Thanks Hollywood!

Sometimes, just sometimes, those wacky right wingers can be seriously funny.

According to this article, conservative advocacy group Citizens United is putting this and another image on three billboards in Hollywood for the month of February, the same month the Academy Awards will be held on Hollywood Blvd.

Its nice to know that these kinds of people think that celebrities have that much influence over people's politcal sway - because I don't know a single liberal who gives a crap what Streisand, Sheen, or Ben Affleck have to say.

This guy rocks.

Simpleton has gone retro. For this, he's surpassed Tony Pierce as my blog hero for the week.

A few comments on the Iraqi elections

There's lots that I want to write about and need to catch up on, but work has been slamming my ass. Still, since its coming up, and I hate people who Monday morning quarterback their views on politics, I wanted to express my feelings on the impending Iraqi elections...

I hate George W Bush (or, more specifically, I hate the Presidency of George W Bush), and I believe he effectively lied to the American public to gain support for the war... but I back him 100% on his resistance to postpone the date of the elections in Iraq.

Part of my problem with the Bush plan for Iraq is that you can't impose democracy on anyone. It misses the point. But to cancel these planned elections, however incredibly flawed and inaccurate they may be, would be a complete victory for the insurgents and terrorists trying to influence voter turnout. The more frequent the violence become as we approach Iraq's election day, the more important it is that we stick to the date.

No matter what, the Iraqi elections will be considered illegitimate. But as we long as there is a demonstration of what democracy is we're much closer to turning Iraq into a free country than at any other point in a generation. Even if we pull our troops out the day after there will be millions of Iraqis who understand what an election with choices is.

Whether this was worth the price in American blood and worldwide anger is another issue.

This is just too weird not to post...

Found via Ms MacIntosh's blog Melting Dolls.com:

Bilbo Baggins
music video
performed by Leonard Nimoy

Home Sweet Home

While I've never relished the idea of moving back to Old Lyme, CT, where I lived from October 1981 to September 1993, in the last few years I have really enjoyed being able to read local news. While it is typically dull stuff, the local paper, The Pictorial Gazette, posted a "year in the review" that provides some interesting bullet points on town happenings over the past twelve months. I'll excerpt some of it for everyone here, with commentary...

January
After several years of drinking bottled water, faculty and students at the Lyme-Old Lyme Middle School and High School can finally use the drinking fountains at the school again. Some old wells, previously used, no longer met DEP standards, but the towns had approved a new drinking water system that was now in place.

I remember the fountain water tasting like old pennies, so this doesn't surprise me. All of the fountain heads were caked with a bluish residue when I left. I still continue to urinate in blue to this day.

February
The Lyman Allyn Art Museum in New London launched a special exhibit of the "visionary art" of Elizabeth Tashjian, the founder and former curator of Old Lyme's unique Nut Museum.
Efforts were being made in Old Lyme to find homes for 30 new bluebird boxes that had been created in Jerry Silberberg's barn.

May
Don Bernier, a New York-based PBS editor and independent filmmaker, presented the first public showing of his documentary, "In A Nutshell: A Portrait of Elizabeth Tashjian," founder and former curator of Old Lyme's Nut Museum, at Connecticut College in New London.

One of my great burdens is that I was born in Toledo, best known for Jamie Farr, the drag queen from M*A*S*H and a farm league baseball team known as the Mud Hens, and then I moved to Old Lyme, best known as the home of Lyme Disease, and our best known resident was a crazy old woman known as "The Nut Lady" who once had a nervous breakdown when some squirrels broke into her home/museum and stole some prized nuts. She was on Carson a number of times, but I remember her most for the time I witnessed her shoplifting some chocolate covered cashews from the Old Lyme Pharmacy.

also in May
Many Old Lyme residents were enraged that, without any local input, the legislature passed and then Governor Rowland signed a bill that changed the name of a bridge on Route 156 from the Lieutenant River Bridge to the Thomas A. Fox Memorial Bridge. Fox apparently had summered in Old Lyme and was a friend of state Sen. Biagio Ciotto of Newington, chairman of the Transportation Committee, who had arranged the name change at the request of Fox's son.

