The Weekly Poll
Results
The 'Putting The Man on the Spot' Edition...
If you were given the opportunity to sit down with President Obama and ask him
three questions, what would they be?
1.) _____________
2.) _____________
3.) _____________
Well then, Poll-fans, responses were a bit thin this week. Olympics mania, I'll blame it on (gotta blame it on sumpthin and that's as good a reason as any, I'm thinkin')... Most likely, though, it's a severe case of 'What in the name of Yosemite Sam good would it do, dagnabbit!'... Yeah, that's it... Anyway, here are the responses from those stalwart regulars that took the time to express their outrage... Thankyewverymuch!
bebo didn't ask...
If I had the opportunity to sit down with President Obama, I wouldn't be asking, I would be telling. (and I'd pay to be a fly on the wall during that session, I'm tellin' ya!)
Adam in NoHo did ask with...
1.) Why do you think ANY of the Bush era policies were/are worth continuing? He and Cheney were wrong about everything and dickish about it to boot. (dickish... Yes, I like that...)
2.) Why do you acquiesce to every bedwetter that pops up on the nightly news? Kowtowing to people afraid of their own shadows and using words they don't understand is stupid, stupid, stupid. (I wish ya woulda named names, Adam. That woulda been a fun thing!)
3.) Why do you act like the Republicans are ever going to work with you in good faith? It was nice to try, even if just for show, but it is clear they will tip over the checker board at every turn. (amazin', ain't it?)
Adam also sent an addendum to last week's nuclear power poll...
A short follow-up on the Nuclear Question: A lot of people oppose nuclear because of the waste issue. One of the answers to is process current waste into fuel for the next generation of Breeder Reactors. Problem is we are forbidden by US law because that fuel is weapons-grade. (thing is, it's all 'weapons grade' depending on the sort of bomb you want to make: from simple dirty- on up to proper atom-bomb) But with a change in the law we would get a more efficient reactor AND take care of the waste problem for a while. After that, I don't see why we don't just shoot this stuff into the sun. (if not ours, then Alpha Centauri) The energy is insignificant in comparison and it takes it off of our hands.
Paul of Seattle sent...
1.) Why do you try to talk and reason with rabid foaming at the mouth repukes?? (Adam agreed, and so do I)
2.) Why do you tolerate the uselessness of Reid and Pelosi?? (Why? Why? Why? There's my three questions)
3.) Why do you retain some of the unconstitutional bush policies?? (I've started keepin' my cell phone turned off more now that I know that the police can track anybody at any time by their phone if it's turned on... Paranoia strikes deep)
SallyP wondered...
What three questions would I ask President Obama, should I be given the chance? Hummmmm, let's see.
This is a tough one. I have lots of things I would like to tell him, but questions, well that's another challenge. Okay, here goes: (Have at it, Sally)
1) Why can't you bring the troops home and station them on our borders, stop the killing, and protect your front lines. (Grand idea!)
2) Why don't you, a rich Democrat, buy or acquire a large radio/TV outlet and start a counterattack on FOX to expose their filthy lies? (Yeah, filthy lying liars, they are, tellin' filthy lies... The sumbitches...)
3) What inside info do you have regarding the truth about the death of JFK, the real story behind 9/11, and the truth about alien contact(s)? (The Truth is out there!)
~~~~~~~~~~~
So, there it is... I don't have anything else to ask that wasn't covered... As always, Yer the Best!
BadToTheBoneBob
Recommended Reading
from Bruce
roger ebert's journal: The London Perambulator
I started walking around London in my mind. It started when I wrote the entry about Jermyn Street. In mentioning Wilton's I should have mentioned that on my first visit there I ordered roast turkey with fresh peaches. I know, it sound like the Peter Cook and Dudley Moore routine about the Frog & Peach, but nevertheless that's what I had, with a raspberry syllabub for dessert.
Paul Krugman: The Making of a Euromess (nytimes.com)
The real story behind Europe's troubles lies not in the deficit but in the policy elites who pushed the Continent into adopting a single currency before it was ready.
'Robin Hood Tax' Campaign's Hilarious New Ad With Bill Nighy (VIDEO)
A coalition of British organizations calling itself the Robin Hood Tax campaign is proposing a new tax on banks to fund global anti-poverty and anti-climate change initiatives. The idea is to skim about 0.05% off of all speculative banking transactions, which proponents say would raise hundreds of billions of dollars each year and forge "a new deal between banks and society"...
