heart attack grill

On the last day of our Spring Training trip to Phoenix, me and MM hit up Heart Attack Grill in Chandler. The place is a big gimmick: gluttony. They serve big burgers, all-you-can-eat fries cooked in 100% lard, unfiltered cigarettes, you get the idea. The waitresses are dressed as scantily-clad nurses, and you have to wear a hospital gown once you've been attended to. Other quirks: ambulance parked outside, eat free if you weigh over 350 lbs,  a free ride in a wheelchair if you order and finish a quadruple bypass (a two pound burger), and signs like this.

So how was the food?

Burger was good. It kinda bummed me out that they would not cook it medium-rare. Considering the theme, I figured that was a pretty tame request. The condiments are of the do-it-yourself variety, I kept it to tomato, onion, pickle, and mayo. Like I said, good burger, not great.

The fries, on the other hand, wow. They were on the soft-side, which is expected considering all the grease. They were good enough on their own, but they just soaked up malt vinegar, which put them over the top. Not going to mention how many times I went back for more.

The downside? I have an iron stomach, and this was just way too much grease for me. The ride home was a little painful at first.

I'm going to assume veganboyjosh didn't make it past the first paragraph before turning away in disgust.

zeke - fight in the storeroom (1994 rat city)

(Another repost for uniformity's sake)

In 1994 I was doing a radio show at KFSR (Fresno State), and we got this particular 7-inch in. I had never heard of Zeke, but I liked it a lot, and so I played it a lot. Immediately went out and bought the Super Sound Racing LP.  At the time, I was relatively new to the punk scene; I lived in Lemoore during the early 80's and was culturally isolated. But the response from the old school punks who listened to my show was overwhelming. "Who the hell was that?" was the typical positive response. In the days of Epi-Fat mall punk (which, make no mistake, I loved), the old schoolers were dying for something like Zeke. I loaned the SSR CD to Little Jon, and , understandably, that bad boy was gone forever. 

1. Fight In The Storeroom
2. Green Barracuda
3. Don De Esta

DL 'FIGHT IN THE STOREROOM'

ebert ftw!

I love this man.

"The Last Song" is based on the novel by Nicholas Sparks, who also wrote the screenplay. Sparks recently went on record as saying he is a greater novelist than Cormac McCarthy. This is true in the same sense that I am a better novelist than William Shakespeare....

To be sure, I resent the sacrilege Nicholas Sparks commits by even mentioning himself in the same sentence as Cormac McCarthy. I would not even allow him to say "Hello, bookstore? This is Nicholas Sparks. Could you send over the new Cormac McCarthy novel?" He should show respect by ordering anonymously.

[leitch]

gymCATa

la promesa

A few weeks ago I was at Trujillo's when I noticed that across the street, in the old La Torta location, was a new taco shop called La Promesa. New taco shop + weird name = Jerry has to check it out. Turns out, it was a Christian taco shop. I know, right? Now, I'm not religious, but I typically try (and often fail) to be respectful of other people's views, especially if they are modest about it. For example, I don't give a shit about the hidden Biblical citations at In'N'Out. They're discreet, plus the business is ran in a mostly ethical manner, which I respect. But La Promesa does not take the In'N'Out route. Oh, no, no. They prefer the in-your-face brand of prosthelytizing. It's like they wanted to make sure I felt uncomfortable. To wit, this was the wrapper to my burrito:

Subtle, eh?

There are Biblical passages written on all of the walls. Personally, I would have avoided writing anything over the freaking bathroom.

 It's like some sort of constipation prayer. Weird.

Anyways, to each their own. I'm free to not eat here. But, good food will make me overlook a lot of things. So how was the burrito?

Tortilla - Chewy. Major faux paux. I'd give it a D.
Carne Asada - Pretty good, if a little tough. Rates a B.
Hot sauce - the watery Alberto's kind that I cannot stand - D.

So with Trujillo's, who have some of the best tortillas, carne asada, and hot sauce in town (AND don't make me feel like some sort of Godless heathen, even if, really, that's kinda what I am), I doubt I'll be visiting La Promesa anytime soon.

subjugated - up the punx (1997 beer city)

Yet another Beer City release. Yet another band I know nothing about.

