And it is mine:
Moore's films are certainly worthy of the term "documentary," because, despite their lies and tendentious image-mongering, they represent an *exact* document of the inner life of large swaths of the left-liberal establishment at the time of the movie's release. It ain't a pretty sight, but it might be worth looking at for that reason alone. Same with BFC, for that matter. In fact, I might be able to watch them both, now that I've realized this.
If you're in Minnesota, go help Mitch paint his house and have pizza & beer! Meanwhile, here in Georgia, I'm just going to skip right to the pizza & beer.
Why order a replacement carafe if you're going to go right out and buy one anyway?
I guess, Lileks being Lileks, one of three things is going to happen:
In 10 years we'll hear about how the drugstore carafe broke and he had the Amazon one on a shelf, waiting for its moment - do spare carafes look around and say, "Hey, what about me? I could make a better pot of coffee than that poser over there! Black & Decker, my eye! I'm original equipment, you fool!";
Or, in 5 years, he'll suddenly decide that his current coffeemaker is inadequate, and link us to the new one, which will have an internet hookup on it, and treat us to 1000 words on deciding whether or not to pitch the still-perfectly-good drugstore carafe *and* the still-in-the-box Amazon carafe; "It's a double-header of American consumer lust here at Jasperwood!";
Or, in about a week, when the Amazon carafe arrives, he'll pitch the drugstore carafe with a twinge of regret that he can't justify keeping it as a spare in the newly-remodelled storeroom; ain't it a great country where we have so many carafe options? Maybe he'll buy a new coffeemaker, of the same model as his current one, of course, to ensure interchangeability of parts, and we'll be treated to 2000 words on minor design changes between this year's model and the one currently on his counter, and how the old one suddenly looks either completely inadequate or 10 times cooler than he previously thought by comparison;
Also, in 10 years, Gnat is going to read the first paragraph of today's Bleat and resolve to leave Minnesotta as soon as she saves up the bus fare.
Also, Al Gore is mentioned.
If you haven't read it, go right now and read Christopher Hitchens's memorable evisceration of Michael Moore. This comment:
He prefers leaden sarcasm to irony and, indeed, may not appreciate the distinction,sums up everything I've ever tried to say in my old "Lefty Satire Watch" blog entries. But that's just one sentence out of a couple hundred that you MUST READ.
I'll continue riding the train, despite this report that it might not be doing any good (that being my original intention for riding.) I'm getting a lot of writing and reading done so it's really one of the better parts of my day.
I enjoy Van Halen because they really do deliver the licks and are, largely, unpretentious fun. But I value them most because Diamond Dave performed the greatest service ever known to rock & roll: he embodied the inevitable outcome of Jim Morrison-worship. You can bet that if Morrison had lived, he'd be donning spandex for at least one set nightly in a never-ending series of retirement tours.
Sick and tired today. I slept in and I think that helped. I'm going to make pitiful noises and hopefully also get home from work a little early tonight, even if it means missing a couple of hours. I was stuffy and drippy yesterday, and now today on top of that I'm achey. Hope I don't get breaky.
We watched "Psycho" with Will last night. That gets better every time I see it. I know it's probably not news to anybody, but Anthony Perkins was robbed of the Oscar that year. Did he even get nominated for that? Keep in mind that for roughly half the movie, even when he's not wearing a dress, he's playing a man whose psyche has been completely overtaken by a dead woman. Tasha laughed at the action finale, but I forgive her. It is a little unnerving.
I have about 20 hours of Hitchcock on my DVR. Life is good! This weekend I'm going to concentrate on getting better and do as much around the house as I can. Tasha's working so I'll have the run of the family, with all that entails.
"Dad!"
"Dad!"
"Dad!"
"Dad!"
Hey, US Army?
Try drafting the guy in this picture. (There he is, on the right.)
Just try it, I say! Better be ready to administer your first loyalty oath in ELVISH, though!
Duly noted, 44FF.
Joe is audio-geek blogging! I wish him luck. I've had the pleasure of hearing some of his stuff and it's great.