James Boyce and Paul Abrams: On Valentine's Day: Love Your Sweetheart, But Break Up With Your Big Bank (huffingtonpost.com)
How does moving my $900 savings help? Just like every vote counts, every decline in deposits of the big banks makes them nervous. When they have lost 10% of their deposits, they will start listening.
Ray Fisman: Is Figure Skating Fixed? (slate.com)
A new study suggests that efforts to keep Olympic judges honest have only made them more crooked.
Daniel Gross: America's Recovery Advantage (slate.com)
Maybe we aren't doing so badly after all.
Paula Marantz Cohen: Shylock, My Students, and Me (theamericanscholar.org)
What I've learned from 30 years of teaching 'The Merchant of Venice.'
Reed Johnson: Joe Sacco produces comics from the hot zones (Los Angeles Times)
If our present era constitutes a sort of End Times for mainstream media, it's proving to be a golden age for Joe Sacco and other practitioners of comic-book reportage.
Julia Felsenthal: "Patti Smith, Where's Your Critical Distance?" (doublex.com)
At first read, Smith's memoir tells a pretty romantic story: Two 20-year-old dreamers arrive penniless in New York, find in each other kindred spirits, and build a life together in pursuit of art. The messy little details-like that Mapplethorpe turns out to be gay, or that he eventually dies of AIDS, or that their pennilessness forces them to steal, hustle, and compromise themselves in manifold ways-don't really get in the way of Smith's message: that this is a love affair for the ages.
Roger Ebert: Make Way for Tomorrow (1937; A Great Movie)
When I was still living in Urbana, I would often take my mother for a drive. If our way took us past the Champaign County Nursing Home, she'd invariably say, "There's where I'm going to end up." She saw herself old and lonely, abandoned by her only son. This was when she was only in her 50s. She said she'd been shaped by the Depression, when old people for the first time had to "live on the county."
Rosanna Greenstreet: "Q&A: Christopher Plummer" (guardian.co.uk)
'I'd like to be remembered as benign, beneficent and brilliant, but there's no hope of that.'
ROBERT LLOYD: Craig Ferguson, late night's cheeky monkey (latimes.com)
The most interesting person on late-night television is a 47-year-old Scottish reformed alcoholic high-school dropout, drummer, actor, comic and novelist named Craig Ferguson, who since 2005 has been hosting "The Late Late Show," which follows David Letterman's "Late Show" on CBS.
wrote:
From The Creator of 'Avery Ant'
Contributor Comment
Joe Biden
Vice President Joe Biden is scheduled to be in Saginaw on Tuesday to discuss how Recovery Act investments have impacted Michigan. The midday event also is to feature U.S. Sen. Carl Levin and Small Business Administration chief Karen Mills...
...The event begins at 11:45 a.m. and is not open to the public.
Vice President Joe Biden Coming To Saginaw - News Story - WNEM Saginaw
Hey, Joe! Who are ya gonna meet and discuss with? The fat cats that are gonna make a ton o' cash from the trough and then maybe will kick back some as campaign contributions? Don't come back until you are willing to meet with those people that the Recovery Act is really supposed to help... the unemployed 'Public'...
BadtotheboneBob (Yeah, I'm pissed off...)
Link from RJ
Carnival of Venice
Hi there
Here is one about the Carnival of Venice 2010 - which finishes tomorrow....
Reader Comment
re:virus
let me be clear the virus was not on the teapot page i followed a link on the bottom of the page that lead me to a site that i think was in russia. that is where i think that i picked up the virus. somehow it got past my N****n antivirus program. i don't know how. nor would booting with the antivirus disk find it. so it must be a fairly new variant. i just wanted to let your readers know to be careful. the av.exe file culprit was hidden in my registry and i had to change the attributes to remove it. unfortunately for me i got carried away and deleted something that i shouldnt have then nothing would work. thus i had to dump and f-disc and reload windows. (all my important files are kept on an external drive )
gary
Thanks for the clarification, Gary!
But, jeez, that really sucks er, bites - if it sucked, a purpose would have been served.
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Sunny and warm.
Comics Courting Conservative Controversy
"REPUGLICANS":
Less than a week after controversy erupted over what some interpreted as an unflattering depiction of Tea Party protesters in last month's "Captain America #602", independent comic book publisher BOOM! Studios has announced "Repuglicans!", a project apparently aimed squarely at riling the political right.