August
Petitions were continuing to circulate throughout Old Lyme, asking the state to change the name of the Thomas A. Fox Memorial Bridge on Route 156 back to its original name of the Lieutenant River Bridge. Hundreds of angry residents had already signed and more were signing every day.

This silly squabble was interesting to follow for a few reasons. For one, I remember my mom thinking Gov. Rowland was a dishonest scumbag before he even took office, and I'm just sad that she passed away before she could see that he was essentially impeached and accused of taking bribes. Secondly, I agree with the residents that they should have had input on changing the name of bridge that had been used for a couple centuries, let alone changed for a guy who'd barely even spent his summers there. Finally, I think the issue ruffled more feathers because Thomas A Fox happened to be black, while Old Lyme is as white as you can get.

September
Dr. Robert Ballard of Lyme, the world's foremost undersea explorer, who had discovered the wreck of the Titanic in 1985, was back home after a return expedition to the Titanic to determine how the wreck had changed over the last two decades. The Titanic sank in the Atlantic Ocean after striking an iceberg in 1912.

I never knew he lived there. This kicks ass.

October
Court TV had asked Hadlyme author Dominick Dunne to continue hosting the series of broadcasts called "Dominick Dunne: Power, Privilege and Justice" and he had agreed. Court TV would send crews to Dunne's Hadlyme home so he could host the show right from his living room.

Back to my mom again, Dunne was her favorite author, so when he moved into town and started doing local book signings, I had him personalize a couple books for her. He then started coming into the pharmacy where I worked, and eventually we had a repoir, and hearing that I was a writer invited me to interview him for the local paper. I did, and he revealed a lot of private details... but would often stop to ask that I not write about it. Ugh. Someday, if I outlive him and his son, I will reveal all...

November
In July, Seven Palestinian teenagers were visiting here as guests of the First Congregational Church of Old Lyme. Then, in November Rev. David Good, senior minister of the church, had made a trip to the Israeli occupied Palestinian West Bank.

As agnostic and liberal as I am, I recognize and appreciate the Congregational Church continues to exemplify the good that a church can do. While my family were members of the nearby Christ the King Catholic Church, I found myself more drawn to the "Congregationalists" who had an active youth program, more focused on teaching by example than on preaching a message. They would host students from all over the world, including a South African kid sometime in the late 80s when the American public was first being made aware of apartheid. For years they've held an annual event called "No Room At the Inn", where middle and high school students would spend the night on the church's front lawn, in a box, in the middle of December, to draw attention to the homeless. And it was one of the reverand's, Charlie Harper, who I got to know during a weekend field trip to Manhattan, that introduced me to his brother Sam, a screenwriter, who ended up encouraging me to move to L.A. and took me under his wing when I arrived.

And now I'm missing the biggest blizzard to his Connecticut since 1978. Damnit.

and for more pressing news about Old Lyme, check out the online version of the Lyme-Old Lyme High Schools "Lyme Street Journal" and other student publications here.

Frank Black motherlode!

A couple news bits on my favorite all time rock star, Frank Black!

1. Frank Black as the Zodiac killer

Just saw this blurb here on Dark Horizons.

Zodiac: Frank Black (of The Pixies) is rumoured to be in talks for the role of the Zodiac killer.

"Zodiac" was recently announced as being the next project from David Fincher ("Seven", "Panic Room", "Fight Club")

I'm sure everyone here remembers that David Fincher used the Pixies "Where Is My Mind?" to great effect for the "Fight Club" trailer... so I think this rumor has some level of credibility.

Per Harry Knowles of Aint It Cool News:

The film will be based upon Robert Graysmith's two books entitled ZODIAC and ZODIAC UNMASKED...

Now - you may remember that Zodiac hunted his prey in San Francisco for going on a quarter of a century. Without a doubt - the killer in the first DIRTY HARRY was a nod to Zodiac, simply by referring to him as Scorpio. Now the adaptation from the Graysmith novels will be handled by James Vanderbilt, who was the screenwriter on DARKNESS FALLS, BASIC and THE RUNDOWN...

