February 26, 2009

This Made Me Smile (Yes, I Am Capable)


When I purchased (yes, purchased) the most recent Elvis Costello album, Momufuku, last spring, I noticed in the credits that in addition to Attractions/Imposters drummer Pete Thomas there was an additional drummer, one Tennessee Thomas. Not intentionally being sexist, I assumed Tennessee was Pete's son (Tennessee just sounded more like a boy's name to me).

Well, I now stand corrected. On a recent episode of Elvis' chat/music show Spectacle, Tennessee joined her dad on drums and together they did the Ringo Starr-Jim Keltner Concert for Bangladesh double-drumming thang:



I had a huge grin on my face watching father and daughter the entire show. Here are a few clips:





For those of you wondering how Wahoo & Steve are getting along these days...


...this pretty much sums it up (in this video, the role of Steve will be played by a rabbit and in reality the bed would in fact belong to Wahoo):



But seriously folks, sometimes Wahoo & Steve make nice:



Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!

Clean Coal Clean!




(Directed by the Coen Brothers)

February 24, 2009

The Poster Boy for ODS (Obama Derangement Syndrome)


If you're looking for proof that the right-wing fringe is being driven bonkers by President Obama, look no further than CNBC's Rick Santelli. In a thinly veiled racist rant seen by over 700,000 YouTubers (that's a lot of masturbating for Michelle Malkin), Santelli whined and moaned and screamed and shouted about the irresponsible "losers" who would be saved from foreclosure by Obama's housing plan:



Santelli along with his self-proclaimed "statistical cross-section of America" (um, the cheering day traders surrounding Santelli on the floor*), all have neglected to mention the irresponsibility of the predatory lenders who "got cash rebates to put people in crappy, high-interest mortgages, (who) hid (the) terms of the agreement and denied disclosure, and that all of those hardworking folks are seeing their property values plummet as a result of millions of foreclosed homes glutting the market." Also missing from the rant: The infamous Bush Administration slogan of his first four years as president, The Ownership Society (how'd that work out, George?).



Never mind all of that. The right-wingers have lapped up this rant like it was mother's milk, even going so far as to suggest a Palin-Santelli ticket for 2012 (how great would that be for America: All Hate, All the Time).

But the true test of someone who is clearly being driven insane is when you start seeing the paranoia setting in. Santelli exposed his paranoia on no other than Republican ex-con G. Gordon Liddy's radio show, telling all three listeners
SANTELLI: He started that press conference saying, "I don't know where he lives, I don't know where his house is." This is the Press Secretary of the White House. Is that the kind of thing we want? Is that --

LIDDY: It's a veiled threat.

SANTELLI: It really is. [...] I don't really want to be a spokesman, but I really am very proud of a) the response I'm getting, which is overwhelmingly positive, and b) discourse, that is debate. That if the pressure and the heat I'm taking from the White House - the fact my kids are nervous to go to school - I can take that, okay.
Wow, what a brave, little man. Fact is, the White House Press Secretary said nothing of the kind. Let's go to the videotape:

"I'm not entirely sure where Mr. Santelli lives or in what house he lives," Gibbs said during the daily briefing. "But the American people are struggling every day to meet their mortgage, stay in their jobs, pay their bills to send their kids to school, and to hope that they don't get sick or somebody they care for gets sick that sends them into bankruptcy. I think we left a few months ago the adage that if it was good for a derivatives trader, that it was good for main street. I think the verdict is in on that."

Ouch. But from there it got almost more personal. Gibbs picked up a hard copy of the housing plan from the briefing room lectern and implored Santelli to "download it, hit print and begin to read it." Gibbs added: "I would be more than happy to have him come here and read it. I'd be happy to buy him a cup of coffee, decaf." The press in the room laughed.
Oh noes, the press room laughed at Santelli's expense. Quick, call Sarah Palin! She was right. There truly is a media conspiracy against "real Americans" like Santelli and herself.

Yep, it's conspiracy against paranoid morons.


*UPDATE: Check out this NotReallySafeForWork cross-section of America:



More like a cross-section of frat boys.

