Month: November 2013

Adrastos, Political Crack, So Called Liberal Media3 Comments

The Age of Impatience

Peter Adrastos Athas

Americans have always been an impatient and restless people. It’s in our national DNA, RNA, NRA and PTA; not the latter 2 obviously, but I couldn’t help myself. It’s one reason we love new technology so much, our national attention span is short and we get bored easily. This national ADD has been there from the beginning and has been a blessing and a curse from the beginning as well. We want instant gratification, and we want it right now. That brings me to the increasingly stupid debate over the ACA roll-out. The MSM and foes of the bill are … Continue reading The Age of Impatience

Adrastos, LOL, Political Crack, Television2 Comments

Chris Farley On My Mind

Every time I hear ofRob Ford’s latest idiotic escapade, I miss Chris Farley. Imagine Farley on SNL, or anywhere for that matter, playing Rob Ford. He had the girth, the moves and an array of vacant faces that would bring the crazed Toronto Mayor to life. If Ford doesn’t chill out sometime soon, he might wind up living in a van down by the river like Matt Foley: Continue reading Chris Farley On My Mind

Adrastos, Political Crack, Stupid Republican Tricks2 Comments

Oy, such a putz

Just to show that some things haven’t changed, George W. Bush made a stupid decision and then stubbornly stuck to his guns: Despite an uproar in the Jewish community, former president George W. Bush is still slated to deliver the keynote address to a fundraiser for the Messianic Jewish Bible Institute in Irving, Texas, tonight. The MJBI trains people to persuade Jews to recognize Jesus as their messiah. Followers of the group believe that if enough Jews are converted, Christ will return to Earth. AfterMother Jonesbroke the news about Bush’s appearance last week, “a small shitstorm…kicked up over the President’s … Continue reading Oy, such a putz

Current Affairs, Doc1 Comment

Playing with live ammo

(I sat out last week so that I didn’t push the Riot story lower on the blog. I feel for A and Mr. A. I hope the Chicken Rat is able to run and jump and have fun now. – Doc) During my first few years of advising, I often heard debates regarding which stories or photos we should or shouldn’t run in the college paper. The students often held the print edition to a higher standard, meaning that we had to make sure the stories or the photos were stronger, better or less controversial. The line that always got … Continue reading Playing with live ammo

Athenae5 Comments

The ACA is Obama’s Katrina, or Maybe Obama’s Iraq

These things have a hierarchy, okay. I’m not okay with a fucked-up web site right now because how hard it is to make a web site function (says the girl who every year promises herself she’s gonna do this one better and doesn’t), but let’s keep in mind that nobody notable faced any kind of real consequences, such as PRISON TIME, for crises that resulted in coffins. So maybe demanding the heads of the Cabinet for the horrific crime of trying to help people is a wee overreaction. Also the number of people who believe that in the absence of … Continue reading The ACA is Obama’s Katrina, or Maybe Obama’s Iraq

Adrastos, Political Crack, So Called Liberal Media3 Comments

The Age of Impatience

Americans have always been an impatient and restless people. It’s in our national DNA, RNA, NRA and PTA; not the latter 2 obviously, but I couldn’t help myself. It’s one reason we love new technology so much, our national attention span is short and we get bored easily. This national ADD has been there from the beginning and has been a blessing and a curse from the beginning as well. We want instant gratification, and we want it right now. That brings me to the increasingly stupid debate over the ACA roll-out. The MSM and foes of the bill are … Continue reading The Age of Impatience

Athenae, Big Damn Heroes1 Comment

‘I had men to do that sort of thing’

Allison Hantschel

This blistering badass: Work began earlier this month on a feature film about Nancy Wake’s life. Ms Wake, one of the models for Sebastian Faulks’ fictional heroine, Charlotte Gray, had mixed feelings about previous cinematic efforts to portray her wartime exploits, including a TV mini-series made in 1987. “It was well-acted but in parts it was extremely stupid,” she said. “At one stage they had me cooking eggs and bacon to feed the men. For goodness’ sake, did the Allies parachute me into France to fry eggs and bacon for the men? There wasn’t an egg to be had for … Continue reading ‘I had men to do that sort of thing’

