Friday Night Music: Damn This Town
Here’s a bit of John Hiatt from his latest discDirty Jeans and Mudslide Hymns: Continue reading Friday Night Music: Damn This Town
Month: September 2011
Suuuuuuuuure
Whatever, dude: Keith Gilkes ran Walker’s campaign last year, helped lead his transition and has served as chief of staff since Walker’s January swearing in. Gilkes will return to his political consulting firm on Oct. 8. Gilkes disclosed his plans to top Walker aides during a cabinet meeting Friday at a Madison hotel. In an interview, he said he would serve as lead adviser to Walker’s campaign, but also take on other clients for campaign work. He said he would not go into lobbying. His departure comes at a time of strain for the administration, with Democrats poised to try … Continue reading Suuuuuuuuure
Malaka Of The Week: The Guy Who Put This Billboard Up
Tim Tebow is a past “winner” of malaka of the week honors and now there’s somedouchey businessman in Denver who really, really wants Tebow to play. Either that or he wants some publicity and I’ve fallen into his trap. I don’t, however, have to mention his name; especially since he’s into exclamation points and pounding on the caps lock key, which are both evidence of egregious malakatude. Continue reading Malaka Of The Week: The Guy Who Put This Billboard Up
Fandamonium
The word “fan” comes from the word “fanatic” and there’s very little good about the definition in there: a person with an extreme and uncritical enthusiasm or zeal, as in religion or politics. Or sports, as the case may be. Last week, I wrote about the idiot who threw a banana at Wayne Simmonds, an action viewed as racist or stupid or both. The guy, Chris Moorhouse, has been arrested andhas pleaded to absolute stupidity, noting that the banana was merely a fruit of convenience. This week, I finally got the chance to see“Catching Hell” the ESPN documentary on Steve … Continue reading Fandamonium
Friday Ferretblogging: Behind the Music Video Edition
So last week we put Buckyinto a sweater and bribed him with the thrilling taste of his own paw in order to thank you all for donating to the First Draft annual fundraiser. Here’s a behind-the-scenes shot that shows you how much fun that was. A. Continue reading Friday Ferretblogging: Behind the Music Video Edition
Friday Catblogging: Shameless Plug Redux
I try not to abuse what little power I have here at First Draft but it’s time for another plug for one of Jennifer Roches awesome hand painted cat tiles.You know, the ones I sell at my shop: Continue reading Friday Catblogging: Shameless Plug Redux
Thursday Night Music: Mockingbird Time
Tonight on Adrastos’ obsession with the Jayhawks: The title track of their new disc. I’ve only had it for a few days but so far I like it a lot. The melody is tres Mark Olson with a lush Gary Louris production and awesome harmonies. Yup, that’s the Jayhawks: Continue reading Thursday Night Music: Mockingbird Time
Macondo Mambo
My friend and fellow NOLA blogger Clay has a fine post up about the report on the BP Oil Spill at his blog NOLA-dishu He’s an engineer and was one of my guides to the disaster last year. Thanks for reading this shit so we don’t have to, Clay. Continue reading Macondo Mambo
NOLA Signage
There’s a lively controversy in Uptown New Orleans over ananti-Obama signsome right wing malaka has put up at his house. The local news led with a false dichotomy last night: is this offensive or free speech? It’s both: there’s a lot of stuff that offends me but I don’t call for it to be banned unless it involves the mythical guy yelling fire in a crowded theatre. It’s not easy being aHugo Black-style First Amendment absolutist nowadays but that’s what I am. There’s lots of annoying shit out there but if we want to remain a semi-free country we just … Continue reading NOLA Signage
The Gaydar App
Via commenter Ruth on Facebook, there’s an app to tell if your son is gay. It does not ask the question, “Does your son have intimate relationships with men?” which makes the thing kind of a waste of time, really. Shockingly, it also does not ask the only question that matters, which is, why the hell do you care? I swear, the more I look around me and watch people fuck up their lives flatter than hammered shit, the more I wonder why anybody would be dissatisfied with a child simply for being gay. Do you KNOW what people get … Continue reading The Gaydar App
Food to Die For
FromAlbum4 I remember in the early 1980s my very conservative dad telling me, in a mildly incredulous tone, that one of his co-workers thought lethal injection was a bad idea because it “didn’t make the criminal suffer enough.” Must be the same sort of mentality thatthrows a tantrum over last meals of the condemned. Last week the state of Texas said it would no longer let condemned prisoners order practically anything they want for their last meals before execution. Aswe reported, “the huge meal that white supremacist Lawrence Russell Brewer ordered and then left untouched before his execution … convinced … Continue reading Food to Die For
Innocent families trapped onboard plane with kissing lesbians
When the bits of information aboutLeisha Hailey’s experience on a Southwest Airlines flight first started trickling out yesterday via Twitter (which I was of course on at the time), I had two simultaneous reactions. One, I assumed without knowing any other source information that the airline was at fault. Two, I snickered at the PR ramifications because, I mean really, could you not find someone more adorable to pick on, Southwest? She’s one of theYoplait bridesmaids fer chrissakes, not to mention the only remotely likeable character on theL Word. So yeah, as noted by a Twitter friend, maybe I rushed … Continue reading Innocent families trapped onboard plane with kissing lesbians
