Media Dump

Shogun Assassin - Decapitation

2008-01-11T17:40:00.001-06:00

Fly Kurando my boy! Fly to glory!

19 Injured in Macau-Hong Kong Hydrofoil Crash

2008-01-11T13:51:00.000-06:00

MACAU, China, Jan. 11 (AP) -- Two hydrofoils ferrying passengers between Hong Kong and Macau collided today, injuring 19 seriously. No buses plunged during this incident.

The full article can be read here.

Mediadump Endorses Yellow Dog For Democratic Nominee

2008-01-10T14:54:00.001-06:00

Mediadump has before it a confounding array of choices for the Democratic Nominee for the American Presidency and has purposefully waited until today to make its formal endorsement. Being an upstanding member of the media, Mediadump has carefully analyzed all the relevant materials required to make its decision, including the relevant poll information, dollars raised, television ads aired, and plugs from establishment media douchebags. However, no matter how deeply the important, substantive information (namely the popular opinion of the MSM) is examined, Mediadump finds it impossible to determine which bandwagon has the sufficient electoral "momentum" rendering it worthy enough for Mediadump to jump on. Hillary was looking so promising until her obsessively canned and micromanaged style torched her campaign in Iowa. Obama was doing so well until he had to enter into his unholy alliance with Edwards, causing Hillary to cry and become sympathetically human. With the first two major "primary" contests over, we at Mediadump are now thoroughly incensed by both campaigns for not having this thing wrapped up and done with so that we can focus on more substantive issues like Mitt Romney's haircut and Chuck Norris's incandescently white teeth! Now we have to pay attention until Super Tuesday when states that actually matter will now have a say on the nomination. Talk about committing violence against the democratic process.

So, to protest this development, to our chagrin, Mediadump must endorse Yellow Dog.

Shane Macgowan live

2008-01-07T19:25:00.001-06:00

Eloquent political protest.

Presidential Analogy of the Day: A Game of Risk

2008-01-07T14:53:00.000-06:00

Being a fastidious student of the Internet, I have noticed a lot of analogies being made about the presidential election. Recently, over at Slate, Daniel Gross analogizes presidential elections to stocks. This is my little contribution: Democratic candidates as Risk Strategies.

Hillaryland is clearly playing the Eurasian strategy. She is kicking ass right now, with Europe firmly in her control and her armies rolling a swath of destruction through Central Asia. She is incredibly well financed, milking the five extra armies she's getting and cashing in her Risk cards to set up a national campaign to bring home the nomination on Super Tuesday. However, as is often the case, she has overextended herself, and though she is dominating the board, she has too many border territories to defend.

ObamaWorld on the other hand, has clearly staked out a firm spot in South America, making some headway in Africa, nibbling away at Hillary's North African territories, but spending most of his time advancing up north into uncontested North America, a territory where one can dream big, and bring in new voters without having to be too aggressive or spend too many resources in being negative.

Edwardszone, on the other hand, is on the ropes, reduced to Australia, with the Hillary Machine bearing down from Siam; nonetheless Edwardszone gamely attempts to hold onto Indonesia by relying on his solid base of angry, agrarian populism. He doesn't have nearly as many resources as Hillaryland or ObamaWorld, but he is reserving his forces for a big push into Asia once Hillaryland is weakened by her current attacks on ObamaWorld.

The New Hampshire primaries clearly represents all that makes Risk the greatest game of strategic world conquest and most effective means to sever lifelong friendships: the doubleteam. This is clearly represented by Edwardszone current unspoken alliance with ObamaWorld to obliterate Hillaryland by depicting themselves as agents of change while Hillaryland represents the forces of the "Status Quo." Hillaryland, desperate to weaken ObamaWorld, tries to bait Edwardszone to do his dirty work for her -- but it won't work, because Edwardszone knows that if Siam doesn't fall, he'll be spending the rest of his life in East Australia litigating traffic tickets.

Now, does this analogy illuminate anything profound about the Primary? No. But it does allow me to show what happens when you doubleteam someone in Risk: she cries.

General, Would You Care To Step Outside?

2007-12-20T19:15:00.001-06:00

Come to me son of Jor El. KNEEL Before Zod!

Bus Flips; Several Injured

2007-12-10T19:21:00.000-06:00

GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) -- A bus flipped over and landed upright Monday morning. The crash occurred several miles south of here, injuring six students and the driver. Guildford County School Officials claim the bus driver drove off the road, over-corrected, and crossed the center line of the road, causing the bus to flip prior to it landing upright.

The full article is here.

For an explanation of the prevalence of "Bus Plunge" stories on this blog, click here.

NFL Draf 2007

2007-04-28T00:31:00.001-05:00

In celebration of the NFL Draft tomorrow, the most exciting event in American football, here is a montage of the most egregious draft blunders of the 20th Century (coincidentally, all of which were made by the New York Jets). Even if you don't like football or have no idea who these guys are, it is still amusing to see the unvarnished misery and despair of Jets fans as they watch their team get flushed down the toilet with idiotic picks. (not only did the Jets pass on Dan Marino, but also Warren Sapp).

Manny Ramirez Auctions Grill On E-Bay

2007-03-21T00:40:00.000-05:00

Manny Ramirez, not content with his current $18 million a year salary, has placed a JENN-Air grill up for auction on E-Bay. The text of his auction states the following:

Hi, I`m Manny Ramirez. I bought this AMAZING grill for about $4,000 and I used it once... But I never have the time to use it because I am always on the road. I would love to sell it and you will get an autographed ball signed by me =] Enjoy it, Manny Ramirez.

Currently, the latest bid is at $99,999,999.99. For some reason, I imagine E-Bay will have to do some housekeeping soon to determine the authentic bids from the fraudulent ones.

To see the bid, and Manny Ramirez posing next to his grill, click here.

NYTimes Public Editor Comments on Slowness

2007-03-20T17:41:00.000-05:00

On a related note, the New York Times public editor wrote a column about the New York Times' slowness with regards to covering news stories that competitors first broke. Though it does not mention the US Attorney story, apparently it took nearly two months after the Wash Post first wrote about the Walter Reed scandal for the Times to write a short piece about the story, and similarly, nearly 6 months for the Times to cover the story of marines allegedly killing Iraqi civilians in Haditha after Time magazine first broke it.

Though in fairness, this is a common problem with other publications, including the Washington Post.

Read the column here.

TV Slow To Catch Up on Attorney Story

2007-03-19T21:44:00.000-05:00

This is an article about the time lag between TPM's first post about the US Attorney story and the nearly two months before the network news broadcasted their first segment about the story. The article gives a fairly detailed timeline. The article also talks about a similar lag that occurred with the reporting of the Walter Reed Medical Center scandal, which first broke on Salon.com, where it slowly percolated its way to the Times/Post frontpages and finally the Evening News shows.

It mainly posits that the reasons for the time lag are many: the network news leans on the Washington Post and New York Times for their news agenda and also that it took some time for their to be "footage" (namely the Senate hearings, Bush's statement, Gonzalez's apology) for the shows to properly "frame" the story for broadcast.

Read the article here.

Wikipedia Article on "Conservapedia"

2007-03-08T11:28:00.000-06:00

Outraged at the flagrant liberal bias of Wikipedia, conservatives have created an alternative on-line encyclopedia named "Conservapedia," which more accurately reflects the infallibility of evangelical Christianity and American industry.

As conclusive proof of Wikipedia's liberal bias, the Conservapedia site claims that:

1) Wikipedia allows the use of B.C.E. and C.E. instead of mandating the BC and AD dating system. This is clearly an attempt to deceive people into thinking that Jesus did not personally create the time-line.

2) Wikipedia's abortion entry reads like a pamphlet from the abortion industry.

3) And finally, Wikipedia is six times more liberal than the American public.

The full list is here.

However, as the Wikipedia entry notes, "Critics such as libertarian conservative writer Andrew Sullivan, conservative blogger Jon Swift, science writer Carl Zimmer and others, have criticized and mocked the Conservapedia website for factual inaccuracy, extremism, hypocrisy, bias, and ignoring the scientific consensus on subjects such as the Big Bang and evolution in favor of biblical exegesis. Widely disseminated examples of Conservapedia articles that contradict the scientific consensus include the claims that all kangaroos descend from a single pair that were taken aboard Noah's Ark, that "Einstein's work had nothing to do with the development of the atomic bomb" and that gravity and evolution are theories that remain unproven."

