December 10, 2007 archive

Dec 10 2007

Muse in the Morning

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Muse in the Morning

The muses are ancient.  The inspirations for our stories were said to be born from them.  Muses of song and dance, or poetry and prose, of comedy and tragedy, of the inward and the outward.  In one version they are Calliope, Euterpe and Terpsichore, Erato and Clio, Thalia and Melpomene, Polyhymnia and Urania.

It has also been traditional to name a tenth muse.  Plato declared Sappho to be the tenth muse, the muse of women poets.  Others have been suggested throughout the centuries.  I don’t have a name for one, but I do think there should be a muse for the graphical arts.  And maybe there should be many more.

Please join us inside to celebrate our various muses…

Dec 10 2007

The Soft Under-Belly of the Bush-Loving Democrats

bush_lieberman_clinton

The Democrats in congress are almost all alienated from us bloggers.

They think we’re crazy and only good for use as an ATM during elections.

The incumbents don’t give a rat’s ass what we say.

They are alternately ignoring or insulting us while giving Bush everything he wants.

This gift to Bush includes at least thirteen more months of hell for our military and the people of Iraq and many billions more of our cash.

alex-ross_bush-liberty credit: http://www.alexrossart.com

How can we damage these arrogant, constitution-shredding, Bush-loving DINOs?

They have three dumb candidates hanging out in the open, just begging for our wrath.  

Dec 10 2007

“They All Disappoint”

The best show on television today is “The Wire.” In subsequent entries, I’ll explain why I think so. Its new season, Season 5, starts in January and The Wire will be one of the things I write about. Season 4 focused on politics a good deal.

At the finale to Season 4, the new mayor of Baltimore, where the show is set, is faced with the dilemma of doing “the right thing” and doing what he perceives is the right thing politically (the plot point involves “eating shit” so the Baltimore schools get money it needs vs. what’s right for his shot at being Governor. You know what he does.

Afterwards, his close aide, who fought the campaign with him, discusses this with the chief of staff of the former mayor, saying “can’t believe he left the money on the table.” The former COS responds “they all disappoint.” And indeed, they do. They’ve all disappointed, even Lincoln, FDR and Bobby Kennedy.

As citizens and activists, our allegiances have to be to the issues we believe in. I am a partisan Democrat it is true. But the reason I am is because I know who we can pressure to do the right thing some of the times. Republicans aren’t them. But that does not mean we accept the failings of our Democrats. There is nothing more important that we can do, as citizens, activists or bloggers than fight to pressure DEMOCRATS to do the right thing on OUR issues.

And this is true in every context I think. Be it pressing the Speaker or the Senate majority leader, or the new hope running for President. There is nothing more important we can do. Nothing. It’s more important BY FAR than “fighting” for your favorite pol because your favorite pol will ALWAYS, I mean ALWAYS, disappoint you.

In the middle of primary fights, citizens, activists and bloggers like to think their guy or woman is different. They are going to change the way politics works. They are going to not disappoint. In short, they are not going to be pols. That is, in a word, idiotic.

Yes, they are all pols. And they do what they do. Do not fight for pols. Fight for the issues you care about. That often means fighting for a pol of course. But remember, you are fighting for the issues. Not the pols.

More on this theme in a week or so. I’m traveling.  

Dec 10 2007

“They All Disappoint”

The best show on television today is “The Wire.” In subsequent entries, I’ll explai why I think so. Its new season, Season 5, starts in January and The Wire will be one of the things I write about. Season 4 focused on politics a good deal.

At the finale to Season 4, the new mayor of Baltimore, where the show is set, is faced with the dilemma of doing “the right thing” and doing what he perceives is the right thing politically (the plot point involves “eating shit” so the Baltimore schools get money it needs vs. what’s right for his shot at being Governor. You know what he does.

Afterwards, his close aide, who fought the campaign with him, discusses this with the chief of staff of the former mayor, saying “can/ believe he left the money on the table. The foremr COS responds “they all disappoint.” And indeed, they do. They’ve all disapppointed, even Lincoln, FDR and Bobby Kennedy.

As citizens and activists, our allegiances have to be to the issues we believe in. I am a partisan Democrat it s true. But the reason I am is because I know who we can pressure to do the right thing some of the times. Republicans aren’t them. But that does not mean we accept the failings of our Democrats. There is nothig more important that we can do, as citizens, activists or bloggers than fight DEMOCRATS to do the right thing on OUR issues.

And this is true in every context I think. Be it pressing the Speaker of the Senate majority leader, or the new hope running for President. There is nothing more important we can do. Nothing. It’s more important BY FAR than “fighting” for your favorite pol because your favorite pol will ALWAYS, I mean ALWAYS, disappoint you.

In the middle of primary fights, citizens, activists and bloggers like to think their guy or woman is different. They are going to change the way politics works. They are going to not disappoint. In short, they are not going to be pols. That is, in a word, idiotic.