"Repuglicans!" is an upcoming 128-page, digest-sized book by artist Pete Von Sholly with "wry commentary" by writer Steve Tatham. The book will be published by BOOM! Studios' new imprint BOOM! Town, created to showcase "high quality, lit-oriented comix."
The publisher calls it a "completely unfair and not balanced take on Republican Party leaders and apparatchiks," in an obvious satire of the Fox News slogan. The cover art depicts Wacky Packages-esque "creatures of the right" parody versions of major conservative figures, including former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin as a vampire and Fox News anchor Glenn Beck as a zombie. But artist Von Sholly does not mince words when he describes the book as showing, "...the true face of the right, and it's not pretty."
"REPUGLICANS"
Last Oscar Special
Barbara Walters
Barbara Walters says next month's Oscar interview special will be her last, ending a 29-year tradition.
Walters made the announcement Monday on her weekday talk show, "The View." She says she feels like she has "been there, done that."
Walters' farewell Oscar special is tied to ABC's Oscar Awards telecast and will air March 7. It will feature Academy Award Best Actress nominee Sandra Bullock and Best Supporting Actress nominee Mo'Nique, along with a retrospective of past specials.
Walters says she will continue her other annual ABC News special, "The 10 Most Fascinating People," as well as co-hosting "The View" and other assignments.
Barbara Walters
Seeking Videos For "You're So Vain"
Carly Simon
Carly Simon is giving fans and filmmakers an opportunity to have some fun with one of the biggest mysteries in pop music: Who is the narcissistic target of her 1972 chart-topping tune "You're So Vain"?
The pop singer/songwriter has launched a competition seeking the first official video to accompany the song -- either the original or the acoustic version released last year. Perhaps one of its widely rumored objects, Warren Beatty, will put his Oscar-winning talents to work.
Simon has never publicly revealed the identity of her inspiration. The usual suspects include first husband James Taylor or one of her many ex-boyfriends, such as Beatty or Mick Jagger or Cat Stevens or Kris Kristofferson.
Simon told entrants to draw on "all sorts of magic in the air" for their submissions, and offered a few video pointers such as a yacht, a Learjet and a horse race -- all mentioned in the song. Further details can be found at her website, carlysimon.com ( www.carlysimon.com ).
Carly Simon
Broadway Producer
Lily Tomlin
Lily Tomlin and her longtime collaborator, Jane Wagner, will join the producing team presenting Leslie Jordan's one-man show "My Trip Down the Pink Carpet." It will open April 19 at the Midtown Theater.
On Monday, Tomlin says of Jordan: "I have seldom spent time working with anyone who so engaged me." Jordan is best known for his portrayal of Beverley Leslie on television's "Will & Grace."
Tomlin and Wagner are joining the ranks of celebrity stage producers in New York. Elton John and his partner, David Furnish, are backing the play "Next Fall," opening on Broadway next month. And rap superstar Jay-Z, Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith are involved in the current Broadway musical hit "Fela!"
Lily Tomlin
'24' Shuts Down Temporarily
Kiefer Sutherland
Production of the Fox network thriller "24" has been temporarily shut down so that star and executive producer Kiefer Sutherland can undergo surgery.
Shooting is expected to resume next week with Sutherland's return. Twentieth Century Fox Television would not comment on the nature of Sutherland's ailment, referring to it only as "a medical procedure." The Los Angeles Times first reported the production halt and says Sutherland suffered from a ruptured cyst.
About six more weeks of production time remains for the season. Fox says no disruption is expected in airing the episodes.
Kiefer Sutherland
Reignites Debate
Kevin Smith
Film director Kevin Smith has reignited a heated debate about airlines' treatment of overweight passengers after being thrown off a flight for being too large to fit in one seat.
An angry tirade posted on his Twitter page about the way he was treated by Southwest Airlines last weekend has fueled a wave of protests from some angry passengers while other travelers have stood by the airline's decision.
Smith, director of the new Bruce Willis movie "Cop Out" as well as "Clerks" and "Chasing Amy," said a Southwest Airlines pilot ejected him off a flight from Oakland to Burbank, California because the pilot believed Smith didn't fit properly into just one seat and was a "safety risk."
Smith said he had actually booked and paid for two seats on a later flight but moved to an earlier flight as a standby passenger that only had one seat available.