To be fair, the Wikipedia entry has been flagged for its potential lack of neutrality.

The Wikipedia entry on Conservapedia can be found here.

Addendum: Jon Swift, one of the individuals cited in the Wikipedia Entry, has kindly provided a link to the entirety of his blog post regarding Conservapedia. Read it here.

His comment also reminded me that I should hat-tip the Washington Post blog for first informing me of this story. Therefore [Hat-tip to the Washington Post]

Swiss Army Accidentally Invades Liechtenstein

2007-03-02T15:14:00.000-06:00

(AP) 170 Swiss infantry soldiers wandered 1.2 miles across an unmarked border into Lichtenstein early Thursday before realizing their mistake and turning back. Both the Swiss and Lichtensteinian authorities are playing down the incident, noting that no one noticed the intrusion and that the soldiers, while armed, did not carry any ammunition.

Switzerland has long held policy of neutrality and self-defense, and is neither a member of the European Union or the United Nations. This policy of neutrality has also served as a plot device in many World War II films, with the nation often depicted as a safe haven for escaped Allied POWs and plundered Jewish artwork.

Lichtenstein has no military, and basically, anything of note to speak of, except for a slightly off-color and funny name.

The article is here.

Correction: The nation is actually spelled "Liechtenstein"

Bus Plunge Kills Six

2007-03-02T12:09:00.000-06:00

ATLANTA, Georgia (New York Times) -- A bus carrying college baseball players plunged off a highway today, killing six, including the bus driver and his wife. Twenty-nine others were injured as well. The bus landed on Interstate 75, several miles away from here. The driver apparently mistook a left exit ramp for a through lane when the bus plowed through the guard rail to plummet to the highway below.

The full article is here.

AP Ends Hilton Blackout

2007-03-02T11:47:00.000-06:00

The Associated Press has has officially ended a self-imposed Paris Hilton news blackout with this article about Ms. Hilton recently receiving a traffic ticket in West Hollywood. And, if you were as concerned and curious as me, the first thing that should have popped in your mind was, there was a Paris Hilton news blackout?

In a strange and somewhat self-congratulatory announcement, the AP stated that the Paris Hilton blackout was "experimental" and was pleasantly surprised when editors and other supporters praised the AP's bold stance against further sensationalizing Ms. Hilton's rather drab and quotidian existence. That the blackout only lasted a few days is neither here nor there, of course, since K-heds are still a necessity even in the age of digital editing software and on-line publishing, and there is no better source of gap filler that people inexplicably care about than Ms. Hilton.

Of course, as reported in the New York Observer, who obtained an e-mail memo about the blackout last week, the intent of the blackout wasn't some moral stance against the philistine and irrelevant, or even a a serious commentary on the current state of the news media, but rather a way to throw some attention on the Associated Press. As written by AP entertainment editor Jesse Washington:

“Hopefully we will be able to discuss what ‘news’ we missed,” read the memo, which could have used some stern copy-editing, “the repercussions of our blackout for AP both editorially and business-wise, and most importantly the force that cause the world to be fixated on this person who, despite her shallow frivolity, represents an epochal development in our culture.”
(Courtesy of the New York Observer)

And if one wants to read the equally epochal navel-gazing that the AP purports to be insightful self-analysis, read it here.

Darfur has officially frozen over

2007-02-28T19:26:00.000-06:00

Angelina Jolie, fresh off her official adoption of the nation of Namibia, has set her sights on loftier goals, writing an op-ed in the Washington Post advocating intervention to stop the conflict in Darfur.

Yes, that's right, the Washington Post. A publication that actually has a crease in the middle that you have to unfold in order to read it. Presumably, the op-ed doesn't contain a sidebar enumerating her top 10 favorite cures for dysentery.

Read the op-ed here.

Biblical Wednesday IV

2007-02-28T18:01:00.000-06:00

Fortuna has chosen a particularly choice quotation for today's Biblical Wednesday. We are blessed with a passage from the New Testament, the Acts of the Apostle, to be precise. It is, in many ways, the Only Built 4 Cuban Linx of the Christian texts (or should I say Only Built 4 Cuban Linx is the Acts of the Apostle of the Wu-Gambino collective?) in that its narrative is the most cinematic and visceral.

Here, we do not have the incessant drone of St. Paul, firing off his bulls and letters to various gentiles like the Epheisians, or Gallatians, and most odiously, to the Corinthians (twice!), hectoring us about the risen Christ and all that. No, this book, much like a Hollywood blockbuster, is instead a sequel to the Gospel of Luke, expounding on how, after Jesus got capped, the Apostle-mafia brought the ruckus to the Roman Empire. This is the book Michael Bay would have written if he ever decided to go biblical. And the following quotation captures the action-packed, ghetto-fabulous flavor of this book; specifically how a Saint (I think it is Paul) gets into a rumble with some disrespecting, playa-hating Grecians:

And he spake boldly in the name of the Lord Jesus, and disputed against the Grecians: but they went about to slay him. Acts 9:29.

Is there a de facto national flat tax?

2007-02-27T10:43:00.000-06:00

This article alleges that if one takes into consideration all the taxes we pay, including federal and state income tax, payroll, property, and sales, no matter which income bracket you find yourself in, you pay a marginal tax rate of about 40%.

Pretty interesting article. Read it here. [Hat-tip to Metafilter]

I-Tunes Catches A Piano Plagiarist

2007-02-26T23:21:00.000-06:00

Pianist Joyce Hatto was known as a middling pianist until, in 1989, she released a Liszt album that began, what was then thought to be, one of the greatest late career renaissances in classical music history. She later expanded her repertoire to cover the entirety of Bach, Mozart, Chopin, Schubert, Schumann, Messiaen, and Prokofiev (making the breadth of her recordings larger than any but a handful of pianists). Her playing was particularly astounding, because her style would adapt and change with each performance, as if she became a different person for each piece. This has been revealed to be more true than previously realized.

A reader of the magazine Gramaphone reported that after attempting to play one of Hatto's recordings in his computer, his I-Tunes program identified the CD as an album recorded by Laszlo Simon, a Hungarian pianist. After listening to both, a critic from the magazine discovered that the recordings were identical. After further investigations, it has turned out that every single album she released since 1989 were rip-offs of recordings made by less established and younger performers. And this from a pianist once called "the greatest living pianist almost no one has heard of."

To read more, read here.

The Gramophone Magazine Expose is here.

[Hat-tip to Arts and Letters Daily]

AB's Blog Post

2007-02-26T19:18:00.000-06:00

Since, as many of you know, AB refuses to start a blog, I have taken it upon myself to do the dirty work for her. The post comprises of a series of top 10 lists related towards Jewish-American life. Here is a sample:

Top 7 Jews Who Tried to Be Goyim
7. Karl Marx
6. Benjamin Disraeli
5. Mustafa Kemal Ataturk
4. Bob Irsay
3. Arthur Hays Sulzberger
2. Bob Dylan
1. George Allen

For more, click here.

Strom Thurmond's Family Once Owned Sharpton's Kin

2007-02-26T11:54:00.000-06:00

Ex-segregationist and Dixiecrat Strom Thurmond's ancestor, Julia Thurmond, allegedly owned Coleman Sharpton, the great-grandfather of the Reverend Al Sharpton.

Strange but true. The article is here. [Hat-tip to Metafilter].

Sharpton's reaction to the news is here.

Taxgirl Blog

2007-02-25T16:49:00.000-06:00

For all you lovers of the Internal Revenue Code, this is a link to a relatively highly regarded tax blog written by a Philadelphia tax attorney. I looked at it quickly, and though I understand some of it, the breadth of the blog's coverage goes beyond the Raytheon replacement rule or the definition of gross income, so I am at a loss. For those of you who are more attuned to these issues:

The blog is here.

Photograph of the Day

2007-02-24T22:12:00.000-06:00

Forest Park (sometime in November-December 2006).

The Wonders of Bread

2007-02-24T22:04:00.000-06:00

As all of you have heard by now, I made Pound Cake. Here is a photograph for those who did not have an opportunity to taste such this apotheosis of sensory delectation.

On a lighter note, Conan O'Brien has a conversation with Cornell professor and Bread expert Steven Kaplan. I can't make a direct link, but just click on the link "Bread Expert" to see the segment. [Hat-tip to Metafilter]

The clip is here.

Read here for Professor Kaplan's review of several baguettes.

