In a lighter moment, Ohio Rep. Dennis Kucinich confirmed an account in actress Shirley MacLaine's book that he saw a UFO while at her home in Washington state.

"More people in this country have seen UFOs than I think approve of George Bush's presidency," he said.

[Quote courtesy: CNN.com]

On a heavier note, it makes me sad that the Democrats come off looking like a bunch of bickering idiots.

Labels: politics

Hopefully, everyone's going out to get drunk on candy in a creative costume. If you want to know what I'll be dressing up as, here it is:



Next year: Raj. The following year: Dwayne. Finally, in 2010: Dee, the sarcastic little sister.

Labels: Hallowe'en

I love the Wired On This Day feature. There's always some interesting discovery or achievement of technology that they work through the history of. I'm a total history nerd, so I try to check it out every day.

Yesterday, it was the Alaska Highway that connected Alaska and Canada.

Today, War of the Worlds

Labels: Wired

5-alarm nerdgasm alert!

Paramount has finally released the comprehensive Twin Peaks collection that fans have been waiting for.

Am I fan? When i was 15, I had my mom drive me and a friend into the city to see Mark Frost, Kimmie Robertson, Dana Ashbrook, Catherine Coulson and a couple of other smaller players in the series to sit and talk about the series. I remember sittingin the auditorium and saying to myself, "Wow, all of these people are just like me! They love the show." A couple of minutes later, someone raised their hand and said something about how in one scene, Agent Cooper's suit was buttoned and then it cut back to him and his suit was open and how could they let that kind of continuity issue in the show and that he was so disspointed.

And then I thought, "OK, not exactly like me."

Anyway, if you're a fan of the show, you're going to love the new set. It's got tons of extras, including tons of interviews. If you've never watched, seriously, pick this up.

[Editor's note: Interview with David Lynch in Entertainment Weekly this week.]

Labels: geekgasm, TV, Twin Peaks

... without a fight.

Labels: random thoughts

This has become my favorite song by the Shins. You all should listen and revel in it.



End of post.

Labels: The Shins

Enjoy!

Labels: SNL

When I was in college, I had an idea for a line of diapers marketed to college kids. Everywhere that there's a public restroom, there's a line. If you wore a diaper when you went out, you could just relieve yourself and keep on drinkin'/rockin'/watchin' the game or whatever active verb applies to the particular activity that you're participating in, be it night out, concert or sporting event.

At least this guy would have been able to keep his job.

Labels: sports, urine

Great Op-Ed in today's Times from resident strident Liberal Paul Krugman, about the right's total inability to give Al Gore some well-deserved credit and lay off of him for a bit. It's all very reminiscent (and this is me editorializing now) of the Blowjob Witch Hunt of 1998.

Krugman also made an appearance on Real Time With Bill Maher this weekend, sitting next to MSNBC's resident former bow-tie aficionado Tucker Carlson. I really enjoy watching Tucker Carlson in a forum where he isn't the host. I don't agree with a ton of what he says, but he's always challenging his fellow panelists and the host of whatever show he's on, and that makes for interesting TV at the very least. Carlson takes a lot of heat for being a little bit of a twit, and that might be true to an extent, but I think being moved off of CNN's Crossfire and out of the "Conservative" label that the show kind of forced him into has done wonders for him.

Speaking of Conservative/Liberal stuff, if you're looking to get Nancy Pelosi a gift for any reason, think about getting her a small bit of common sense. Whether you agree with the war or not, Turkey is a key ally in helping us keep our servicemen and women safe over there. To piss them off for what amounts to pandering to the Armenian lobby just doesn't seem worth it and, more importantly, could cost you some seats on Election Day 2008, including the most important one of them all.

Labels: politics

Just three more wins.

I never thought that I'd be rooting this hard for a team that doesn't have "New York" on its uniform.

Labels: baseball

I think it's fantastic that the two things that George Bush hates the most: Al Gore and the U.N., have just won the Nobel Peace Prize.

Maybe there is poetry in this Universe.

Labels: my high horse

Ann Coulter's at it again.

