To celebrate my birthday last night, I drank all of this:
Hooray!
To celebrate my birthday last night, I drank all of this:
Hooray!
Today is my birthday.
I am aging.
Do I have to get my prostate checked now? Should I start using Rogaine? Should I consider cosmetic surgery? Should I be thinking of settling down with a nice girl and having a few kids? Is it time for me to start watching CBS?
I have been worried about my teeth. I bought an electric toothbrush. I put the pea of toothpaste on it, ran a bit of water over it, as is my routine procedure, and turned the thing on. Of course, the vibrations sent the toothpaste flying everywhere. Of course. I bought a little contraption which purports to make flossing easier, and it may yet do that, but my teeth have a knack for causing floss to unravel. I switched for a time over to the tape, until it was pointed out to me that the “dental tape” I was using was in fact tape from an audio cassette – the cassette in question being the master recording of many famous songs, including the Beatles’ “Let It Be” and Men Without Hats’ “Safety Dance”. I do not feel guilty.
Sometimes when I’m writing these I start with one or two sentences, then get to the end, and realize that somehow I had written a bunch of shit in the middle.
This is one of those times.
In lieu of actual content
It’s been a while since I last showed a picture of my kitty. So here’s one.
I recently had the pleasure of learning (if you can believe this asshole) that despite being pre-empted by an address by Bush to both houses of Congress (“My fellow Amurrikins, this war against turrorism will be long and hard, and God help us I’m commander-in-chief of our milturry.”), the Columbian Broadcasting System’s wonderful summer series Big Brother 2 went ahead with its live finale, even though it was not being broadcast. And, in the final analysis, after the polls were closed and the votes were counted and the fix was in, the winner to emerge from the corporate-sponsored camera-laden cathode-ray hovel, clutching half a million dollars desperately to his breast, was none other than Will, the Funny, Evil Doctor.
I found this to be fantastic news. I easily count Big Brother 2 as my Favorite Program of the Summer Which I Watched Less Than Ten Percent of the Time It Was Actually On, and Will was easily the most entertaining contestant, despite his early alliance with two of the more cringe-inducing people on the show – Mike “Boogie”, the white rapper, and Shannon, the psycho hose-beast. Congratulations, Will, and here’s hoping you save up some of that money – Evil Doctors do a lot of pro bono work, after all, and you’ll need *something* to live on.
I’ll never trust the liberal media again
Well, if there were any.
Seriously, several days ago I posted about reports that CNN footage of Palestinians celebrating in the wake of the WTC disaster was *actually* footage of Palestinians dancing and cheering at some sort of sock hop back in 1991. I picked up this story from CounterPunch which I had believed to be a reputable left-wing nutter news source. Well, maybe it is. But some days later (and once again, the Lucubus is the very last site ever in the world to jump on this story), the fellow filing the article was challenged to provide evidence for his claim and it turns out, ahem, that he hadn’t actually watched the footage and had gotten the information from someone who hadn’t watched the footage recently EITHER.
From http://uk.indymedia.org/display.php3?article_id=11546:
Date: Fri, 14 Sep 2001 07:52:49 -0300 Subject: CNN Dear all, Last September 13, I’ve sent an email to this list in which I provided some information about the falsity of the images of Palestinian celebration for the terrorism in USA, information given to me by a teacher. I spent the last day looking for that teacher, and, unfortunately, when I found her, she DENIED having access to such images. She said that she was sure she had seen the images back in 1991, but SHE CAN’T PROVE. She was not willing to provide further information, DENYING what she had said before to a full class of students. I sincerely apologize for this uncertain information; unfortunately I can’t prove the information contained in my last post; IT’S ONLY A CONJECTURE, THAT THOSE IMAGES OF PALESTINIANS CELEBRATING IS FALSE. I bought the idea myself, and reproduced it for you because of the importance of it, in the case it was to be confirmed. Whatever news I get I’ll pass to you. Best regards Márcio A. V. Carvalho |
As a result of this, I have made a decision: every time I decide to run a news tip, no matter what the subject, I will clarify it with the phrase “if you can believe this asshole”. CNN, Drudge, Mike Wallace, whoever: if it is purported to be hard news, I will say “if you can believe this asshole”. No offense to the actual reporter is intended, unless he or she is actually an asshole.
Example: If you can believe this asshole, Russia is providing a financial boost to the anti-Taliban forces in Afghanistan.
Thank you and good day.
