newman vehicle, but the second Patricia Neal starts talking inHud your attention shifts and the narrative reassembles itself around her so that you see … Continue reading One of the great ones
Religious Nuts: They’re All Cut From The Same Cloth
Learn some goddamned geometry! So. Apparently, a bunch of fanatics in Saudi Arabia have decided thatGMT needs to be superceded by Arabia Standard Time. And what passes for logic with these guys is really, really appalling. Really, check this out. As Mohammed al-Arkubi, manager of one of the hotels in the complex, put it: “Putting Mecca time in the face of Greenwich Mean Time. This is the goal.” According to Yusuf al-Qaradawi, an Egyptian cleric known around the Muslim world for his popular television show “Sharia and Life”, Mecca has a greater claim to being the prime meridian because it … Continue reading Religious Nuts: They’re All Cut From The Same Cloth
‘Imperfect but reasonable’
Fuck the whole world, today: In town-hall-style meetings in recent weeks, the federal judge presiding over the cases, Alvin K. Hellerstein of United States District Court in Manhattan, has urged the plaintiffs to accept the settlement as imperfect but reasonable. In letters to clients, lawyers for Worby Groner Edelman and Napoli Bern, the firms representing more than 9,000 of the plaintiffs, spell out how costly the cases could prove if they go to trial. “Your trial-related costs are likely to be in the range of $50,000 to $150,000, not including attorney’s fees,” each plaintiff’s letter says. Many have pinned their … Continue reading ‘Imperfect but reasonable’
A Howling In The Wires
This is a bloggercentric version of the book announcement.Click on thisLINKto read the press release and to learn how you can buy this sucker. I’m honored to be one of the bloggers included: Gallatin & Toulouse Press announces the publication of A Howling in the Wires: An Anthology of Writings from Postdiluvian New Orleans. This collection combines the vivid post-Katrina experiences captured by the best New Orleans bloggers with the work of traditional writers from the same period, cataloging some of the best-written and most powerful reactions of the people who experienced Katrina. The book launch reading will be Thursday, … Continue reading A Howling In The Wires
Friend Of The Devil
There’s no truth to the rumor that Robert Hunter and Jerry Garcia wrote this tune about Coach K. They would have had to time travel to do so and not even Jerry was that awesome. This is a nifty live version by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers; featuring the stellar keyboard playing of Benmont Tench who has a name right out of Faulkner: p align=”center” class=”asset asset-video” style=”display: block; margin: 0pt auto;”> Continue reading Friend Of The Devil