The Passion of the Gore

2007-02-24T21:44:00.000-06:00

This Washington Post article describes Gore's renaissance as the Jimmy Carter of vice-presidents and failed presidential candidates. Certainly, no one would have thought seven years ago that Al Gore would become the most respected elder statesman of the Democratic party. In what the Post article describes as his "slide-show," the article talks about Gore's documentary, "An Inconvenient Truth" and the roadshow that returned Gore to national prominence. It also ponders whether the renewed interest in Gore has to do with the man's reignited passion for the environment or a change in the national "zeitgeist" with respect to global warming.

And of course, the most impressive perk about Gore's come-back is that he is now on a first name basis with Ludacris. (So, does he call him Cris or Luda?).

Read it here.

NYU Immigrant Hunt

2007-02-22T10:16:00.000-06:00

The College Republicans at my alma mater, NYU, has decided to sponsor an "illegal immigrant hunt" in Washington Square. Apparently, contestants search through a crowd looking for the illegal immigrant (who is in fact an actor), and if the person is found, the winner gets a modest cash prize. Ostensibly, this is meant to bring attention to a forgotten issue wholly neglected by the left wing media and other p.c. politicians. Obviously they succeeded, since this debacle apparently merited a New York Times blog post.

The blog post about this is here.

Addendum: The New York Times has an article about the "hunt" here.

Biblical Wednesday III

2007-02-21T23:46:00.000-06:00

In celebration of Ash Wednesday, Fortuna has decided to pick a verse which is a model of brevity and wit. Truly, this verse truly reflects the spirit of the Lenten season, an event as holy and miraculous as when David Copperfield made a Boeing 747 disappear on live television:

From Exodus 19:25:

So Moses went down unto the people, and spake unto them.

What I Thought Was The Best Film of 2006

2007-02-21T01:23:00.000-06:00

Tonight, I saw Babel with certain individuals, and in my mind it was fairly mediocre. The movie consists of four tenuously connected plot arcs filmed with dialogue in 5 distinct languages (I include the signing as one of the languages). The movie was 2+ hours long, haphazardly lurching from one storyline to the next, leaving me intermittently bored and peeved. The camerawork suffers from the faux-verite style in vogue for the past several years, making liberal use of jump cuts, handheld camera shake, and unnecessary zooms to replicate the urban-documentary feel that other films, such as City of God, have used to better effect.

Despite being a "foreign" film, it was also infected with the Hollywood obsession with close-up. At least 80% of the shots were close-ups, with the average shot length probably less than 3 seconds. Occasionally there would be a painterly establishing shot of either Mexican or Moroccan desert, or some clouds to mix it up a bit, but more often than not the film consisted of silent heads staring mutely into the camera, occasionally emoting via a grimace or a lone tear trickling down a cheek, and uttering a quiet moan of despair. There was hardly ever a medium shot of people interacting with each other or their environment, allowing the viewer the time to look around and focus on something he would want to focus on, rather than having the director immediately cut to a close-up and compel the viewer to focus on what he wanted to focus on.

To sum it up, the film was extremely didactic. First, its preaching about the unfairness of the current immigration regime or America's morbid obsession over terrorism and foreigners was cliche. The issues were already decided by the director (e.g. border guards and American tourists are jerks) without presenting any countervailing facts or ideas to allow viewer to decide the question for himself. Moreover, despite its "gritty" "verite" cinetamatography, the editing's reliance on montage was pure varnished Hollywood, leading the viewer along so nothing was shown besides the particular object or facial expression the director wanted us to see, and therefore ineluctably imposing on the viewer specific conclusions about the characters and issues that the film raises.

Don't get me wrong, I love montage as much as the next person, when used correctly. (e.g. Passion of Joan of Arc, Battleship Potemkin, Godfather), but it shouldn't be used in such a didactic manner.

Anyway, for Best Films of 2006, I would go with Cache (even though it was made in 2005), which spoke far more persuasively about issues of both race and immigration than Babel. However, since it technically is a 2005 film (though not released "widely" in American until 2006), and considering how dreary the film landscape was this year, I would say the best film of 2006 that I have seen so far is:

Casino Royale. (as pure a film as a good kung-fu flick).

George Takei responds to Tim Hardaway

2007-02-21T00:37:00.001-06:00

George Takei, Sulu from Star Trek, and a gay activist, releases a response to Tim Hardaway, who recently made several anti-gay remarks.

Lunar New Years Post: MSG and Umami

2007-02-19T11:08:00.000-06:00

In celebration of the lunar New Years today, I am posting this Op-Ed from the New York Times in praise of MSG and the concentration of umami it offers. It basically questions the current orthodoxy against MSG in light of current research that cast a relatively innocuous light on the additive. I guess the best argument against the idea that MSG is deleterious is that if that was true, than wouldn't a billion people in Asia right now suffer so-called "Chinese Restaurant Syndrome?"

The op-ed is here.

Paglia is Back

2007-02-18T23:06:00.000-06:00

I pulled this off Metafilter: Camille Paglia, humanities maven and cultural gadfly, has returned to Salon, and plans on writing a regular column. On her reasons for her return:

"I had certainly assumed the Web was surfeited with more than enough material, but evidently many others beside myself find the partisan polarization of the blogosphere numbingly predictable and its prose too often slapdash, fragmentary or drearily prolix."

Paglia's fairly bizarre politically, but I do love this description of Barack Obama:

"I love the way Barack Obama has nimbly upstaged the ponderous Hillary machine. It's a Bette Davis/Joan Crawford bitch fest! But Obama's effusive gusts of generalities irritate me; it's all sizzle and no steak right now. He needs seasoning: 2012 may be his year."

And, the piece de resistance: her eulogy to Anna Nicole Smith:

"Never mind the pills -- which put Smith into a hypnotic, seductive Candy Darling haze. The real problem was that the broad, Technicolor comedic films in which Smith might have thrived are no longer made -- except in Bollywood. The declining, glamorous studio system that created Monroe and her imitator Mansfield is long gone. Smith had genuine talent but no place to put it. Oddly, with her aimless hejira over, she has attained permanent star status in the pictorial dynasty of doomed blond sex symbols. We're sure to go mad with the dogged omnipresence of her story, but Anna Nicole is here to stay." [NB. She isn't sarcastic].

The full article is here.

The French New Wave Is Like A Hamburger...

2007-02-18T22:45:00.000-06:00

...it is self-referential and narcissistic.

The thought popped in my head just now because I was debating whether I was going to watch Pickpocket. But, it is already quarter to eleven, and I'm thinking of going to sleep soon. Anyways, French cinema is sort of like Hollywood... there hasn't been a really great French film since au hasard Balthazar (a year later, Godard released Week-End, his last good movie, and I don't like Truffaut, Chabrol, Rohmer, or Resnais that much). Except, instead of heading straight to gutter like Hollywood, it kind of got stuck high up in the drainage pipe, getting stagnant, turgid, and coated with a thin film of algae and scum.

Of course, Jean-Pierre Melville is the exception to the rule. (Le Samourai was awesome).

Great French Films:
La Regle du Jeu (1937)
Bob Le Flambeur (1955)
Au hasard Balthazar (1966)
Bande a part (1964)

Fox's Daily Show

2007-02-17T18:47:00.001-06:00

I read this article in Slate about Fox's new satirical news show, "The 1/2 Hour News Hour." I don't know what to say. The show differs from Comedy Central's "Daily Show" in numerous ways. These include:

1. A fair and balanced viewpoint.
2. The use of a canned laugh track
3. A conservative viewpoint. (See #1).
4. The use of a male AND female anchor (thus being more progressive).
5. Dispensing with humor.

IP Post 2: Google Found to Violate Belgian Copyright Laws

2007-02-15T10:30:00.000-06:00

A Belgian court has found Google liable for copyright infringement. However, it isn't because of YouTube.

Google News, a web service that indexes articles from various newspapers and magazines, contains links to the web versions of these publications. The Belgian Court has found that these web links to the articles, when made without the express permission of these publications, constitute copyright infringement.

Currently pending is a similar suit in the French Court, filed against Google by Agence France-Presse. Since the Belgian legal system is so similar to the French system, it now appears likely that Google will also lose their French case. Furthermore, since Belgium is a member of the European Union, this precedent can also spread throughout the EU.

But, since I am not in Belgium, and since I laugh at Belgian Copyright laws, I shall link you, my readers, to this article here.