The Cheesiest Billboard Ever
Given all the Sconnies here at First Draft, I probably shouldn’t be the one to post this item but here it is: This tower of cheesiness was erected near Lambeau Field in Green Bay by the physicians/national scold group, the PCRM. They’re essentially trying to scare America out of eating certain foods and now they’regoing after cheese. And in Wisconsin of all places. Hmmm, I wonder if they have any plans to expand to France? Probably not, French cheesemakers would probably force them to eat stinky fromage until they recanted. The folks who make the cheesehead hats are also not … Continue reading The Cheesiest Billboard Ever
Jobs Protesters
Surely this will merit media coverage on par with the Tea Party, now that everybody’s brushed their hair. A. Continue reading Jobs Protesters
Joey the Shark Called, He Says You Suck
I think we should go back to electing the VP separately, because I want tokeep Joe forever. A. Continue reading Joey the Shark Called, He Says You Suck
Tuesday Night Music: Inca Roads
All the talk last week about the satellite falling from the sky, put this tune in my head. It’s kinda sorta a Sci-Fi tune by the Mothers. This was the last band that Zappa called the Mothers and it was one of his best as well as best loved combos.It featured Chester Thompson on drums; percussionist Ruth Underwood; bassist Tom Fowler; Napoleon Murphy Brock on woodwinds and vocals and George Duke on keyboards and vocals: Continue reading Tuesday Night Music: Inca Roads
House of Crazy
People tend to think of California as the bluest and most liberal state in the union. They tend to forget that the John Birch Society was born in Orange County and that the only two Presidents from the Golden State were Tricky Dick and the Gipper. President Obama got a reminder that the there are California wingnuts last night at a fundraiser at the House of Blues in LA.He also learned something new, he’s the anti-Christ. I did not know that: Continue reading House of Crazy
Waiting for the Miracle
Oliver would like those kids today to be good so Daddy won’t hit them: If you dress up like a dope-smoking hobo, expect to be treated like one and not be taken seriously. Get a haircut. Wear a nice shirt. Carry a sign with a message that makes some kind of sense to an average American. It might work. Dan continuesthe discussion over at Corrente, citing an observation from Allison Kilkenny on the media coverage: For every batshit crazy quote Bellafante presents, I can match it with a calm, articulate response from another attendee. I guarantee that. However, that’s not … Continue reading Waiting for the Miracle
Sweet Home Alabama
Thosezany Alabamians are at it again. Here’s my old acquaintance Jonathan Turley’s take on it: In Bay Minette, Alabama, felons are being given the opportunity to climb the wall. Not the prison wall, mind you. The Alabama court and local police are helping felons over the wall of separation of church and state by giving convicted citizens an opportunity to avoid jail if they volunteer — so long as it is with a church. Non-violent offenders with misdemeanor convictions are given a list of local churches unless they want to wait in jail and pay a fine. The constitutional problems … Continue reading Sweet Home Alabama
Washington Post Thinking This Internet Thing is Here to Stay
Telling reporters to link to sources.The blogosphere called, it says welcome to 1998. A. Continue reading Washington Post Thinking This Internet Thing is Here to Stay
Little Girls in Pretty Princess Clothes
The discussion in comments tothis article about Disney princesses (especially pointing out that WHERE THE FUCK IS MULAN in all this and also Tiana, and how nobody talks about how cool Maleficent is) is better than the story itself, which is reductive (exposure to Disney = your child ending up in a thong on Jersey Shore). I spent Sunday afternoon at a baseball game with my dad, a pretty common occurrence when I was a little kid. And they did a thing at Miller Park where little kids got to go out and stand on the bases with the Brewers … Continue reading Little Girls in Pretty Princess Clothes
Pulitzer Worthy
Steve Gleason was never a star when he played in the NFL. He was, however, responsible for one of the greatest moments in New Orleans Saints history: a blocked punt in the Saints post-K return to the Superdome on September 25, 2006. Steve was honored before yesterday’s game. He has ALS (aka Lou Gehrig’s Disease.) Jeff Duncan wrote a *brilliant* profile of Gleason that was on the front page of the Sunday Picayune. It’s one of the best pieces I’ve read in a long time. Yup, it’s Pulitzer worthy. Finally, here’s a clip of Steve Gleason’s moment in the limelight: Continue reading Pulitzer Worthy
Today on Tommy T’s Obsession with the Freeperati – Kenny Rogers and the First edition
Ok, boys and girls, we have another round of old drum clean-up to do, so let’s clear out that old new stock!
Everything must go!
First up?Nobody loves you when your website’s down and out!
(after yet another five-hour outage)
It’s Alive! (Thank you, John Rob)
Vanity ^ | 12 September 2011 | WindflierPosted on Monday, September 12, 2011 4:18:38 PM byWindflier
The lights are on!
