Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Good lord, these people are nuts.

When do the post office & the dmv weigh in on the wuhan virus?

Spilling the end game before they can coat it in frankl luntz-approved dogwhistles.

We still have time to mess this up!

This fight is for everything.

Too often we confuse noise with substance. too often we confuse setbacks with defeat.

They fucked up the fucking up of the fuckup!

Our job is not to persuade republicans but to defeat them.

If senate republicans had any shame, they’d die of it.

Joe Lieberman disappointingly reemerged to remind us that he’s still alive.

Usually wrong but never in doubt

No Justins, No Peace

I’ve spoken to my cat about this, but it doesn’t seem to do any good.

You cannot shame the shameless.

Bad news for Ron DeSantis is great news for America.

🎶 Those boots were made for mockin’ 🎵

Republicans: slavery is when you own me. freedom is when I own you.

Technically true, but collectively nonsense

They are lying in pursuit of an agenda.

Within six months Twitter will be fully self-driving.

Republicans seem to think life begins at the candlelight dinner the night before.

Republican obstruction dressed up as bipartisanship. Again.

So it was an October Surprise A Day, like an Advent calendar but for crime.

Accused of treason; bitches about the ratings. I am in awe.

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Reader Interactions

115Comments

  6. 6.

    jrg

    Go to a bar or coffee shop. Blog. Learn how to play an instrument. Read. Watch a movie. Watch youtube. Play a video game. Go to the gym. Play a board game. Listen to podcasts. Listen to music.

    Screw network T.V. There was nothing good on to begin with.

  7. 7.

    Punchy

    there is nothing on at night.

    Oh STFU. Mythbusters, Modern Marvels, Seconds from Disaster, Forensic Files, First 48, a myriad of college b-ball games, hockey on Versus, Body of Evidence, Daily Show, Colbert, Family Guy reruns, Sportscenter, Leno monologue, Mega Disasters…

  10. 10.

    Dreggas

    As for actual network TV, I haven’t watched a TV series, regularly since The X-files. The closest I come is watching Ghost Hunters on sci-fi and there are no writers for that show. So while people are suffering the DT’s from a lack of desperate housewives I am happily engrossed in Guild Wars.

  11. 11.

    Zifnab

    For those poor misinformed video game enthusiasts, Townhall’s Kevin McCullough is happy to inform you that the XBox game Mass Effect is about intergalactic date rape.

    Even for a conservative, he takes the “lying out my ass” ball and dives past the end-zone. I don’t think there is a single factual element in his entire rant. Seriously, if anyone else has played the game, back me up. He doesn’t even get the “character generation” section right and you can do that within the first minute of loading the game.

  12. 12.

    qwerty42

    must…have…daily…show

    seriously. we have missed months of prime snark-worthy events. when will the madness end?

  15. 15.

    Jake

    This writer’s strike is killing exposing the fact that network television has been dead for years.

    Fixed.

    Has Smash Lab started yet?

  16. 16.

    Jen

    Carolina plays tonight!

    Here are some good books I have read lately: The Yiddish Policemen’s Union (Michael Chabon) and Born Standing Up (Steve Martin). I am now reading Mark Haddon’s A Spot of Bother and it is also good. His debut novel, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, was first rate. Chabon’s The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay is first rate.

    I can’t get through books at the clip I used to, but am happily accepting recommendations anyway.

  18. 18.

    jrg

    Here are some good books I have read lately

    For any popSci/linguistics/cognitive science buffs out there, I highly recommend “The Language Instinct” by Steven Pinker. Fascinating read…

  19. 19.

    Jen

    That sounds good. Is the science easy? I’m not too good at science. Anything more technical than Stephen Jay Gould is out.

  20. 20.

    cmoreNC

    How can you possibly say there’s nothing worthwhile on television, so long as the Spike cable channel keeps showing “Most Painful Eliminations” (no, not *those* kind of eliminations) – think of it as a wacked-out coed team contest of would-be Jackie Chans, done as only the Japanese could do something so supremely silly and wonderful. The English-language translation voice-over is a hoot.

    Just trust me on this one. American television is incapable of anything nearly this much fun without completely bollixing it up.

  21. 21.

    CaseyL

    I totally support the writers.

    OTOH, I totally despise most network TV.

    So the strike is win-win for me. Either the writers get decent pay for their work shown on “new media,” or network TV dies. Maybe both!

    Meanwhile, I second the others: read. Talk. Go outside.

  22. 22.

