So having one’s birthday on the 13th of a month is kinda cool. Some years, it’s also a Friday, which pretty much demands a large, dangerous party. After this year, though, I may wish it were some other day.
The fact that they feel it necessary to point out that they will have a “real doctor” on hand makes it even creepier.|*|
Why Stick People are extinct.
Remember those inane anti-drug ads during the Super Bowl, and the absurdly oversimplistic full-page print ads that followed? The ones that suggest that a casual pot user is “supporting terrorism” by purchasing illegal drugs, all the while ignoring the fact that it is prohibition that creates the black market and its exhorbitant prices? There’s finally a counterpoint. (PDF)
This is a site based on the author’s grandfather’s photos, who was a sailor in the US Navy after World War I. Cool.
“ Man Stabbed with Swordfish” is probably the best headline I’ve read in a while. As if it weren’t already clear, the article notes that “both men were drunk, according to police.”
Not only is Fox airing a show called “Glutton Bowl” — something I was pretty sure was an Onion story at first, I don’t mind admitting — but these freaks also appear to have some sort of governing body.
Bill Maher suggests that it’s shows like this that really make the rest of the world hate us. He can’t be far wrong.
With all this talk about weapons of mass destruction, it’s more important than ever to know what to do in case we’re attacked.
The Village Voice is running a piece on the Ten Questions the Press Isn’t Asking. It’s worth your time.
Former literary it-girl and rising-star-cum-has-been Elizabeth Wurtzel has an interesting point of view on the events of September 11, and it seems to consist largely of irritation at the way the terrorists inconvenienced her personally.
Having read that, it’s almost hard to tell if it’s real, or more parody.|*|
Some CS grad students at Harvard have put a dartboard on the Internet.
Okay, it’s this goat head, see? And then. . . oh, hell. Just look.
. . . then who is treating him?
The more politically plugged-in among you are probably already aware of the fight brewing over Shrub’s first big judicial nominee, but what you probably don’t know is that said nominee — Federal Judge Charles Pickering, up for the Court of Appeals — is my cousin. We’re not close, but we do see each other several times a year. This brings a new perspective to the whole confirmation battle scenario for me. Charles is a staunch Republican, and has certainly been active in the Mississippi GOP for years. He’s been on the Federal bench since 1990 — a position that, of course, also required Congressional approval. That time, it was unanimous.
It won’t be that way for the Court of Appeals. A movement is afoot, largely led by People for the American Way, to defeat his nomination for reasons that probably boil down to the fact that he’s a Republican, which strikes me as a poor way to pick judges. I certainly don’t agree with him politically, but by most accounts he’s been a fine and fair jurist. When the decidedly left-of-center Washington Post says it’s gotten needlessly mean, and that the charges of racism and worse are so much smoke and mirrors, well, you know something ugly is happening. Aside from this piece, the only other balanced material I’ve seen has been in the New York Times; today, there was a long article (registration required) on Charles’ minority support within Mississippi, which is also food for thought.|||||*|
I think I’ve put this on here before, but it’s just so damn cool I can’t help myself. Amazing.
There is much to hate about the Houston Chronicle, but the fact that Waylon Jennings’ obituary was front page news on Thursday can make up for at least some of it. (Of course, I’m not linking to it because of one of the aformentioned reasons to hate them: archives are a fee-only deal.)
You’ve got to be kidding.
Making this for my brother and his fiance.
But you really need to know which Office Space character you are anyway. I’m gonna have to go ahead and ask you to come in on Saturday…
British Telecom is suing the whole Internet. No, really.
My brother (with beard) just got engaged to this woman, (left, with boogie lips; astute readers will note Senior NoGators Political Correspondent Willis at right) and we here at NoGators really couldn’t be happier about it. Send them well-wishes here.
Only if making flight so painful that no one is willing to do it counts as “secure.” Idiot airline hijinx prove that it’s faster to drive than fly — even cross country.
The Weekly World News has temporarily taken down its website. Go visit to find out why.
Snubbed by Shrub, other evil powers form their own Axes. (Called to our collective attention by NoGators Texas Counsel Thomas P.)
To all you Yankees: N. B. that this guy isn’t even American, let alone Southern.
Now this is my kind of tractor.
And this one’s MAD!
Despite what certain New York area NoGators legal correspondents may tell you, not all Australian residents are friendly. (Note: Unless you are particularly annoying, Andy is unlikely to eat you.)
Fantastic and terrible Lego sculptures documented at LegoDeath.com. Enjoy.
This is really amazing. Render any picture as text/html. Give it a try.
Great discussion of said law and how it stifles innovation in the Scientific American.
If only this were actually a Delta promo. We loves us some flyin’, and it be showin’ like a motherfucker.
Wow.
Can you tell which beer goes in which bottle without benefit of labels? Give it a try. I got 10 of 12.
Whether this is a good thing or not is probably best left undetermined.
The Wall Street Journal (login required) is reporting that Amazon.com has posted its first quarterly profit. Granted, it’s a profit of about $5 million on quarterly revenues of $1.12 billion, but it’s a hell of a lot better than last year’s Q4 (net loss of $545 million), and exceeds analyst expectations by a significant margin.
Recession? What recession?
The good folks at the University of Washington are running a nice primer on propaganda techniques. If you think this sort of thing is limited to “bad guys,” think again.
Afghanistan has the press enthralled, but the thing we really should be worried about (I mean, now that the Taliban lives beardless and bald in Cuba) is still Enron. The evidence of systemic failure is huge, and the political implications are terrifying.
Look. We admit it. We know there are sometimes things that we post here that are horrible. Ridiculous. Painful, even. Maybe visiting this page has gotten someone into trouble with a spouse, a lover, a co-worker, a boss, or even the clergy. That we know this, publically acknowledge it, and yet not change compounds the sin immeasurably.
And yet, you keep coming back. For you, the determined sort not yet sufficiently burned, offended, or morally compromised to realize the error of your ways, we present the GeezerSqueezer.
It’s not a game. Really.
Okay, get this. Flotsam Cove is a site dedicated to old photos and the stories behind them. It’s pretty darn neat — especially his deconstruction of these shots documenting “Murder at the Casablanca Lounge.”
But this gives even ME pause.
LilBill.net is a fan site devoted to a Saturday morning cartoon called “The Adventures of Li’l Bill & Hill,” which ran from 1993 to 2000. The show, clearly patterned on the Clinton administration, followed the lives of the gang at White House Elementary (like the Simpsons, they never seemed to age). This site — which purports to be the only fan site of its kind, and I believe him — includes episode and character listings (complete with guest star and voice actor credits) as well as a reasonably complete survey of show-related collectable items.
Of course, the real kicker is that it’s all fiction; no such show ever existed. I love this. AMAZING.
Bear with me. I’ll be funny again (indeed, if ever I was such a thing) soon.
First up, we have the inimitable P. J. O’Rourke venting about airport (in)security in the current Atlantic Monthly. Of course, complaining is probably tantamount to treason under Mullah Ashcroft, but P. J. marches on.
Then we’ve got this administration’s first big scandal, right here in my own backyard. Senior NoGators Political Correspondent E. Willis (seen here, at left, with editor) points out this bit from the Washington Post, which puts things in perspective. Also, ABCNews.com is running a particularly disturbing story that makes it abundantly clear that Lay & co. knew their empire was a house of cards.
Oh, yes. The clowns. Late last night I found this running on HBO. It’s a fifteen minute short on the difficulties and discrimination facing clowns in America, even in this day and age. Brilliant.
This just makes me cringe. Trust me: not every Christian is as willfully ignorant as these guys.
Confused by the new geopolitical climate? Use this handy guide.