1. Handcuffs
2. Disarm America
3. Apocalypse Forever
4. Pass Me A Brick
5. Never Had A Chance
6. Liquid Citizen
7. Thirty Seconds
8. Lost World, Lost Cause

DL 'UP THE PUNX'

truth in advertising

So cliche.

A French national is under arrest in Thunder Bay, Ont., suspected of trying to "buy" a five-year-old boy online in the United States for sexual purposes.

Patrick Molesti, 56, of Woodstock, Ga., faces extradition to the U.S. and a charge of sexual exploitation of children.

another fall from grace

First Tiger. Then Jesse James. Now Drew Magary.

 I don't drink coffee and I think it's fucking disgusting.

What the fuck?

feel good story of the day

China: Still a horrible, horrible place. 

BEIJING — The bodies of 21 babies, believed dumped by hospitals, have washed ashore on a riverbank in eastern China, state media reported Tuesday.

oh bondage, up yours!

So, Erik Brown "donates" $10,000 to the Republican National Committee and then bills the RNC $2000 for dinner and a quaint little Conservative trip to S&M Lesbian club. I'm going to go ahead and assume that this is not the first reimbursement he's asked for and receive for various dinners and hobnobbing efforts. So if you give $10,000, and then get reimbursed for, let's say $10,000, how is that not a  benign form of money laundering? I'm not saying there's anything nefarious going on (well, besides visits to nightclubs inspired by Eyes Wide Shut), or even restricted to the Republican Party, but the whole arrangement seems a little odd, to say the least. The practice is probably widespread and normal, but it is jarring to see such a blatant, salacious example of it.

shit's fucked

What can you do?

drunken mishap - s/t (1996 beer city)

Antelope Valley skate punk from the late 90's. Honestly don't know anything else about them.

1. SK8 Life
2. T.V. Conspiracy
3. U.D.F. 
4. Don't Tread On Me
5. I Don't Give A Fuck
6. Serenade Of The Drunk Punk

myspace

DL 'DRUNKEN MISHAP'

r.i.p. jim marshall

Who? Him.

spring training III

Padres vs. Reds in Peoria amongst hordes of blue hairs.

spazboy - so there we were (1995 yell-o)

More unheralded pop-punk from San Diego. Spazboy didn't set the town on fire, but they were certainly more worthy of praise than many San Diego bands who were able to gain some level of success. Really nice guys as well. Have no idea what they are up to these days. Pretty sure Jay Flounder was in an 80's cover band called The Reaganomics for a while.

1. Lately...
2. Happy With Me
3. Tuesday
4. Monkey's Paw

last.fm
myspace

DL ' SO THERE'

spring training II

Gorgeous day, beautiful stadium, belly full of bbq, best friend, and the Padres. If SC was here, this would be the perfect day.

Spring training

A's vs. Giants. The Battle of the Bay. In the desert.

Tomorrow...Padres fever begins.

phoenix knew we were coming

the knockoffs - the unreleased tracks (1994 knockoffs inc)

Sacramento stalwarts. If you've ever lived in Sacramento, then chances are you know and love these guys. If you've never lived in Sacramento, chances are you've never heard of them (though the Groovie Ghoulies did cover "Loser Like Eye"). Let's change that.

1. Loser Like Eye
2. Close But No Cigar
3. No Offense, But I Love You

DL 'UNRELEASED'

like i expected anything else

New Republican game show: Are You More Mature Than A 5th Grader? (The answer by the way, is obviously 'no')

Senate Republicans fuming over the passage of health care reform are now refusing to work past 2 p.m. -- a tactic they can employ by invoking a little-known Senate rule... 

Making good on Sen. John McCain's threat to withhold all Republican cooperation from Democrats in the Senate in retribution for the majority party using reconciliation to pass health care reform, the GOP used the rule that states committees can only meet when the chamber is in session with the unanimous consent of all members. That consent has almost never been withheld -- until now....

Sen. Daniel Akaka (D-Hawaii), Chairman of the Veterans' Affairs Committee, had his hearing shut down abruptly at 11:00 Wednesday morning, in the middle of a discussion on the effort to end veteran homelessness in the next five years. It is estimated that more than 100,000 veterans are homeless in the United States on any given night.  