    IanY77

    Team Fortress 2, Bioshock, CoD 4 online, Madden 08, NCAA 08 (the one place where Notre Dame is respectable), and relearning to play the guitar after a 6 year lay off.

    I won’t lie, I missed TDS, Colbert, will miss Friday night lights, BSG, and 30 Rock. But I’m enjoying other stuff now, and the loss is quite bearable. There are so many media options out there, that even if you’re a friendless shut-in, you have no end of options.

  23. 23.

    Dreggas

    Zifnab Says:

    For those poor misinformed video game enthusiasts, Townhall’s Kevin McCullough is happy to inform you that the XBox game Mass Effect is about intergalactic date rape.

    Even for a conservative, he takes the “lying out my ass” ball and dives past the end-zone. I don’t think there is a single factual element in his entire rant. Seriously, if anyone else has played the game, back me up. He doesn’t even get the “character generation” section right and you can do that within the first minute of loading the game.

    Dude is seriously smokin’ crack. I mean wow, just wow. I guess he didn’t get the memo that it was Tipper, The Clintons, and Lieberman as well As Al Gore who stuffed the whole parental advisory shit down our throats and they tried to rally the nitwits around crys of “Grand Theft Auto is teh EVIL!”. Gimme a break.

  24. 24.

    Jake

    White House: “We lost taped over the tapes.”

    OK, I’ve figured out how the revolution will start.

    IT staff for the administration will get sick of taking it up the ass for a bunch of people who scream “My computer’s broken!!” every damn time their monitor goes into sleep mode. They will cobble together a tape that shows Osama Bin Laden declaring victory over the US and set it to run on every White House computer simultaneously. Bush and his gang will panic and race for the helicopters and the IT folks will lock the doors once they’re all out.

    Not only will the country be run by people with better social skills, but it will be run by people who know you can’t change shit by closing your eyes and wishing real hard.

  25. 25.

    RSA

    The Daily Show is pretty weak without its writers. I was watching last night and thought, “Jeez, this is as bad as Leno or Letterman [pre writers’ strike].” Now, that’s actually pretty damn impressive that Stewart and whoever could do as well as the professional writers for other late night shows, but I’ve gotten used to a much higher standard.

  26. 26.

    jrg

    That sounds good. Is the science easy? I’m not too good at science.

    It’s written for the causal reader, so it’s not too complicated. Unless you’re into popular science type stuff (e.g. Brian Greene, Jared Diamond), it’s probably worth reading a few pages before you buy it, just to make sure.

  27. 27.

    Dreggas

    cmoreNC Says:

    How can you possibly say there’s nothing worthwhile on television, so long as the Spike cable channel keeps showing “Most Painful Eliminations” (no, not those kind of eliminations) – think of it as a wacked-out coed team contest of would-be Jackie Chans, done as only the Japanese could do something so supremely silly and wonderful. The English-language translation voice-over is a hoot.

    Just trust me on this one. American television is incapable of anything nearly this much fun without completely bollixing it up.

    Maximum.Extreme.Challenge

  29. 29.

    IanY77

    Jesus CHRIST Zifnab, that was out of control. There is literally, not enough time in the day to shoot down all of the lies, distortions, and mendacity in that column. My fave is the last paragraph:

    Yes there will be many snickers that I decided to bring this issue up in the Presidential cycle of 2008 but how refreshing would it be for a President to prove to the nation that his own manhood was not in question and put his pen and signature to a bill that dealt with such simulated sex excess in a way that was punitive to its creators to such a degree that they would never recover from it?

    Get it? “Do what I want or you’re a little pussy bitch”.

  30. 30.

    Davebo

    Look on the bright side.

    They brought back American Gladiators…..

    Ok, perhaps not so bright.. but it’s a side.

  31. 31.

    Scruffy McSnufflepuss

    Jesus Christ, B4B has officially jumped the shark, swum back, and bit the shark’s head off.

    The Statue [of Liberty] is such a graven image. As proof, one need merely look at the New York state license plate. The Statue is very prominently displayed on this license plate, as befits a state renowned for Godlessness, savagery, Marxism, Atheism, and sexual deviancy. Conspicuously absent from this license plate is any depiction of Our Lord, Jesus Christ, Whose agonies on the Cross washed away the sins of the world and gave us hope in Salvation. Yes, there’s no room for any depiction of the True Religion on the New York license plate, but there is room for a Bolshevist French harlot clad in nothing but a bedsheet, brandishing a firebrand and a copy of some book that may well be either the “Communist Manifesto” or “Origin of the Species,” calling all evildoers to come to America and worship her as their false god. Yes, very little about this license plate is surprising, I am saddened to say.