Addendum: The name of the Belgian newpaper publisher is Copiepresse. [Hat-tip to Superelectric.]

IP Post 1: Obama Bin Laden Trademark Denied

2007-02-15T10:14:00.000-06:00

Floridian Alexandre Batlle's application to trademark the name "Obama Bin Laden" was denied by the Patent and Trademark Office last Tuesday. Allegedly, the mark "Obama Bin Laden" is a play on the name of Illinois Senator Barack Obama (D), a candidate for the Democratic Presidential Nomination, and Osama Bin Laden, the alleged leader of Al Qaeda, terrorist mastermind, and inspiration for a thousand 24 episodes and myriad rip-offs of said TV show.

Karen Bush, a lawyer for the Office gave three reasons for the denial: laws barring the creation of "scandalous" trademarks, prohibitions against "false associations," and the lack of consent from either Sen. Barack Obama and Osama Bin Laden to use their names. A copy of the rejection letter can be found here. [Courtesy of The Smoking Gun].

Mr. Batlle has said that the denial of the trademark will not deter him, and that he will forge forward (sans trademark) in producing T-shirts, mugs, and various other forms of knick knacks and kitsch with this cheeky image emblazoned on them.

Mr. Batlle's website is here.

Hat-tip to New York Times, their article is here.

Biblical Wednesday II

2007-02-14T14:29:00.000-06:00

We celebrate today's Biblical Wednesday by delving into the mysteries of faith, and ponder these wise and inscrutable words as if peering through a mirror darkly. Today's reading, as picked by Fortuna, is Nehemiah 12:38-39.
And the other company of them that gave thanks went over against them, and I after them, and the half of the people upon the wall, from beyond the tower of the furnaces even unto the broad wall;

And from above the gate of E'phra-im, and above the old gate, and above the fish gate, and the tower of Ha-nan'e-el, and the tower of Me'ah, even unto the sheep gate: and they stood still in the prison gate.

Clearly, as we read these words, the Lord is asking us: which gate shall our thanks reverberate in? The prison gate, the fish gate, or the sheep gate? O Fortuna, upon which tower should we direct our supplications?

The Etymology of Chocolate City

2007-02-10T00:19:00.000-06:00

The term "Chocolate City" was first used by Washington, D.C. DJs during the 1970s because of DC's black majority. The term though was popularized by the funk band, Parliament, when they used it as a title for their 1975 album.

The Wikipedia entry on Chocolate City is here.

A post about the term "Chocolate City," and Charles Nagin use of the term to describe New Orleans is here.

Korean Fried Chicken

2007-02-09T11:46:00.000-06:00

This is just a throwaway post continuing my recent predilection for chicken. Korean fried chicken is apparently gaining some cachet in New York right now, and the New York Times even wrote an expose about this phenomenon. (You can read the article here.) As a child, I was generally unaware of this phenomenon, though my grandmother did make fried chicken wings smothered in a sweet-spicy sauce that I had always enjoyed. I also remembered eating fried chicken in Seoul back in '88, principally with regards to the sandwich bag of pickled radish and fried chicken feet.

Anyway, the primary difference between Korean fried chicken and Southern fried is that the Korean version is fried in two steps--cooked once and then left to sit for a while, and then cooked again to finish it, which apparently results in a thinner, crackly crust. This is of course in sharp contrast with the thicker, crunchy crust you get from the Southern style, which requires a longer cooking time, and hence tends to result in a greasier chicken.

To read more about Korean Fried Chicken in Korea, a blog post about the subject can be read here.

(N.B. Photo by The Daily Kimchi)

Correction: The Actual Name of the Hindu Monkey God

2007-02-08T21:36:00.000-06:00

I wish to correct an error I made in my last post, "Biblical Wednesday." The name of the Hindu Monkey God is actually Hanuman, who was a boon companion of Rama, an avatar of the god Vishnu. Hanuman assisted Rama with his war against the Rakshasa king Ravana and helped to rescue Rama's consort, Sita. The full story can be found in the Hindu epic The Ramayama.

A biography about Hanuman's life and exploits can be found here.

PS: An avatar is an earthly embodiment of a god. Other famous avatars include Krishna, Jesus Christ, and the illusionist David Copperfield.

Biblical Wednesday

2007-02-07T20:39:00.000-06:00

Since today is my midweek day off, and I have nothing to do, I have decided to inaugurate a new feature for Media Dump. I have decided to consult the greatest repository of wisdom and spirituality that has ever alighted upon this Earth: the King James Bible (vastly wiser than either the Vulgate, Gnostic Gospels, or Chicken Soup for the Soul).

However, with so much wisdom parceled out in nice, tidy chunks of verse, I must rhetorically ask myself, which quotation should I quote? I have decided to rely on Fortuna, the third greatest of deities (behind both the Father and the Hindu monkey god Rama, but just beating out the Holy Spirit), and will randomly open the bible and place my finger on the verse. So without further ado, this week's verse, 1 Corinthians 1:32:

"Now the sons of Ke-tu'rah, Abraham's concubine: she bare Zim'ran, and Jok'shan, and Me'dan, and Mid'i-an, and Ish'bak, and Shu'ah. And the sons of Jok'shan; She'ba, and De'dan."

Can't you feel your spiritual quotient rising?

News Flash: Haggard Now "Completely Heterosexual"

2007-02-06T10:44:00.000-06:00

Disgraced evangelical Ted Haggard has been pronounced "completely heterosexual" after three weeks of intensive therapy. When Mr. Haggard's predilection for male "a-noose" was outed several months ago, Mr. Haggard was purged from his ministry of his 14,000 member New Life Church and the presidency of the National Association of Evangelicals. He has said, and has been encouraged by the evangelical community, that he will now pursue "secular work" and possibly pursue a master degree in psychology. He was also encouraged to leave Colorado Springs, CO, the location of his former church. "It's hard to heal in Colorado Spring right now. It is like an open wound. He [Mr. Haggard] needs to get somewhere where he can get the wound healed," the Rev. Mike Ware, one of Mr. Haggard's therapist, said.

The rest of the article is here.

To Be Both Clean and Articulate

2007-02-05T18:04:00.000-06:00

The Times has this little piece about prominent African Americans who are displeased that prominent European Americans (i.e. a certain senator from Delaware) express complete bewilderment and shock when they encounter a black person who conjugates the verb "to be" while speaking.

The article continues by forcefully arguing that there have been articulate African Americans prior to the advent of Barack Obama, and that indeed, even some of the past black presidential candidates, including Al Sharpton, could qualify as being "articulate." It concludes by stating that perhaps subtle bigotry and racial condescension exists in America, which is, of course, obviously absurd. After all, this is Black History Month, isn't it? How can bigotry exist when an entire MONTH is dedicated to black history?

The article is here.

The Mysteries of General Tso

2007-02-04T23:29:00.000-06:00

This article explores the origins of the pinnacle of Hunan Chinese Cuisine--General Tso's Chicken. Surprisingly, General Tso, a fearless 19th Century Chinese Warlord, had very little to do with his eponymous chicken. Indeed, it is unlikely that General Tso had ever had a single taste. Even more shocking, General Tso's Chicken is not actually served in restaurants in Hunan Province. I won't spoil the rest.

To learn more about the chicken, read it here.

How To Catch A Predator

2007-02-01T20:49:00.000-06:00

This article from the Columbia Journalism Review is about Dateline's popular "To Catch A Predator" series. The typical segment involves a Dateline crew and several police officers awaiting the arrival of men who believe they are having a rendezvous with a minor. Recently, a Texas prosecutor was caught engaging in sexually provocative text messaging with a person posing as a minor. Though the prosecutor did not go to the sting, when police went to his house in order to arrest him, the suspect shot himself in the head.

The article also has several transcripts of the Internet conversations, where it appears that the person posing as a minor actively flirts with the suspects and seems to initiate a date where they can meet.

FYI: The author of the article thinks the show has crossed "journalistic lines."

Read it here.

Obama's Smoky Voice

2007-01-17T17:39:00.000-06:00

So, I don't know if anybody knows this, but apparently the reason why Obama's voice has such a hypnotically mellifluous tone is because he is a smoker. This just confirms what I had always believed: smoking makes you cooler.

For example, ever since I quit smoking, my voice has gone into the tanker. Once, my voice was imbued with a such a rich, husky timbre, slightly reminiscent of a single malt Scotch served neat under a gaelic moonlight. Now, my voice, according to Ted's accent test, has fallen into the desuetude of the "Midland North."