The great Republican hissyfit of '10 continues...

no, really?

Salon: 

A new poll shows that the tea parties may be less consequential than people believe...

Look, Teabaggers belong to a fringe movement. They're not a majority. They're certainly not coherent. And they're definitely not right about anything. But they are very loud and very obnoxious. And as long as you are very loud and very obnoxious, the other stuff doesn't really matter. 

tweaker

mexilibersociagayomoslems

Me and SC discuss this quite frequently. A lot of people, coughrepublicanscough, spend a lot of time and energy fighting and stressing about issues that are going to be rendered moot within a generation. Of course these issues are important to them, but they are aware that this is just a temporary battle, right? Curv3ball explains it nicely.

They are the Party of “Get the Mexilibersociagayomoslems off my lawn.”  And the country’s population is definitely trending Mexilibersociagayomoslem.  Or at least, the kids don’t mind the Mexilibersociagayomoslems as much as their parents did.

job!

everready - girl (1995 skene!)

I thought I posted this before, but I can find no evidence of that. So here ya go.

Previous Everready posts here and here.

1. Walk
2. Punk Is For Sale

DL 'GIRL'

cops and robbers - execution style (2001 bridge nine)

(Another repost in order to get everything into my MediaFire account)

Boston hardcore. I hate Boston for several reasons, but hardcore ain't one of them. No frills, aggressive hardcore, kind of like, well, um, everything that comes out of the Boston hardcore scene. This was released in 2001 on Bridge Nine records.

1. On The Decline
2. Martyr Complex
3. Last Laugh
4. Force Fed
5. Execution Style
6. Your Worst Nightmare

DL 'EXECUTION STYLE'

crab hut

Crab and crawfish soup from Crab Hut. Add some sriracha, and you are good to go.

your mother - sometimes scott jones is our roadie (1996 probe)

(Repost, mediafire, blah blah blah.)

One of my favorite bands from the whole mid-90's Probe Records scene-type thing. Goof-punk, at its finest. Ladies and gentleman, the always appreciated-yet-underappreciated Your Mother!

1. Yeah, I'm whooped. 
2. Not-So-Funny, Kinda Boring, Corny
3. Greg: Ex-Masturbator
4. Color Me Badd Religion
5. Touchie Feelie

DL 'SCOTT JONES'

everready - getting smarter (1993 silver girl)

(This was the first rip that I ever posted, and back then I wasn't uploading to MediaFire account. So I'm fixing that with a re-post.)

San Diego drunk punks Everready released a bunch of good albums and one, imho, great album (Reinheitsgebot) in the 1990's.

Soundwise, think sloppy Green Day, drunk. Sloppy drunk.

This is their first thing ever, I believe. Could be wrong. Released on Silver Girl Records in 1993.

1. Fairplay
2. I Know...
3. Inside My Head 

DL 'GETTING SMARTER'

filippi's

The Filippi's in Mira Mesa has prime rib and baby back ribs, which I've heard are pretty good. I went with the ribs, and apparently they thought I was Fred freaking Flinstone.

Verdict: Good ribs, not great. The portion is obviously huge. Four bones was all I could handle. But Phil's is still the undisputed king of the San Diego rib market.

sometimes it feels like the whole world is coming to an end

the tito o'tito band - music for profit and lip service, not just social change (1995 dieselhed)

Ever wanted to learn to play an instrument, start a band, write some songs, and release a 7"? All in the same day? Then let The Tito O'Tito Band inspire you. 

Seriously though, I don't know much about these guys. I always suspected some sort of link to FYP, probably because they both released stuff on Dieselhead.

1. Pun-Crock
2. Dumdum
3. Get A Job You Fucking Moron
4. Free Harbie

myspace

DL 'MUSIC FOR PROFIT'

happy friday!

heavy metal jury box

Holy crap. I was just listening to some Armored Saint the other day, first time in what, 20 years? And then this? No way that's a coincidence.



I spy Lizzy Borden and Grim Reaper

strung out - fat club (2001 fat wreck chords)

No major surprises here. Strung Out doing the Strung Out thing.