2. Pixies on Letterman Monday night

This is a rerun of their appearance from last month, so not exactly breaking news... except for those of us who missed it the first time.

Johnny Carson moves on

Johnny Carson just passed away.

Carson was pure class. He deserves all the memorials and tributes that come his way.

Fox anchor SMACKED DOWN! and more on the Inauguration.

There's nothing wrong with the President celebrating his inauguration with pomp and majesty.

But $17 million, just for security, should have caused the White House second thoughts of rescaling the event size and budget that wouldn't be so insulting to the taxpayers of Washington DC, and the nation at large.

Almost as insulting was Bush and his team's continued lament that the inauguration was about freedom and , the people, although he kept protesters far out of sight, and charged thousands of dollars for people to join in on the some Inaugural meals. In short, the Inauguration was really only for rich people who like Bush's and his concept of freedom, which is, frankly, fucked.

Anyway...

Oliver Willis has a great clip from Fox News with Vanity Fair editor Judy Bachrach complaining about the inauguration ceremonies as Brigitte Quinn does a horrible job of defending the White House. Quinn almost feels like a Democratic plant she's so bad.

Some other details pointed out from American Progress (referred by Tony Pierce):

A look at this week's festivities by the numbers:

• $40 million: Cost of Bush inaugural ball festivities, not counting security costs.


• $2,000: Amount FDR spent on the inaugural in 1945…about $20,000 in today's dollars.


• 200: Number of Humvees outfitted with top-of-the-line armor for troops in Iraq that could have been purchased with the amount of money blown on the inauguration.


• $1: Amount per guest President Carter spent on snacks for guests at his inaugural parties. To stick to a tight budget, he served pretzels, peanuts, crackers and cheese and had cash bars.


• 22 million: Number of children in regions devastated by the tsunami who could have received vaccinations and preventive health care with the amount of money spent on the inauguration.


• 1,160,000: Number of girls who could be sent to school for a year in Afghanistan with the amount of money lavished on the inauguration.


• $15,000: The down payment to rent a fur coat paid by one gala attendee who didn't want the hassle of schlepping her own through the airport.


• 2,500: Number of U.S. troops used to stand guard as President Bush takes his oath of office


• 26,000: Number of Kevlar vests for U.S. soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan that could be purchased for $40 million.


• $290: Bonus that could go to each American solider serving in Iraq, if inauguration funds were used for that purpose.


• $6.3 million: Amount contributed by the finance and investment industry, which works out to be 25 percent of all the money collected.


• $17 million: Amount of money the White House is forcing the cash-strapped city of Washington, D.C., to pony up for inauguration security.


• 9: Percentage of D.C. residents who voted for Bush in 2004.

'Nuff said.

Viva capitalism!

Today is "Don't Spend A Dime Day", in protest of the Bush inauguration.

I don't get it, as much as I don't get most protesters. Actually, I'm even a little more confused over this particular form on protest.

Why should I try and weaken our economy to protest the President?

Other people are wearing all black today. I don't have a problem with that. Good test ground for my proposal to celebrate Halloween twice a year.

But withholding business from local merchants is just silly.

Reminds me of some truckers who recently protested rising diesel fuel costs by parking their trucks in the middle of a Los Angeles Freeway, side by side, during rush hour. If they wanted attention, they got it. If they wanted public sympathy it would only come as a napalm Hallmark card.

So today, I've set up my office at a local Starbucks (which, by the way, is offering 1 month unlimited wireless for only $9.99 via T Mobile). Later, I'll be heading to Staples for a few supplies to complete my portable office. And in the meantime, I'm working for the most recognizable shoe brand on the planet.

Viva capitalism!

And in another case of my annoyance with liberal zealotry, Rolling Stone has declined to run an ad for the Bible citing they "are not in the business of publishing advertising for religious messages." More from CNN.com.

Tiny stills from "The Worshipper"

Some teeny stills culled from the editing bay for the short film, "The Worshipper", based on a story by Richard Laymon.