Kevin Smith
Dutch Cinemas To Boycott
'Alice in Wonderland'
Dutch cinema owners said Monday they will boycott Disney's Alice in Wonderland to protest plans for the film's release on DVD less than three months after its big screen debut.
"The four big cinema houses, Minerva, Pathe, Wolff and Jogchems -- representing between 80 and 85 percent of all cinemas in the Netherlands, have decided not to show the film," spokesman Youry Bredewold told AFP.
"Disney is not keeping its part of the bargain. There is an agreement between movie distributors and cinema owners that there must be a window of at least four months between the cinema release and the DVD release."
In this case, Disney planned for the movie to hit Dutch big screens on March 10, followed on June 1 by the DVD launch.
'Alice in Wonderland'
Jakarta Statue Removed
Barack Obama
Authorities removed a statue of Barack Obama from a park in the Indonesian capital due to a public backlash and moved it Monday to a nearby elementary school that the U.S. president attended as a child.
The bronze statue, inspired by a childhood photograph of a 10-year-old Obama in shorts with a butterfly perched on an outstretched thumb, had been targeted by critics since it was erected in the Jakarta park last December. Detractors argued that an Indonesian hero should have been honored instead, noting that Obama still could pursue policies that hurt Indonesia's interests.
Obama, whose American mother married an Indonesian after divorcing his Kenyan father, went to school in the capital from 1967 to 1971 and is regarded fondly by most Indonesians.
Edi Kusyanto, a teacher at the affluent government school Obama attended, said the 43-inch (110-centimeter) statue would be standing in the school grounds by the time the president visits Jakarta from March 20-22.
Barack Obama
Beware Of Yellow Tide
Rio Carnival
Every year, the self-styled world's biggest party in the Brazilian beach-side city brings with it the pungent perfume conjured up by thousands of beer-soaked revelers relieving themselves on the nearest wall or in gutters.
At the biggest parties, Rio's chronic lack of public bathrooms, copious amounts of beer and the general carefree abandon of Carnival conspire to create rivers of urine that can shock the uninitiated.
City officials are now calling time on the yellow tide, which they say is a top complaint of Carnival visitors. Eager to clean up Rio's act ahead of the 2014 soccer World Cup and the 2016 Olympics, the city is slapping public pee-ers with fines and even jail time of up to two years.
Seventy-seven "pee-ers", including women, were arrested in street parties through Friday, when street parties in the annual festival of debauchery began in earnest. The city has also quadrupled the number of chemical toilets to 4,000 to give revelers a fighting chance of urinating legally.
Rio Carnival
Mint Boss Fired
Chile
Chile's mint has sacked its managing director after he sent into circulation thousands of coins bearing an incorrect spelling of the country's name.
The 50-peso coins, worth around 10 U.S. cents each, were issued in 2008 with Chile spelled "Chiie" -- an error that was only noticed late last year.
"Director Gregorio Iniguez has been fired over a series of issues, including the misspelled coins, which have brought the institution into disrepute," a mint official told Reuters on Friday, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Chile
Byzantine-Era Discovery
Wine Press
Israeli archaeologists said Monday that they've discovered an unusually shaped 1,400-year-old wine press that was exceptionally large and advanced for its time.
The octagonal press measures 21 feet by 54 feet (6.5 meters by 16.5 meters) and was discovered in southern Israel, about 25 miles (40 kilometers) south of both Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.
"What we have here seems to be an industrial and crafts area of a settlement from the sixth to seventh century, which was situated in the middle of an agricultural region," said excavation director Uzi Ad of the Israel Antiquities Authority.
"The size of the wine press attests to the fact that the quantity of wine that was produced in it was exceptionally large and was not meant for local consumption," Ad said in a release.
Wine Press
Caught On Film
Sundaland Clouded Leopard
The Sundaland clouded leopard, a newly identified and little understood species of big cat in Borneo, has been filmed for the first time.
The leopard, a healthy-looking animal a metre long (3 feet) and weighing about 40 kilos (90 pounds) was caught on video at night at the Dermakot Forest Reserve in Malaysian Borneo's Sabah state.
The Sundaland clouded leopard was classified as a new species through genetic studies several years ago and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature designated it as endangered in 2008.
Previously all clouded leopards living across the Southeast Asian mainland were thought to be the same species.
Sundaland Clouded Leopard
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