the authorities

Man, just listened to the Soundtrack for Trouble EP for the first time in a while, and man, if that ain't one of the best EP's ever, then I give up on music.  You should check it out.


If they were from Boston or DC instead of Stockton, CA, this would have been much bigger, methinks.

bolster?

The Padres have a much different definition of "bolster" than do I. 

At this point, the Padres should be looking to have a starting rotation.

here, have a million dollars

Well, it would be rad to just copy the plot from You Shall Know Our Velocity, travel the world giving out chunks to random folk. But fuck people. I'd give it all to the SPCA and other animal-centric charities.

desert

I'm out here in Ocotillo, figured I'd test out blogger on my HTC Touch Pro.

change?

How is this any different from Bush (and Clinton, and Bush I, and Reagan, and Carter, and Ford, and Nixon, and LBJ, and Kennedy)? 

VINA DEL MAR, Chile (Reuters) – U.S. Vice President Joe Biden said on Saturday the United States would not lift the country's embargo on Cuba.

"No," Biden told reporters at a meeting in Chile when asked if the United States planned to lift the embargo.

"We think that Cuban people should determine their own fate and they should be able to live in freedom and have some prospect of economic prosperity," he added.

The outright NO to both marijuana legalization and now the Cuban embargo worry me. I wasn't expecting the Administration to just green light both issues, but Obama has been willing to directly confront complex issues and have an intelligent dialogue about them. But suddenly it's just "no."

But I'm hoping this is just a punt. Obama has a lot on his plate without adding more hot button issues. But some sort of hint that this isn't the end of these conversations would've been nice. 

sham - wahahahahahahaha

 

Yep, that's Vince Shamwow, aka Vince Slapchop. 

Arrested. 

For punching a prostitute.

After she bit his tongue. 

There's no way this happened for reals. I must be riding the Children's Benadryl dragon. 

Anyways, there's a "are you following me, camera guy" joke somewhere, but it's just not coming to me. What else? Um, I wonder if the prostitute was German? Get it? Cause we know the Germans make good stuff? Bada bing! 

Oh, nice shirt, jackass. 

food porn, pt II

Quizno's sees your "hot chick licking sauce", Carl's Jr, and raises you "put it in me".

(ty Consumerist)

pathetic

This is the Republican budget plan. 

Go ahead. Look at it.

Did you notice there's no actual numbers being crunched? No actual specifics in terms of what will be cut, and which taxes will be lowered? Pretty ridiculous, right? It's just a bunch of tired rhetoric, with absolutely nothing of any sort of value.

It''s an outrageously childish attempt to come up with an "alternative" budget, and it deserves every single bit of mockery that is forthcoming.

I can't wait 'til Monday's Daily Show.

schwing

It boggles the mind that this is the company started by the ultra-conservative Carl Karcher.



In any case, I don't smoke, yet I'm feeling the need for a cigarette. That clip is almost RedTube worthy.

(ty, Warming Glow)

Zombies!

I think I'd just offer myself up for a zombie feast. Resistance seems like too much work. First, I'd have to find a little group of non-zombies. Then we'd have to find a place to barricade ourselves. Then we'd have a series of squabbles amongst ourselves regarding tactics. Ugh. Waaay too much drama. Hey, hey, hey, what's in your head?

timberlake love

I guess I'm not the only one.

It doesn’t feel right to like Justin Timberlake, because once upon a time he was the “cute one” in that faggy little fruit group who took Britney Spears’s virginity at the apex of her hotness.  And now he’s dating Jessica Biel.  By those two facts alone I should want to stick a knife in his liver.  But then he goes and acts all charismatic and funny, and he sings real high and dances without coming off as gay, and yeah, I’m impressed. 

I can't really explain it. I hate every piece of music he's ever done, and he's one of those guys I should absolutely loathe, but I really like the guy. I liked him in Alpha Dog, I liked him on SNL, on Jimmy Fallon (who I do loathe), I just like the guy, no homo.

too big to fail

Yglesias, among others, links to this 1999 NYT article about deregulating the financial industry. Some Dems come out looking like anti-Nostrodomii:

''Today Congress voted to update the rules that have governed financial services since the Great Depression and replace them with a system for the 21st century,'' Treasury Secretary Lawrence H. Summers said. ''This historic legislation will better enable American companies to compete in the new economy.''

''The concerns that we will have a meltdown like 1929 are dramatically overblown,'' said Senator Bob Kerrey, Democrat of Nebraska.

