Archive for October, 2009

Today’s song of the day is “Gotta Get Up” by Harry Nilsson. It is from the album Nilsson Schmilsson. Nilsson is most famous for the songs “Cocunut” and “Everybody’s Talkin.’” “Cocunut” featuring the well-known and oft-used lyrics “Put the lime in the cocunut, and drink ‘em both up.” “Everybody’s Talkin’” is from the famous scene in Midnight Cowboy. I guess I shouldn’t be focusing so much on other songs, because “Gotta Get Up” is awesome. It’s just a great way to get going.

Enjoy Nilsson.

Adam Feser

Jon puts this so much better than I ever could. I need some more writers helping me out.

He makes a great point about the actual news content of Fox when you remove the opinion shows they brought up. Then he shows how the opinion shows often create the news their news shows report on. It’s pretty good.

Enjoy one of Stewart’s best clips in a long time.

Adam Feser

It appears Obama’s Beer summit with Harvard Professor Henry Gates and police Sergeant James Crowley may have created a lasting friendship. The two were spotted having a beer and chatting for about an hour at a bar in Cambridge.

Gates was arrested by Crowley earlier after a misunderstanding that caused both parties to overreact (in my estimation). It was huge news and they had a beer. That could have been that, but maybe the turmoil and subsequent reconciliation has made something bigger and strong. BFFs?

Enjoy the Yankees demise.

Adam Feser

I just got home from an amazing concert. The Monsters of Folk rocked me for about three hours. Those guys are amazing. I’m tired, and I don’t feel like writing a whole lot. But I do feel like putting something up. So here are a bunch of funny things written by other people. Pick out the headline you find funniest and enjoy.

Obama’s Declaration Of Swine Flu Emergency Prompts Pro-Swine-Flu Republican Response

Senate Passes Blame By Vote Of 91-8

Nation’s Morons March On Washington State

Obama: Health Care Plan Would Give Seniors Right To Choose How They Are Killed

Secretary Of The Ulterior Clearly Vying For Better Cabinet Position

Cat Congress Mired In Sunbeam

Liechtenstein, Andorra Forced To Fight By Larger Countries

Socialites Without Borders Teach Rwandans How To Mingle

Enjoy my laziness.

Adam Feser

Check out the far left

I want you to look at the left side of the actual response and read downward.

This message is to explain a veto. The message went to an assemblyman who had heckled the governor at a recent event. Arnold’s staff claims it was not intentional.  The dispute with the guy makes me wonder.  The bill was to develop a new neighborhood through the Port of San Francisco.  It was unanimously accepted. Knowing this makes it difficult to explain his veto.

So it could be just a huge misunderstanding (if an unlikely one).  Or Arnold sent an obvious message.

Enjoy scouring all messages for hidden messages.  (Hint: look above for my answer to the title question)

Adam Feser

This is nuts.

Enjoy living in a landlocked state.

Adam Feser

Dick Cheney recently said Obama is dithering on Afghanistan. Conservative columnist George Will came back with a zinger (video at about 11:00) saying maybe we should have dithered before we went into Iraq. Commenting on this situation Will said, “We have much more to fear in this town from hasty than from slow government action.”

If that wasn’t enough, Will also claimed that we are in the process of legalizing marijuana. He doesn’t come out and support it, but he does say it would be the first thing to do to fight Mexican drug cartels. He also had quite a bit of knowledge about marijuana today.

In addition to this, Will has started wearing a long tie. Here is what Colbert thought of it.

At this rate, it won’t be long until he joins our side. (Just kidding.)

Enjoy the show.

Adam Feser

I just got home from yet another amazing Langhorne Slim concert. In honor of the show, the song of the day is “Diamonds and Gold” by the man himself. His real name is Sean Scolnick and he takes his stage name from his hometown, which is Langhorne, Pennsylvania. He’s been a favorite since the first time I saw him live. He always brings the thunder. On a Monday night in Omaha with a pretty small crowd he played until about close (including a four-song encore) with as much energy as ever. I’d highly recommend any of his albums and definitely recommend seeing him live. This song isn’t his most upbeat, but it just sounded great tonight and is a great reminder to all of us.

Enjoy Langhorne Slim.

Adam Feser

I’m not exactly stoked to watch Phillies v Yanks, which may be due to my personal team (BoSox). But I’m also not stoked about the bets between Pennsylvania and New York senators. They’re betting Brooklyn cheesecakes and Philly cheesesteaks. A bit ho-hum, huh?

It could be because they’re all Democrat or that they aren’t huge baseball fans, but this is hardly an inspired bet. Where is the humiliation of sporting the other team’s colors? What about saying something embarrassing for you but laudatory about the other guys? Perhaps an op-ed declaring the other team the best ever in the opposing city’s leading newspaper? Herszenhorn jokes they should bet votes, that would add some spice, huh?

Enjoy the Yanks great failure.

Adam Feser

This could be the real significance of last week’s invitation. What’s being interpreted, for now, as an intra-Christian skirmish may eventually be remembered as the first step toward a united Anglican-Catholic front — not against liberalism or atheism, but against Christianity’s most enduring and impressive foe.

I need to put that quote from Douthat’s most recent op-ed in the New York Times in context so it makes sense. Douthat sees Pope Benedict’s move to bring Anglicans in England back to the Catholic Church not as an attempt at Christian unity or an effort to increase the size of the Catholic Church. Douthat believes it was done so that Christianity is better equipped to stand against “Christianity’s most enduring and impressive foe,” which is Islam.

“Wait,” you say. “I don’t get it. I thought you were going to put that quote into context so it would make sense, but that makes absolutely no sense.” I agree. That makes no sense to me.

Part of the evidence he uses to support this claim is that the Pope said, three years ago, that Islam may not be compatible with the Western way of reason. So non-Catholics that want to take an active role against 1.5 billion of the world’s population will join the Catholic Church for holy war.

Seriously? Glenn Greenwald has a response to this op-ed. He points out how ridiculous it is to turn to a group that believes in papal infallibility, tries to keep birth control out of areas of poverty, AIDS, and overpopulation. The main point is that religious extremism in general isn’t in line with Western reason. Greenwald points out that the Texas GOP wishes to criminalize all sex between homosexual adults (among several other things). Also, are torture, rendition, and non-prosecution in line with Western reason?

Then you have to wonder just how Douthat thinks Christians will meet this “challenge.” What exactly is he advocating? Kicking them out of Europe? Making their religion illegal? It seems like anything he would be advocating would go against Western reason.

Enjoy holy war, I guess.

Adam Feser