Back to Free-Stuff

Lets take a break from all the political ranting and go to Target for 25 free digital photo prints.

Back To Square 1

Stolen from Looka:
Three Marines were killed on the very first day after the handover. As Lyn asked, "What do we do now? Invade them again?"

On the Dole

Just back from Hawaii (and a visit to the Dole Plantation). Here are some Island tunes to help get you (and keep me) in the mood.

Torture and Rumors of Torture

A excerpt of Brad Delong's Semi-Daily Journal which has Seymor Hersch speaking on Abu Ghraib:

[...]

He talked about how hard it is to get the truth out in Republican Washington: "If you agree with the neocons you're a genius. If you disagree you're a traitor." Bush, he said, was closing ranks, purging anyone who wasn't 100% with him. Said Tenet has a child in bad health, has heart problems, and seemed to find him generally a decent guy under unimaginable pressure, and that people told him that Tenet feared a heart attack if he had to take one more grilling from Cheney. "When these guys memoirs come out, it will shock all of us."...

He said that after he broke Abu Ghraib people are coming out of the woodwork to tell him this stuff. He said he had seen all the Abu Ghraib pictures. He said, "You haven't begun to see evil..." then trailed off. He said, "horrible things done to children of women prisoners, as the cameras run."

Francisco Franco Is Still Dead

Does "Live Funeral Coverage" just sound silly to you too?

I'm Loving It!

McRevolution, a new t-shirt from Threadless depicting Ronald McDonald raising the flag at Iwo Jima. [via kotke.org]

The Dead Shall Serve Again

The Dim and the Dead in '04? Stranger things have happened. Just because Ashcroft couldn't beat a dead man doesn't mean you should rule this pairing out!

One Surprise I Don't Want (Even if it is Free)

What re-election stunt will the Bush admin pull in October? - October Surprise is asking people to predict the re-election trick that Karl Rove and Dick Cheney have in store for October. Leading so far:

Osama bin Laden captured! 42.1%.

I voted for:

Vote is threatened by terrorist attacks, vote suspended due to red alert

(which is currently at 15.3% and in 3d place). If you want some scary (paranoid?) thoughts on this look @ Maureen Farrell's report on Buzzflash.com and then go vote.

Man does the Sci Fi Museum in Seattle look like a good way to sped US$13!

Bought 2 new deck-chairs yesterday (ÄPPLARÖ !) at Ikea's Summer sale:



They look quite smart and now we can enjoy the sun (ObCAB: a free activity).

Smart Thinking @ electablog

I didn't hear Rumsfeld make these comments but given all the other stupid comments that have come from him (and his bosses) this doesn't come as much of a shock.

"I have often wondered as we approach Normandy and D Day, how that might have been reported if we had had 24-hour news, seven days a week and the folks were being killed as they approached the beach. And the gliders were being spewed across the countryside -- many missing their landing targets -- and our forces were trapped below Point du Hoc and not able to get up. I suppose they would have called Gen. Eisenhower back for congressional hearings."

As electablog says:

When all else fails, the ideological nonsense always makes for a fun-filled speech. This childish hogwash being hurled by Rummy and others has gone from embarrassing, to childish, to just plain sad. I'm never sure if I'm watching the real administration or a parody of Hannity and Colmes produced by The Onion.

Forget the hometown audience for a minute. How about this? Don't you think it sounds a little disingenuous to the world when Rumsfeld supposedly promotes (with the heaviest of fists) the power of democracy while at the same time whining, almost constantly, about its inconvenient details such as checks and balances, a free and aggressive press, and leaders who are expected to have the guts to take responsibility for their decisions?

Note to the Secretary: The soldiers under your command are fighting, killing and dying for precisely the pillars of democracy that you seem to find so burdensome.

I still stand by my early 2001 prediction: This country will have at the minimum one more 'free' election before they are 'postponed' because 'of the war.'

Road Scholars

This should be seen on everyone's morning commute.

Second Run Theaters

Read a story here about alternatives to the 10$ movie ticket. Why are cheap theaters so hard to find? You would think in larger cities (or on their edges) there would be tons of these.

I don't want to pay to see a movie in a crowd almost what it would cost to BUY it in 6+ months, but there ARE some movies that benefit from seeing it with the masses on a - = *L A R G E* = - screen. A screen that is not near magazines to catch up on, dishes to wash, clothes to iron, people calling you on the phone (unless you leave your mobile on (idiot), etc.)

Where are the 2$ movies in the SJ/SF area??

Second Run Theaters

Read a story here about alternatives to the 10$ movie ticket. Why are cheap theaters so hard to find? You would think in larger cities (or on their edges) there would be tons of these.

I don't want to pay to see a movie in a crowd almost what it would cost to BUY it in 6+ months, but there ARE some movies that benefit from seeing it with the masses on a - = *L A R G E* = - screen. A screen that is not near magazines to catch up on, dishes to wash, clothes to iron, people calling you on the phone (unless you leave your mobile on (idiot), etc.)

Where are the 2$ movies in the SJ/SF area??

My New Toy

So I bought a digital camera ( Fuji Finepix 210) from Amazon last week.

Thought I would take it to the park and try it out - what do you think?

Watch This - You Helped Pay For It

Excellent documentary on PBS's Frontline, "The Way the Music Died" that you can watch online if you missed it on TV.

Their synopsis:
In "The Way the Music Died," FRONTLINE follows the trajectory of the recording industry from its post-Woodstock heyday in the 1970s and 1980s to what one observer describes as a "hysteria" of mass layoffs and bankruptcy in 2004. The documentary tells its story through the aspirations and experiences of four artists: veteran musician David Crosby, who has seen it all in a career spanning 35 years; songwriter/producer Mark Hudson, a former member of the Hudson Brothers band; Hudson's daughter, Sarah, who is about to release her first single and album; and a new rock band, Velvet Revolver, composed of former members of the rock groups Guns N' Roses and Stone Temple Pilots, whose first album will be released in June.

Alton on Dr. Phil
"The fact that Dr. Phil has the number 1 cookbook on Amazon.com makes me want to end it all." -Alton Brown

Hear hear! Although to be fair when you stick to Glycemic Index thinking you will probably do OK. Remember - calories in must be less than calories used, otherwise you will gain weight.