So, for the sake of our country, I urge, and we should all urge, for Obama to keep sucking down those Cowboy killers. I mean, who knows what Obama will sound like if he quits.

Read it here.

Yul WIns Survivor

2006-12-17T22:15:00.000-06:00

And there is me, riding on his coattails.

Read it here.

Stupidest Sentence in New York Times History

2006-12-05T21:38:00.000-06:00

Timothy Noah from Slate writes about "the stupidest sentence ever written in the New York Times." Well, I am not sure if I would go that far, but it probably is in the running.

"Mr. [Andrew] Lloyd Webber is often referred to as the Shakespeare of his time with musicals Jesus Christ Superstar, Evita, Cats, and Phantom of the Opera."

Read the article here.

Flatulence Forces Plane To Land

2006-12-05T20:32:00.000-06:00

What else can I say?

Read it here.

All The News That Fit To Print

2006-11-30T14:04:00.000-06:00

I am posting the news.

New Yorker Roundup

2006-11-29T20:00:00.000-06:00

I haven't posted in a long time, but b/c of outlining, I don't have time for my usual biting commentary and satire, so you instead get random links! (which this blog is basically about anyway).

Borat Spoof-- I sorta agree that the depiction of the Romanian village was pretty despicable. While watching the film, I had thought that the people in the village knowingly participated in the filming. But, I later read a news article about the village suing, essentially claiming that they were going to be duped, and basically because of economic desperation, they allowed the Borat crew to trash their homes and strap on various sex toys on their persons.

Specter and Habeas Corpus-- My contribution to your FedJur studying.

Lou Dobbs, mini-O'Reilly-- The CNN answer to populistic blow-hardism, it is actually quite frightening how similar Dobb's positions are to that of Sherrod Brown and many of the incoming Democratic freshman.

The Wii is Whee Worthy-- Nintendo pwns for making a game console rather than a buggy, non-functional media "hub."

Robert Altman Is Dead

2006-11-22T12:36:00.000-06:00

(New York Times) Robert Altman, the director of MASH, Nashville, and Gosford Park, died Monday. He was 81. His death, at Ceder Sinai Medical Center, was caused by complications from cancer, according to a statement made by his production company, New York based Sandcastle 5 Productions.

Mr. Altman's breakthrough film, MASH, astounded audiences with its blend of a counter-cultural ethos, a free-wheeling picaresque narrative, and a multi-tracked sound system. The apotheosis of this style would culminate in his 1975 film, Nashville, in which a constellation of ascending Hollywood stars, playing a motley assortment of lonely hearts, whirled in an improvisational style of muddled dialogue and frenetic pacing that captured the events leading up to a presidential primary. However, Mr. Altman would never re-capture the same critical acclaim and box office success he achieved with MASH, his career descending to its nadir with the release of Popeye, an unfortunate musical starring Robin Williams.

Mr. Altman though made a comeback with two movies in the 1990s, The Player, detailing the travails of a ruthless Hollywood executive, and Short Cuts, an episodic film about Los Angelenos based loosely on the short stories of Raymond Carver. His career continued well into the new millenium with his release of Gosford Park, a film that echoed the piece de resistance of Jean Renoir's inimitable oeuvre, La Regle du jeu, which Mr. Altman referred to as the film in which he learned "the rules of the game."

Mr. Altman was often referred to as a "cult director," an appellation that apparently rankled him. "What is a cult." he once said. "It just means not enough people to make a minority."

The obit is here.

Alabama Bus Plunge Kills 2

2006-11-20T14:30:00.000-06:00

HUNTSVILLE, Alabama (AP) -- A school bus hurtled off an elevated highway today, injuring thirty-three students and killing two. The accident took place on Interstate 565, several miles away from here. An eyewitness claims the bus momentarily teetered against the guardrail on the side of the roadway prior to its descent to the street below.

The AP article is here.

The New York Times article is here.

Americans May Have "Low Food Security," But They Won't Be Hungry

2006-11-16T11:28:00.000-06:00

(Washington Post) The Bush administration has officially stopped hunger from plaguing Americans, by re-labeling it "low food security."

Every fall, the Agricultural Department issues a report that measures the access Americans have to food, and had used the word "hunger" to describe those Americans who cannot purchase food. However, this year, the lead reporter, stating that "hunger" is not a "scientifically accurate term," since their is no accurate metric that can determine how many people feel the sensation of hunger. Thus, "low food security" more accurately captures the deprivation that the paper is supposed to report.

Despite the stated goal to reduce the proportion of "food-insecure" households to 6 percents by 2010, the number of Americans suffering "low food security" has risen steadily during the past 5 years to 11 percent of all American households.

The article is here.

Boston Red Sox Win Negotiation Rights To Japanese Ace

2006-11-14T19:35:00.000-06:00

(AP) The Boston Red Sox have won exclusive negotiation rights with Japanese pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka by bidding $51.1 million dollars. This bid is larger than the payrolls of 6 major league teams, and is about $1 million dollars larger than the combined payrolls of the Florida Marlins and Tampa Bay Devil Rays. This figure does not include the estimated $75 million dollars it will take to sign Mr. Matsuzaka to a contract.

This bid should also effectively end the narcissistic underdog posing Red Sox fans have used as an excuse to explain away their sustained mediocrity over the past 80 years and stop the incessant bitching about the Yankees payroll.

The article is here.

K-Hed: Snail Venom May Cure Pain

2006-11-14T18:17:00.000-06:00

(AP) University of Utah researchers have harvested a substance from the venom of the cone snail that may one day treat human pain. The substance extracted from the venom has successfully alleviated pain in terminally ill cancer patients, and may help pain associated with nerve damage caused by diabetes or traumatic injury. Unlike other painkillers, the substance suppresses inflammation by attaching itself to a nerve receptor which had previously been thought to be unrelated to pain. Though promising, commercial use of this substance is still ten years away.

Full article is here.

K-Hed: Correction: Pakistan-Kidney-Bazaar Story

2006-11-14T18:08:00.000-06:00

On November 12, the Associated Press erroneously reported that Belgium-based International Society of Nephrology suggested expanding the pool of kidney donors by legalizing $40,000 payments to donors.

The International Society of Nephrology condemns organ commerce, having posted an article which discussed such payments only as a possible solution to organ shortages without expressly advocating it.

The article is here.

House Democratic Caucus Forecast: Implosion Imminent

2006-11-14T17:57:00.000-06:00

John Murtha and Steny Hoyer are currently vying for the post of Majority Leader in the House of Representatives. Murtha has "blasted" Hoyer for supporting Bush's position on Iraq and has condemned the "swift-boating" of his ethics records (undercover FBI investigators posing as Arab sheiks attempted to bribe Murtha back in the 80s, who said "no, as of this time.") Of course, Speaker-Elect Nancy Pelosi didn't help matters by endorsing her "good friend" John Murtha over Steny Hoyer.

This obviously is not the most propitious way to begin the transition to the next Congress since Hoyer, who had played an active part in the recruitment of suitable candidates for this past election, and more importantly, has the support of the majority of House Democrats (especially among the Freshmen). So we already have the top two House Democrats publicly jockying for pull and influence, with Nancy Pelosi essentially trying to oust her main rival within the caucus.

Dear me. And people wonder how the Republicans managed to retain power for 12 inept years.

The article is here.

Stalin and the Half-Man, Half-Ape Super Warrior

2006-11-14T16:43:00.000-06:00

In 1926, Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin ordered Ilya Ivanov, Tsar Nicholas's horse breeder, to create an army of half-man, half-chimpanzee soldiers to replenish the losses the Red Army suffered during the end of the World War I and the Russian Revolution. Reportedly, Mr. Stalin asked Mr. Ivanov for "a new invincible being, insensitive to pain, resistant and indifferent about the quality of food they eat."

Mr. Ivanov went to Africa in order to begin his first experiments of inseminating chimpanzees with human sperm. Meanwhile, a center for inter-species breeding was established in Mr. Stalin's native homeland of Georgia, where human volunteers were inseminated with chimpanzee sperm. Unfortunately, these experiments all resulted in failure.

Mr. Ivanov was punished for his incompetence by being sentenced to five year's exile in the Soviet Republic of Kazahkstan, where he reportedly died waiting for a train on a freezing platform (much like lauded Russian novelist Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoi).