''If we don't pass this bill, we could find London or Frankfurt or years down the road Shanghai becoming the financial capital of the world,'' said Senator Charles E. Schumer, Democrat of New York. ''There are many reasons for this bill, but first and foremost is to ensure that U.S. financial firms remain competitive.''

So how'd that work out? The first and foremost priority should've been to ensure that U.S. financial firms remained solvent.

It pains me to realize that a lot of the blame for our current woes lie squarely at the feet of the Democrats (I'm looking at you, Larry Summers), who aided and abetted the Republican agenda.  By-and-large, they supported the Futures Trading Act of 1982, which legalized derivitive trading, like credit default swaps (championed by guess who? Larry Summers!). And, as Times article points out, they were outspoken in their support of GLBA, which allowed the financial industry to consolidate to the point where they could get "too big to fail. And now, of course, many of these same Democrats are supposed to fix the mess (still looking at you, Larry). It's all very frustrating.

At least there were a few Dems with enough foresight to buck the unfettered free-market zeitgeist.

''I think we will look back in 10 years' time and say we should not have done this but we did because we forgot the lessons of the past, and that that which is true in the 1930's is true in 2010,'' said Senator Byron L. Dorgan, Democrat of North Dakota. ''I wasn't around during the 1930's or the debate over Glass-Steagall. But I was here in the early 1980's when it was decided to allow the expansion of savings and loans. We have now decided in the name of modernization to forget the lessons of the past, of safety and of soundness.''

Senator Paul Wellstone, Democrat of Minnesota, said that Congress had ''seemed determined to unlearn the lessons from our past mistakes.''

''Scores of banks failed in the Great Depression as a result of unsound banking practices, and their failure only deepened the crisis,'' Mr. Wellstone said. ''Glass-Steagall was intended to protect our financial system by insulating commercial banking from other forms of risk. It was one of several stabilizers designed to keep a similar tragedy from recurring. Now Congress is about to repeal that economic stabilizer without putting any comparable safeguard in its place.''

Also, Larry Summers. Kind of a dick. Bad move, Obama.
 

dirty garage

The Dirty Garage - watch more funny videos

debauched - s/t ep (1984)

Members of Debauched would go on to form God Bullies. Right there, you know this has no chance of being anything straightforward. You can definitely hear a Flipper influence. In fact, if Flipper were on AmRep. it might sound like this. Released in 1984 on Anti-Social Propaganda. Not the greatest recording, sounds more like an old tape than an old record at times, but that just adds charm, right?

1. Love Hangs Down
2. No Work
3. Harem Leader
4. Ode To Wayne 

DOWNLOAD 'DEBAUCHED'

the gorehounds - s/t ep (1986)

Yet another band I don't really know anything about. There are a lot of different bands called the Gorehounds. This particular one hailed from Maine, and was active in the last half of the eighties. Liberal use of organs and a jug (!) give this a really retro feel.

Although I have the record, I didn't need to rip it, since one of the band members made all of their stuff available here. Very cool of him, and much appreciated.

1. Necrosis
2. Voodoo Priest
   

DOWNLOAD 'THE GOREHOUNDS'

onionhouse - onionhoue ep (1990)

I don't know anything about this band. I know they were from Canada and consisted of Dave Knight, Tolan McNeil, Shawn Ross, Steve McBean (Black Mountain / Pink Mountaintops), and John London. So if any of those names mean something to you, you should check this out. That's about all I know.

Released in 1990 on Final Notice Records. Take ALL, mix in a little Big Drill Car, and transplant that band to the East Bay circa 1990 and you have Onionhouse.

1. Brother's Day
2. Too Slow
3. One More Time
   

DOWNLOAD 'ONIONHOUSE'

toxicity

I'm not fancy economist, but if the banks themselves call them "toxic" assets, then they cannot possibly be worth a whole lot, right? If they were worth a lot, then they would be non-toxic, no?

sparkmarker - atomos ep (1993)

Vancouver, Canada's answer to Quicksand. The vocals are, well, uh, different, but if you dig Quicksand type post-hardcore stuff, this should be right up your alley. On No Idea Records. Sparkmarker should have been much bigger.

1. So Long
2. The Way She Moves
3. Kansas
   

Last.fm
MySpace

DOWNLOAD 'ATOMOS'

what not to wear...