Thank you, John Rob. Much appreciated.
So – $352,000 + / year and you geniusesstillcan’t keep the lights on?
To: WindflierI’m a Unix admin. What happened? Long outage. Root cause?
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To: WindflierYou’d think for $88K/Qtr this wouldn’t be a problem.
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To: DeoVindiceSicSemperTyrannisWoohoo! FR is back! It was hard going a whole five hours with no FR.I get pretty off-kilter when FR is down. It feels like being cut off from the world.
There you have it in a nutshell.
They can’t survive unless surrounded by people who “think” like they do – because they’re confused and frightened when presented with the real world..
They think FRisthe world, and not just a laughing academy for the fringe right.
To: WindflierOK, better now. I can slow down my breathing and remove the paper bag from my mouth. . . .
No, no, no! It’s aplastic bag, not a paper one. And it goes over thehead, not the mouth.
And don’t forget the rubber bands.
To:TexasRepublicIt was a boring lunchtime today.Half my coffee time was spoiled when FR suddenly went off the air. I really hate relying on Drudge and reading the comments sections of the articles he links to.
What he means is: “I hate that Drudge sometimes links to actual news sites, where the commenters don’t adhere to my twisted word-view.”
Still, this wasn’t a bad one, as far as FR outages go.
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To: WindflierI work in a supposedly high availability environment where outages are supposed to be impossible yet they happen nonetheless. Our client pays through the nose.
Ya can’t have a 100% availability in an environment that continuously changes.
FR is generally available. I don’t know if they engineer for it I’m just curious.
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To: WindflierIt was more painful than enduring 100 degree weather ..I hear you.There have been times I tried to get on and nothing. That is hard to deal with for hours on end.
37 posted on Tuesday, September 13, 2011 7:02:11 AM byArrowhead1952 (Dear God, please let it rain in Texas. Amen.)
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More putrid potpourri after the you-know-what.
Happy Kerry Photo: The GLASSES, Guys
I’m sorry, it’s been completely years, and I should be over him by now. I’M NOT. Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts has introduced federal legislation to expressly prohibit anti-LGBT discrimination in housing. The bill, known as the Housing Opportunities Made Equal Act, or HOME Act, would amend the 1968 Fair Housing Act to ban discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity in housing, as well as amend the Equal Credit Opportunity Act to prevent such discrimination in lending (the bill would also bar discrimination based on source of income and marital status). A House version of the … Continue reading Happy Kerry Photo: The GLASSES, Guys
Sunday Morning Video: Here Comes The Circus- MST3K
Time to introduce a new, for First Draft, weekly feature. I’ve been doing this at my blog-city blog for years but have essentially moved over here lock, stock and kitties. I’m not sure if Jude and Riot the cranky ferret approve but if they don’t tough you know what. I have the awesomeness of Della Street on my side. I usually post comedy bits or other odds and sods so let’s start off with some MST3K: Continue reading Sunday Morning Video: Here Comes The Circus- MST3K
Weekend Question Thread
Tell me something nice that happened to you recently. I think we could all use a little sunshine. Me, I had a bunch of really great people give my blog presents all week. A. Continue reading Weekend Question Thread
Come see what’s Brewin’
Although every fan thinks his or her team deserves something, I can’t help but think the Milwaukee Brewers really deserved tonight. This is the team that wasted Robin Yount’s prime, oversaw the exile of Paul Molitor and was content to slide into the recipient role of MLB’s revenue-sharing system. Year after year, we saw mediocre baseball and year after year we stopped caring about the team by mid-July. For years, the only thing worth paying attention to when it came to the Brewers was their Hall-of-Fame announcer Bob Uecker. Uke kept us smiling and laughing all the way through those … Continue reading Come see what’s Brewin’
Friday Night Music: Bad Day
I didn’t have one but this is a helluva good tune complete with the requisite Stipe weirdness: Continue reading Friday Night Music: Bad Day
First Draft Fundraising Ends: Thank You All
Bucky is so happy you all donated so that he could afford this fine, fuzzy sweater. In all seriousness, thank you all for supporting the site. I know that this is the worst economy in the history of the world, and so it means a lot to know that you think what we do here is worth your time and your generosity. You’ve made it possible for us to keep the lights on another year, to keep doing what we’re doing, and we couldn’t be more proud of our community of readers. Onward to what looks to be the weirdest … Continue reading First Draft Fundraising Ends: Thank You All
Politically Correct Fruit
Word of warning to people who like to make professional sporting events more interactive: Know your fruit. Philadelphia Flyers winger Wayne Simmonds, who is black, had a piece of fruit flung at him while participating in a game against the Red Wings.The exhibition, which was taking place in Ontario, has garnered a great deal of press coverage primarily because the fruit in question was a banana. While people may be quick to jump to the conclusion that this is racism, this might be unfair to the idiot responsible. We have not heard from the flinger, so God alone knows if … Continue reading Politically Correct Fruit