    Hopefully, President Huckabee or President Brownback will put aside the outcry of the dim-witted and idly sinful among patriotic Americans, as well as outright silencing the inevitable uproar from Marxist, secularist, Darwinist, Helioleftist, and immigrationist circles. Hopefully, either one of those men will show the strength of character and moral vision to cast down this disgusting monument to human iniquity. Cast down the Statue, that God may yet forgive our nation for its many sins and travesties.

    True leadership means not having to apologize when you are right, just as you must humbly admit it when you are wrong. I hope our next Republican President remembers that, and demolishes this evil edifice once and for all.

    Jesus Christ.

  32. 32.

    Bombadil

    I can’t get through books at the clip I used to, but am happily accepting recommendations anyway.

    Read “Gone, Baby, Gone”, by Dennis Lehane, over the holidays. (Haven’t seen the movie yet, wanted to read the book first.) Currently working on “Pillars of the Earth” (Ken Follett) and “The Road” (Cormac McCarthy). Both are excellent, but not easy reads.

  35. 35.

    mrmobi

    For those poor misinformed video game enthusiasts, Townhall’s Kevin McCullough is happy to inform you that the XBox game Mass Effect is about intergalactic date rape.

    Where do they get these guys at Townhall? McCullough should talk with with Mrs. Gore. She knows a lot about censorship.

    I love Knights of the Old Republic, so when I saw some clips from Mass Effect, that tipped the decision to move my gaming from the Mac to the XBox. So far, it’s completely fucking magnificent! We got an HDTV last year, but hadn’t upgraded the cable box, so playing Mass Effect and Half Life and Bioshock were the first time we really looked at the display in Hi-def. It’s beautiful, and so much more fun than network TV.

    I’ve been so un-believably busy at work I haven’t had much time to game, but Mass Effect is the best game of its’ type I’ve ever played.

  36. 36.

    Andrew

    Snuffy, thanks for the link. My favorite bit:

    Hopefully, President Huckabee or President Brownback will put aside the outcry of the dim-witted and idly sinful among patriotic Americans, as well as outright silencing the inevitable uproar from Marxist, secularist, Darwinist, Helioleftist, and immigrationist circles. Hopefully, either one of those men will show the strength of character and moral vision to cast down this disgusting monument to human iniquity. Cast down the Statue, that God may yet forgive our nation for its many sins and travesties.

    The weird thing is that I’m a little turned on by all that.

  38. 38.

    Dreggas

    The Statue [of Liberty] is such a graven image. As proof, one need merely look at the New York state license plate. The Statue is very prominently displayed on this license plate, as befits a state renowned for Godlessness, savagery, Marxism, Atheism, and sexual deviancy.

    If that were true I never would have moved to California.

  39. 39.

    myiq2xu

    You could watch CNN –

    Today on his CNN Headline News show, Glenn Beck went on a rant against former President Franklin D. Roosevelt, blaming him for making the Great Depression “go on and on and on for a decade.” He then added:

    I have to tell you, I said on my radio show today, I`m beginning to come to a place where I just — I love my grandfather, but I just want to slap himself across the face for liking FDR. I think that was one evil son of a bitch.

    Teh Stupid! It hurts!

  40. 40.

    Paul L.

    “Swiftboating” of a 25 year retired Marine and a Medal of Honor recipient Xavier Alvarez.

    During a July meeting of the Walnut Valley Water District Board, Alvarez was caught on tape, identifying himself as a retired Marine and a Medal of Honor recipient.

    “I’m a retired Marine of 25 years,” Alvarez said. “I just retired in 2001. Back in 1987 I was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. I got wounded many times, at the same time. I’m still around.”

    That may have impressed the folks at the water board, but someone (apparently) found the claim a bit fishy. An investigation revealed that Alvarez never won the Medal of Honor or even served in the military.

  41. 41.

    strait woman

    We stopped watching TV in 1993. Just got broadband so I’m seeing clips of current news TV for the first time in 15 years. What the hell happened? Unbelievably cheesy. Transcendentally stoopid. Did Ed Murrow never exist?

  42. 42.

    Prospero

    For those poor misinformed video game enthusiasts, Townhall’s Kevin McCullough is happy to inform you that the XBox game Mass Effect is about intergalactic date rape.

