heading back to Kentucky

Blogging will be sparse for the next week while I help Courtney move out of her place and visit her family and my puppy! I'll be back to the Arb late next week to see the Decemberists in Detroit.

the Weinsteins come through

The Weinsteins formed a new company to acquire the rights to Farenheit 9/11. Not that any of us were all that worried. I might be skeptical of Michael Moore, but its not like I'm going to root against somebody making an anti-Bush documentary either. Sorta like how American Christians root for Israel, even though the official word is that they're all going to hell.

And no I don't really think all Christians think all the Jews are going to hell. This Christian isn't particularly worried either way. I just wanted to get the joke in w/ that link.

an academic cult?

An academic conference on Buffy the Vampire Slayer in TN? Courtney's ex-roommates are Buffy freaks, like writing fan fics and weird stuff like that, and let me tell you, this scares the shit out of me.

the futility of war

Cardinal/Ranger Pat Tillman was killed by friendly fire. sucks.

America continues to lose its mind

While the newest polls show Kerry beating Bush 49-41, that margin widens to 53-39 with a proposed Kerry-McCain ticket. I'd vote for the child porn clown over Bush, but come on kids. McCain's a swell guy and all, but a nice guy republican is still a republican and has no business in the White House unless he's taking his kids on a weekend tour.

way to fight them terrorists, George

A Kennedy School of Government report says that less nuclear material was secured in the two years immediately after the 9/11 attacks than in the two years before.

From NY Times: The most plausible explanation is that the administration has focused so intensely on Iraq, which posed no nuclear threat, that it had little energy left for the real dangers. Indeed, the Harvard researchers said that if a tenth of the effort and resources devoted to Iraq in the last year was devoted to securing nuclear material wherever it might be, the job could be accomplished quickly.

Update: The KSG report can be downloaded here.

Death with Dignity

A federal appeals court yesterday upheld the only law in the nation authorizing doctors to help their terminally ill patients commit suicide. Regardless of the fact that I go to Kevorkian University med school, it's always fun when judges put the smack down on John Ashcroft.

worst 20 video games ever

Tim was telling me about this game for the old Atari called "Custer's Revenge" in which the object was to avoid being shot by arrows in order to reach a native american women tied to a cactus and ready to be penetrated. Researching this hilari... wait... this abomination, I ran across this list of the worst 20 video games ever.

as if clowns weren't creepy enough

ringling bros. clown held on child porn charges? that's screwed up.

Wading in the Velvet Sea

In a devastating but not so surprising announcement, after 21 years, Phish is calling it quits.

Currently Reading

The Handmaid's Tale, Margaret Atwood

Here's a little agit for the never believer

Andy Kaufman returns? prolly not.

But I don't think any of us would be all that surprised. This AT LEAST shows the power of blogging.

FDA bans gay sperm?

What the HELL is wrong with the FDA these days? First no OTC Plan B (which only complete morons who understand NOTHING about human reproductive nature and pansies who can fabricate data could dislike). And NOW, men who've had gay sex in the past five years can't donate sperm because of risk of HIV transmission. Ok kids, we have what are called rapid tests. They work great. You have results in a few hours. So jizz in the cup, take the test, if the test comes out positive, call the dude and throw the jizz in w/ some lysol, and you're done.

Like seriously, only the most homophobic medical professional could possibly think this is a good idea. The science SIMPLY DOES NOT support this sort of partisan BS. What the HELL is wrong w/ the FDA? They do such good work normally!

Randy Johnson is a Stud

At age 40, he throws MLB's 17th perfect game. Fabulous.

Same-Sex Vows make History

Let's enjoy it while it lasts.

Stars and Bars in the 'Shland

Here's my editorial on the girl from my high school who decided to wear a prom dress made from a confederate flag and was denied admission. So far, there have probably been 15 editorials defending the girl, and about 3, including mine, happy that the former administration decided to take a hit to stand up against hate and bigotry.

the world is saved

Pat Buchanan shows he's still a moron in his anti-Brown v. Board editorial. D.C. schools get integrated, so racists rich white prigs move out to Virginia and Maryland to avoid having to drink at a water fountain with the barbarian Negro. And surprise, the D.C. schools aren't good when the people who've had generations of discrimination and crap education are all concentrated there after the racists jerks leave. Surprise!