...when getting arrested for choking your wife.

via boing boing

cohen

Methinks that people like Richard Cohen are deeply embarrassed that it took a lowly comedian to plainly expose how poorly people like Richard Cohen do their job. And they respond to that embarrassment by belittling the source of it. They lack guts, and resent those that do not.

saletan redux

 

Answer: I have no idea. Because I'm a male. And so are you, William. So perhaps shut the fuck up? Please?

everything's amazing, nobody's happy

Funny. True. Plus, Louis C.K. has a resemblance to Jim Cramer, which makes it even funnier.

twatted

atlas shat

I still haven't read Atlas Shrugged, and I am pretty much making a vow that I never will. I'm going to trust Yglesias on this.

Atlas Shrugged is a stupid book, Ayn Rand is a stupid woman, and John Galt’s ideas are stupid. That said, none of them are nearly this stupid. Rand’s novel isn’t about a world in which executives who build companies based on a lot of incorrect decisions, then pay themselves millions of dollars while bankrupting their firms, then come to the government hat-in-hand asking for bailouts, then find that the bailers-out want to attach some strings to their hundreds of billions of dollars in public funds and then go to hide out in Galt’s Gulch. That doesn’t make any sense at all.

If the folks running Citigroup and Bank of America and AIG were good at their jobs, we wouldn’t be in this situation in the first place. That’s the point. But they weren’t good. They lost staggering sums of money. Their companies went broke. They had to beg for taxpayer dollars. You don’t get to do that and then turn around and “go Galt.”

I have a couple of things to add to this.

1) Is it possible that Ayn Rand pulled off some sort of great Andy Kaufman-esque ruse on everyone? The snippets I have read are so laughably bad, they must be satire.

2) I find it weird that a lot of people by-and-large accept the notion that the people at the top are by definition more talented than those under them. Yeah, it happens. But it also doesn't happen. Take a look around where you work. Are the people in charge there because they are extraordinarily talented? Maybe they are. But just as likely they knew the right people, or at least they managed to hoodwink the right people. You know who I'm talking about. That guy. I can't imagine it being all that different in the financial sector.

bill o'reilly, the seducer

This one goes out to all the ladies.



I hope you all have your very own Snorkle Man.



There's more at Village Voice, if you dare.

that worked out well

I am not looking forward to baseball in '09.

The bullpen situation worsened again Friday when it was learned that right-hander Mark Worrell, who was obtained from St. Louis this winter in exchange for shortstop Khalil Greene, will have elbow reconstruction surgery next week in San Diego, ending his 2009 season.

I realize moving Khalil had more to do with dumping salary than getting any talent, but still. I think Khalil having a monster year in St. Loius is a pretty safe bet.

the sheryl cro(w) mags - #1 hit (2000)

I was shocked to find almost nothing about this online. It features Chris Wollard of Hot Water Music, Bill Clower of Radon, and was distributed (I think) by No Idea Records, so you think it'd be pretty prolific. Pero, no. Sounds like latter era HWM, but I like this a lot better. According to the band, this was an attempt to turn Rumbleseat into a full on rock band.

They go by just Cro(w)s or Crows now, probably due to legal reasons. 

Website 
MySpace
Last.fm 

1. The Sheryl Cro(w) Mags #1 Hit
2. Watch For Repition


DOWNLOAD '#1 HIT'

mixtape.me

Saw mixtape.me on Lifehacker, thought I'd give it a spin. Here's my first sloppy, not-well-thought out mixtape.

the big lots difference

 

 Big Lots will not sell your kids toys which have been recalled. How thoughtful. Like there was an alternative.  

Subliminally triggers Mr. Show reflex...

"You can shop comfortably, knowing that your children will not be abducted, then shipped off to a Pakistani whorehouse, where they'll spend the rest of their lives in homoerotic servitude. Come in with your kids, leave with your kids. That's the Fairsley difference!"

go galt. pretty please.

So all of these non-titans of non-industries want to follow the lead of Atlas Shrugged's protaganist and "Go Galt". Never read the book, but from sleuthing around on the tubes, it appears as if the ultimate realization of "Going Galt" would to have all the like minded Galt-ians create their own little secret society, away from the rest of us filthy hobos, where they can prosper without interference. If that's the case, I am 100% behind their efforts. I even found them a town!