It's pretty obvious that she does this stuff simply for the kind of attention that she gets as a result. It's also obvious that her opinions are so marginalized and her 15 minutes so dangerously close to expired that it's barely even worth mentioning at all. I could go on and on about how horrible the Conservatives are and how they're ruining this fading Republic and how we've had a melting pot for 200 years and it's ridiculous that now they want to single out one religion/language/race as "correct" and give this nation parameters in which we all need to fit. I could also talk about that rambling sentence, and single out three reasons why it's completely confusing. I'm not going to do that.

But why's it always gotta be the Jews? Seriously, can't someone other than the Jews, blacks or gays get the attention for a little while? I would love it if just once I could see Ahmadinejad on the front page of the New York Times talking the infidel Amish or something.

I'll leave the whole thing off with a quote from the new Philip Roth book, Exit Ghost, available at fine retail outlets across this land:

"New York is full of people motivated by 'the spirit of inquiry,' and not all of them ethically up to the job."

(Update: I thought I'd pass a long a couple of interesting links about America's founding fathers and their thoughts on Ms. Coulter's recent comments.)

Labels: Ann Coulter, crazy bitch, Jews

Q: What do you call what you do when you exhume the corpse of a former Notre Dame running back that's been dead for 85 years and who probably got Ronald Reagan elected president?

A: A Gipp-topsy?

(Editor's note: Hmm, that's not very funny at all)

Labels: funny (not)

Those who believe in telekinetics, raise my hand.
-Kurt Vonnegut

Labels: quotes, Vonnegut

Last night, the wife and I went to a discussion and Q&A session at the Museum of the City of New York with Joshua Prager (author of this book) and Ralph Branca (pitcher of this pitch). It was interesting and fun. I got my copy of the book signed by both. But what I found most interesting about the whole situation was how passionately people still feel about a home run that was hit 56 years ago. The Q&A session actually got contentious, with one guy actually throwing his hands forward and exclaiming, "ehhhh!" (this was probably the best way for him to win the argument.) Most of the questions revolved around the logistics of the Giants stealing signs that season, and despite not only overwhelming proof but also ample time to for the Giants to execute, most people still didn't buy it. I would have liked to have gotten a question in revolving around their thoughts on contemporary baseball and Sabermetrics, but too many cranky old people needed to air their grievances.

Speaking of good books to read, holy moly, have you read the new Philip Roth? I'm about 60 pages in and I'm as in love with it, as I was in love with Portnoy's Complaint when I was but a young lad of 15.

Labels: baseball, books

Pamela Anderson has married Rick Salomon.

I realize Pamela Anderson isn't exactly world-renowned for her decision making skills and correct me if I'm thinking of the wrong guy, but isn't Rick Salomon the guy who screwed Paris Hilton and filmed 1 Night In Paris? Do these people just pass the same sleazeballs around over and over? You know, like how that Fez kid from the '70s show dated Mandy Moore and Lindsay Lohan?

If I were Kevin Federline, I'd be hanging around Hilary Duff's house as much as possible.

Labels: Hollywood, skanks

I'm having trouble keeping up myself. After the aforementioned trip to Europe, which was beyond outstanding (even though that sounds like a dangerous medical condition), I found myself back in New York for 10 uncomfortable days. After that it was off to Montreal in formal celebration of Jeff Pepe, bachelor extraordinaire and a go-go. From there, home for a day and then off to Atlanta on a work-related jaunt.

Long story short, by my completely made up mathematics, I'm about two metric tons behind in packing my things and four hogsheads behind in unpacking them. Or maybe that's the other way around. The point is this: I'm tired and my brain hurts.

Is it too late to talk about Owen Wilson trying to kill himself? Probably, but even so, I'm still interested in making a tasteless joke about it. Ah, forget it.

Book update: we're in our final round of edits, after which the salespeople will begin to sell it. My understanding is that we'll know by January if the book is a horrible flop or just a disappointing failure.

Labels: books, mathematics, travel

There will be more tomorrow (he lied to the less than five people reading this), however, I'd be remiss if I didn't add this clip. I've actually seen the guy who tells this joke do his whole act. He's got some funny lines (including a joke with the phrase "bear with me" that works really well out loud), but this is funnier than anything that he did in that act.



And just for the hell of it, here's the Wonder Years intro:



Tomorrow (he lied again), there will be pictures from the vacation and an explanation of where the hell I've been the last 2-3 weeks.

Labels: stand-up comedy, the Wonder Years, TV