Farenheit 9/11 at Cannes

Critics seem to think Michael Moore's anti-Bush documentary sans distributor is actually pretty powerful in its "segments about losses on both sides of the Iraq war and the grief of American and Iraqi families."

Update: Yahoo! News, running almost the exact same article, prefers the headline "Moore's 9/11 Movie Riles Cannes Audiences."

rile: to anger, annoy, etc.

It seems like Yahoo! consistently beefs up their headlines in deceptive ways on both sides of the equation (no liberal/conservative bias charge here), which is a pretty dangerous thing in a culture that is used to Headline News, and can only pay attention for up to seven words at a time.

And let's face it, the people at Cannes aren't exactly No-Spin Zone frequenters. Film people probably make me look like a member of the Religious Right. Are we honestly supposed to believe that people at Cannes weren't eating this thing up? Moore is extremely questionable in his methods, sure, and the fact that he truly expects people to take him extremely seriously this time is even more problematic. I'm all for the development of liberal media, but I think somebody like Al Franken, who chooses to rally the Left through humor, might be more serviceable than Moore, who is probably a little wreckless at best in putting out his product.

Update 2: Google News links a very similar article with the title Moore's 9/11 film cheered at Cannes. What gives, Yahoo!? Did Murdoch buy you too?

GATTACA

NPR has some nice features on genetic disorders and some of the ethics of genetic testing. This week: Reading Genes for Disease, Part 3: Huntington's.

Very disturbing.

Ok, it's one thing if Ann Coulter is a moron. That's fine. But what scares me is that I'm pretty sure Karl Rove jerks off to pictures like this. No wonder Bob Dole needed Viagra.

Kurt Vonnegut still at it

Everything the man says is pure genius. Well, maybe not. But something about his love/hate optimism/pessimism that makes you wish everything he said were gospel. And whatever he says, it's at least funny. Regardless of whether he makes you smarter or dumber, he makes you laugh.

I could hardly decide which quote to post, but I decided this one was fun.

If you want to take my guns away from me, and you’re all for murdering fetuses, and love it when homosexuals marry each other, and want to give them kitchen appliances at their showers, and you’re for the poor, you’re a liberal.

If you are against those perversions and for the rich, you’re a conservative.

Kuwaiti Women Get the Right to Vote

Seems like a good thing!

Currently Reading

Apuleius, The Golden Ass (Graves Translation)

I'm a Speak and Spell!

What childhood toy from the 80s are you?

You're a Speak & Spell!! You nerd, you. Just
because you were disguised as a toy doesn't
mean you weren't educational, you sneaky
bastard.
brought to you by Quizilla

New Blog Template

That last template really sucked. Blogger just majorly upgraded itself, so maybe this one will suck a lot less.

Ebertus Rex

As much as I expect the new Troy movie to be an absolute travesty, Roger Ebert's assessment of what Greek drama is all about is about as mature as a junior high latin student's book report might be. I think Rog must have read the comic book version of the Iliad.

What's sad, I didn't know the comic book version actually existed. I was just going to link to a respectable Lattimore translation or something. On a hunch, I searched "Iliad comic" on Amazon, and that's what I found.

Homer: (from the grave) Doh!

It's the End of the World As We Know It

Suddenly, Pat Buchanan is a genius? What next? Jersey wins an NBA title? Cubbies/BoSox Series?

I spoke too soon.

A Colorado bishop has lost his mind.

The Vatican seems to toe the line between common sense and irrelevancy when it warns catholics against marrying muslims.

I can't decide on this article. I do feel this is a pretty good example of the ubiquitous problem of headlines framing the contents of an article inaccurately.

Japanese law makers reading comic books during sessions of Parliament. How cool is that! Idiots.

There are some Louisianna legislators with way too much time on their hands. Or in their underwear.