View Larger Map

Don't be a posturing hypocrite, Malkin. Lead your herd! Go Galt!

strong intention - maryland hardcore ep (1996)

Strong Intention has been kicking it around since the early 90's. Their sound has evolved over that time, and this 1996 release catches them in a NYHC state of mind, with some thrashier moments thrown in.

1. make up your mind
2. thin line
3. fades away
4. no regard
5. what's at stake
6. why be something that you're not (negative approach)

Website
MySpace
Last.fm

DOWNLOAD 'MARYLAND HARDCORE'

thank you, kenny powers

I thought I had successfully banished this song from my conscious and subconscious. But last night, Eastbound & Down had to bring it back. Now it's stuck in my head and I want to die.



No I'm shuddering at the thought of a Six Pack remake. 

trepan nation - sxe ep (1997)

This post requires a disclaimer.

This whole posting 7"'s thing is just a thing I'm doing a) to share some stuff I have that I don't see anywhere else on the tubes, b) to catalog my own collection, and c) because it's an excuse to finally convert my vinyl to mp3. I have never claimed it was all going to be good shit.

Trepan Nation was a late 90's straight edge band from Chicago. Like Limp Wrist, they were more straight up punk than the whole metal-core shit that was going on in the 90's SxE scene. The comparisons to Limp Wrist end there, though, as Limp Wrist is awesome, and this is, well, honestly, not.

Now I feel like an ass.

This isn't horrible. There.

Myspace 

1. SxE
2. Fists In Faces
3. Half A Fag
   

DOWNLOAD 'SxE'

i'm screwed

The one healthy thing I've done in life is to eschew drugs (caffeine doesn't count!) and alcohol (neither does NyQuil!). Okay, that's two things. Well, now it's just one thing. 

"A lot of research shows that people who drink moderately flat-out live longer than those who don't," Lloyd tells Page Six. "From the prevention of the common cold to the prevention of the onset of Alzheimer's to preventing certain types of cancer, regular drinking can be very beneficial." Whereas most research has focused on wine, he says spirits can provide the same boon.

decisons require options

Okay, I'm going to tread as lightly as possible, so as not to come across as some sort of frat-boy misogynist, although I'm sure it's a futile attempt.

Kathyrn Jean Lopez 

says the following regarding Bristol Palin:

 From where I sit, it’s a bloody shame that we don’t expect more of teenagers? Just happening to hook up is not cool....

What about waiting?...

Teenagers can actually do fun, fulfilling things that don’t involve possible pregnancy.

No further comment.  From me, anyways. Nope.

the stupidest man in america

Ladies and gentleman, I bring you...Glen Beck!

How stupid is he? I'm glad you asked. Dude makes Bill O'Reilly look sane. That's how stupid.

easy answers

 

No.

david foster wallace

A few weeks ago, the New Yorker published an article about David Foster Wallace and his unfinished novel, The Pale King. And man, it was a gutpunch to finally have to deal with the fact that he really is gone, what is written is written, and there will be no more. The article goes into some detail on Wallace's battle with depression, and the sorts of things that triggered it. And these things were much deeper than the "life sucks" template. The burden of genius is something I'll obviously never have to deal with, but it's pretty clear that it killed David Foster Wallace. 

Will Leitch summed it up nicely:

I just finished reading the New Yorker's epic profile of David Foster Wallace, and I will say this: I have never been happier to reside in the Blissful Mediocre. DFW was so good that it wasn't enough to say something no one had said before; he forced himself to try to invent an entirely new way of saying it. That's the type of thing that will drive a man mad. It's hard enough to even make sense, let alone try to change the fashion in which humans communicate, avoid saying something any other person has ever said and the way they said it. Christ. It makes my brain bleed just thinking about it. David Foster Wallace was the guy from Pi, only with words instead of numbers. (Though he was into numbers too.)

There are many, many times I'm pleased not to be very smart. Reading that story was definitely one of them. Thank God I'm a hack!

Amen, brother. But considering I'm magnitudes dumber than Leitch, what does that make me?

insert arkansas joke

I shouldn't be so hard on Arkansas. I always store my car fluids in the fridge. Don't want them going bad. 

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Ten children at an Arkansas day-care center drank windshield wiper fluid after the owner served it from a container mistaken for Kool-Aid and placed in a refrigerator, authorities said Friday. The day-care owner voluntarily surrendered her state license Friday. 

class war

 Yet another great post by The Editors highlights a conversation with Jared Diamond:

JARED DIAMOND: It seems to me that one of the predictors of a happy versus an unhappy outcome has to do with the role of the elite or the decision-makers or the politicians or the rich people within the society.