Athenae, Big Damn Heroes1 Comment

‘I had men to do that sort of thing’

This blistering badass: Work began earlier this month on a feature film about Nancy Wake’s life. Ms Wake, one of the models for Sebastian Faulks’ fictional heroine, Charlotte Gray, had mixed feelings about previous cinematic efforts to portray her wartime exploits, including a TV mini-series made in 1987. “It was well-acted but in parts it was extremely stupid,” she said. “At one stage they had me cooking eggs and bacon to feed the men. For goodness’ sake, did the Allies parachute me into France to fry eggs and bacon for the men? There wasn’t an egg to be had for … Continue reading ‘I had men to do that sort of thing’

Adrastos, Faith, Law/Justice, Political Crack, Stupid Republican Tricks2 Comments

Infamous Idaho Potatoheads

Peter Adrastos Athas

One of the many things I loved about the Toy Story movies was the voice casting of one of my comedic heroes, Don Rickles, as the voice of Mr. Potatohead. When I heard about the latest dumbshit gun nut story, I heard the voice of Mr. Warmth calling everyone involved hockey pucks. I’d use stronger language but Rickles “works clean” as they say in the Borscht Belt. Anyway, here’s the story that’s shocked even me with its egregious malakatude and hockey puckery: An Idaho lawmaker who had his concealed weapon permit revoked for lying about a long-ago guilty plea to … Continue reading Infamous Idaho Potatoheads

Adrastos, Faith, Law/Justice, Political Crack, Stupid Republican Tricks2 Comments

Infamous Idaho Potatoheads

One of the many things I loved about the Toy Story movies was the voice casting of one of my comedic heroes, Don Rickles, as the voice of Mr. Potatohead. When I heard about the latest dumbshit gun nut story, I heard the voice of Mr. Warmth calling everyone involved hockey pucks. I’d use stronger language but Rickles “works clean” as they say in the Borscht Belt. Anyway, here’s the story that’s shocked even me with its egregious malakatude and hockey puckery: An Idaho lawmaker who had his concealed weapon permit revoked for lying about a long-ago guilty plea to … Continue reading Infamous Idaho Potatoheads

Athenae, So Called Liberal Media5 Comments

Richard Cohen: Worse Than Just Racist

Allison Hantschel

Richard Cohen did not say interracial families made him sick, guys. Richard Cohen says that his latest piece was not intended to be and shouldn’t be read as racist. “The word racist is truly hurtful,” he told The Huffington Post on Tuesday. “It’s not who I am. It’s not who I ever was. It’s just not fair. It’s just not right.” The Washington Post columnist came under fire on Tuesday for writing that “people with conventional views must repress a gag reflex when considering the mayor-elect of New York — a white man married to a black woman and with … Continue reading Richard Cohen: Worse Than Just Racist

Adrastos, Art, Film, Pulp Fiction1 Comment

Pulp Fiction Thursday: Horror Express

Peter Adrastos Athas

I saw Horror Express for the first time on TCM on Halloween. It’s one of those movies that’s simultaneously good and bad and campy and scary. In short, it’s everything you’d want from a flick starring Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee about terror on a train. It features a hammy and OTT performance by Telly Savalas as a Cossack commander. I’m surprised that Cousin Telly didn’t eat the train, tracks and fake Siberian scenery. It’s campy, spooky fun complete with a frozen dead guy/demon. Here’s the poster: Here’s the trailer: Here’s the whole damn picture when you have some time … Continue reading Pulp Fiction Thursday: Horror Express

Athenae, Big Damn Heroes, Film4 Comments

The Square

Allison Hantschel

I had the privilege of seeing this over the weekend, and it was like a gut-punch. I had friends working in Egypt during some of the events depicted here, and the film does a great job of giving you the scale of what was happening while still making room for the personal stories (and personal consequences) of the revolution. There’s a moment at the end where Ahmed, the young man in the trailer, talks about what the real achievement of the revolution was, and how it gave rise not to one specific change in regime or law but in culture, … Continue reading The Square