Me, I'm working on a lot of piano stuff that I never got with my childhood lessons - drilling on technique, effective song practicing, ear training, that kind of thing. I'm a huge fan of playing Scott Joplin's music; unfortunately, I've been practicing and reinforcing errors during most of my playing life. Then I was without a piano for 10 years and just got a new (used) one in October. Needless to say, I'm enjoying it immensely.
For some reason, I'm also deeply interested in memorizing some rags. I think it's because I really enjoy the idea of being able to sit down anywhere and rip something off without having to carry sheet music around. My recent acting is helping me with this, as I'm using some of the same techniques to learn music pieces as I've learned to memorize lines.
But the biggest hole in my past piano playing has been the playing by ear thing. I have been gifted with an amazing feel for music, but never learned how to play anything that wasn't written down note-for-note for me. I'm practicing with fake books, but it's slow going.
Bring on those demos, Joe! And if you don't have a band name, maybe some commenters could suggest some?
Just wanted to point out that there's some hope brought about by the death of Ronald Reagan. Many people who I'd thought were incapable of changing their views have actually changed their minds about him.
Of course, it's only from "Reagan Suxs!" to "Reagan SUUUUUXXXXED!" but, hey, it's a start.
Regarding this case of Fast Food Rage:
DES MOINES (AP) — A man who claimed he didn't get the taco he paid for has been charged with assault for allegedly pelting a Taco Bell clerk in the face with a chalupa. Nancy Harrison told police she was working the drive-through Thursday night when Christopher Lame, 24, ordered some food.He later came into the store, complaining he didn't get the taco he had ordered, police records say. Harrison said that when she asked for a receipt, he went back to his car and brought back the bag.
Harrison said she told him the store was closing, and as she turned away, a chalupa hit her in the face near her right eye. She said she ran into the parking lot and took down the license number as the motorist was driving away.
Judging from the snotty service that prevails at most fast food restaurants (and, sadly, Taco Bell in particular - I'd love to get a Grilled Steak Burrito without the heaping side order of attitude), it's safe to say she probably deserved it. Not that I'd ever lose it. I prefer to adopt an attitude of mocking superiority over fast food servers who act up. Sort of embodying Edina's great putdown of a snooty sales girl: "You only work in a shop, you know. You can drop the attitude."
Remember folks: no matter how bad it gets - you're the one leaving the shop and moving on to a real life, and they're stuck with whatever life choices put them behind that counter. Cut them a little slack. At the very least don't pelt them with foodstuffs.
I cleaned the departmental coffee maker's spray nozzle on Friday afternoon, and my reward this morning was a very, very tasty cup of coffee. I'm the only one in my office willing to take on this grungy task, and I do it once a month. I used to believe that a grungy coffee pot made tastier coffee, but I suspect I was prey to some kind of joker or something.
There's a flavor associated with a grimy spray nozzle - think of the way sweaty dirty athletic socks smell and you're getting close. It's especially noticeable in the aftertaste of the coffee. Unfortunately, the office cafeteria coffee is permanently affected by this, and my every complaint about it has been explained away as "you just must not like the brew we use." I gave up on this ridiculous argument with them years ago. Amazingly, nobody in our cafeteria is a coffee drinker...or at least, that was the case the last time I complained about it. If they were, they would know that when coffee makes you want to vomit, there's something wrong with it. I try it every few months to see if they've improved, but they never have.
So, even though it's just the mass-market stuff, I'm very grateful for my departmental coffee maker.
I learned that President Reagan kept a daily diary of events in his own words. Imagine, a man whose every move was covered by the world media and who needed only turn on the news to find out what he'd done the day before keeping a diary.
I think I'll turn this into a real diary. I'm tired of trying to separate blog-worthy items from non-, and trying to decide whether my comments on the passing scene are worth publishing. So look for increased posting along with decreased relevance to world events.
Open comment thread. Say something! Anything!
My favorite e-mail forward. Nobody tell me if this isn't real, as I don't want to know.
Via OTLM, a hilarious account of a 66-person protest during a Bush visit to Denver.
"You don't have time for the whole answer," Illa Sparago, 45, of Denver said when asked what, among the president's shortcomings, summoned her to wave a sign denouncing him.
This reminds me of the story-teller's common trope: "To describe the splendor of Hrothgar's feast would tax my wits!" Anyway, read the whole thing.