If the society is structured so that the decision-makers themselves suffer from the consequences of their decisions, then they’re motivated to make decisions that are good for the whole society, whereas if the decision-makers can make decisions that insulate themselves from the rest of society, then they’re likely to make decisions that are bad for the rest of society....

One could ask, why is it that, for 10 years, people around New Orleans dithered and they wouldn’t adopt these plans for a few hundred million dollars to build the dikes? And part of the reason is that there’s geographic segregation in New Orleans, where the rich people live on the higher ground and knew perfectly well that they were less exposed to problems from flooding.

PAUL SOLMAN: Compare that to the Netherlands, he says, where the system of dikes is considered one of the seven wonders of the modern world.

JARED DIAMOND: There aren’t any mansions on top of the dikes. Everybody is living down below in the polders. And they know — the politicians and rich people know that, if the dikes failed, they would drown. [...]

PAUL SOLMAN: But to the extent that this economic dislocation affects the wealthy, that’s good?

JARED DIAMOND: I think I would like to see the rich suffer even more and — and the politicians suffer even more.

PAUL SOLMAN: Because it would be good for us?

JARED DIAMOND: Yes, because they would then be motivated to solve all of our problems, and they wouldn’t have the sense that, “It’ll be OK for us.”

 And of course, the usual brilliant Poorman analysis:

But being born rich is not a useful skill, and anyway, most rich kids are huge douchebags (I speak here as an expert, having seen every Bad News Bears movie multiple times).  Think about the rich kids in public life: George W. Bush, Jonah Goldberg, Bill Kristol, George Steinbrenner, Paris Hilton, etc.  Dumb, angry, entitled, douchebags.  So, when you think about it, taking away a burdensome inheritance and forcing them to deal with life’s problems like the rest of us is a kindness, and will help our nation’s fortunate sons and daughters be happier, more productive, and more connected to the lives and concerns of their fellow citizens.  The nasty politics, the drug habits, the superior attitude - these are all signs of profound social and spiritual alienation.  So while society would be taking away “their” money, they would be receiving something infinitely more valuable in return: LOVE.  Because that’s what life is all about.

And also because fuck them.

 If I just reposted every post by The Editors, I would have the second best blog on the tubes. 

In that spirit, enjoy The Dils.

japanese tv

Since all my YouTube free-association marathons invariably encompass some sort of hilarious Japanese show, I'm inclined to agree.

I’m going to make a prediction: the first American network to hire away a major Japanese TV executive will be the #1 network within a year.

johnithin christ, r.i.p.

Slipped under my radar, but Johnithin Christ, vocalist of Code of Honor passed away March 5.

Extremely overlooked band. At least I certainly overlooked them; my buddy Avery got me into them in the late 90's, almost fifteen years after their peak.

Anyways, it sucks when the pioneers pass, and it's happening way too frequently.

all the critics, you can hang 'em, i'll hold the rope

But they hope to the Pope and pray it ain't dope.

This is a fantastic idea, and I hope it becomes a tour.

Public Enemy will perform the classic album "It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back" in its entirety backed by The Roots and Brooklyn-based Afrobeat band Antibalas.

 

petty

John McCain's ridiculousness just does not stop.

In 2006, prospective Deputy Secretary of the Interior David Hayes, wrote

“Like Ronald Reagan before him, President Bush has embraced the Western stereotype to the point of adopting some of its affectations—the boots, brush-clearing, and get-the-government-off-our-backs bravado.” 

I'm trying to figure out which part of that is offensive, much less false. I don't see it. But McCain does. And if you speak ill of St. Reagan, McCain will excommunicate your ass. 

“So you had to throw Reagan in there?” McCain continued.
“I shouldn’t have done that,” Hayes said.
“I wouldn’t have said something like that about Bruce Babbitt,” McCain continued, referring to the Arizona Democrat who was Interior secretary during the Clinton administration.
“I will be considering seriously whether I can support your nomination or not,” McCain added.

Civil John McCain never disparages anyone.

ex-gay

Bob Odenkirk posted this:




But doesn't mention the similarities to this:



Life imitates sketch comedy.

boba fett youth - s/t ep (1994)

 

Really shitty (in the good way) Vegas band from the mid 90's. I happen to love shitty (in the good way) bands. The recording on this is atrocious, which only adds to the shittiness/charm. The vocals....well, if you're in the 0.01% who LOVE Doc Corbin Dart of The Crucificks (and I do!), then you might want to check this out. 