Life Imitates Art Imitating Life




Good thing the older Academy members most likely never even heard of Ricky Gervais or we would have been watching yet another Meryl Streep acceptance speech Monday night.

(via freakgirl)

February 23, 2009

Worst Oscars Ever?


Clearly that was three hours of our lives that we'll never get back. Hugh Jackman's opening number was fine (great job Anne Hathaway), but it was more or less completely downhill from there (the only bright spot being Tina Fey and Steve Martin).

The day before, my wife and watched the Independent Spirit Awards. More fun, certainly more spirited, less pretentious and definitely more f-bombs:



Plus they beat Ben Stiller to the punch by over 24 hours:

February 19, 2009

...And The Fact That He's A Total Dick


Stooge
Muntadher al-Zaidi, the Iraqi journalist on trial for throwing his shoes last year at then-President George W. Bush, said the former American leader's "bloodless and soulless smile" and his joking banter provoked him.

(snip)

"I could only see Bush and feel the blood of the innocents flow under his feet, as he was smiling that smile -- as if he had come to bid farewell to Iraq and with the last support and more than 1 million martyrs," al-Zaidi said. "At that moment, I felt this is the man who killed our nation ... the main murderer and the main person responsible for killing our nation."


TV reporter Muntadhar al-Zaidi, shown in a file photo, appeared in court to loud applause and cheers.


Speaking in his first public appearance since his arrest two months ago, al-Zaidi told the court he "got emotional and threw the shoe at him" and "the second one was involuntary."

"I had no intention to kill the commander of the occupying forces ... even if I had a weapon ... I was expressing my inner feelings and those of all the Iraqi people from east to west and north to south and the feelings of hatred they hold for him," he said.

Al-Zaidi told the judge that he had intended to humiliate Bush in the past. As Bush listed the gains made in Iraq during the mid-December news conference, al-Zaidi said he was thinking about the millions of civilians who had been killed, widowed or displaced. He talked about the sanctity of mosques being violated, the rape of women and daily humiliations.

"I don't know what accomplishments he was talking about. The accomplishments I could see were the more than 1 million martyrs and a sea of blood," al-Zaidi said. "There are more than 5 million Iraqi orphans because of the occupation. ... More than a million widows and more than 3 million displaced because of the occupation.
Muntadher al-Zaidi, we salute you.

The Last of Shea




I had some good times at that big lunk of a ballpark. Jumping up and down and hugging my Dad after Lenny Dykstra nailed a walkoff homerun to beat the Astros in Game 3 of the 1986 NLCS. Game 7 of the '86 World Series. Endy Chávez' catch in Game 7 of the 2006 NLCS (almost made me forget the loss).

Still, I'm looking forward to Taxpayers Park Citi Field. Time to create some new (hopefully good) memories.

February 16, 2009

Expect a Christian Bale or David After the Dentist Mashup Any Minute Now


This YouTube video of a Chinese woman losing her shit after missing a flight has 600,000 hits and counting. Her family must be so proud:

The Biggest (Sore) Loser




"Maverick" John McCain is toeing the Republican party line and telling anyone who still wants to listen to a cranky old man that the stimulus bill amounts to "generational theft". You wanna talk about generational theft dipshit? How 'bout the $3 trillion + we're ultimately going to spend on the Iraq war? Or how about the true generational theft of the children of the 4,245 fallen U.S. soldiers in Iraq. Their mothers and fathers can never be brought back by tax cuts.

February 13, 2009

Everybody Dance Now!


This defies description:



(h/t Robert Popper)

"An Open Letter to President Obama About the Republicans (From a Former Republican)"


Wow (but not too surprising for those paying attention):
Dear President Obama: I know that from time to time you read Huffington Post because you've written for it. As a Huffington Post reader you'll know that no one on this web site has more faithfully supported your candidacy and now your presidency than me. As a former lifelong Republican, son of a co-founder of the Religious Right; my late evangelical leader father, Francis Schaeffer, I'm in a unique position to tell you a few things about the Republicans from inside perspective. (As you know I left that movement in the mid 1980s.)