    Even for a conservative, he takes the “lying out my ass” ball and dives past the end-zone. I don’t think there is a single factual element in his entire rant. Seriously, if anyone else has played the game, back me up. He doesn’t even get the “character generation” section right and you can do that within the first minute of loading the game.

    Most funny (or disturbing) thing is that since none of those scenes are actually in the game, all those juicy descriptions of rape and sodomy must have come directly from author’s imagination…

  44. 44.

    Brachiator

    This writer’s strike is killing network television.

    And not a moment too soon. The Schadenfreude is just too delicious when the producers keep claiming that there ain’t no money in digital media just as Apple announces movie rentals via iTunes, and as people easily adjust to life without the glop that makes us the majority of network TV.

    Currently working on “Pillars of the Earth” (Ken Follett) and “The Road” (Cormac McCarthy). Both are excellent, but not easy reads.

    I thought that “Pillars of the Earth” was very readable, and also liked the moments of hot medieval sex.

    I’m also discovering the wonderful world of podcasts. I am enjoying stuff like the BBC Friday night comedy shows, especially the Now Show, and some science related podcasts like Skeptoid and Quackcast.

  46. 46.

    Scruffy McSnufflepuss

    The weird thing is that I’m a little turned on by all that.

    Just don’t let it convert you to radical Christianist fundamentalism.

    FWIW, I strongly suspect the author may not mean everything he or she is saying…

    If that were true I never would have moved to California.

    Who’s on the California license plate? Jane Mansfield?

  47. 47.

    Jen

    I will check out those podcasts, too, thanks! I like Ask a Ninja for pure mindless entertainment. It is very silly but there is something bizarrely captivating about it. The NPR politics podcast is geek-funny.

  48. 48.

    Jen

    Oh, I forgot to mention there’s a Capitol Steps podcast with good politics parody songs on it. There’s one sketch where the guy transposes a bunch of first letters in a straightforward essay type thing and the mixed up words take on a new meaning. So Paris Hilton and Britney Spears are Harris Pilton and Spritney Beers, and they just need a little bit of sope in their houls, and on and on like that.

  49. 49.

    Punchy

    “Carolina” isn’t hockey. “Carolina” KANSAS is hoops. Undefeated hoops.

    Fixed, and still accurate. Rock Chizz’alk, beeyotches.

  50. 50.

    Punchy

    John, if this ever happens, you’ll either have 2 commenters online from 8-5, or else about a dozen of us will be summarily canned.

    The system could also “automatically detect frustration or stress in the user” and “offer and provide assistance accordingly”. Physical changes to an employee would be matched to an individual psychological profile based on a worker’s weight, age and health. If the system picked up an increase in heart rate or facial expressions suggestive of stress or frustration, it would tell management that he needed help.

    “needed help” = “needed to be fired”…..

  51. 51.

    ThymeZone

    Network tv is already headed for the boneyard, this is just a nail in a coffin.

    Network tv has outlived its usefulness. Not even the mandate to go to digital (that is, for the tv manufacturers and the viewers to go to digital with them) is going to save them. I for one will not shed a tear for network tv when it finally fades away.

    Network tv represents about 1 percent of what I can see on my tv right now, not including Netflix and notwithstanding DVR and its effects on my control over what I can view, and when. You could take away my network channels right now and I wouldn’t really miss them that much.

  56. 56.

    Dreggas

    Punchy Says:

    John, if this ever happens, you’ll either have 2 commenters online from 8-5, or else about a dozen of us will be summarily canned.

    The system could also “automatically detect frustration or stress in the user” and “offer and provide assistance accordingly”. Physical changes to an employee would be matched to an individual psychological profile based on a worker’s weight, age and health. If the system picked up an increase in heart rate or facial expressions suggestive of stress or frustration, it would tell management that he needed help.

    “needed help” = “needed to be fired”…..

    That’s just freaking scary. but just like with every new fangled technology companies will adopt it only to discover their entire employee base is stressed out and psychotic.

  57. 57.

    Caidence (fmr. Chris)

    anY77 Says:

    Team Fortress 2,

    For this reason alone I am thinking about cancelling my TV.

    Well, that, and Tivo and my Time Warner cables SUCKS BIG TIME.

  58. 58.

    Bombadil

    That’s just freaking scary. but just like with every new fangled technology companies will adopt it only to discover their entire employee base is stressed out and psychotic.