1. American Nihilism
2. Steal Shit
3. Maim and Employ
4. Make-up Mike
5. Anthony Robbins Tribute
6. Irony Street
7. Bike Power 


DOWNLOAD 'BOBA FETT YOUTH'

lex

"Lex Luthor Bailout" with Jon Hamm - watch more funny videos

cute od

anvil

I owned one Anvil cassette in the mid-80's, so I'm not gonna pretend I was a huge fan. Nevertheless, looking forward to this documentary.

I'll bring an onion with me as a ready made excuse.

Via FilmDrunk.

pwned

If Jim Cramer were a stock, I'd sell. Zing! Srsly tho, dude should just shut his trap. You're not gonna win this one.

Cramer:

Take Frank Rich and Jon Stewart. Both seize on the urban legend that I recommended Bear Stearns the week before it collapsed, even though I was saying that I thought it could be worthless as soon as the following week. I did tell an emailer that his deposit in his account at Bear Stearns was safe, but through a clever sound bite, Stewart, and subsequently Rich -- neither of whom have bothered to listen to the context of the pulled quote -- pass off the notion of account safety as an out-and-out buy recommendation. The absurdity astounds me.

Stewart:

The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c

In Cramer We Trust

Daily Show Full Episodes
Important Things With Demetri Martin

Political Humor
Economic Crisis

alibi ike

In honor of Spring Training 2009, I recommend you go and read Alibi Ike.  It was written in 1915, but being the lit-troglodyte that I am, I just stumbled upon it in an old humor anthology I found at a thrift store. Good stuff.

cheetah ftw

Never underestimate the power of The Colbert Nation. Tonight on the Report, Wyoming Representative Cynthia Lummis insisted that the antelope is the fastest land mammal. Colbert argued it was the Cheetah (it is - I thought everyone knew this). Colbert looks in the camera and says "Just look up 'fastest animal'". And whaddayaknow: 

Let us pray he uses this power for good.

less than a joke

It's in the best interest of the country for there to be a formidable opposition party - one that flourishes with an opposing, yet (debate worthy) viable vision for the country. We do not have that. The Republicans response to the economic crisis? A spending freeze. Yes, like Herbert Hoover's response to the Great Depression. Obscene. Josh Marshall calls the Republicans a "joke". But that gives them too much credit. They've taken the concept of "do nothing" and made it -1(do nothing). Concerned more with winning political battles than fixing problems, they've confused the new Great Depression for the new Civil War. Unbelievable.

school name fail

iHigh? Seriously?

Seriously.

Students enrolled at iHigh can take any class they’d find at a traditional high school-- everything from AP classes to PE. A company called Apex provides the software and course material, as well as instructors from around the country who can videoconference with kids. There are also four San Diego teachers with different specialties who mentor the students.

I'm down with the concept, but you might want to take more than five seconds to pick a name.

mike stizzle

Via Wonkette

cops for kids!

COPS for Kids! from Sunset Television on Vimeo.
Via Warming Glow

cnbc

This is everywhere today, but in case you haven't seen it, The Daily Show excoriates CNBC. Brilliant.

The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c

CNBC Gives Financial Advice

Daily Show Full Episodes
Important Things With Demetri Martin

Political Humor
Joke of the Day

from g to guh-guh-guh-guh

There really should be some sort of "cry-test" before they let you get a tattoo on your face. I stopped crying in this particular manner when I was 8.

Via Warming Glow.

frantics - downtown delirium ep (1997)

 

Ahhh, The Frantics. Pop-punk from South Carolina. Sounds like a cross between the Connie Dungs and The Invalids. Really good songs. Captures the whole 90's pop-punk thing perfectly. On Mutant Pop Records, so you know it's worth your time.

1. Stuck Being The One To Hate
2. Downtown Delirium
3. Trina's On A Postcard
4. Slightly Modified Stick People
   

DOWNTOWN DELIRIUM

limbaugh

During this whole Limbaugh/Steele/Obama soap opera, why isn't anyone pointing out that Rush Limbaugh doesn't believe what he says. He's found a niche, and he has successfully hammered away at it for decades now. It would be hilarious, but for the fact that millions actually do believe what he says.