The article is here.

Wikipedia Post: Slinger

2006-11-12T21:15:00.000-06:00

I have decided that I will merge two of my passions, namely Web 2.0 and disgusting, gut-busting, cardiac arrest inducing food, by posting periodically about Wikipedia entries about said disgusting, gut-busting, cardiac arrest inducing foods. Last night, I was at the Courtesy Diner and had a slinger. I had such a delicacy before at Tiffany's, but at the Courtesy, not only do you get the two hash browns, eggs, and chili, but you also get two hamburger patties. I think Tiffany's is a more traditional breakfast platter, so you get sausage patties or bacon instead, but, quite frankly, I think I prefer Courtesy's slinger over Tiffany's. Thoughts, opinions?

Wikipedia Entry: Slinger

Follow Up On My "Rightward Drift" Post

2006-11-12T10:38:00.000-06:00

I really think people are underestimating the effect the new wave of conservative, populist Democrats in both the House and Senate will have on the party's platform for the foreseeable future. Obviously, America will now be more isolationist. "Exporting democracy" is dead for at least the next ten years, if not longer. However, it has been said that this would have happened even if the Republicans had controlled the House. That I don't dispute. However, I also think that because the margin for Democratic control of the house consists of Representatives hailing from conservative districts, the Democrats are going to stop talking about issues in order to help those Congressmen retain their seats in future elections.

For example, federal gun control is dead. And, I don't just mean that Democrats are losing on this issue, but that the conservative victory is so complete, that the issue has died without comment. The assault weapons ban sunsetted without any outcry from the Democrats. No Democrat has made any proposal for any type of federal gun control. Democrats now frequently portray themselves as gun totters (i.e. John Kerry, Howard Dean, Brad Ellsworth (congresmsan from Indiana), Ted Strickland (new Governor of Ohio who has a 100% rating from the NRA). Indeed, the only person who has talked about gun control ever since Bush became president is Michael Moore.

Now, gun control as a dead issue is probably the most prominent of the social issues the Democrats have been willing to jettison in order to win the house, but there are even more:

1. Border Fence: I remember during the 90s when the border fence proposal was considered a joke. Now, Democrats are actively supporting such a proposal. Furthermore, because of Bush's incompetence, guest-worker visas and other forms of immigration liberalization are now tainted, and any type of future "reform" will consist in cutting back immigrant rights.

2. Gay Marriage: No prominent Democrat supports gay marriage, and most are tepid about civil unions. Though they oppose a federal amendment prohibiting gay marriage, they are not actively opposing such proposals on the state level.

3. Death penalty: Again, no prominent Democrat talks about this issue. Most of the prominent Democrats support capital punishment.

4. Affirmative Action: Everyone opposes "quotas" now.

These are the issues that the Democrats have only recently abandoned. But, who knows, even the holy of holies, abortion, might go next.

Samuel Beckett was Andre the Giant's Chauffeur

2006-11-12T09:42:00.000-06:00

During his childhood in a small French village, Andre the Giant was unable to use the local school bus because he was too large (he was already over 6 feet tall as a grade school kid). However, because his family could not afford an automobile, a neighbor drove Andre to school everyday. This person was Samuel Beckett, playwright, novelist, Joyce amanuensis, and Nobel laureate.

Serendipitous, no, when greatness accidentally meets?

The link is here. Apparently, the primary source is an Andre interview on the Princess Bride DVD. If anyone has this and wishes to confirm, please feel free to do so. Apparently, Andre claims that he and Beckett would primarily talk about cricket, which Beckett was apparently gifted at playing.

The Rightward Drift of The Democratic Caucus

2006-11-08T02:36:00.000-06:00

Well, I'm sure most of you guys, if not still up working on your ethics papers, are feeling pretty euphoric about tonight's election results. The Democrats cruised right into a House majority and it is looking like 50-50 for the Senate, with control if Webb wins Virginia.

However, did you guys actually look at the candidates that won?

Bob Casey (PA-Senator): Pro-life.

Sherrod Brown (OH-Senator): Anti-war, but also the leading advocate for "fair trade," which just means he is anti CAFTA and free trade in general. (I detect a serious isolationist streak in his politics, which I fear will be mirrored by the incoming Freshman Democrats).

Brad Ellsworth IN-08: He is pro-life, pro-gun, against gay marriage, and hasn't promised that he will vote for Pelosi as speaker.

Heath Shuler NC-11: Again, pro-life, pro-gun (though apparently pro-environment).

Admittedly, these are the most extreme examples, and the new House members come from fairly conservative districts, but even in the more liberal districts, the individuals elected are definitely not Daily Kos Democrats.

And remember, the Democrats look like they are going to pick up about 30, which gives them a 15 seat majority. It may be a situation where the Democrats are going to have to cede a great deal of their agenda to appeasing the constituencies of these conservative districts.

I can see Democrats backpedaling on important social issues, like abortion, gun control, and trade, in order to pander to a now important swing constituency: the socially conservative working poor who have not only decided to vote their pocketbooks for a change (minimum wage increase, opposing CAFTA and other free trade deals), but also voting for candidates advocating foreign disengagement (harder lines on immigration, isolationism masked as anti-war sentiment, and opposing free trade). Essentially, these guys appear to be Pat Buchanan Democrats.

N.B.: Ironically, Chris Shays, who has retained his seat in CT-04, but was a primary target for the Democrats this year, is probably more liberal than the majority of the Freshman Democrats coming into the House for the next Congress.

Democrats Sweep The "Scandal Seats"

2006-11-08T00:34:00.000-06:00

Even though this election is primarily a referendum on the war and the national economy, the Democrats have also done extraordinarily well in what one pundit has called "the scandal seats."

So far, the Democrats have taken the seats that Mark Foley (Page Scandal), Bob Ney (Abramoff Scandal), and Tom DeLay (Abramoff/General Douchebaggery) held. Most importantly, these seats have traditionally been Republican strongholds. So, it will be interesting to see whether the Democrats can hold onto these seats in '08. Who knows, incumbency does a lot.

McCaskill has also taken the lead, and last time I checked, has 80% in St. Louis City and 70% in Kansas City, and is going 54% in St. Louis County. It is actually looking like McCaskill might pull it off since all the rural counties have reported. But, the lead is thin, so who knows.

However, generally, with Tester with a healthy lead in Montana and Webb with his slim lead in Virginia, the Democrats actually have a shot in the Senate. Who would have thunk it even a week ago?

VA: Recount Inevitable; CT: Lieberman Wins

2006-11-08T00:01:00.000-06:00

In Virigina, with 99% of the precincts reporting, Jim Webb is ahead by only 2700 votes. A recount is inevitable, with the lawyers, I am sure, already gearing up for some major litigations. Considering the heavy military presence in Virginia (Norfolk being the major naval base for the Eastern Seaboard), one would think that if they dip into the absentee ballots, this would be a huge benefit for Allen.

Lieberman has thrashed Ned Lamont in Connecticut. Unlike most of the other people that I know, I am fairly content with this outcome. Lieberman, though too conservative for my tastes, has consistently brought the bacon home to Connecticut, and I am sure that his special relationship with George W. Bush was a big reason the Groton Naval Base was saved. So, for me at least, local politics trumped national issues. Of course, in the end, it didn't really matter since I voted in Missouri, but just my 2 cents.

Democrats Take the House

2006-11-07T22:43:00.000-06:00

So, it looks like the Democrats have retaken the house, effectively blowing the Republicans out in the Northeast, and making significant inroads in the Rust Belt (specifically Ohio and Pennsylvania). Right now, ABC is projecting, at minimum, a 17 seat pickup for the Dems.

New York is actually of particular interest since upstate is part of the Rust Belt while NYC, Westchester, and Long Island is more traditionally Northeastern New England. So far, Hillary has held on to her Senate seat (rather easily), Spitzer blew out his opposition for governor, Andrew Cuomo has been elected Attorney General, and even Alan Hevesi, who is embroiled in a scandal concerning him illegally using state workers to chauffeur his wife, has retained his position as state comptroller. Also, the Democrats have made huge inroads in upstate House seats, which has traditionally been a GOP stronghold.

Considering that the Republicans have lost big not only in upstate New York, but also Pennsylvania and Ohio, perhaps this is the beginning of a permanent trend: namely the Rust Belt states being as reliably Democratic as the South is now for Republicans. Obviously this is presumptuous, but the Democrat's current platform is not only anti-war, but also anti-free trade, which probably resonates very strongly with the industrial working class voters. (moreover, Jennifer Granholm has also retained the governorship in Michigan, continuing the pattern of Democratic strength in Rust Belt states).

