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Thursday, October 21, 2010
Happy [posthumous] Birthday to Dizzy Gillespie
Happy [posthumous] Birthday to Dizzy Gillespie. I was lucky to see Diz twice--once at the Village Gate on Bleecker St. and once at the Paramount in Seattle (on the tour where he introduced his young protege Wynton Marsalis to the world). At the Gate, he performed some hilarious dance moves... (photo: Bird, with Diz).
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
The Christine O'Donnell Red Herring::::::::Are The Republicans Playing Rope-A-Dope With Us?::::::::Would That Christine O'D Was The Judas Goat For The Grand Old Party
By Pablo Fanque
All This Is That National Affairs Editor
I have come, increasingly to believe that Christine O'Donnell is just a red herring [1] created by the GOP. She has virtually zero chance of winning. Even if the Feds swooped in and found Chris Coons's hard drive filled with child pornography, with him co-starring in every clip, he would still likely shellac Christine O'D. The last Rasmussen poll had Coons ahead of O'D by around 11%. I'm pretty sure this week's debate will net out to her dropping another two or three points at the least.
So why is Christine the Red Herring? The GOP were stunned by her primary win, and once that wore off, they looked around and realized they were utterly and completely effed! They had other candidates in striking distance, without all the masturbation and witchcraft baggage. And the power poles in the GOP didn't have what it takes to slap a muzzle on her; for all they knew she would go bat-shit crazy and start naming names. So, they did what most of us do when caught between a rock and a hard place: nothing! They sat on their purses and left her twisting in the wind. But then it dawned on them that whatever crazy-talk she spoke or released could only draw heat away from some of the other Teabaggers that were saying equally or even more crazy things, but with far less media spotlight than the Delaware race.
The number of Democrats in danger is possibly up to even double the 39 seats Republicans need to consolidate their nefarious control of the House. It is a perfect storm for the Republicans: money, momentum and the mood of the country — which, alas, is sour on incumbents, most of who happen to be Dems.
The Democrats, and especially the independents and "uncommitted" need to focus on people in races where the Dems can actually win. The Republicans are playing a classic game of rope-a-dope[2] with the Democratic Party. We need to get off the ropes and back into the center of the ring
[1] Red herring is one of my favorite English idioms. The Wikipedia gives a pretty decent definition: "the pungent red herring would be dragged along a trail until a puppy learned to follow the scent. Later, when the dog was being trained to follow the faint odour of a fox or a badger, the trainer would drag a red herring (whose strong scent confuses the animal) perpendicular to the animal's trail to confuse the dog. The dog would eventually learn to follow the original scent rather than the stronger scent. An alternate etymology points to escaping convicts who would use the pungent fish to throw off hounds in pursuit." In fact, we're following the red herring, when we need to be tracking the other, far more perilous contenders...
[2] Rope-a-dope is, according to the wikipedia, "by a boxer assuming a protected stance, in Ali's classic pose, lying against the ropes, and allowing his opponent to hit him, toward the end that the opponent will tire and make mistakes which the boxer can exploit in a counter-attack.
"In competitive situations other than boxing, rope-a-dope is used to describe strategies in which one party purposely puts itself in what appears to be a losing position, attempting thereby to become the eventual victor."
[3] In stockyards, a Judas goat will lead sheep to slaughter, while its own life is spared. Judas goats are also used to lead other animals to specific pens and on to trucks.
All This Is That National Affairs Editor
I have come, increasingly to believe that Christine O'Donnell is just a red herring [1] created by the GOP. She has virtually zero chance of winning. Even if the Feds swooped in and found Chris Coons's hard drive filled with child pornography, with him co-starring in every clip, he would still likely shellac Christine O'D. The last Rasmussen poll had Coons ahead of O'D by around 11%. I'm pretty sure this week's debate will net out to her dropping another two or three points at the least.
So why is Christine the Red Herring? The GOP were stunned by her primary win, and once that wore off, they looked around and realized they were utterly and completely effed! They had other candidates in striking distance, without all the masturbation and witchcraft baggage. And the power poles in the GOP didn't have what it takes to slap a muzzle on her; for all they knew she would go bat-shit crazy and start naming names. So, they did what most of us do when caught between a rock and a hard place: nothing! They sat on their purses and left her twisting in the wind. But then it dawned on them that whatever crazy-talk she spoke or released could only draw heat away from some of the other Teabaggers that were saying equally or even more crazy things, but with far less media spotlight than the Delaware race.
The number of Democrats in danger is possibly up to even double the 39 seats Republicans need to consolidate their nefarious control of the House. It is a perfect storm for the Republicans: money, momentum and the mood of the country — which, alas, is sour on incumbents, most of who happen to be Dems.
The Democrats, and especially the independents and "uncommitted" need to focus on people in races where the Dems can actually win. The Republicans are playing a classic game of rope-a-dope[2] with the Democratic Party. We need to get off the ropes and back into the center of the ring
__________________________
[1] Red herring is one of my favorite English idioms. The Wikipedia gives a pretty decent definition: "the pungent red herring would be dragged along a trail until a puppy learned to follow the scent. Later, when the dog was being trained to follow the faint odour of a fox or a badger, the trainer would drag a red herring (whose strong scent confuses the animal) perpendicular to the animal's trail to confuse the dog. The dog would eventually learn to follow the original scent rather than the stronger scent. An alternate etymology points to escaping convicts who would use the pungent fish to throw off hounds in pursuit." In fact, we're following the red herring, when we need to be tracking the other, far more perilous contenders...
[2] Rope-a-dope is, according to the wikipedia, "by a boxer assuming a protected stance, in Ali's classic pose, lying against the ropes, and allowing his opponent to hit him, toward the end that the opponent will tire and make mistakes which the boxer can exploit in a counter-attack.
