Owlish Mutterings

Dixie Chicks and Courage?

An article in the Houston Chronicle today, points out that the Dixie Chicks have been losing fans and airplay due to their various political statements.

So yes, the Chicks could have accepted vindication gracefully, taken a demure victory lap and gone quietly back to country. Instead, they release a song full of fighting words and, in interviews, declare their lack of regret and uninterest in rapprochement with the red-state musical establishment that made them stars.

What a bracing display of guts. Watching, you wonder when is the last time you saw anyone in the pop-culture arena put their careers on the line for matters of principle.

So, yeah, it takes some guts [or stupidity] for a person who depends on the public to piss off a fair number of their fans, and to continue doing it.

However, publishing an article about courage on Memorial Day, and it's about a few entertainers? And, not ones that have gone into combat areas to entertain the troups, but instead ones that have taken the "courageous" view that President Bush is an idiot?

Fuck you, and the horse you rode in on.

Aquaman

In theory a spinoff from the current superman series, here's a trailer for an Aquaman show that may never be broadcast.

Looks a hell of a lot more interesting than Lost. I just watched the season finale, and I just don't care what happens to any of those characters.

Safety Nazis Winning

John Lanius has been trying to save a diving board, to no avail.

He asks for help with some research. I may be able to do so.

I Won't Drive 55

Ok, so let's see:

1) Various people in Congress may be involved in various ways with lobbyists.
2) Rep. Cynthia McKinney, D-Georgia punches a police officer after he stops her from circumventing a metal detector.
3) Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-R.I.) was in a wreck that would have landed a normal citizen in jail. Instead, after claiming he was going to a vote, he gets an escort home.
4) Rep. William Jefferson (D-LA) was videotaped taking a 100 K$ bribe. He quite possibly used the coast guard, in the aftermath of Katrina, to get large amounts of cash out of his house.
5) Both parties in Congress are complaining about a warrant, served by the FBI, in which they took somewhat extreme measures to avoid any problems, while getting evidence from Jefferson's office. [Hat tips to lots o people, but mostly Instapundit]
6) Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) has called for the speed limit to be reduced to 55. [H/T: VodkaPundit] I wouldn't be surprised if she never drives herself anywhere; I'm sure that if she's in a car caught speeding, she won't be ticketed.

I won't go into the other perks of being a member of Congress, which tend to isolate them from the common experience.

Vote every single one of them out of office. Refuse to vote for anyone unless they promise to enact term limits. Prosecute every single one for any crime they have committed, unless it's a traffic ticket given specifically when they were going to work.

Little Blood Red Riding Hood

I'm stuck: this is either really funny, or really gross.

H/T: Beautiful Atrocities

Born in the USA

Via LlamaButchers

Mark of the Beast

Talked with a guy yesterday, who is worried that something's going to happen on 06/06/06. Doubtful.

However, I'm pretty pessimistic about the world's future, at least in the next 40 years or so. Iran goes atomic -> Iran nukes Israel -> US nukes Iran into a glass parking lot seems way too likely.

So, party like the end of the world is nigh? Put together a few years worth of supplies and head for the hills? Or continue to make random posts?

The Malcontent Gets a Cease and Desist Order

Lawyers overreacting? How unusual.

My bet's on Tom Cruise.

The Real Purpose of the Internet

Some minotaurs sing about the purpose of the internet. Uses the word "masturbation," which may make it NSFW.

And quite likely you'll have the song stuck in your head for weeks.

UFO Splashdown

I wonder what the story is behind this is, if any.

He said numerous eye-witnesses - including teachers and pupils attending a sports event at the high school, by-standers and local fishermen - were convinced they had seen an aircraft go into the water.

Noyons said it was being presumed that weather activity in the area at the time might have given the impression of something falling into the sea.

Via Fark

Robot Chicken Does the Epilogue to Star Wars

I need to watch more Robot Chicken.

Via Lies and Statistics

Tom Cruise Bitchfest

I was wandering around [link WILDLY NOT WORK SAFE]QueerClick, purely for the articles you understand, and came upon their "bitchfest" [also NSFW] on Tom Cruise. Made me smile.

So that you don't have to clickthrough, the starting point is:

Here is this weeks topic: Tom Cruise

I think you are the biggest fake to hit the big screen since Rosie O once said she was straight and Star Jones claimed she lost weight by dieting. Get your lunacy under control or seek help you fackin moron. Your latest movie should be called MI:III Tom Cruise Gets A Clue.

Scientology: Our Spokesmen are Completely Insane! Or at least that seems to be the image they're portraying.

Where I Stand

I'm part of a mailing group, whose members tend to be more liberal than I am. So, when one guy emailed about GWB's 29% approval rating, I emailed back a link to Bill Hobb's post, saying "The conclusion drawn, and results, may not be ones you like, though."