Michael F3 Comments

If You Want To Keep ThePlan Lemon You Have

FromAlbum 5 After all, if you’re not actually going to drive it, why not buy a Yugo? Bonus joke: Why did Yugos have rear window heaters/defrosters? To keep your hands warm while you pushed. Anyway, while myonly-slightly-less-disappointing-Senator’s proposal is…actually not god-awful terrible, given the circumstances, it’s still worth noting that the “plans” everyone is suddenly so keen on saving…are the Yugos of private health insurance…NOT Fords, Representative Blackburn. The only thing they “provided” was a relatively modest revenue stream to insurance companies — companies that make protection rackets almost look honorable, as anyone who’s ever been jacked around, by, oh, … Continue reading If You Want To Keep ThePlan Lemon You Have

Adrastos, Immoral Values, Malakatude, Political Crack, So Called Liberal Media4 Comments

Malaka Of The Week: Richard Cohen

Peter Adrastos Athas

Richard Cohen has been a columnist at the WaPo for eons. He’s never been a pundit I bothered to read, but he’s gotten in some well-deserved trouble recently with his reactionary and odious views on interracial marriage. And that’s why he’s malaka of the week.Here’s the money quote from a column about 2016 GOP politics: Today’s GOP is not racist, as Harry Belafonte alleged about the tea party, but it is deeply troubled — about the expansion of government, about immigration, about secularism, about the mainstreaming of what used to be the avant-garde. People with conventional views must repress a … Continue reading Malaka Of The Week: Richard Cohen

Athenae, Urban Hellhole9 Comments

We Can’t Have City People Here

Allison Hantschel

And by “city,” I think you all know what we mean: I just got back from Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed’s press conference on the Braves’ move to a transportation-challenged site in Cobb County, and will have a lot more to say on that later. But I can’t let this pass without notice: Joe Dendy, chairman of the Cobb County Republican Party, says that he has two conditions for supporting the Braves’ proposed move (h/t Jim Galloway): 1.) That Cobb County citizens won’t have to pay higher taxes as a result, and 2.)“It is absolutely necessary the (transportation) solution is all … Continue reading We Can’t Have City People Here

Athenae, Geek Cred1 Comment

Spambots

Allison Hantschel

All right, we’re getting hit with a particularly nasty set of spambots, so I’ve turned on the thing where you enter a verification code and your e-mail to comment. Lots of you already enter your e-mail, so hopefully this won’t be too onerous. If things calm down in the Cylon war we’ve got going on here, I’ll turn it back off, but I’m in and out of the Internet the next few days and I don’t want you all getting buried beneath Chinese porn or whatever the hell the latest is. A. Continue reading Spambots

Adrastos, Fog Of History, Political Crack, So Called Liberal Media, Television4 Comments

The Fog of History

Peter Adrastos Athas

The 50th anniversary of the Kennedy assassination is fast approaching. As a history buff and JFK fan, I’m an avid consumer of stuff about the assassination. I saw a swell program on the National Geographic Channel called The Lost JFK Tapes.They’re not really lost tapes, but unnoticed ones. Much of the 90 documentary uses local Dallas teevee new coverage, which has probably been on a shelf in a store room for half a century. They’ve structured the film to unfold as if it were live coverage, which it once was.Tick tock tick tock. Of particular interest to me were the … Continue reading The Fog of History

Adrastos, Album Cover Art, Art, Music3 Comments

Album Cover Art Wednesday: Sticky Fingers

Peter Adrastos Athas

The Andy Warhol designed LP cover for Sticky Fingers loses something in the translation to CD re-releases and in photographs. The glory of the package was the functioning zipper. I was with my mother when I bought the LP and at first she thought it was clever until she put 2 + 2 together and got the double entendre of the title/zipper combination. I was rewarded with the same stern look I got when she realized that the Who were peeing on the obelisk on the cover of Who’s Next. Sticky Fingers is my favorite Stones album, featuring some of … Continue reading Album Cover Art Wednesday: Sticky Fingers

Athenae, Geek Cred1 Comment

Spambots

All right, we’re getting hit with a particularly nasty set of spambots, so I’ve turned on the thing where you enter a verification code and your e-mail to comment. Lots of you already enter your e-mail, so hopefully this won’t be too onerous. If things calm down in the Cylon war we’ve got going on here, I’ll turn it back off, but I’m in and out of the Internet the next few days and I don’t want you all getting buried beneath Chinese porn or whatever the hell the latest is. A. Continue reading Spambots