"In competitive situations other than boxing, rope-a-dope is used to describe strategies in which one party purposely puts itself in what appears to be a losing position, attempting thereby to become the eventual victor."
[3] In stockyards, a Judas goat will lead sheep to slaughter, while its own life is spared. Judas goats are also used to lead other animals to specific pens and on to trucks.
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Big Bang Big Boom, an incredible video by Blue
This is really a must see--Blue has created a wonderful and mesmerizing stop motion mixed-media video, "BIG BANG BIG BOOM: an unscientific point of view on the beginning and evolution of life ... and how it could probably end."
BIG BANG BIG BOOM - the new wall-painted animation by BLU from blu on Vimeo.
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BIG BANG BIG BOOM - the new wall-painted animation by BLU from blu on Vimeo.
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Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Delaware Masturbation Witch Christine O'Donnell steps in deep doo-doo on the Constitution
By Pablo Fanque
National Affairs Editor
Everyone's buzzing about Christine (Delaware Masturbation Witch) O'D's pretty spectacular gaffe in her debate last night with Chris Coons (CO'D: "Where in the Constitution is the separation of church and state?"). But the sound bites and video clips miss her earlier jab at Coons, where she chides Coons on his ignorance of the constitution: "Perhaps they didn't teach you constitutional law at Yale Divinity School."
To see the audience reaction to her stunning blunder, jump to 2:50 in the YouTube video, below:
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National Affairs Editor
Everyone's buzzing about Christine (Delaware Masturbation Witch) O'D's pretty spectacular gaffe in her debate last night with Chris Coons (CO'D: "Where in the Constitution is the separation of church and state?"). But the sound bites and video clips miss her earlier jab at Coons, where she chides Coons on his ignorance of the constitution: "Perhaps they didn't teach you constitutional law at Yale Divinity School."
To see the audience reaction to her stunning blunder, jump to 2:50 in the YouTube video, below:
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Twisted Halloween Costumes--some images probably NSFW
We've posted a couple of these before, around Halloween. Our criteria is mainly that the costume needs to be weird. We did not include the many costumes that you would consider cute, or dressed up animals, and, believe or not, we left out most of the really sick costumes, or costumes where you might say "it's too soon!" (9/11 costumes, Michael Jackson, etc).
Little Hitler
Cartman's Hitler Costume
Illegal Alien
Twisted Family Costume(s)
The Tooth Fairy
Kind Of A Katamari Babies Costume
Goldilocks
Bomber
Hawaii's Favorite
Priapic Frog
Naughty Bits
Man-sheep
Caged
Man-horse/Centaur
Birth
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Monday, October 18, 2010
Painting: The Hairy Eyeball
Analog drawing-->Digital painting by Jack Brummet -- Click to enlarge
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Sunday, October 17, 2010
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Popular Science's Vision of the Future (1950) as envisioned in 1925
By Jack Brummet
Near Future Editor
[Thanks to Jeff Clinton for pointing this out...]
This [now] public domain image was published on the cover of "Popular Science Monthly in 1925. It depicts the city of the future, the future they refer to happens in 1950. It's pretty interesting to see the few things that have actually panned out, and the many that have not sixty years after their vision of the future occurs.
Near Future Editor
[Thanks to Jeff Clinton for pointing this out...]
This [now] public domain image was published on the cover of "Popular Science Monthly in 1925. It depicts the city of the future, the future they refer to happens in 1950. It's pretty interesting to see the few things that have actually panned out, and the many that have not sixty years after their vision of the future occurs.
click to enlarge
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Friday, October 15, 2010
"It Gets Better" -- It needs to get better every day
By Jack Brummet
Social Mores Editor
I really hope it does get better. My brother-in law-Colin took his life in 1983. I don't think he was bullied per se as a young adult, but the atmosphere around being gay couldn't have helped (even in Manhattan) as he struggled with other issues. While it was different, I can't help but think of him every time I hear one of these heartbreaking stories.
Luke Burbank said yesterday that in ten years this will seem like a bad dream. He talked about the people in the 60's who would say "I don't have anything against blacks. They just shouldn't be allowed to go to the same restaurants as us."
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Social Mores Editor
I really hope it does get better. My brother-in law-Colin took his life in 1983. I don't think he was bullied per se as a young adult, but the atmosphere around being gay couldn't have helped (even in Manhattan) as he struggled with other issues. While it was different, I can't help but think of him every time I hear one of these heartbreaking stories.
Luke Burbank said yesterday that in ten years this will seem like a bad dream. He talked about the people in the 60's who would say "I don't have anything against blacks. They just shouldn't be allowed to go to the same restaurants as us."
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Thursday, October 14, 2010
A Gorgeous "Father's Clothes" recorded at KEXP by Seattle's Grand Hallway
This is a really beautiful song, with a gorgeous arrangement and incredible, delicate work--"Father's Clothes-- by the Seattle band Grand Hallway. It starts off like a perfect and moving Steven Reich or Phillip Glass song, and then after a couple of minutes, the vocals kick in and you are just. . .wow. . . Clarients, 'cello, three violins, piano, guitar, and, oh yeah...an oboe. This was like mindf***er 2010chamber music!
A friend, Jaclyn, is the fiddle player in the grey blouse. If you get the chance (btw, they're in NYC next week), go to one of their shows.
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A friend, Jaclyn, is the fiddle player in the grey blouse. If you get the chance (btw, they're in NYC next week), go to one of their shows.
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The Buse
I don't who took this photograph of Gary Busey, but they unquestionably captured his strange, twisted and wonderful soul. I'm with Busey!
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