Paul Gleason 1939–2006

Perhaps one of the best all-time dicks in charge, i.e., The Breakfast Club and Die Hard.

Moment of silence for Paul Gleason.

Obligatory MacBook Post

I'm in the Apple store right now on an incredibly lovely black MacBook. Of course, I'm not in the market for a new Mac until there's a Universal Binary of Adobe Creative Suite, but I wanted to see it.

LYRC, but my opinions on the two controversial parts of the MacBook: The glossy screen isn't so bad, but as a designer, I'm not a big fan of the glare. The keyboard is pretty cool and not a problem to type on at all.

Honestly, this would make a kick-ass extra computer, but I wouldn't want to have to spend all my time in front of this glossy screen.

I have to be honest—I really only wanted to make this post so I had an excuse to show everyone what I just did in Photo Booth:

OPEN THREAD THURSDAY

After all, it's the discussion that brings you back.

President Hicks

It's not in my nature to link normally to the National Review, but here is some interesting information, albeit not entirely surprising:

And as online betting sites have been on fire with weeks of Idol predictions, I have a post-Idol prediction: Season 5 will have garnered significantly more interest among American voters than November mid-term elections will. Hey, about five times as many votes were cast during Season 4 of American Idol than were cast in the 2000 presidential election. Before anointing Hicks the new American Idol Wednesday night, host Ryan Seacrest announced that 63.4 million votes had been cast in the finale—‘more than any president in the history of our country has received.’

Had the government not drafted young men to fight in the Vietnam War and had racists not burned down all of those churches, there wouldn't have been any hippies protesting—only poseur-mods jamming out to Ohio Express.

For what it's worth, while I pounded-out code for a client last night on my it's-only-one-year-old-but-now-it-looks-ancient Powerbook, I sat in front of the Top Chef finale. Hooray Harold!

Naked Guy 1973–2006

Moment of Silence for Andrew Martinez, a troubled man, but a champion for flappin' in the breeze.

Thanks For Visiting

Random news article.

Book/Band Mash-Ups

SInce the folks at Coudal only seemed to like one of my suggestions for their Booking Bands contest, I thought I'd share with you the rest of my submissions:

• Their Eyes Were Watching Godsmack
• The Bell Jar of Flies
• Yertle the Tortoise
• Leaves of Supergrass
• The Cheese Monkees

Careful what you submit to their contest—the prize is a copy of the book and a CD by the band.

The Gated Community Country

Nothing makes me happier than to hear our country's plans to construct a big-ass fence. After all, our world has a magnanimous history of building large barriers, all with excellent results.

For example, the Berlin Wall. It was visited by John F. Kennedy, Ronald Reagan, and Scorpions—famous people flocked there! The Berlin Wall lasted nearly 30 years; what a great run!

And let's not forget the Great Wall of China. Damn, that's one hell of a barrier, even visible from space! Imagine what would have happened to China if floods of Mongols invaded, took jobs, and then started demanding rights. Who would build our laptop computers now? Drawing on this great history, China has erected the Great Firewall of China, preventing a flood of invading free ideas. Way to set the example, China!

Yes, the United States finally understands like so many civilizations before it that once you finally have lots of land under starry skies above, fencing me in is the best course of action.

(P.S.: Go fuck a monkey.)

OPEN THREAD THURSDAY

I like it when the open thread starts slow and soft, then you start hitting it hard and fast.

Why do I feel dirty?

I just spent almost $300 for Radiohead tickets. Should I be ashamed of myself? Or should I revel in the joy I will soon feel in Orchestra Row G? I'll let you know June 19.

President Gore

Funny and a little bit sad.

OPEN THREAD THURSDAY

What do you want? I want to know.

Lucas Wises Up a Bit

See it as it was meant to be seen: Han shooting first.

Lesley has never seen Star Wars. Finally, I won't mind showing it to her.

(Via Kottke.)

OPEN THREAD THURSDAY

If you have nothing to say today, then just stare at eboy's take on New York City. They draw these pixel-by-pixel, y'know.

