Tuesday, July 29, 2008

the long road beckons

so enjoy this musical interlude.
Sufjan Stevens - Lord God Bird

Sunday, July 27, 2008

lazy Sunday thought

watching Fox News is like going to the zoo & watching the primates throw shit at people. only the primates are more elegant & succinct in their delivery, & more accurate in hitting their targets.
(neither is a very pretty picture, though)

Saturday, July 26, 2008

Saturday Night Special

Death Cab for Cutie - Cath

Friday, July 25, 2008

Today's House Hearings

this being TGIF, you may not have been aware that there were hearings conducted in the House of Representatives on the limits of Executive power. they were fairly extensive & heated. There are loads of videos floating around today that are worth the viewing, but I want to highlight this portion of Bruce Fein's testimony as particularly good & well worth seeing.
Any man who compares George W. Bush to Caligula
is aces in my book.

H.O.P.E.S.

Owen is an intrepid young 13 year old, who has taken it upon herself to do some good in the world. She has started a nonprofit called H.O.P.E.S. - Helping Our Planets Endangered Species with the goal to raise money for the World Wildlife Fund by auctioning her artwork, as well as others works. She also takes donations. so head on over to her site & either donate $$ or artwork for her auctions, & help spread the word.

Thursday, July 24, 2008

more BushCo. shamelessness today

Jacob Heilbrunn over at the Huffington Post is reporting that the State Department barred it's employees from attending Barack Obama's speech today in Berlin.
In a flagrant political act, the State Department has barred its employees from attending Sen. Barack Obama's speech in Berlin tonight.[...]
The U.S. embassy, which is headed by ambassador Robert Timken, a businessman and crony of George W. Bush's from Ohio, who is widely reviled in Germany for his ignorance of foreign affairs, has instructed officials not to attend the rally. The American Foreign Service Association has complained about the edict but there's not enough time to dispute it.

I would say this is pretty unbelievable, but where BushCo. is concerned, it's just par for the course.

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Live - from the Cheese Aisle...

McCain is losing it. I defy anyone to make sense of his ramblings in this segment from tonights Countdown. his staff must be at Defcon 1 at this point. maybe that's why they've canceled his public appearances for the rest of the week.

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

radiohead - house of cards


this video has been making the rounds recently, so bear w/me if it's all too redundant for you. in case you don't know the back story, no cameras were used in the making. all the imagery was created digitally, from real world environments.
"...two technologies were used to capture 3D images: Geometric Informatics and Velodyne LIDAR. Geometric Informatics scanning systems produce structured light to capture 3D images at close proximity, while a Velodyne Lidar system that uses multiple lasers is used to capture large environments such as landscapes. In this video, 64 lasers rotating and shooting in a 360 degree radius 900 times per minute produced all the exterior scenes."

(go here to find out more)

Monday, July 21, 2008

joy division doc


I have to admit that although I am a big Joy Division fan and had been eagerly anticipating the release of the film Control for years, the film was more than a bit disappointing. The elements were all there, fine acting, wonderful cinematography, captivating story. Still the film fell flat for me & was...well, quite honestly a bit boring at times. A far better film is the 2007 documentary by Grant Gee. The documentary format just seems to do the band, & Ian Curtis in particular better justice. In addition the viewer gets a great feel for Manchester & that time in British history. (be forewarned though, Peter Hook still comes off as a bit of a prat, other than that...a very fine film)

(Netflix it here)

Saturday, July 19, 2008

Saturday Night Special

the Feelies - Away

loose lips sink ships

they also get Presidential candidates killed:
Republican presidential candidate John McCain said on Friday that his Democratic opponent, Barack Obama, is likely to be in Iraq over the weekend.

The Obama campaign has tried to cloak the Illinois senator's trip in some measure of secrecy for security reasons. The White House, State Department and Pentagon do not announce senior officials' visits to Iraq in advance.