The lack of cooperation you're getting from the Republican Party will continue. You were right to indulge in a little bit of tokenism when you had to Pastor Rick Warren pray at your inauguration. But if you think that the Republicans in Congress and the Senate are going to do more than their utmost to obstruct everything you are and what you stand for you're dreaming.

As someone who appeared numerous times on the 700 Club with Pat Robertson, as someone for whom Jerry Falwell used to send his private jet to bring me to speak at his college, as an author who had James Dobson giveaway 150,000 copies of my one of my fundamentalist "books" allow me to explain something: the Republican Party is controlled by two ideological groups. First, is the Religious Right. Second, are the neoconservatives. Both groups share one thing in common: they are driven by fear and paranoia. Between them there is no Republican "center" for you to appeal to, just two versions of hate-filled extremes.

The Religious Right supply the kind of people who at McCain and Palin rallies were yelling things such as "kill him" about you. That's the constituency to which your hand was extended when looking for compromise on your financial bailout bill.

There's only one thing that makes sense for you now. Mr. President, you need to forget a bipartisan approach and get on with the business of governing by winning each battle. You will never be able to work with the Republicans because they hate you. Believe me, Rush Limbaugh and Ann Coulter are the norm not the exception. James Dobson and the rest are praying for you to fail. The neoconservatives are gnashing their teeth and waiting for you to "sell out Israel" or "show weakness" in Afghanistan, whatever, so they can declare you a traitor.
Frank Schaeffer is the author of CRAZY FOR GOD-How I Grew Up As One Of The Elect, Helped Found The Religious Right, And Lived To Take All (Or Almost All) Of It Back.

Read the rest of the letter by clicking the link above.

Making Sadness Sadder




One of the victims of today's plane crash in Buffalo was Beverly Eckert, a 9/11 widow:
Speaking at an event at the White House, Obama said Friday that his prayers are with families and friends who lost loved ones. A Continental commuter plane crashed into a house in suburban Buffalo on Thursday night, killing all 49 people aboard and a person in the home.

One of the victims was Beverly Eckert, a Sept. 11 widow. She was just at the White House last week with Obama as part of a meeting he had with relatives of those killed in the 2001 attacks and the bombing of the USS Cole.

Obama said Eckert was an inspiration to him and he hopes her family finds comfort in the days ahead.
Condolences to the families of all the victims.

John Sununu: Total Tool


Former Republican Senator tries to defend the failed economic policies of his party. Result: Double Fail.



John Sunumnuts: "This is a trillion dollar stimulus bill. A trillion dollars."

Jon Stewart: "We spent $700 billion dollars in Iraq. Why can't we rebuild our country?"

February 12, 2009

Colbert shows us his guts (and rips apart "flaming ball of gas" Glenn Beck)


Another classic Colbert segment:

February 10, 2009

"Get Out There and Do Something Creative with Your Lives"


Watch this guy paint, run and make a BLT without dropping an F-bomb (but this certainly qualifies as a WTF):



(h/t Robert Popper.com)

February 08, 2009

Just When I Thought I Was Done With The Christian Bale Mashups, They Pull Me Back In


The two hottest viral clips of the month combine to make one of the greatest mashups ever:



More David After the Dentist videos can be found here.

February 05, 2009

"No! Noooooo!"


The last word on the Christian Bale meltdown:

LMAO




(via the always Dependable Renegade)

February 04, 2009

February 03, 2009

It Only Hurts When I Laugh


Or stand. Or lie down. Or sit down. Or walk.

MRI

According to my MRI (see above. ewwwww), I have a "large superiorly extruded left paracentral and lateral recess disc herniation at the L4-5 level." In addition, there is "significant compression of the thecal sac and left L4 root before it exits under the pedicle of L4 as well as left L5 root in the lateral recess and disc space level."

In other words, it hurts like hell.

The only positive part is that it's fun to say thecal sac. Go on. Try it.

A Message from College Republicans




(more hijinks at The Full Ginsburg)

"Is This Real Life?"


Kids, just say no to dental hygiene:



(h/t Videogum)