From AP:

Nahidah Abdulkarim, a housewife who said her three sons were detained by U.S. forces in January, stood in a dusty field and peered through the barbed wire fence at the prison.

"I am so eager to see them again so that I can kill all the bad and ugly thoughts that my sons had been abused inside the prison," she said. "Every time I see the pictures of the abused Iraqi prisoners, I die a hundred times."

Humanity of all colors can be pretty disgusting.

"I spent 30 years in the Air Force fighting communism," he said yesterday. "I gave up 30 years of my life, and I didn't give it up so I could start learning Spanish." He added, "Every single veteran I've talked to feels the same way."

Such is a quote from Maryland Governor Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. (from the Grand Old Party, no surprise), who in a recent speech stated that "Once you get into this multicultural crap, this bunk, you run into a problem. With respect to this culture, English is the language."

I have no sympathy for someone that spent 30 years of his life defending our country from the Spanish language. If that's the sort of thing he was fighting for, then he wasted his time and is a great case of the Great American Un-Hero.

Fighting communism? Sure. That's a good thing. But if you're a bigoted asshole, don't expect too many bonus points from those of us who don't have a racial superiority complex jammed passed our anal folds.

As expected, the Onion's take on the Prisoner Abuse Scandal is the most insightful.

Joe Klein does a great job pointing out the perils of a righteous president.

"Abu Ghraib made a mockery of American idealism. It made all the baser motives—oil, dad, Israel—more believable. And it represents all the moral complexities this President has chosen to ignore—all the perverse consequences of an occupation."

Proof that nothing good can come of the prisoner scandal.

California state Sen. Pete Knight, prominent gay marriage opponent, dead at 74. A huge loss for hateful asshole homophobes everywhere.

The Brits say that kids should be taught how to have oral sex in order to curb pregnancy. I'm going to refrain from lots of jokes, and say that Britain is one cool place.

Kelly Doran just emailed me this quote:

Mr. Bush observed with no irony to Al Arabiya TV: "Iraqis are sick of
foreign people coming in their country and trying to destabilize their
country, and we will help them rid Iraq of these killers."

Beautiful.

Heading back to Kentucky for the weekend for Courtney's graduation. Be back Sunday night to work on my deferred Infectious Disease quiz.

Apparently a high-schooler from my home town tried to go to prom in a dress made out of a confederate flag. She was denied admission.

I wonder why anatomy professors find it so hard to get dates? Maybe because they're looking in moose noses.

Pac-man in the streets at NYU. Silly me. I thought those were amphetamines, not Power Pellets.

Farting your brains out? A brisk jog might help.

I have to be proud to be a Kentuckian, where at least they understand the value of a vasectomy.

Don't play with nail guns.

I just can't wait to rotate in Detroit.

I wish Michael Moore would quit shooting himself in the foot.

The FDA, as sheep of the religious right, decided to block the OTC sale of emergency contraception, saying that 15 year olds will have sex more if they can go the next day and buy expensive pills to make the babies go away. How many millions of dollars are we going to have to spend proving that abstinence training is absolutely useless? I wasn't getting laid when I was 15, but if I was, I bet OTC emergency contraception wouldn't have made me any less scared-as-hell of AIDS or gonorrhea or herpes or all that other fun stuff. If we spent the money we spent showing the religious right over and over again that abstinence training is a joke, and spent more money on STD education, we might actually see a decline in people's lives being screwed up by bacteria and unwanted kids.

CNN's NCAA-style Veepstakes might be the greatest political commentary I've seen in a while. Will Hillary take Feinstein to the hole? Can Russ Feingold match up in the paint w/ Bill Richardson? The possibilities are endless.

We Got 'Em! Along with Joe Crawford and Rajon Rondo, Morris gives us, along with Kelenne Azubuike and Chuck Hayes, one heck of a starting five. On a sadder and likely related note, Bernard Cote has decided to leave the Wildcats.

Atlanta power forward Randolph Morris will announce at 6pm EST whether he's coming to UK or Georgia Tech. Here's hoping UK gets its first ever trio of McDonald's All-Americans!