Maybe the Republicans Need to Send Out a Memo About Not Appearing on the Daily Show Either

The hubby and I were watching the Daily Show from Tuesday night, which had John McCain as the guest. (video at Crooks and Liars) He has fully embraced the dark side at this point, and it was somewhere between painful and infuriating to watch. Jon Stewart was cutting him no slack, and they spent the bulk of the interview trying to talk over each other. I sometimes find myself wishing that the Daily Show were an hour long so that they could get into substantive talks during the show - it's certainly more informative than anything found on network news.

During the interview, McCain said that he hears from people in the military all the time, and that they support the war, and feel that the mission is a good one. McCain was in the military, served in the Viet Nam war, and spent some time as a POW, so he knows full well what they are going through, and also knows that not everyone in the military holds the same opinion! After the steam stopped coming out of my ears, I thought it might be a good idea to share a link to a post I saw at Skippy the Bush Kangaroo. It's from a Marine who is, shall we say, less than supportive of the mission. (Warning: it is both profane and heartbreaking.) Perhaps Mr. McCain needs to hear from a few of the soldiers who have different opinions.

At any rate, I'm no longer worried about McCain becoming president. At a time when the majority of the country believes the war to be a mistake, he's embracing it. So he's well and truly fixed on a career death spiral. Anybody want to start a pool on when he'll finally auger in?

Does It Come with a Reality Distortion Field?

I've owned Macintosh computers since the venerable Mac IIci. I currently covet a new MacBook Pro. So when I hear about a new Apple product, I'm definitely going ot cheeck it out. And what do we have here? Why, it's the new iRack!

If only it came in Bondi Blue.

Ted Haggard Is Completely Heterosexual

I saw this bit of goodness over at Joe.My.God. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the acoustic stylings of Roy Zimmerman and "Ted Haggard Is Completely Heterosexual":

Our folkie friends would also love his video "What If the Beatles Were Irish?" Enjoy!

Gay Bar Drinks

The hubby and I went out for dinner tonight, and I ordered a gin and tonic for my cocktail. Jeff sensibly got a beer. When the drinks arrived, I took one sip, and said, "where did they get the gay bartender?" Not because there was a frilly parasol and fruit in the drink, but because it was overpoweringly strong. I don't know what it is about gay bars, but they just can't serve a mixed drink without making it a double. Or a triple. I've had the same bad drinks in New York, Philly, Seattle, and Ft. Lauderdale (perhaps the worst of the bunch). Once at the Raven, a gay bar in New Hope PA, I asked for a cape codder, and make it a double on the cranberry juice. I got the usual ridiculous drink, and a small glass of cranberry juice on the side. Sheesh! The only safe drink in a gay bar is beer or wine - something where the bartender doesn't get a chance to screw it up. Seriously, if I want a martini or a cosmopolitan, I'll ask for one. When I ask for a cape codder, it should be red, not pale pink. Just sayin'.

Superthunderstingcar!

OK, I'm a child of the 60s, so I grew up with the fine TV programming of Gerry and Sylvia Anderson. For those of you too young to remember, the Andersons did a series of sci-fi kid shows using puppets, or as they called it, filmed in SuperMarionation. The first one that I remember was Fireball XL5, which was first on U.S. TV when I was 4 years old. Then there was Supercar, followed by Stingray in the mid 60s. Thunderbirds arrived in '67, followed by Captain Scarlet in '68 or '69. Then came the later shows with real actors: UFO in '70, and Space: 1999 in '75. It's been many years since I've seen any of those shows. I got to see some of the opening sequences of the old shows on You Tube, and couldn't believe how cheesey they were. I guess I could be forgiven liking them when I was very young, and the shows did mature pretty much as I did. Which brings me to this gem I found on Boing Boing this morning: Superthunderstingcar!

The hilarious thing is just how dead on this spoof was. My parents have both passed on, but if they were here now, I would give them both a great big apology for making them sit through this dren. Enjoy the video, if you dare!

The (Un)Lamentable Death of the Recording Industry

There was a very good opinion piece in the New York Times on the sorry state of the music industry these days. It's written by a couple folks who had an independent music store and sadly had it fold because of the change in how music is bought and sold. Here's a choice quote:

The major labels wanted to kill the single. Instead they killed the album. The association wanted to kill Napster. Instead it killed the compact disc. And today it's not just record stores that are in trouble, but the labels themselves, now belatedly embracing the Internet revolution without having quite figured out how to make it pay.

Lord knows that I don't buy music they way I used to. I don't buy a lot of stuff from iTunes, either, although I might now that they are going to offer DRM-free songs at 256kbps. We do have a subscription to eMusic, which is pretty cool even if it doesn't have a lot of more well known stuff. Anyway, the article is well worth the read - check it out before it disappears behind the paywall.

Two Bits of Python

The hubby and I were just in Philly last Saturday with the in-laws to see Spamalot, the musical by Monty Python's Eric Idle. A fine time was had by all! It wasn't quite was I was expecting, but that was more my expectation of a play rather than what I should have been expecting of a production by a member of Monty Python. I'd definitely recommend it if you're looking for a fun night of theater.

I also just read a scathing op-ed piece called Call That Humiliation? in the Guardian by Terry Jones, also of Monty Python fame. Ouch! That's gonna leave a mark. "No hoods. No electric shocks. No beatings. These Iranians clearly are a very uncivilised bunch!" Indeed.