"I believe that either today or tomorrow -- and I'm not privy to his schedule -- Sen. Obama will be landing in Iraq with some other senators" who make up a congressional delegation, McCain told a campaign fund-raising luncheon.
(h/t TPM)

McCain is an Idiot, but still the MSM will ignore his gaffes as:
a) quaint
b) that's just McCain being McCain
c) whatta' Maverick!
d) all of the above
(hint, for those who haven't been paying attention in class,...
the answer is d)

Friday, July 18, 2008

Thursday, July 17, 2008

a view from the road

front range, near Boulder, CO

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Sunday, July 13, 2008


















Ghostly Chapel

Saturday, July 12, 2008

Rachel wins the week

Rachel was in rare form last night on Countdown.
She hits McSame & hits him hard while the rest of
the MSM snoozes. these clips are well worth viewing.


& as an extra bonus, here's a clip of her discussing
BushCo's war crimes w/constitutional law expert
Jonathan Turley.

can you say "International War Crimes Tribunal"?

Friday, July 11, 2008

I got a Pony!

well, not really, but imagine my surprise when I stepped out the front door this afternoon to see Tony the pony (no kidding, his real name) walking down my street. now that might not seem so odd to some of you folks, but here on the northwest side of Chicago, it's a little out of the ordinary. Tony & his owner were quickly snagged by my downstairs neighbors & corralled into my backyard for photo-ops with all the local kids. the little buckaroo pictured here is 2 month old Nathan taking his turn in the saddle.

Thursday, July 10, 2008

man...myth...Legend!


legendary Bookseller Paul Ingram (Prairie Lights Books, Iowa City) gives a couple of recommendations for must read fiction.
Heed his words, Mortals!

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

Congress in Telecomm pockets

a disgraceful display today as Dems assisted in getting BushCo. off the hook. thoroughly depressing.

(Glenn has a rundown here)

boomshanka

the solution to hard economic times courtesy of
the Young Ones (circa mid-'80s)

Tuesday, July 8, 2008

file this under "WTF!?!"

"Just two days ago, Gordon Brown was urging us all to stop wasting food and combat rising prices and a global shortage of provisions.

But yesterday the Prime Minister and other world leaders sat down to an 18-course gastronomic extravaganza at a G8 summit in Japan, which is focusing on the food crisis.

The dinner, and a six-course lunch, at the summit of leading industrialised nations on the island of Hokkaido, included delicacies such as caviar, milkfed lamb, sea urchin and tuna, with champagne and wines flown in from Europe and the U.S. "

with leaders like this setting the example, is it any wonder the world is in the state it is. 18 courses!? wtf!
(h/t huffpo)

Rachel runs rings around McSame


Rachel Maddow seems to be the only pundit out there not completely head over heels for McCain. it's refreshing to hear someone actually call him out on his ludicrous rhetoric.

Monday, July 7, 2008

"I HATE the bloggers!"


McSame regales the SunnyDale Retirement Home crowd with
20 minutes of stand-up ripped from Jerry Seinfeld's old routine. after bits on the Internets, the Cables & the Googles, he then does a hilarious 4 minutes on how he hates that you don't get peanuts on airplanes anymore. except of course on the StraightTalkExpress, which if fully stocked & loaded.

Sunday, July 6, 2008

a view from the road

Northwest WI, traveling east on I-94.

Saturday, July 5, 2008

Saturday Night Special

the Decemberists - Sixteen Military Wives

Friday, July 4, 2008

Independence Day


the good folks at constitutioncampaign.org have posted this video, as well as their ad from the July 3rd NYT. check them both out & be reminded what "Independence" really means.
I'm spending the 4th celebrating the majestic wonder that is this countries Interstate Highway System. (Thanks, Ike!!) hope you all are celebrating safely (watch those fingers) & appropriately (hot dogs, apple pie, Mom, etc.)

Thursday, July 3, 2008

leading the FISA charge


loves me some Russ Fiengold!
get on over here & show your support.
sign this petition.

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

this is how to swat 'em down


(h/t huffpo)

the real elitist express

this is a brilliant little Google Earth tour of all
the assorted, different McCain residences.
(reportedly ranging from 10 - 13 in all)

(produced by the Jed Report)