    And when they realize that this means that they have to provide support, therapy and disability leave, they’ll drop the software like a hot potato and fire whoever recommended its installation.

  59. 59.

    Tom in Texas

    “Pillars of the Earth” was spectacular, and I didn’t find it to be that difficult to read. It’s long, but moved fast IMO.

    “Kavalier and Clay” is my most recommended book. Yes I know a lot of comic book dorks, but I also think Chabon is evidence that literature isn’t dead (a point my English major friends continue to belabor).

    I just finished “World Without End” (Follett’s sequel), and enjoyed it more than the first. I was struck again by Follett’s astonishing ability to paint a strong female character, often a rarity in male written literature. If you like Pillars, you will definitely enjoy World.

    I got The Yiddish Policemen’s Union as a pre Birthday gift, and I am about to start digging in.

  60. 60.

    Shinobi

    I’m really enjoying the Sara Connor Chronicles. Summer Glau is AMAZING. Also, American Gladiator makes me feel smart.

  61. 61.

    Andrew

    I actually rather disagree with the Network TV is Dead meme. I think the last few years have been astoundingly good compared to the horrible, horrible late 90s and early 00s. (30 Rock and The Office alone are superior.) I mean, yeah, there’s much better stuff on cable and hbo, but it’s not that bad. Perhaps it is insufferable without a DVR and a wider selection to fall back on.

  62. 62.

    myiq2xu

    If the system picked up an increase in heart rate or facial expressions suggestive of stress or frustration, it would tell management that he needed help.

    And what if the employee was . . . uh, relieving a little stress in the privacy of their office or cubicle?

    That would account for the increased heart rate and the funny faces, but I doubt management would help.

  63. 63.

    ThymeZone

    I believe I speak for many of us here when I ask Paul L., “WTF?”

    I think I know what is going on: Insulin shock. Incoherent ramblings.

    PaulL, please see a doctor and get care, man. We are worried about you.

  64. 64.

    Andrew

    Summer Glau is AMAZING

    I wouldn’t complain if she materialized in my office in a Terminator-esque time travel bubble right this instant.

  65. 65.

    Lee

    Re: Terminator

    How uncomfortable would have been to be that teenager?

    Nekked, with Summer Glau and HIS MOM!

  67. 67.

    Jake

    Today on his CNN Headline News show, Glenn Beck went on a rant against former President Franklin D. Roosevelt, blaming him for making the Great Depression “go on and on and on for a decade.” He then added: ^”Bark bark mooo quack!”

    Fixed.

    On the one hand it is refreshing to see the fringeloons attack presidents whose last names aren’t Carter or Clinton.

    On the other hand, FDR, what the fuck? And it seems that of late there has been a flurry of Damn Those Dead Presidents! or perhaps I’ve been standing too close to teh stoopid that is Jonah Goldberg.

    But FDR? The guy who was in charge during WWII? If KO did that we’d be deafened by the fingernail on chalkboard squeals from the right.

    If I didn’t know better I’d think these guys are starting to realize that Bush really is the Worst. President. Evar. so they’re desperately hunting for a president (Democratic, natch) whom they can say was worse.

    Even if most of the audience wasn’t born or old enough to vote when he died.

    ESPECIALLY if most of the audience wasn’t around when he died.

    And assuming undeniable economic collapse holds off until 2009 [snerk] they can say SEE?? Democratic presidents cause depressions!

    At least we will be hunting down the rich to fulfill our protien needs, so we won’t have to hear that shit.

  68. 68.

    Bombadil

    Parts of “Pillars of the Earth” are are plodding. It started off fast moving, but I’m bogged down in the whole Hamleighs-are-plotting-with-the-bishop section and it’s a little too ‘inside baseball’ for me. I’m sure it’s all crucial to the plot (Follett is a master at setting up his plots), and once they get back to the actual construction of the cathedral no doubt it will pick up.

    You’re quite right about Follett’s female characters (see also “Eye of the Needle”), but I say that from a male perspective. Any members of the female persuasion have any thoughts on this?

    I am looking forward to “World Without End”.

  69. 69.

    Dreggas

    Bombadil Says:

    That’s just freaking scary. but just like with every new fangled technology companies will adopt it only to discover their entire employee base is stressed out and psychotic.

    And when they realize that this means that they have to provide support, therapy and disability leave, they’ll drop the software like a hot potato and fire whoever recommended its installation.

    Yup and pretend nothing ever happened.

  70. 70.

    Andrew

    On the other hand, FDR, what the fuck?