Athenae, So Called Liberal Media5 Comments

Richard Cohen: Worse Than Just Racist

Richard Cohen did not say interracial families made him sick, guys. Richard Cohen says that his latest piece was not intended to be and shouldn’t be read as racist. “The word racist is truly hurtful,” he told The Huffington Post on Tuesday. “It’s not who I am. It’s not who I ever was. It’s just not fair. It’s just not right.” The Washington Post columnist came under fire on Tuesday for writing that “people with conventional views must repress a gag reflex when considering the mayor-elect of New York — a white man married to a black woman and with … Continue reading Richard Cohen: Worse Than Just Racist

Adrastos, Epic Blogger Win, Sports3 Comments

Paragraph Of The Day: Grandmaster Wang Edition

Peter Adrastos Athas

Moosedenied is usually dedicated to all things New Orleans Saints, but this week’s post is one of the *best* things I’ve read about the Incognito-Martin affair: Richie Incognito is a punk. A fat, sadistic, worthless piece of shit. Just a miserable excuse for a human being. A disgrace to his species. A complete waste of skin. He is the very embodiment of everything that’s disgusting and repulsive about sociopathic big dumb meathead jock “culture.” In case I’m not being clear here… Fuck. This. Guy. Fuck him, fuck everything about him, fuck everybody like him, and fuck anybody who’s idiot enough … Continue reading Paragraph Of The Day: Grandmaster Wang Edition

Athenae, Immoral Values, So Called Liberal Media5 Comments

The War on Women Is a Democratic ‘Playbook’

Allison Hantschel

For Politico, everything is the Truman Show and nothing is real: How much of a difference the deluge ultimately made after Cuccinelli’s surprisingly narrow loss to Democrat Terry McAuliffe is open for debate. What isn’t in dispute is that Democrats and women’s groups believe their “war on women” playbook worked. And they have every intention of using it again in 2014 even as Republicans and some political observers argue that Virginia didn’t provide a mandate on the issue. [snip] Democrats took to the Virginia airwaves and the campaign trail this fall to note Cuccinelli’s opposition to abortion, even in cases … Continue reading The War on Women Is a Democratic ‘Playbook’

Athenae, Urban Hellhole9 Comments

We Can’t Have City People Here

And by “city,” I think you all know what we mean: I just got back from Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed’s press conference on the Braves’ move to a transportation-challenged site in Cobb County, and will have a lot more to say on that later. But I can’t let this pass without notice: Joe Dendy, chairman of the Cobb County Republican Party, says that he has two conditions for supporting the Braves’ proposed move(h/t Jim Galloway): 1.) That Cobb County citizens won’t have to pay higher taxes as a result, and 2.)“It is absolutely necessary the (transportation) solution is all about … Continue reading We Can’t Have City People Here

Adrastos, Music3 Comments

Album Cover Art Wednesday: Sticky Fingers

The Andy Warhol designed LP cover forSticky Fingers loses something in the translation to CD re-releases and in photographs. The glory of the package was the functioning zipper. I was with my mother when I bought the LP and at first she thought it was clever until she put 2 + 2 together and got the double entendre of the title/zipper combination. I was rewarded with the same stern look I got when she realized that the Who were peeing on the obelisk on the cover ofWho’s Next. Sticky Fingers is my favorite Stones album, featuring some of their best … Continue reading Album Cover Art Wednesday: Sticky Fingers

Adrastos, Epic Blogger Win, Sports3 Comments

Paragraph Of The Day: Grandmaster Wang Edition

Moosedenied is usually dedicated to all things New Orleans Saints, but thisweek’s post is one of the *best* things I’ve read about the Incognito-Martin affair: Richie Incognito is a punk. A fat, sadistic, worthless piece of shit. Just a miserable excuse for a human being. A disgrace to his species. A complete waste of skin. He is the very embodiment of everything that’s disgusting and repulsive about sociopathic big dumb meathead jock “culture.” In case I’m not being clear here… Fuck. This. Guy. Fuck him, fuck everything about him, fuck everybody like him, and fuck anybody who’s idiot enough to … Continue reading Paragraph Of The Day: Grandmaster Wang Edition