Do I have proof that Rush is acting? Notwithstanding the Oxycontin habit and the serial marriages, no, I don't. It just seems pretty blatant to me. He's obviously very good at what he does, but it is an act. I'm not sure what his actual views are (my guess is a more moderate version of what he's spouting, with some liberal social views thrown in), but it doesn't really matter. The monster he created has made him unimaginably rich, so why would he do anything that would threaten it.

He's an actor; a radio version of a professional wrestler; a clown. Why isn't it obvious to all?

Here's my conservative opportunist/genuine list:

• Glenn Beck - Opportunist, but a vapid one, who lacks the talent of the Limbaughs and Coulters.
  
• Ann Coulter - Opportunist. Wouldn't surprise me at all if she were a closet Democrat. 
• Sean Hannity - Genuine. Which is frightening.
  
• Bill O'Reilly - Genuine. There's no faking that.
• Michael Savage - Opportunist. The guy donated to the Jerry Brown campaign for chrissakes.

Those who are faking it, by the way, are a hundred times worse than the genuine whackjobs.

Whoa. As I was about to publish, Google Reader fed me this, from Atrios:

Having watched Cramer over the last several days, I'm pretty sure he doesn't actually believe this crap. Whether that makes him a better or worse person I don't know.

The simple answer to a simple (non) question is worse. It makes him worse, Mr. Black.  Much worse.

shotwell coho - s/t ep (1994)

Well, waddayaknow, an Aaron Cometbus project. What are the chances of that?

1. APHM
2. Redemption Song
3. Christobol Colon
4. JTRIP
5. Through You

last.fm page


DOWNLOAD "SHOTWELL COHO"

the getaway

not surprised

Looking at the NYT map Yglesias links to, the blame for the foreclosure mess lies mainly with just a few states. I'm not shocked. At the height of the boom, home prices in Kings County were approaching $500K. No offense top anyone there - I grew up there and have an affinity for the people and places there - but if you've ever been, then you know that you may as well be in rural Iowa. And that's why homes were significantly cheaper there until the boom. Nothing happened to justify a rise in prices, except that they were located in the state of California. An earthquake didn't suddenly make Avenal oceanfront property. Coastal California has an easy justification for price insanity. The Central Valley, Inland Empire, Imperial Valley, etc, do not. This didn't seem to happen elsewhere, as Californians were constantly hearing these fables about how much land you could buy in Texas for the price of a townhouse in Lemoore.

Personally, I blame Trading Spaces. Genavieve and Vern made everyone want to get a house they could redecorate. Frank probably deserves a medal for keeping people in check with his abominations.

Not that I watched or anything.

you stay classy, san diego

Very sensitive headline for a story about decapitations. Way to go, NBC 7/39.

hey skanks

See? If you just would have waited, instead of a lame regular dolphin tattoo, you could have been stylin' a pink dolphin tattoo.

connery

Whuuuuuuut?

Vee Uh.

mcrackins - life, hey mikey (1995)

Goofy pop-punk from three goofy Canadians. I always dug these guys musically, but the vocals kept them from being in heavy rotation. But hey, cover songs!

1. Life, Hey Mikey
2. Surrender (Cheap Trick)
3. The Warrior (Scandal)
   

DOWNLOAD "LIFE, HEY MIKEY"

pov

It's shocking to me how grown adults and entire governments lack the ability to even try to see things from the point of view of someone else.

Israel is "helping" the U.S. on how to proceed with any dialogue with Iran. They've come up with four "red lines" the U.S. should incorporate into any talks. From Iran's perspective, they would look like this:

1. If you agree to talk, you agree to harsher sanctions. 
2. If you agree to talk, and we don't like what you have to say, you agree to even harsher sanctions.
3. This, by the way, will be your only chance to ever talk. 
4. We will schedule these talks at the absolute worst political moment for you. 

I am sure Iran is salivating all over that generous, sincere offer. Thanks, Israel!

Besides these "lines" being fucking retarded, it takes quite a pair for Israel to be dictating our foreign policy to us (although, after Bush, it probably comes as second nature). Quoth the Yglesias:

In light of the billions of dollars in aid they give us annually, and that absent our alliance with Israel we’d risk isolation in the international community, it would obviously behoove U.S. policy makers to take these “red lines” very seriously.

 /sarcasm.

baby trader

SC pointed out this place in La Mesa. I don't even wanna guess what goes on there...

someone is gonna get paid

But no one will get fired.

stealthy

Great job, USPS! They'll never look there!