Impotent Rage

Imagine for a moment that Superman decided to hire the best attorneys and publicity companies in the country. Next, imagine that Superman decided to take a few hits of PCP, down a couple of Coronas, and head out for a night of adventure at Metropolis' most infamous nightspots. Even if things go a little haywire, what are the chances that Superman is going to spend a few hours sobering up in the county jail? Zero. It won't happen. He's Superman.

And what if America commits war crimes in Iraq, or refuses to be held to account for its actions by any international legal body? It won't matter. There's no power on earth which – acting alone – can drag America off to the drunk tank and give it a strong cup of coffee. Whatever happened to the brouhaha about torture or CIA prisons or extraordinary rendition? It was swept under the carpet in a whirlwind of rhetoric; it was, after all, only brouhaha. Meanwhile, the violations of treaties, conventions, and international law continue apace... and Superman continues his violent night of self-indulgence.

Which brings me to the Colbert flapdoodle. The routine was, to be sure, a critique – albeit one thinly veiled by humor. But it wasn't anything more than a critique. As such, it's only fitting that it should be getting more coverage than the mutating and suicidal hatred that Bush has animated throughout the world. Colbert's routine was called "distasteful" and "inappropriate" by people who are perfectly comfortable with dropping cluster bombs on civilians and launching a war of aggression because "the world would be better off"; or, to put it another way, because it has the ring of "truthiness". Still, there's not much else that can be done by a conscientious American. No matter how biting or honest the rage that is fired at power may be, it'll just bounce off the great big drug-addled "S". Still, attention must be paid... even if people have to send cat poop sandwiches to get it:

A Highland man, who claims to have mailed boxes of "cat poop sandwiches" to Lake County courts Monday to protest a small claims case, has locked himself in his home in anticipation of being arrested.

"I'm not coming out of this house," he said.

[…] [Richard] Carroll, who insists he's not violent, said he believes he's making his stand. The six boxes mailed this week contained the excrement, bread and torn up money with some change thrown in, he said.

"They all say I'm crazy, but I'm crazy about my rights," he said.

Colon Cleanse

I haven't written anything for LYRC lately not because I've been busy performing in a play, working a grueling 9-5 job, and trying to keep the Assassins project from imploding. No. I haven't written because I have nothing interesting to write. When you have nothing interesting to say, it's best to keep your yap shut. Anyone who knows me knows that I rarely (if ever) do what's best. Hence, here we go again...

Now that the President's approval numbers are so low that they'll probably never recover, it's a good time to point out that poll numbers (or public opinion generally) has never mattered to Bush & Co. By a margin of 2 to 1 Americans favor sanctions for Israel. An overwhelming majority of Americans disapprove of our military adventurism in the Middle East, support additional funding to protect chemical industries within our boarders, are willing to accept strong and decisive measures to curb global warming, and reject the idea that curtailing liberty will enhance security. Insofar as virtually every issue of public importance is concerned, the government under which we live has ceased to function as a democratic institution.

Additionally, the actions of the President with respect to Iraq have resulted in an exponential increase in terrorism worldwide. Instances of suicide bombings have skyrocketed. Radicalized worldviews are becoming commonplace within Islamic communities throughout the world, and the "bleed out" of terrorists freshly trained in the urban-assault laboratory of Iraq is potentially disastrous for international security. The proliferation of nuclear material throughout the Middle East, the Balkan states and Russia as a direct result of the instability in Iraq (and our complicity and inattention in providing it and ignoring tracking protocols) has contributed to making every member of the human race less safe.

In the 2004 election many people who voted for Bush did so because they honestly believed that he would protect them from terrorism. Nothing could be further from the truth. This President is simply not concerned with terrorism, or with democracy for that matter.

There. I've been a little preoccupied lately and have neglected to jettison my mental waste. As an expression of my gratitude for so patiently ignoring the produce of an undiapered mind, I've included a picture of a woman being fish-hooked by some feet. You're welcome.