Yes, they are all pols. And they do what they do. Do not fight for pols. Fight for the issues you care about. That often means fighting for a pol of course. But remember, you are fighting for the issues. Not the pols.

More on this theme in a week or so. I’m traveling.  

Dec 10 2007

The Stars Hollow Gazette

I must admit I’m pretty tense and nervous this time of year.  There are incredible numbers of deadlines, much more than usual and an impossible amount of work to be done.

The fact that there is so little daylight to go buzzing around in contributes to the sense of urgency as do the cars and crowds everywhere at every time of day.  I find it almost claustrophobic.

I have a whole crowd of places to be and people to see too.  Folks want me to hang out with them for some reason, so the mail is full of invitations most of which I have politely declined.  I’ve done the 4 parties in 3 days Thanksgiving to New Years about as much as I really need to satisfy myself.

Family is of course not easily put off and this year as usual the Gilmores will visit my sister and her kids for a few days right on the 25th.  It may not be so easy for me to get internet access right from the 23rd to the  26th.  After that I’m hoping I’ll get a chance to spend some time with my Aunty Mame (who really likes this blog much better than the orange one, says it’s more relaxing) in the frozen north.

She has good ‘net, I’ve used it before, the problem is that the TV is across the hall in the other room and if I turn it up too loud it disturbs everyone else.

And of course I watch TV all.  the.  time.

That’s why it grieves me so much to bring you the following discouraging news from Reuters on the Writer’s strike-

Prolonged writers strike a nightmare for TV biz

By Paul J. Gough, Reuters

1 hour, 12 minutes ago

NEW YORK (Hollywood Reporter) – Television executives’ nightmare scenarios for 2008 are coming closer to reality as the Hollywood writers strike enters its sixth week Monday.

Renewed contract talks between the Writers Guild of America (WGA) and the Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers (AMPTP) broke off abruptly Friday, and industry executives see no end in sight to the worst Hollywood labor dispute in almost two decades.

…

If the strike lasts another four to six weeks, it could spell the end for 2008 pilot production. The most-circulated scenario in that case involves the networks renewing all their existing series for next fall, producing their pilots in the summer and launching their new crop of shows in midseason 2009.

Dec 10 2007

Jesus wept, he was laughing so hard

Jesus sighed.

He reached over and turned the radio up. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “Freedom requires religion”? “Religion requires freedom”? WTF was this pendejo saying?

Right, you stupid guero, Jesus thought. Just like the freedom the Afghans had under the Taliban. Or the Jews had under the Inquisition. And “religion requires freedom”? What the heck? What was it that all those Jews in the camps were practicing?

Jesus shook his head.

Would it never stop? Would these pinche politicians ever quit using so-called “religion” to sell their weaselly lies?  

Dec 10 2007

A Tale from Candi Dasa, Bali



Credit: Rising Tide North America

“If you want to go quickly, go alone. If you want to go far, go together. We need to go far – quickly.”

– Al Gore

“Dante once said that the hottest places in hell are reserved for those who in a period of moral crisis maintain their neutrality.”

– JFK (taking liberties with Dante – h/t to Marcus Graly)

Twelve thousand climate delegates descended on one of my favorite places in the world last week, the Indonesian island of Bali, a place that actually measures up to a good portion of its reputation as Paradise. In my opinion, anyway. Some of the delegates didn’t apparently see things that way, and grudgingly shed their business attire for batik shirts when they discovered their complaints about the lack of enough air conditioning in the pricey tourist and conference region known as Nusa Dua were not going to change the situation. How can anybody properly discuss climate change with sweat pouring down his back like the gushing moulins of Greenland’s melting ice?

If air conditioning is part of the must-have for any place you call Paradise, then you understand the predicament of those delegates. Because Bali doesn’t have electrical capacity to handle the load of “enough air conditioning” for tourists, much less the population at large. Indeed, all of Indonesia – population 235 million – has 35,000 megawatts of installed electrical power. The United States, with 300 million people – has nearly 1,100,000 installed megawatts.

Dec 10 2007

Pony Party: Sunday music retrospective

The Beatles:  Nightfall



Let it Be

Dec 10 2007

Measures of Worth

This is an attempt at starting a dialogue, about the fabric of what our human existence entails at present, and what it should strive to be.

Sometimes the universe is best examined through a microcosm.  I am completely unconvinced that the way I will attempt this will be the right way, but it will be my own attempt at a beginning. A stepping stone.

I am going to start small.  I was 6 years old when my 18 year old sister was killed in a car accident.  I remember how devastated my Mother was to lose her first born, and wishing it had been me instead.  Not being morose at all, my 6 year old logic told me that it would be easier on my Mom, because she had not had as much time to get attached to me.  Ok, leave that thought in the back of your mind and lets move forward.

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