Art

Speaking of Interesting Books…

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An excerpt from Joe Conason’s new book, Big Lies: The Right-Wing Propaganda Machine and How It Distorts the Truth.

If your workplace is safe; if your children go to school rather than being forced into labor; if you are paid a living wage, including overtime; if you enjoy a 40-hour week and you are allowed to join a union to protect your rights — you can thank liberals. If your food is not poisoned and your water is drinkable — you can thank liberals. If your parents are eligible for Medicare and Social Security, so they can grow old in dignity without bankrupting your family — you can thank liberals. If our rivers are getting cleaner and our air isn’t black with pollution; if our wilderness is protected and our countryside is still green — you can thank liberals. If people of all races can share the same public facilities; if everyone has the right to vote; if couples fall in love and marry regardless of race; if we have finally begun to transcend a segregated society — you can thank liberals. Progressive innovations like those and so many others were achieved by long, difficult struggles against entrenched power. What defined conservatism, and conservatives, was their opposition to every one of those advances. The country we know and love today was built by those victories for liberalism — with the support of the American people.

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I’m Glad That’s Over

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According to the New York Post, Roseanne Barr’s new “cooking” show, Domestic Goddess, has been cancelled. There’s no word on the fate of her “reality” , The Real Roseanne about the making of the “cooking” show, but it’s fate is likely not good. And that makes me happy, because I watched part of the first episode of the reality show, and I had to turn it off because it made me want to kick Roseanne’s ass, and the asses of her entire family.

The whole first episode was about coming up with a concept for the new “cooking” show, but although they keep meeting, and eating, and screaming at each other, and fighting with plastic swords, no one actually attempted to think of a concept for a show. They ended up going to a pitch meeting (late, because they were getting donuts) and pitching nothing but a vague description of what the show would be.

The agents started to ask them a bunch of questions about the show like, “Would this been in a studio, or would Roseanne invade the homes of celebrities and cook in their kitchens?” and you could see the faces of Roseanne’s family light up, like “hey that’s a good idea!” and you could see they never even thought about how the show would work.

Mentally, you start running through all the stuff you have to do in a given day, and you realize, “holy crap, these people have tons of money for no reason and I’m working my ass off…. I hate them!” And then you turn the show off and delete it from your DVR.

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COOL: GPS Tags for your dog, kid or elderly parent

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  • Post category:Brain Food

Mr. Wozniak described WozNet as a simple and inexpensive wireless network that uses radio signals and global positioning satellite data to keep track of a cluster of inexpensive tags within a one- or two-mile radius of each base station. WozNet, he said, will include a home-base station that has the ability to track the location of dozens or even hundreds of small wireless devices that can be attached to people, pets or property. The tags � expected to cost less than $25 each to produce � will be able to generate alerts, notifying the owner by phone or e-mail message when a child arrives at school, a dog leaves the yard or a car leaves the parking lot.”

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Funniest T-Shirts of 2003

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According to Washington Post readers, these are the funniest t-shirts they’ve seen worn in public this year. Part One, and Part Two.
“Buckle Up. It Makes It Harder for the Aliens to Snatch You From Your Car”
“Welcome to Tennessee — Set Your Watch Back 20 Years”
“Heck Is Where People Go Who Don’t Believe in Gosh”
“Protons Have Mass! And I Didn’t Even Know They Were Catholic”
“The Secret to Life: Breathe In. Breathe Out. Repeat”
“I Killed a Six-Pack Just to See It Die”

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Fall TV Schedule, Revised

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I reworked my fall tv schedule to highlight new shows as well as show I’m planning on watching. I also linked all the new shows to their websites and linked all the shows I’m planning on watching as well. Next, I’m going to put a tiny pink triangle next to shows that have gay or lesbian characters. Just for fun!
UPDATE: I counted it all up, and it comes out to 30 1/2 hours of TV per week, give or take. Scary. I’m going to have to streamline.

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Samuel Pepys’ Weblog (Diary)

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  • Post category:Brain Food

Samuel Pepys was an English gentleman who lived in the mid 1600’s, whose well-known and beloved diary serves as an excellent history of his era. Pepys was a practical man of business but also had a wide-ranging appetite for knowledge. His classical and mathematical education was the basis from which he explored the arts and sciences and he was an accomplished musician. This site presents his diary in weblog form, with annotations and links to reference information that helps bring the gentleman and his age to life.

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