Other Fat Club releases found here, here, here, here, and here.

(Thanks to PunkRockDays for the rip)

1. Dig
2. Lost Motel

DL 'FAT CLUB'

bruce roehrs (1950-2010)

Sad, sad, sad. From PunkNews:

Bruce Roehrs (1950-2010):
Longtime Maximum Rock'n'Roll columnist Bruce Roehrs has passed away peacefully in his home. His colleagues at MRR posted this:

There will be a memorial. As soon as we know more we will let you know. We will miss him and can hardly imagine MRR without him. Play Agnostic Front 'Victim in Pain' as loud as you can - and see you fucks at the bar.

afi - fly in the ointment (1995 wedge)

Kinda sad what happened to AFI. They coulda been contenda's.

Remember when I posted that Circus Tents EP? The one I stupidly sold on eBay for like a buck? Yeah, well, AFI does a Circus Tents cover on this EP.

1. Theory Of Revolution
2. Crop Tub
3. Cruise Control
4. Open Your Eyes 

DL 'FLY IN THE OINTMENT'

duh

I love me some Boing Boing, and usually they introduce me to some cool shit, but man, are they way late on this.

Do people seriously think that LE doesn't use social networks? Or that they shouldn't?

You don't need a FOIA to tell you that water is wet. 

propagandhi - f.y.p split (1995 recess)

F.Y.P do three songs in the typical early F.Y.P fashion.  Propagandhi do one song in untypical Propagandhi  fashion - it's just John Sampson and his bass. Unsurprisingly, this song would would end up on the first Weakerthans album.

1. P - Letter of Resignation
2. F - Mate Like Porcupines
3. F - Dinky Bossetti
4. F - Glamourettes

DL 'PROPAGANDHI-FYP'

prizes or cash

Holy crap. I never actually did this, but this ad was in every single comic book I bought. Seems like something out of the 1950's, but it was the 80's.

Then again 1980 is to 2010 what 1950 was to 1980.

they spinnin'

fast food fail

ChicagoNow has a list of the top 15 fast food failures.

Lemoore was a test market for McDonald's pizza, so I remember that. Glad someone could confirm this existed, because people were starting to think I was crazy when I'd mention it.

I remember the Burger King popcorn, table service, Big Mac rip-off, McLean, McDLT, and not much else from this list.

Calling the McDLT a fail is blasphemy, though. The McDLT might be the finest non-Double Cheeseburger product McDonald's has ever produced.

Maybe because Jack-In-The-Box isn't national, but no fast food fail list can be complete without Dinner-In-The-Box. They had shrimp, steak and.....? Actually, I kind of miss them. Bring them back! And the Supreme Nachos.

They were probably a fail, but I also like the JITB Panido's.

ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-chatter chatter chatter

I pretty much think this same thing every day.

Hey now, really, to whom are all these people talking on their phones, all the time, behind the wheel, and in these stores and behind me and even in more improbable places, such as at the pedicurist's? Are you on the phone that much? Do you people not have text messages or something? I personally have answered my phone to only two people in the last sixteen days, and then I don't know who the rest of these people are (sorry, I don't know what the numbers are, and their attending people), and so I let it go to voicemail, except I keep my voicemail full, because I don't want any more voicemails. The voicemails I already have aren't doing much for me really. And is there some kind of phone that is just like, text and web and email and stupid apps but no actual telephone system? (Maybe just an emergency dial out thing? You know, for when I'm… hiking. And there are bears.

 

f.y.p - made in usa (1991 recess)

As I've mentioned, I was pretty late to the whole punk thing. I can honestly say that, besides the Descendants, F.Y.P was my first full blown punk rock obsession. God, I loved the sloppy snotiness of it all. Glorious.

More F.Y.P here and here.

1. Dress Code
2. Shut Up
3. Made In The USA
4. Unappreciated
5. In Season
6. Detention

DL 'MADE IN USA'

i want one!

dear cbs: WTF?!?!?

glenn beck, private eye

That Glenn Beck, man, he's a smart one. You can't sneak anything by that guy. He's a propaganda sniffin' machine.