    Well, he was the preeminent liberal fascist of the 20th century.

  72. 72.

    Harley

    Well, not entirely. You’ve got Torchwood coming back on BBC America in a week or so. (A Britward version of The X-Files.) And AMC is about to roll out their second scripted series, ‘Breaking Bad’ (from, coincidentally, Vince Gilligan, one of the better X-Files writers). Then there’s The Wire, of course, over at HBO. Let’s see. Lost is about to resume. And there’s that new Terminator series over at Fox. Or you could read “Sway” by Zaharay Lazar, a damn fine novel that tells three seemingly unrelated biographies — Kenneth Anger, Charles Manson, and the Rolling Stones.

    Or you can nap.

  74. 74.

    Jake

    This from the comments:

    Since this was invented by Microsoft, I’m sure it has an “Innovation Alarm” which sets off a bell and a flashing light if the employee actually has a new idea…so managers can hurry over and stamp it out before it infects their products.

    Heh.

    The real fun begins if this story hits the blagosphere in earnest, winds up distorted beyond recognition on one of those BEWARE THE NEW WORLD ORDER sites. People will start doing unto their work computers what some folks already do to RFID units in warehouses.

  76. 76.

    TheFountainHead

    Why watch tv when you could be playing WoW? Whenever Chris Matthews gets on the air I have to log on to kill me some demons. It helps with the rage.

  78. 78.

    Billy K

    Finally! Something NEEDS to kill Network Television. OTOH, Conan has been absolutely brilliant. I quit watching him years ago, but tuned in to see if he (and Leno) could pull it off without writers. Hell, Conan might be even better! (Leno, OTOH…hoo boy….)

  79. 79.

    Jen

    Whoa. The NH recount was requested and funded by Kucinich? Did he think he really got 2 and a half percent of the vote?
    This is just a headscratcher if you ask me.

  80. 80.

    peach flavored shampoo

    Since this was invented by Microsoft, I’m sure it has an “Innovation Alarm” which sets off a bell and a flashing light if the employee actually has a new idea…so managers can hurry over and stamp it out before it infects their products.

    More likely is that Mr. Paper Clippy Thing runs over to your desk, unbends himself, and bitch-slaps you across your face.

  81. 81.

    TheFountainHead

    Whoa. The NH recount was requested and funded by Kucinich? Did he think he really got 2 and a half percent of the vote?
    This is just a headscratcher if you ask me.

    He’s doing it as a way to keep himself in the newscycle a bit longer if he can. That or he’s doing it on behalf of Obama. But I doubt it.

  82. 82.

    Dreggas

    The real fun begins if this story hits the blagosphere in earnest, winds up distorted beyond recognition on one of those BEWARE THE NEW WORLD ORDER sites. People will start doing unto their work computers what some folks already do to RFID units in warehouses.

    I am wondering just how they are going to convince people to wear the equipment necessary to figure out their heart-rate, let alone allow some sort of eye monitoring system.

    I can see my work PC now

    “Dave, why are you stressing Dave?”

    “Do I need to give you some happy juice Dave”

    (cue injection of sedative to keep you complacent)

    “Isn’t that better Dave?”

    (cue Dave drooling as he mindlessly types away)

    “I thought so…”

  83. 83.

    Jen

    While I’m chiming in on everything under the sun (haven’t read Follett…I’ll give him a go…), from the few nights I’ve seen, Conan is working best without writers. And it’s because he seems determined to show us just how much the writers do for him so the bits are things like spinning his wedding wring and climbing onto the catwalk, but somehow is personality is just good enough to pull it off. And Jon Stewart is just continuing to do the kinds of things the writers would write, just not…as…well, exactly. And possibly, that’s deliberate. But with Conan, it looks deliberate, and it’s still funny. A conundrum.

  84. 84.

    Caidence (fmr. Chris)

    Whoa. The NH recount was requested and funded by Kucinich? Did he think he really got 2 and a half percent of the vote?
    This is just a headscratcher if you ask me.

    He’s probably hoping he can contribute to extinguishing Clinton dominance over the party. Presumably, it would help underdogs get more room to move. Next year, maybe he can get 5%!

    I hate to admit I got this from Sully, but I did, so I’m guilty: There’s also a Diebold blip on the radar

  85. 85.

    Dreggas

    TheFountainHead Says:

    Why watch tv when you could be playing WoW? Whenever Chris Matthews gets on the air I have to log on to kill me some demons. It helps with the rage.