Just in: Looks like Republicans are going to keep Tennessee, but Montana, Virginia, and Missouri are still really close. (I think only 6000 votes separate Allen from Webb).

Belated News: Nippon-Ham Fighters Win Japan Series

2006-11-07T11:22:00.001-06:00

Just in (about several days ago), the Central League pennant winners, the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters, in a vigorous and most sportsman-like manner, cast the Pacific League Chunichi Dragons into most ignoble defeat in the Japan Series. After losing to the Dragons in Game 1, Nippon-Ham rallied back to win the next four games to capture the championship.

See the article here.

In many ways, the Nippon-Ham Fighters have been the New York Mets of Japanese baseball. Upon their founding in 1962, the Nippon-Ham Fighters, sharing the same stadium as the vaunted Yomiuri Giants, have had a strong tradition of ineptitude and horrid play, occasionally peaking into mediocrity on the off chance.

Having found their potentially lucrative market (Tokyo) to be more curse than blessing, since the Yomiuri Giants and Tokyo Yakult Swallows had far larger fan bases, Nippon-Ham, rather than settle for the dregs, moved the team to its current location in Sapporo, Hokkaido. This would be like the New York Mets finally deciding to move to Alaska in order to escape Yankee dominance. Anyway, in Hokkaido, Nippon-Ham, under the leadership of American Trey Hillman, has devastated the Central League with its swift-footed center-fielder Tsuyoshi Shinjo (a former backup player for the New York Mets), and power hitting right-fielder Atsunori Inaba, who hit .357 during the Japan Series and had a staggering 1 home run to win the Japan Series MVP award.

Congratulations Nippon-Ham!!! May you remain ever victorious for a thousand years!

N.B. Nippon-Ham is the corporation that owns the team called the Fighters. Unfortunately, English speakers have often called the team the Ham Fighters, invoking images of gelatinous gloops of meat wielding sword and shield, engaging in most deadly combat with each other. This, however, is not the case.

For more information, click here.

For background on Nippon-Ham's successful re-branding effort, click here.

Borat Myspace Page

2006-11-06T23:09:00.000-06:00

Here is a link to noted journalist Borat Sadiyev's Myspace page. It contains clips of Borat kneeling al Qaeda style with the Kazakh flag and various muskets hanging in the background, pictures of Borat in his native village tossing onions at Gypsies and homosexuals, and a rocking song from Kazahkstan's 2nd most important pop band playing in the background.

See it here.

AP Newswire: Man Accussed of Chopping Down Pole For Copper

2006-11-06T20:20:00.000-06:00

A man in Hawaii was arrested for allegedly chopping down a utility pole in order to steal the copper wiring. Forty pounds of copper wiring had been recovered.

Hawaii has recently had a rash of copper wiring theft, with 2.5 miles of copper wiring stolen this past September.

See it here.

When Neocons Attack: Women F*cked Up Iraq

2006-11-06T14:16:00.000-06:00

Neocons are now turning on Bush and the administration, "charging that their grand designs have been undermined by White House incompetence."

As one Neocon bemonas, "the idea of a tough foreign policy on behalf of morality, the idea of using our power for the moral good in the world-- is dead, at least for a generation."

In terms of their diagnosis for Bush's incompetence, Michael Ledeen, a scholar from the American Enterprise Institute notes:

"Ask yourself who the most powerful women in the White House are. They are women who are in love with the President: Laura [Bush], Condi, Harriet Miers, and Karen Hughes."

That's right. The reason neoconservatism doesn't work isn't because you can't shove a form of governance and its attendant values down people's throats against their wills, but because the White House listens to women.

Christ.

See it here.

Dear Ali, Is It OK For A Shia To Marry A Sunni?

2006-11-05T23:07:00.000-06:00

As a side-note to my religious FAQ post, someone had apparently e-mailed Ayatollah Sistani as to whether it was permissible for a Shia woman to marry a Sunni. His advice:

"If there is fear of being mislead, it is not permissible."

See it here.

N.B.: Apparently, if you are a Shiite, playing chess is "absolutely forbidden."

As to why chess is forbidden: "When we do not know the reason behind the forbiddenness of an act, we are bound to obey in absolute obedience. There is a reason for it, but we do not know it and when we do not know it, it does not mean that we should not abide by it."

The Wit and Whimsy of Pat Robertson

2006-11-05T14:27:00.000-06:00

I stumbled upon this FAQ on the 700 Club website entitled "Bring It On." Here, Pat Robertson, much like the Ayatollah Sayyid Ali Husayni Sistani of Iraq, answers various questions ranging from the deeply theological to the everyday mundane. In a section entitled "The Occult and False Religions," Mr. Robertson ruminates about such kooky topics like tarot cards, vampires, psychics, and Islam.

Specifically, Mr. Robertson, when asked whether Allah is the same as the Christian god, states:

"Under no circumstances is Jehovah, the God of the Bible, and Allah, of the Koran, the same. Allah was the moon god from Mecca. That is why Islam has the crescent moon. The flag of Turkey has a crescent moon with a star on it. Well, the crescent moon is because Allah was a moon god, and that is the deal. But we don't serve a moon god. We serve the God of creation, the creator of Everything."

For the rest of Pat Robertson's illuminating thoughts, click here.

I am very glad Mr. Robertson clarified we don't worship a moon god, and clarified Islam for the billion and so adherents of that religion (including Ayatollah Sistani) who had mistakenly believed that they did indeed worship the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Crackpot News Item of the Week: "U.S. and S. Korean Warmongers Flayed for Increasing Tension"

2006-10-31T23:23:00.000-06:00

I was surfing the website of that most inimitable of news services, the Korean Central News Agency of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, when I found this headline:

U.S. and S. Korean Warmongers Flayed For Increasing Tensions

Intrigued by this news, I was of course compelled to read on, where I learned:

"The military moves shown by the U.S. imperialists jointly with the south Korean bellicose forces under the pretext of the DPRK's recent self-defensive nuclear test are, in fact, allround preparations for a nuclear war against DPRK."

Here are some other interesting facts from this article:

"The United States is putting spurs to the introduction of latest types of nuclear war equipment..."

"...the DPRK will never overlook the reckless nuclear war provocations moves of the U.S. imperialists and south Korean bellicose forces but decisively counter them with its self-defensive deterrent forces of justice."

"In particular, it [DPRK] cannot tolerate in the least the foolish dream of the U.S. imperialists against its [DPRK's] dignified political system. They should not commit rash acts but promptly abandon their provocative and harebrained plot of nuclear war against the DPRK."

The article concludes:

"Those who are fond of fire are bound to be burned to death. If the U.S. and south Korean war maniacs persist in nuclear war adventures, they can never evade the lot of destruction."

Needless to say, that final statement will let me sleep easily tonight.

The KCNA of DPRK article is here.

N.B.: The Democratic People's Republic of Korea is also colloquially known as North Korea.

Happy Halloween

2006-10-31T22:45:00.001-06:00

Happy Halloween everyone.

Allen Backers Manhandle Heckler

2006-10-31T22:38:00.000-06:00

Apparently, during a campaign stop, a heckler/activist "confronted" George Allen with some questions. The video doesn't show what precipitated the physical dust-up, but what is seen are three men throwing the activist onto the ground before he is escorted out of the building. So, George Allen, who must be the most YouTubed of political candidates this election, has managed to get another unflattering clip posted on the Net a mere week before election day.

The article is here.

The video is here.

Kerry: Bonehead or Jackass?

2006-10-31T18:45:00.000-06:00

Kerry's most recent contretemps was his warning to a group of college kids that they should either work hard in school or get "stuck in Iraq."

To see Kerry implant his foot in his mouth, click here.

Kerry's explanation, that he meant to say, "if you don't work hard, you end up getting us stuck in Iraq," is plausible. However, when he started to hears the "oohhh's," shouldn't he have gotten a clue that his joke was misconstrued, and attempted to clarify. And people think Bush mangles words.

Regardless of that, why did his speech writers get anywhere near this subject. One of the leitmotifs in the war coverage is the difficulty of recruitment, and how the military has had to lower its standards to meet their quotas. Furthermore, one of the main talking points against the war is how it disproportionately affected the poor, who presumably joined the military in such large numbers because they lack the educational background to choose another career path.