It only took him 26 years to figure out that "Born in The USA" is not a "rah-rah, USA #1" anthem.

And it only took him 70 years to figure out that "This Land Is Your Land" is a screed against private property.

Do you know how he was able to uncover all of these secret messages? By reading the lyrics. Sherlock Holmes would be proud.

Maybe next he can figure out the real truth behind movies. Maybe his sleuthing will determine that "Born On The Fourth Of July" isn't about how awesome the Vietnam War was.

the pullouts - a lot of power tool in a little space (1996 mutant pop)

The Pullouts were a pop-punk band from Athens, Georgia. This was originally a 1995 EP on AlienNation Records. Mutant Pop re-issued it a year later.

1. Laundry Girl
2. Miscellanea
3. Poopie Pants
4. Dr. Bleh

DL 'POWER TOOL'

play at your own risk, vol 1 (1993 recess)

I thought I had posted this before, but searching the archives, it appears I have not. Well, let's correct that. Great Recess Records comp. This has Sheep Squeeze and the Yah Mo's. Need I say more?

1. Sheep Squeeze - Vespa
2. Bored To Death - Vomit
3. Degenerates - Johnny Was A Racist
4. F.Y.P - Allergic
5. Yah Mo's - Break Them Open
6. Gr'ups - On The Way To Frisco

DL 'PLAY AT YOUR OWN RISK'

america, you suck

There's a glaring flaw in American Idol that pretty much ruins the whole show: the audience, and not the judges, pick the winner.

A teenager who remarkably does not annoy the shit out of me, who more remarkably I actually kind of like, who is so awkward and uncomfortable on stage that it makes me only like him more, yet who can sing like a mofo, and rocks a mullet to boot, and he's the one that gets kicked off? Bullshit.

Way to fail too recognize all that is decent and good, America. You suck.

operation: cliff clavin / connie dungs split (1997 plan-it-x)

I have a love/hate relationship with Operation: Cliff Clavin (cuz baby, your an anarchist, and I'm a spineless liberal), but it mainly tilts towards love (I mean I am a bleeding heart, after all). I got nothing but love for the Connie Dungs.

Second day in a row, go figure: There are better rips of the actual CD out there. Again, I didn't like the placement of the song breaks, so I ripped the actual vinyl. Yeah. I know.

1. OCC - Consumers
2. OCC - Private Property
3. OCC - Let's Start Walking Or Quit Talking
4. OCC - Thank You For Not Breeding
5. OCC - Some Strange Reason
6. CD - I Don't Want You Around
7. CD - Bedwetter
8. CD - I Wouldn't Want To Be You
9. CD - Dust On The Telephone
10. CD - I've Stands All That I Can Stands I Can't Stands No More 

DL 'OP:CC / CONNIE DUNGS'

everywhere i look is a darkness

al franken was correct

My theory is that Rush wakes up every morning and tries to figure out how much he can get away with. But I think even he must be a bit shocked with what he's able to get away with and still remain a respected voice on the right. At this point, this is just a game to him.

Today's attempt to be rebuked by the Right:

David Paterson will become the massa...who gets to appoint whoever gets to take Massa's place. So, for the first time in his life, Paterson's gonna be a massa. Interesting, interesting.

But you already know how the Right will react:



[eschaton]

best reason for passing health care reform

It would make Rush an ex-pat. 

Asked by a caller on Tuesday what he would do if health care passes, Limbaugh gave this response:

"I don't know. I'll just tell you this, if this passes and it's five years from now and all that stuff gets implemented, I am leaving the country. I'll go to Costa Rica."

Brilliant. Make a bold statement by leaving your country for trying to provide universal health care by moving to a country that already has it. Simply brilliant. 

Of course, if health care doesn't pass, Rush can just make like Sarah Palin and go get some health care from a Canadian Death Panel. 

the queers / pink lincolns - live at some prick's house (1994 just add water)

The Queers side was recorded in 1991 at M.I.T., because future advances in science and technology should always be shaped in some part by snotty pop punk. The Pink Lincolns side was recoded in 1993 at Sombre Reptile in Atlanta.