Can you tell the difference between people of Japanese, Chinese, and Korean descent? Take the test and find out! I scored an 8 out of 18 on my first try. Not very good, huh? Oh, but my heart was in the right place. I’ll do better next time, I promise.
Hey, kids!
Check it out!
The CIA’s got its own page just for kids like YOU!
It’s full of fun and games! You can disguise yourself as a dirty hippie to infiltrate that commie cult! Or try the Word Search Puzzle! Can you find “foreign assassination” and “puppet dictator”? Hint: You just might have to look sideways!
Life goes on, bra
Regular television programming has more or less resumed, but there has certainly been, and justifiably so, a dark cloud, more composed of confusion and sorrow than of gloom, hovering over everything. David Letterman resumed his show tonight, and admitted that he didn’t feel it was entirely appropriate for his show to be back on, that it was too soon. Dan Rather was the lead guest, and at least twice he let his emotions get the best of him and broke down in tears as he and Dave chatted. He apologized immediately, saying he was a professional, and that it was his job to not let things like that show. Dave patted his hand and said, “Yes, you’re a professional, but good Christ, you’re also a human being.” The audience applauded, and I sort of broke down in tears myself. Can’t really blame Dan, or the other anchors – they’ve pretty much been working eighteen hours a day since Tuesday morning, and not only have they had no time to spend with their loved ones, but they have necessarily been forced to think about and reflect on the disasters almost exclusively since they occurred. Plus, they become privy to information long before it comes out to the public. I won’t blame them for one minute for letting the strain show through. And this certainly applies to the rescue workers, who are in much the same boat but have the added trauma of seeing and feeling the carnage, and yet must remain stoic and strong and continue to dig. If they need to rest for a moment, or have a cry, that’s something they should do. Not that they need my permission or anyone else’s, for that matter.
Craig Kilborn opened his show with no introduction, no monologue – we simply saw him sitting at his desk. He quietly explained that, like Dave, he wasn’t entirely confident that it was the right time to continue with the show. He also noted that the possibility of a coming war would certainly affect how and when his show is aired. How would they know what was appropriate then? Tonight’s show, then, was to be a sort of experiment. “No comedy,” he said. “Just catharsis.” He acknowledged that it would be pretty easy for his writing staff to put together some innocuous comedy bits, but no one felt like being funny. Craig said he himself didn’t feel like being funny and didn’t know how many days, weeks it would be until he felt the show could return to normal. And despite all this, just like on Letterman, there were still laughs, some self-deprecatory (“Some of you will say, ‘Craig, you’ve done no-comedy shows before, haven’t you?’ Well, this time it’s intentional.”) and some simply bittersweet. Say what you like about Craig Kilborn, but tonight he had me choked up.
I think it’s a good thing for these men to be back on television – NBC’s talk shows aren’t back on yet as far as I can tell – because I think it will help us grieve, and it will help us to find that catharsis Craig was talking about, and it will raise us, however gradually, from the gloom, and it will remind us, if any of us needed the reminder, that all is not lost.
Off-topic and somewhat frivolous after the above, but I have found the following to be a useful distraction in the last few days – [http://www.vectorinternet.co.uk/games/kick-ups.html]. It’s a little flash game where you see how many times you can kick (click) a soccer ball before it hits the ground. I suck at it – my highest score has been 17, which is small potatoes compared to the highest scores, but that’s neither here nor there – it’s just a nice little way to pass the time without having to think too much. I’ll admit thinking too much is not necessarily a problem for certain segments of the American population at this point in time, but if you’re like me, and this tragedy makes your own mortality loom and your sense of hopelessness about the state of the world expand, then take a break, and go suck at this game. At least, if you’re like me, you’ll suck at it.