    I am personally a fan of Guild Wars, between Xmas and my birthday I have all of the available expansions for it and am enjoying it immensely.

  86. 86.

    Jake

    (cue Dave drooling as he mindlessly types away)

    “I can feel my mind. It’s going… Daaaaaisy, Daaaaaisy…”

  87. 87.

    TheFountainHead

    I am personally a fan of Guild Wars, between Xmas and my birthday I have all of the available expansions for it and am enjoying it immensely.

    Eh, I played it. TBH, I switched to a Mac when the MacBook Pros came out, and I can play WoW natively on a Mac, not so with GW. And you can’t jump in GW…that bothered me…

  88. 88.

    HeartlandLiberal

    I have to admit I watch absolutely no new TV series, i.e. non-reruns, but the original Las Vegas CSI. I will watch Law and Order, any of the three series. The original StarGate series on SciFi channel is watchable. That’s it. Game over. I do have to ask, though, how have the cable and network newscasts managed to keep functioning? I had pretty much concluded that the comedy and drama series writers wrote their material anymore, anyway.

    Anyway, go read a book. Read a BUNCH of books. Learn a new language. Exercise your mind, instead of turning it to mush. I am half way through The Lord of the Rings in a year 2000 German translation, and have just discovered you can get the first Harry Potter translated into Latin. There are actually fun ways to keep your knowledge of other languages alive and enjoy doing it, and do healthy mental lifting at the same time.

    TV, trust me on this, is not going to have that same healthy effect.

  89. 89.

    Delia

    New season of “Doctor Who” starts up on January 26. Beyond that, I got nothin’.

    I think “Battlestar Galactica” comes back in March. Other than that, I recommend bit torrent.

  93. 93.

    Paul L.

    Important Action Alert
    Someone is using the swiftboated undocumented marine Xavier Alvarez to (as Josh Marshall would put it) “smear” the tired Barack Obama.
    The Right to Lie (and Lie Again)

    The Insider also notes that Alvarez won his water board seat with the help of Pomona’s Democratic mayor, Norma Torres. The mayor happens to be a high-profile supporter of Barack Obama, and was dispatched to campaign for him in Iowa earlier this month.

  94. 94.

    Dreggas

    TheFountainHead Says:

    I am personally a fan of Guild Wars, between Xmas and my birthday I have all of the available expansions for it and am enjoying it immensely.

    Eh, I played it. TBH, I switched to a Mac when the MacBook Pros came out, and I can play WoW natively on a Mac, not so with GW. And you can’t jump in GW…that bothered me…

    Jumping never really bothered me. However I must say that I do prefer games where the characters blink. They have that fixed in the expansions but prophecies has them unblinking.

  95. 95.

    myiq2xu

    The Insider also notes that Alvarez won his water board seat with the help of Pomona’s Democratic mayor, Norma Torres. The mayor happens to be a high-profile supporter of Barack Obama, and was dispatched to campaign for him in Iowa earlier this month.

    Which means . . . nothing.

  96. 96.

    myiq2xu

    Jumping never really bothered me. However I must say that I do prefer games where the characters blink. They have that fixed in the expansions but prophecies has them unblinking.

    I quit playing video games after “Pong.”

    Atari Rulz!

  97. 97.

    Punchy

    Paul,

    Do you ever actually post a blog entry on your site, or just link to links that link up other links? I SO await your verbose and stirring musings on all things conservative, utilizing your unmatched ability to interconnect all things Clinton, Duke, rape, and Mt. Saint Helens in a manner that so exudes conservative tenets festooned in a succinct but loquacious style.

    P

  98. 98.

    Zifnab

    If Barak Obama wins the White House, it will prove that Democrats are just as bad about voter fraud as Republicans. Worse, in fact! Because Republicans never commit voter fraud.

    Conspiracy! Conspiracy! Barak Obama was the secret 21st hijacker! It’s a trap!

  99. 99.

    YellowJournalism

    I quit playing video games after “Pong.”

    Atari Rulz

    I still have my old Atari, complete with an assortment of games including Frogger, PacMan, Kaboom!, and my personal fav, Pitfall. Forget Wii bowling. Atari bowling is where it’s at!

  101. 101.

    Dreggas

    myiq2xu Says:

    Jumping never really bothered me. However I must say that I do prefer games where the characters blink. They have that fixed in the expansions but prophecies has them unblinking.

    I quit playing video games after “Pong.”