Shpadoinkle has a higher quality rip of this, but I'm anal, and wasn't satisfied with where the song breaks were, so I ripped it myself. I'm not proud of this mp3 OCD I have.

1. Q: We'd Have A Riot Doing Heroin
2. Q: This Place Sucks
3. Q: Kicked Out Of The Webelos
4. Q: I Want Cunt
5. Q: Nobody Likes Me
6. PL: I've Got My Tie On
7. PL: Suck My Left One
8. PL: Big Bouncer, Angry Bouncer 

DL 'PRICK'

feel good story of the day

Not the way I wanna go, fo' sho.

A window cleaner died after stabbing himself in the groin repeatedly with a jumbo souvenir pencil, an inquest heard....
Worried neighbours raised the alarm after they were unable to get hold of him.
When police broke into his house they found Mr Burton lying on his back, wearing only his underpants.
The room was splattered with blood and music was still playing on his stereo. The giant blood-covered pencil was beside him.

 [barstool/ny] 

don't do it

A depressed squirrel at Pismo.

one hit wonder - tug of war (1995 lethal)

All I really know about this is that it was produced by RATT's Juan Crocier (7th grade me just got excited). This is a white label, so I don't have the artwork (took it from an eBay auction), and I'm kind of guessing on the song titles, cross-referencing the lyrics with titles from a later CD. If someone has the art or can verify the song titles, that would be cool.

Previous release here.

1. Tug Of War
2. Anyday Now
3. Smartest Guy
4. Love Of God

DL 'TUG OF WAR'

best picture 2010

• 
  

Okay, just finished watching the tenth of the ten Best Picture nominees. Here's how I rank them.

1. Inglourious Basterds - I had a couple problems with the film, mainly the blow 'em up ending and Eli Roth. Not Tarantino's best (although the farmhouse and bar scenes are among the best scenes he has ever done), but it was much, much better than anything else on this list.
2. Precious - This was the most surprising movie of the bunch. I didn't want to watch this, I just knew it was going to be some sort of Oprah-fied dreck. But that's not the case. It's extremely depressing, and extremely good.
3. The Hurt Locker - Very, very good movie, but not as good as the hype. It doesn't hit you over the head with an obvious plot. It just moves from one gut-wrenching situation to the next. The main point of the movie only becomes  clear once it's over. I like that.  
4. District 9 - This is what Avatar wished it could be. A science fiction film that doesn't completely pander. But like Avatar, it suffers from the "Evil Colonel" problem. Also, a major problem in the plot: If the humans don't want the aliens on Earth, the aliens don't want to be on Earth, and the aliens have a way to get back to their home planet, what's all the fighting for?
5. A Serious Man - It seems like this was intended for a very specific audience. I'm not Jewish, so I didn't get a lot of the references, or for that matter, the main point of the movies. But it is a Coen Brothers movie, which means it was visually and conceptionally interesting. 
6. Up In The Air - Eh. Not terrible. A little heavy-handed. Not Best Picture nominee material. None of the rest of the movies on the list are. Should have kept it at five. 
7. Up - Good animated flick. The first ten minutes may have made me cry, I'm not saying. But, after that it tails off into a very good kids movie. Great for kids, good for adults, not the stuff Best Pictures are made of.
8. An Education - Snoozefest. The big dramatic climax is that, get this, the main actresses lover is... married! Wow. Shocking and not at all a concept already beaten into the ground (I'm looking at you, Up In The Air). But using Floyd Cramer's "The Rebound" in the opening credits was genius. That's a great song.
9. Avatar - Best looking film by far. Simply beautiful. But they should have just given a two hour tour of Pandora, because the story the attached to this is laughably bad. Pocahantas meets Ferngully. If I was 12, this would for sure be the greatest movie ever made. I'm not 12. All the style in the world can't redeem the substance. 
10. The Blind Side - Lifetime movie of the week. Sandra Bullock is a horrible actress, but compared to the rest of this cast, she looks like Meryl Streep. Wanted to strangle the little kid. Tim McGraw? Really? Worst soundtrack ever. Who did the score for this, Harvey Sid Fisher? Wesley Willis? One of the worst movies of the year. How did it get on this list? Well, alright then. 