This has gotten into a discussion about politics, and since I was thinking about doing a summary post anyway for my upcoming second blogaversary, here it is:

Iraq: We haven't won the war yet. But, of course American fatalities have been trending upward, the only way for that to stop is for no one else to die, or for dead soldiers to rise from the grave. And it seems to me anyway that focusing on American deaths is the only possible way to convince people we're going to lose, which is why that is a common theme.

Immigration: I have no clue what's reasonable to do. Economic problems, Social problems, Political problems, and I think solutions are going to be different depending on which part you focus on. And I think Democrats are making a mistake if they assume that any minority will always vote for them.

Spending: Politically, I agree, Social Security and some other social programs have become sacred cows, that Congress won't touch with a ten foot pole. We aren't in quite the position most of Europe is in, so maybe things can change before the population ratio makes Social Security completely unworkable.

Oil: Alternate fuels in theory can work, but practically have a ways to go. And for non-vehicular discussions, nukes are probably the best bet. I have no problem with holding off on Alaska, for now.

War on Terror: I agree, Iran isn't the only major player in terror currently. But, I really don't want nukes controlled by a country whose heads of state frequently talk about wiping a certain democracy off the map.

Everything Else: I don't know what's going to happen with the 2006 elections. My preference? Throw out everyone currently in Congress and start over.

And see also this post on Shrinkwrapped. [H/T: Instapundit] The money quote:

The elephant in the room, which too much of our political and media culture seem to have conspired to overlook, is that the war is still in its early stages and we are finishing the easy parts, al Qaeda and Iraq. If we have had so much trouble mobilizing the support for the easy work, how can anyone be confident that we can address the more difficult problems that are facing us? Unless our enemies make the foolish mistake of attacking us again before they are ready to destroy our ability to carry on the fight, I think there is almost no chance that we can preemptively and adequately wage the next phase of this war.

All Things Jack Bauer

I've seen parts of seasons 1 and 2 from marathons on USA or something, none from this season. But I wasnted to point out two things:

The Carnival of The Bauer hosted at the Llamabutchers.

This post from the Panopticist, describing interesting findings in a certain clock.

Immigration

Working my way through a zillion posts, 4 days worth of instapundit, etc. Lots of reading.

Kim du Toit has a long essay on illegal immigration here, well worth reading. I agree, except: most of the people with whom I've come in contact with, who happen to be, shall we say, incompletely documented, want to become US citizens and assimilate to various levels. After all, first generation Eurpean immigrants tended to speak their own language.

Which is why the marches with the Reconquista people were a big deal- they were demanding things that made no sense to me.

H/T: Emperor Misha

Update: Instapundit points to this post giving advice for GWB: "The recipe for restoring his popularity to above 50 percent is simple: Bush must screw the Left every chance he gets."

Editing Sidebar

Doing some spring cleaning on the blog. Getting rid of a few links, mostly because the person stopped posting. Like Downtown Lad. Got some other links pointed in the right direction.

Joss Whedon on Geek Week

Joss Whedon doing a quick interview, pretending to be someone dressed as Joss Whedon. Good sense of humor. [Via Fark]

No Firefly questions, though.

And in case anyone cares, I'm heading to my parents place for Mothers Day, so probably won't be posting.

The Guy with the Bike

Joe.My.God has gotten one of his stories published in the New York Press. Check it out.

The site and the story are work safe, by the way.

MI3 vs Casino Royale

A Perfectly Cromulent Blog points to a trailer for Casino Royale. Tasty.

His review of MI3 is here [2 1/2 stars].

And darn, what a shame, MI3 isn't doing as well in the box office returns as expected, which may be due to Tom Cruise's wacky Scientology hijinks. [H/T: The Malcontent]

I would just be crushed, crushed I say, if The Church of Scientology turned into box office poison. If the "religion" loses its ability to spread the meme through brainless actors, maybe the whole thing will collapse.

By the way, my sister reports Tom Cruise likes surfer guys. I have no idea if this is true or not.

Sink or Swim at MIT

The LlamaButchers noted an article about colleges having a swimming requirement, and then Fark had this article from the Boston Globe on a similar theme.

Look. Anyone attending MIT, who can't swim, and who waits until the last minute to do the swim test is a total moron. It's not like you save time by avoiding the beginning swimming class- everyone has to take 4 different athletics courses. And the class itself is [or at least was, it's been a while] planned for the most hopeless swimmers- there's no requirement that at the end of the class you can swim, you just have to have participated.

I am unimpressed.

A dog and a pizza

Doing some dogsitting, for friends who are out of town. They've got an australian ridgeback mix, who will eat just about anything in reach, and he's a big dog, so nearly everything is in reach. He keeps barking for no discernable reason.

And, yes, he likes pepperoni.

Japan

An essay on a travel site, describing the Japanese.

Japan has taken the worst of the West and discarded the best. So it has democracy without individualism. It has freedom of speech but is too frightened to say anything. It makes without creating. And, saddest and most telling, it has emotion without love.

Via Beautiful Atrocities.