Anyway, this just reinforces Kerry's egotistical reputation. And why must Kerry cause such a huge stink now. He should simply make a clarification, apologize for any misunderstanding, and drop the issue. This is taking up unnecessary airtime, and allowing the Republicans to go on the offensive. I mean, doesn't he understand that he has no chance of getting the nomination? Now, Democrats are going have to waste time defending themselves by stating how they support the troops, instead of hitting the Republicans on the mismanagement of the war and the economy.

The CNN article is here.

Addendum: Admittedly, even if Kerry makes an attempt to drop the issue, undoubtedly the Republican spin machine will keep trying to harp on this. However, if Kerry had dropped the issue and just made his clarification, I think the issue would have petered out sooner. Now, because of Kerry's manifesto (which I enjoyed as much as the next guy), the media is going to keep this incident on the cycle for the next couple days, possibly even running into the election. CNN is already framing this issue as Bush v. Kerry II. The "netroot" blogs aren't helping either by defending Kerry, and thus lengthening the lifespan of this story.

Death Penalty Reform in China

2006-10-31T11:34:00.000-06:00

Starting January1, 2007, all capital cases in China will be reviewed by the Supreme People's Court. Prior to this reform, provisional courts often had final say on a death sentence.

The article is here.

Virgin and Child with Saints Catherine of Alexandria and Dominic and a Donor

2006-10-30T23:43:00.000-06:00

The National Gallery of Art had a Titian exhibit this summer, and luckily I was working in DC at the time. So, not having anything else to blog about, and since this blog is primarily devoted towards whatever drivel happens to pass through my mind, I'm going to post one of my favorite paintings from this exhibit, which is rather maladroitly entitled: Virgin and Child with Saints Catherine of Alexandria and Dominic and a Donor. (presumably, the last guy isn't Saint Donor, but rather the slob who commissioned the work).

Unfortunately, I could not find a JPEG, so the painting has to be seen at this link.

I particularly like how the paintings background is divided in half, with the colorful clothing of the women contrasted with the neutral backdrop of the building (which to me appears to anticipate Velazquez) while the darker clothing of the men is draped by the eye-popping landscape.

What is particularly neat about this painting is how Titian managed to use a rather cliche image (a devotional image of the "Virgin and Child" done a thousand times before hand) and managed to fuse together the techniques of portraiture and landscape in one painting, render the entire painting in vivid colors, and pose the individuals turning towards each other in media res, without any of these elements diminishing the others.

Quite a juggling act that is carried off beautifully.

Harold Ford: Hollywood Values

2006-10-30T14:50:00.000-06:00

I will give this to Republicans this year. Their ads absolutely kick ass. Whether they are racist and otherwise morally repugnant-- well, yeah. (N.B.: amorality= awesome [see Edmund in King Lear, Satan in Paradise Lost, and the collected works of Uwe Boll]).

However, though everyone has heard about the Blonde Floozy advert ("Harold, call me"), people have not yet talked up about how visually slick and well-made the replacement ad "Hollywood Values" is.

I specifically like the kaleidescope of the vibrant background colors, which manage to distract the viewer from actually pondering the truthfulness of the assertions before another cut is made. (i.e. behind a backdrop of blue, yellows, and red, an announcer intones, "didn't you know Harold Ford took money from Hollywood's top x-rated porn moguls?" before a wipe is made and they make their next assertion). The sense of disorientation is also buttressed by the predominant use of wipes (side wipes, clock wipes, and maybe even a star wipe) in the ad, with each "shot" lasting maybe 2 seconds tops with whatever sound bite being propositioned spelled out in big, gyrating letters.

I just love the Republican's sense of irony. To actually use Hollywood production value when attacking someone for having "Hollywood values." Very Borgesian of them, very PoMo. I mean, this ad's knee jerk editing would put any video on MTV to shame.

Y.'s Rating: Awesome Squared.

Yellow Dog Democrats

2006-10-30T14:19:00.000-06:00

Finally, if this Slate article is correct, America has suddenly caught up with that beacon of civilization, Great Britain. Apparently, the basis for this thesis is the New York Times's endorsement of Diane Farrell over the venerable Rep. Chris Shays of the CT 4th District. The Times Editors, who candidly admit that, while they don't know anything about Diane Farrell, have decided to "draw the line" because "his [Shay's] re-election would help empower a party that is long overdue for a shakeup."

Michael Kinsley notes that this move to "support the party, not the person" is fine, and that in England, no one votes for the person for their MP, but the party the person represents.

Of course, I applaud this move to help revitalize our democracy. Unfortunately, further reform is needed. In Great Britain, not only is the election about the party, but the individual is considered so unimportant, he doesn't even have to be a resident of the district. Doesn't the efficiencies of such an electoral process make you feel nigh (though not quite) orgasmic! Thus, Hillary wouldn't have had to bother with her "listening tour" of upstate New York back in 2000. George W. wouldn't have had to leave the Bush fiefdom of Connecticut in order to become governor of Texas.

Indeed, no one would ever have to cross the Beltway ever again. (oh, wait, I guess this reform isn't as necessary as I thought).

N.B.: Shay's is a descendant of the man who instigated Shay's Rebellion in 1786. (I add this footnote solely for the purpose of padding this post with as much useless drivel as possible, in furtherance of this blog's lofty goals and objectives).

N.B. 2: Apparently, Diane Farrell also caused a mini controversy over whether she deserved a Wikipedia entry. (The rule is only House members get entries, not candidates). [I lost the cite, my apologies].

Disclosure: I went to school in the 4th District, but lived in the CT 5th. [Not that this disclosure really matters, but once again, a nod to journalistic responsibility and to make up for my lack of citation for N.B. 2 {see above}].

The Lou Is Tops Again

2006-10-30T14:06:00.000-06:00

St. Louis has just managed to topple that provincial upstart Camden, New Jersey today by reclaiming the title of most dangerous city in the United States. Of course, this only includes the the city proper, and not the County, so perhaps we fudged the numbers a bit in order to charge ahead of other such cosmopolitan metropolises like Compton and Flint, MI -- however, I still find it heartening that STL has managed to live up to its nickname again -- the Loo (in the British sense).

The article is here.

White Trash: Threat to German Democracy?

2006-10-29T23:51:00.000-06:00

According to Der Spiegel, the greatest threat to German democracy isn't the proliferation of nuclear arms nor the radicalization of young Muslim immigrants, but the rise of "white trash."

These people, apparently "watch television for half the day, eat fatty foods, and enjoy smoking and drinking -- a lot." (n.b. apparently 8 percent of the German population account for 40 percent of the nation's alcohol consumption). "While he may be a family man, his families are often broken. And on Election Day, he casts a protest vote for the extreme left or right wing party, sometimes switching quickly from one to another."

However, "the main thing that sets the modern poor apart from the industrial age pauper is the sheer lack of interest in education."

The only thing I'm confused about is why this guy is such a gloomy guss. The advent of German white trash should be celebrated, not mourned. If you take all of his criteria into account, he has just about described every swing voter in the American electorate, and shouldn't our electoral process be emulated whenever possible?

The article is here.

Redux

2006-10-29T23:50:00.000-06:00

I spent the past week thinking about how I was going to revitalize my previous blog, and finally decided just to start over. Now, I have no idea what I am actually going to blog about, having spent the majority of my time just thinking up a name for my new site. (unsurprisingly, Media Whore was already taken).

Since my previous attempt at making a constructive, edifying blog ended miserably with a meek post about my Crim Law professor's appearance on C-SPAN, I wanted to liven up this new blog with humor, excitement, and other sundry forms of adventure. Unfortunately, the only idea I could come up with was writing under the guise of a twenty something ex-pat degenerate who, while not blogging, spent his life in the pleasure houses of Phuket and Bangkok, snorting lines of coke and other powdered forms of delights off a whore's ass. Later, I thought I would create a menagerie of amusing characters to join the blog as guest commentators, such as Otto von Ribbentrop, German nihilist and post-punk bongo player, or Stacy Vanclamp, East Side pole dancing floozy by day, enterprising gossip columnist of the Federal Judiciary by night. Alas, these ideas, in slightly different permutations, have already been taken (i.e. Big Lebowski and Underneath Their Robes respectively), and thus I have to settle for being little old crackpot me.

In other words, I still have no idea what I am going to blog about.