While General Clark comes out for national service, fellow candidates Dean and Kerry bicker over Vietnam. Hmm…while I’m very sympathetic to the idea that a war record should not be a prerequisite for political office, Kerry’s military service is obviously one of his main selling points, particularly when placed in contrast to Dubya’s AWOL year. So I’d say it’s a dumb call for Dean to begrudge Kerry’s mentioning of Vietnam, and especially given Dean’s own tour in Aspen during that time. For the Deanies, I’d think the less said about ‘Nam, the better.
Category: World at Large
Preserving the Bottom Line.
NYU alums and other lovers of Gotham’s rock ‘n’ roll history scramble to save the Bottom Line, one of the most venerable nightclubs in Greenwich Village. If you get a chance, please take a moment to check out the site and/or sign the petition. It’d be a tremendous shame if such a classic New York institution was destroyed for the sake of a dorm and a few classrooms.
From Pelennor to Petersburg.
Members of the fanboy press see 20 minutes of RotK, and they sound superb (Spoilers here about how certain scenes play out.) Meanwhile, the trailer for Cold Mountain, that other major Oscar-contending peak (besides Mt. Doom), is now online. I’m all for Civil War tales, but ah have to staht a-wunnderin’ about Jude and Miss Nicole’s accents after watching this.
Middle Kingdom Rising.
Taikonaut and pioneer Yang Liwei joins the ranks of Yuri Gagarin and Alan Shepard in leading his nation into the stars. Yet, despite’s China’s recent success, analysts on all sides downplay the idea of a renewed space race…for now.
Dark Designs.
Fresh after making his pitch for the Sox, Seth Stevenson tries to wrap his mind around manga. “As for the animated porn I did watch in hopes of gleaning some insight into the Japanese id? I have this to say: Go away, Japanese id! You are scary! I am scared of you!“
Mutombo to MSG?
The Sixers appear to pass on Mutombo, meaning he’s probably Knicks-bound as rumored. Well, since the Post thinks this will actually facilitate the Van Exel trade, I’m all for it. Update: It’s official…Deke’s a Knick.
The Governator.
Lock up your daughters…Arnold wins handily in California. (Gray Davis, contemplate this on the tree of woe.) Y’know, I never figured Predator and The Running Man to be two-Governor pictures, but there you have it. Well, here’s hoping Schwarzenegger can find a way to extricate Cali from its disastrous fiscal quagmire…Somehow I don’t think repealing the car tax is going to help much.
Taikonauts go Lunar.
More details surface about China’s space ambitions, and they are soon to include manned lunar missions. Interesting…
Start Spreading the News.
The Voice releases its annual Best of NY guide for 2003. Time to start explorin’.
The Forgetful Pachyderm.
The recall madness in California finally comes to an end. I must say, the past week or so has been enormously instructive in shedding light on the depths of hypocrisy within the GOP. Only a few years ago, the Republicans pushed America to constitutional crisis because they claimed to believe that sexual immorality was an impeachable executive offense. This week, the Republicans have shown that, not only do they not care about executive offenses, they don’t even give a whit about sexual immorality. Ridiculous and shameful. And then consider Florida, Texas, California…again and again, the GOP has run roughshod over the principle of fair elections in the name of their own lust for power. At the end of the day, is there no level below which this party will not sink?