End notes:

• They picked the wrong year to expand the Best Picture field. Or, more accurately, they picked the wrong movies. 
• In The Loop, Anvil: The Story of Anvil, and Moon were all better than the bottom seven. 
• "Bust a Move" is featured in two of the Best Picture nominees? What the what?

static, static, static. we're on a video rage.

I want to qualify this as kitty abuse, but I laughed pretty hard.  

my ears just broke

I can only hope this is some kind of joke I'm not getting. Don't get me wrong, I laughed my ass off, but probably for the wrong reasons. 

Yo, G. Should have stuck to baking pies (WTF was that all about?). 

Probably not a good idea to steal black culture and then throw a "boy" into the chorus. Just saying. 

now that's how you sell a freakin' pancake

zoobooks

capaldi

At first, I was upset that In The Loop did not get a Best Picture nod. But when I think about it, it is targeted towards poli-sci geeks like me. That's a pretty limited audience, so I guess I get it. 

But not nominating Peter Capaldi for Best Supporting Actor? Insane. Stupid Academy. Between this and The Blind Side for Best Picture, I wonder what the hell is going on over there. 

riding on the metro

Yglesias: 

...it’s striking how differently the country behaves when you [sic] a non-Muslim individual attempt [sic] or succeed [sic] at killing some people based on quasi-political motivations versus when it’s a Muslim who does it. And the important thing, I think, is not merely to make a pure hypocrisy argument but to point out that the country’s response to non-Muslim killers ranging from Bedell to the IRS plane crasher to the Holocaust Museum shooter is much, much, much better and smarter. In the wake of an incident involving a non-Muslim we of course look back and try to see if there’s any reasonable preventive steps we could have taken to prevent the murders. But wild overreactions and wholesale reconfigurations of the constitution, of US foreign policy, or of daily life are considered off the table by definition. And rightly so!

This is all very true. But I think the difference in behavior happens mainly because most of this country does not see Islamic terrorism based on any sort of political motivation, quasi or not. Islamic terrorists are are irrational Muslims who act on behalf of an extreme religion. They are bogeymen. That's it. End of story. Their actual motivations don't even enter the picture. This is a mistake, of course. But it's not going to change. It's simply not. 

rana's

Pollo en cacahuate from Rana's in Spring Valley. Meat and peanut sauce makes me a happy man. Excellent.

catapult / leap frog society split (1995 bucky)

I heard you missed me. I'm back. I brought my pencil. Gimme something to write on, man.

Couple of Vegas bands (I think?) I don't know a whole lot about. While I really like the Catapult side, which sometimes reminds me of a raw Spoke and sometimes of sloppier Radon, I positively love the Leap Frog Society side, which reminds me of Boba Fett Youth and early FYP.

1. C - Astray
2. C - Separate Realities
3. LFS - Rotten Tank
4. LFS - Junkie Cop
5. Y.I.F.P.Y.B. 
6. Fuk Cars

DL 'CATAPULT / LFS'

nailbiter

Republicans held up the vote on one of Obama's judicial nominees, Barbara Keenan,  for 125 days. For for months they refused to even allow the Keenan's name to be voted on. But this controversial judge finally made it to the floor. So, obviously, since they must have had very good reasons to stall her nomination, they would vote against her. I mean, Republicans wouldn't hold her up just to be dicks right?

Luckily, Keene barely squeezed by, 99-0.

[yglesias]

galling

Josh forgets that pure fucking gall is major tactical difference between (D)'s and (R)'s.

One of the truly galling Republican political maneuvers over the last 10 years is to go from squandering a huge budget surplus, racking up trillions in debt, ballooning the deficit, and leaving the next Democratic administration with an economy in shambles -- then as soon as the Democrats are in charge refashioning themselves as budget hawks. You might even think they're setting the Democrats up to fail. I know, hard to believe.

Why Republicans aren't simply laughed off the stage at this point when they try to argue against budget deficits says a lot about Democratic ineptness, media collusion, and short political memories. But I still find it amazing.

Democrats need to find a bit of that gall and take it upon themselves to start laughing these clowns off the stage.

riveting

Pismo Beach entertainment on a Tuesday night. Word.

krugman blues

[poorman]