Don’t say it, don’t play it
Clear Channel is a corporation that is notable for the fact that they own and control more radio stations in the United States then almost any other group. The following is purportedly a list of songs that they are discouraging their stations from playing in the wake of the terrorist attacks, on the basis that they may be inappropriate, tasteless, or simply evocative of recent events:
http://www.hitsdailydouble.com/news/songs.html
Understandable:
Soundgarden “Blow Up the Outside World”
Black Sabbath “Suicide Solution”
Beastie Boys “Sabotage”
Surfaris “Wipeout”
Savage Garden “Crash and Burn”
Elton John “Daniel”
Lenny Kravitz “Fly Away”
Tom Petty “Free Fallin'”
Bangles “Walk Like an Egyptian”
Pushing it:
Foo Fighters “Learn to Fly”
Sugar Ray “Fly”
Steam “Na Na Na Na Hey Hey”
John Parr “St. Elmo’s Fire”
Talking Heads “Burning Down the House”
The Clash “Rock the Casbah”
Alien Ant Farm “Smooth Criminal”
Red Hot Chili Peppers “Under the Bridge”
Smashing Pumpkins “Bullet With Butterfly Wings”
WTF:
Simon And Garfunkel “Bridge Over Troubled Water”
Zombies “She’s Not There”
The Beatles “Obla Di, Obla Da”
Cat Stevens “Morning Has Broken”
Nina “99 Luft Balloons/99 Red Balloons”
John Lennon “Imagine”
Peter Paul and Mary “Blowin’ in the Wind”
A comic creator speaks out
Did we bomb Boston to stop the Boston Strangler ? Did we level New York City to get at Son of Sam ? No we did not. So why the fuck should we flatten Afghanistan just to get at a bunch of murderous bastards who have the country’s people in a repressive death grip ?
…
Or…here’s my favourite solution, which would actually be much more effective than any other but who’s going to listen to a loony peacenik like me ?
We bring bin Laden back to the U.S. for trial and BEFORE locking him up, we keep him in house arrest…. IN THE PLAYBOY MANSION!
Can you imagine how rapidly and thoroughly Bin Laden’s fanatical following would collapse if they saw pictures of him sipping cocktails by the poolside, surrounded by bikini-clad airheads ?
Can you imagine him trying to espouse his fundamentalist doctrines to a gigling gaggle of sexy Playmates ?..
Who do you think will go to heaven?
“The ACLU’s got to take a lot of blame for this. And, I know that I’ll hear from them for this. But, throwing God or successfully with the help of the federal court system, throwing God out of the public square, out of the schools. The abortionists have got to bear some burden for this because God will not be mocked. And when we destroy 40 million little innocent babies, we make God mad. I really believe that the pagans, and the abortionists, and the feminists, and the gays and the lesbians who are actively trying to make that an alternative lifestyle, the ACLU, People For the American Way, all of them who have tried to secularize America. I point the finger in their face and say ‘you helped this happen’.”
– Jerry Falwell, The 700 Club, 9/13/01
Um. This man is an idiot. A hateful, delusional, self-motivated idiot. I sincerely hope this is the last time this asshole is ever heard from in a public forum.
On to more important matters. This past summer, there was a reality series on Fox called Murder in Small Town X, which was basically a long murder mystery dinner game enacted in great detail for television. I only saw the two-hour finale, but it was very engrossing. The winner of the game was an NYC firefighter named Angel Juarbe. You can probably see what’s coming. Angel was among the hundreds of firefighters inside the World Trade Center when it collapsed. He’s still unaccounted for, as confirmed by friends and the producers of the show. I remember him saying at the end of the show that even though he won the money (I forget how much it was. A hundred thousand, I think?) he wasn’t going to give up his job, because firefighting was what he wanted to do. Reportedly his unit was among the first on the scene. Apparently he was on the phone with a friend when it happened and cut the call short, saying, “I gotta go… I have to go to the World Trade Center.” Here’s hoping, for the sake of his family and friends, that he turns up soon.
What to believe?
Something I suspected might be the case turned out to be. From www.counterpunch.org:
Least credible news footage
CNN’s videotape of Palestinians supposedly dancing in the streets of a West Bank town. CounterPuncher Marcio A.V. Carvalho at the state university of Campinas in Brazil tells us that he and his colleagues had compared this tape with one from 1991 showing Palestinian cheering, and found them to be identical.
There may be a mitigating factor here, though. Yesterday the Associated Press filed a story about a cameraman who was threatened after taking video of a Palestinian rally:
AP protests threats to cameraman
The videographer, on assignment for Associated Press Television News, was summoned to a Palestinian Authority security office and told that the material must not be aired. Calls in the name of the Tanzim militia, an armed group associated with Yasser Arafat’s Fatah group, warned him he would be held responsible and made what he interpreted as threats on his life.
Several Palestinian Authority officials spoke to AP in Jerusalem urging that the material not be broadcast. Ahmed Abdel Rahman, Arafat’s Cabinet secretary, said the Palestinian Authority “cannot guarantee the life” of the cameraman if the footage was broadcast.
Possibly the 1991 footage was similar to the censored footage from the rally. If that’s the case, it’s a fairly unethical and irresponsible decision to use it. If this story *isn’t* the reason the footage was used… well, I’d just hate to think that CNN was purposefully trying to foster resentment towards Palestinians…