Old Whine, New Bottles

Here is a particularly great article on the tea party movement by Mother Jones' Kevin Drum.  I found it quite illuminating.  The tea partiers are no different than John Birchers in their ideas- they just have the internet.

Stop It. Now.

Add this to your list of "things that must go:" tacking "-gate" on to anything and everything that is perceived to be scandalous.  

Just this week there have been two "scandals" reported on, and both are from the same television show.  The show, Dancing With The Stars, is notoriously campy (and horrible), and only perpetuates the lie that Michael Bolton is still relevant.  

First, there was "Boo-gate" (coined by, of course, Fox News), where Sarah Palin was reportedly booed by the audience.  While Sarah Palin is definitely a person worthy of being booed, the fact remains that she wasn't, in fact, booed; the media just has the judgment of a 7th grader when it comes to what qualifies as newsworthy.  

And the second "controversy" is that judge Bruno "I'm All-Up-In-Your-Face" Tonioli was overly harsh in his criticisms of (allegedly famous)singer Michael Bolton.  Two things here:  First, Bruno was doing his job and second, Bolton deserved it.  

The only scandal that can get away with it is the Watergate Scandal and that's because "gate" is actually part of the name of the hotel.  (Boy that Nixon was a bad guy, I don't care what Ben Stein says.)

So please, for my sake, let's all just stop adding "-gate" to the end of anything mildly (or not at all) controversial. 

Go Forth

I've really been digging the new Levi's campaign.  

Long Time Coming, pt.1

This post is late, but better late then never I suppose.

On the plane.

Back in July I went on vacation to New York City with my friend Lindsay.  It was a lot of fun and totally worth the money, and enduring the sweltering heat.  We made the mistake of booking our trip for early mid-July in February and no one bothered to tell us that New York would be experienced a record heat wave for the entire week we'd be there.  

Our tiny room.

 We took a red-eye flight out and arrived at JFK around 7am.


We arrived at our hotel around 10am.  By 10am it was around 100°F.  The hotel was very nice and the staff was so pleasant.  The room, however, was tiny. Nice, but tiny.  


Our hotel room also happened to have a wonderful view of the offices across the way-I was impressed with their work ethic.
  

What a lovely view.

Upon our arrival at the hotel, we took a nap and reveled in the sweet, sweet air-conditioning. 

We went out around 2:30 to get in line at TKTS to get discount tickets for an evening show and found that they were still selling matinee tickets.  We jumped on the chance to get tickets to West Side Story.  Why West Side Story?  Well it was right across the street, it was hot and we were desperate for relief, and it started at 3:00.  

A view from the mezzanine.

Our seats were perfect and the show was incredible.  I'm so glad that I got to see it.  Even though the show is over fifty years old, it remains an incredibly vital and relevant piece of art.  

Another hundred people..

Later that night we went back out to check out Times Square.  It was packed!  And it was still hot!  I was intrigued by these red stairs at first but soon lost interest.  

These guys totally knew I was trying to take a picture

The next day we met up with one of my best friends, Girija.  She lives in Boston and was spending the week in New York City with her mom, so we went to lunch.  We ate at a wonderful Swedish restaurant in Columbus Circle. It was great to see Girija because it had been over a year (I think) since I'd seen her.  We met her mom too, and she was, well, one of the coolest persons I've ever met. 

After lunch, Lindsay and I went to the Central Park Zoo.  The zoo is much smaller than our Hogle Zoo here in Utah, but it's a very clean, pleasant, and enjoyable place. 

After the zoo we walked down to the Museum of Modern Art.  There were some really great exhibits, including some of Picasso's earlier works.

Aesthetics is a complicated field of study.

After the museum, we ran over to TKTS and, after a cr-a-zy ordeal with my both credit and debit cards, we got tickets to see Promises, Promises.  

Filibuster: It's The Only Plan We Have

More proof that the Republicans in Congress hate Obama and Democrats more than they love America.  They successfully filibustered a bill that would promote less outsourcing for American companies.

In Heavy Rotation

Melody Gardot- My One and Only Thrill

You Get Feelings

Sometimes, I feel like this.

Depends On What Your Definition of "Mainstream" Is

Um, FYI, the John Birch Society, no matter how many ways you slice it, is not mainstream.  Contrary to what Sharon Angle and the owner of Mrs. Cavanaugh's may think, the John Birch Society is really a bunch of whackos who believe in absurd things like The 5000 Year Leap.  

Required Reading

Washington Rules- Andrew J. Bacevich

"Fixing Iraq or Afghanistan ends up taking precedence over fixing Cleveland and Detroit.  Purporting to support the troops in their crusade to free the world obviates any obligation to assess the implications of how Americans themselves choose to exercise freedom."

"In the wake of 9/11, this trend found its ultimate expression in the Bush Doctrine of preventive war.....When acting in the role of commander in chief, the president now claimed-and exercised-essentially unlimited entitlements.  Anything he and his advisors judged necessary to "keep America safe" became legitimate.  In the midst of the Watergate scandal that ultimately proved his undoing, President Richard Nixon had advanced the argument that "if the president does it, that means it's not illegal."  Nixon's removal from office had seemingly discredited this claim; after 9/11, this perverse Nixon Doctrine returned to favor."

"War, after all, had become a spectacle, not a phenomenon that inflicted pain and suffering on citizens of the United States."

"Today, Americans evince little interest in cultivating virtue, preferring instead the frantic pursuit of happiness, defined more often than not in terms of wealth, celebrity, and personal license."

"...if Washington pursues ruinous military and fiscal policies, Americans have no one but themselves to blame."

"Self-awareness is a gift.  The ability to see things as they are, without blinders, is an even greater one."

Braindump

Enough With The Guns to the Heads Already


Muslim Life Is As Precious As Anybody's


Christine O'Donnell Thinks Nancy Pelosi Is Not a True Christian


Who's Sean Hannity's Favorite Politician?  


The Coalition of Fear


Their Real Agenda

In Heavy Rotation

Company of Thieves- Ordinary Riches 

Any song about Oscar Wilde just has to be awesome.

Women

Carey Mulligan

She's just got a classic look.