Henry Hanks is celebrating his second anniversary today. Go wish him well.
Happy Thanksgiving
I wonder what made people eat the first one of these. They couldn’t have known it was going to taste that good.
Ipse Dixit, Year 3
Dodd Harris, who is a daily read for me, is celebrating his third anniversary with a round-up of posts from the previous year. Go check it out.
Look at All the Pretty Pictures
I really don’t have any comments- I just thought this was a really cool picture:
Hundreds of Monarch butterflies crowd a pine tree at the Piedra Herrada Sanctuary in Valle de Bravo, Mexico. Mexican police have been called in to protect the sanctuaries for the butterflies(AFP/File/Mario Vazquez)
Top Albums
There has been some rumbling about the top ten albums of all time, so I felt it was necessary to list my FAVORITES (and there are more than ten) of all time. I am not going to pretend to know enough about music to claim these are the best, but these all pass my ‘Stranded on a Desert Island’ test:
Little Feat- Waiting For Columbus
Grateful Dead- Reckoning
Dave Brubeck Quartet- Time Out
R. L. Burnside- Ass Pocket of Whiskey
The Beatles- Abbey Road
Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention- Fillmore East June 1971
Yes- Roundabout
Jerry Garcia BandJerry Garcia Band Live
JGB – Welcome To Our World
Talking Heads- Stop Making Sense
Peter Gabriel- Passion Sources
NWA- Straight Outta Compton
Willie Nelson- Willie Nelson’s Greatest Hits and Some That Will Be
Alice In Chains- Dirt
Jane’s Addiction- Ritual de lo Habitual
Run DMC- Raising Hell
The Allman Brothers- Live at the Ludlow Garage 1970
Parliament- Mothership Connection
Dire Straits- Love Over Gold
Smashing Pumpkins- Siamese Dream
James Brown- Sex Machine
The JB’s- Funky Good Time, the Anthology
Les Claypool and the Holy Mackerels- Highball with the Devil
Stevie Wonder- Original Musiquarium 1
The Beastie Boys- Ill Communication
These are in no particular order- I love them all. Also, I will add more when I think of them. This was also much harder than I thought it would be- how do you choose one album by a band over another (like with Dire Straits- both Love Over Gold and Brothers in Arms are genius- hell, so is Making Movies). I still don’t have a Who album up there, even though I have a dozen in my collection- I just can’t make thecall which album is best.
At any rate, go make your list and I will link to it.
*** LINKS ***
Norbizness has his list up.
I Just Don’t Get It
I guess since I was sick most of last week, and then had a full weekend of sports and other things going on, I did not spend enough time reading the blogosphere, and in particular, I did not spend enough time reading the reactions to Mark Byron’s political murder scenario. I have to admit- the responses appear to me to range from the hopelessly overwrought to the seriously deranged. Some quick notes:
1.) This is for the trolls- I am not in favor of the assassination of any Democrats.
2.) Although the author himself calls this a ‘fantasy,’ I think that term has jaded many of the responses. This is, as the author notes, clearly not a fantasy of his, in that it is clearly not something he wants to happen (Me in bed with Hedi Klum, Halle Berry, and Liz Hurley- that is a fantasy). This is a hypothetical scenario, and not really a fantasy.
3.) I do not understand the outrage- he clearly did not advocate this- he simply stated a scenario, and then listed, from his perspective, how this would be a thoroughly objectionable occurrence.
4.) The most absurd response to this whole affair came from (not surprisingly), Tom Spencer, who first condemned the post and then posted an hour by hour update calling the Instapundit a hypocrite for not immediately condemning the post. Most amusing is that Spencer’s blog is titled “Thinking It Through.” Note to jerk-offs, if you want my reaction on something, let me know about it- don’t play the absurd game Tom did and state that just because someone on your blogroll writes something, you must immediately have a response. BTW- This is the same Tom Spencer who can’t even get basic facts straight.
For the record, Mark Byron is not on my blogroll, also for the record, aren’t the attempts by the lunatic fringe to attack the Instapundit about anything rather transparent and amusing. I mean, horror of horrors- Hesiod is delinking Glenn. I am sure he is traumatized.
5.) If there was one shred of evidence that Byron was actually advocating, planning, or in favor of this scenario coming to fruition, I would call him all sorts of names myself. However, there is no such thing, so I am not sure why everyone has their knickers in a twist.
6.) Several people have stated that the real problem is that he listed the names of the Senators from Republican governed states. This is an idiotic condemnation- in order for the scenario to work, of course the senators would have to be from states with Republican governors.
I have read the Byron piece ten times now, and other than the idea that something this horrifying could happen- really, I think everyone would agree that this sort of mass assassination would be horrible, I simply see no reason to condemn Byron for writing this- again, there is nothing in ANYTHING he has written about this to assume he would advocate such a horrible scenario.
People need to grow up.
I Am Back
I am back, and I feel like I am up to about 85%. I still have a nasty cough, but it looks like I am going to survive. At any rate, the first question I have to ask everyone is “WHO THE HELL CARES WHAT TOM TOMORROW THINKS?” The Instapundit, LT. Smash, and Roger Simon have wasted entirely too much time on this jackass and the absurd little comic that upset so many people (BTW- I am a vet- can I write about whatever I want, Mr. Tomorrow?)
Two quick points about the petty cartoon:
1.) Go to a bar, restaurant, or any other crowded place that has a lot of adults. Walk around asking people if they have ever heard of Tom Tomorrow, and if they have, who he is. A quick note to Democrats, NEA members, and anti-school choice crowd- you might want to wear flip flops or sandals so your counting is not hindered in any way when you get to ten.
2.) This ‘chickenhawk’ blogger argument is just another example of loony left identity politics. I guess, according to this sort of thinking, no one should discuss telecommunications legislation unless they are in the field of telecommunications. No one should discuss abortion unless they are about to have an abortion or be aborted. No one should discuss rape unless they are a rapist or victim. Note to Tom Tomorrow- arguments stand or fall on their merits, not on who made them.
*** Update ***
Oliver Willis farts in public states:
Much like our president, vice-president and several other members of this administration, the warbloggers encourage using our military as some kind of toy to be trifled with, invading on whim when if they or their children were forced to serve they would likely be humming a whole ‘nother tune.
$5 dollars to the person who can figure out what the hell that means.