    Atari Rulz!

    I was at E3 a few years ago and was in the mobile “Video Game History Museum” section of the convention. I got to play pong on the original “brown box” (it only played pong) and enjoy a gourmet (aka made with cheddar) grilled cheese while lounging on a sofa playing Lunar patrol on an Atari.

    I remember commidor 64 and the other classic Coleco Vision

  103. 103.

    Darkness

    Good! Television is the opiate of the masses. Notice how they have risen from their bleary, bloodshot-eye slumber and taken notice of politics. Coincidence…?

    I’m reading Sophie’s World. Excellent book about philosophy that I’m going to recommend to my 14 year old niece. It’s that readable.

    I like Daily Show and Colbert without the writers for one reason: I no longer no everything they are going to say before they say it. When they had writers, everything sounded like it came out of committee, too packaged and predictable. Sure, more polished is good. But I like the shows this way too.

    Ohhh SmashLab. Baby. Gimmie more o’ that! When’s it on? When’s it on? When’s it on?

  104. 104.

    Jake

    Hey John, have you considered hunting? I understand there’s a serious jackalope infestation hereabouts.

  105. 105.

    The Other Steve

    Boston Legal is awesome.

    I loved the episode where they sued the government because the national guard wasn’t there to help with a flood, and then they tried to join the military themselves.

    Funny as hell.

  106. 106.

    myiq2xu

    I still have my old Atari, complete with an assortment of games including Frogger, PacMan, Kaboom!, and my personal fav, Pitfall. Forget Wii bowling. Atari bowling is where it’s at!

    No “Tank Battle?”

  107. 107.

    myiq2xu

    McCant’s been Swift Booted

    I can think of a few other candidates who could use a “swift boot.”

    Pundits too. And a few trolls.

  109. 109.

    Dreggas

    myiq2xu Says:

    I still have my old Atari, complete with an assortment of games including Frogger, PacMan, Kaboom!, and my personal fav, Pitfall. Forget Wii bowling. Atari bowling is where it’s at!

    No “Tank Battle?”

    Wasn’t that “Combat”? where you had the choice of the tank drawn with straight lines or the airplanes drawn with straight lines?

  110. 110.

    El Cruzado

    My wife gave the Ultimate Nod of Disapproval to Pillars of the Earth, so I haven’t bothered (she’s a historian, PhD pending. Quite picky about these matters I should add).

    As for the TV, I’ve defined it for years as “that thing where I plug the games console” (a Wii right now. Might add a PS3 later if I find myself with the spare dough. Doubtful). Waiting for No More Heroes later this month and maybe will finish off Mario Galaxy. Meanwhile I’ll finish off some games I have on the pile, mostly older PC titles I missed in the day (Bootcamp rules!).

  111. 111.

    myiq2xu

    C&L finally noticed the comment from yesterday about Elizabeth “Jeebus in the Spud” Sachs.

  112. 112.

    myiq2xu

    Wasn’t that “Combat”? where you had the choice of the tank drawn with straight lines or the airplanes drawn with straight lines?

    Maybe. We called it ‘Tank Battle’ but the label was worn off.

  113. 113.

    Brachiator

    My wife gave the Ultimate Nod of Disapproval to Pillars of the Earth, so I haven’t bothered (she’s a historian, PhD pending. Quite picky about these matters I should add).

    I always try to keep historians away from literature. This started when I was a kid and a history teacher told me that Robin Hood never existed, King Richard Lionheart probably spoke only French, didn’t care much about and was rarely in England, etc. None of this had crap to do with whether or not the Robin Hood tales were a fun read. Same with King Arthur and Merlin and the gang.

    Shakespeare’s Richard III is wrong on practically every aspect of the life of the historical King Richard. But again, it don’t much matter.

    Similarly, Pillars is a fun read, historians notwithstanding.

  114. 114.

    YellowJournalism

    No “Tank Battle?”

    Wasn’t that “Combat”? where you had the choice of the tank drawn with straight lines or the airplanes drawn with straight lines?

    Yeah, it’s Combat. And yes, I have it. I also have a game called Haunted House, but no one in my family ever figured out how to play it. It’s basically a bunch of blobby things that are supposed to be ghosts attacking you with the help of spiders and such while weird sounds go on in the background.

  115. 115.

    Tax Analyst

    Dreggas Says:

    But we’ll always have Larry Craig

    This one is rich…he may just…er…get off.

    Just tap twice if you want to assume this Legal position.

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