Y’know, I’ve been waiting to hear this type of news for years. Apparently coho salmon and quail males also affect an ironic distance and disaffected world-weariness that make them the apple of females’ eyes.
Category: World at Large
Aloha and Mahalo.
As I leave tomorrow for August in Kauai, expect updates to be intermittent and at stranger hours than usual for the next couple of weeks. Be good.
Hard Times in New York Town.
Alas, I’m not going to be around (and my limited discretionary funds for concert-going was already spent on R.E.M. tickets), but if you live in NYC and you’re looking to wash the taste of Masked and Anonymous out of your mouth, Dylan’s playing the Hammerstein Ballroom August 12-14. Should be grand.
The Buck Finally Stops.
In a tortured press conference in which he also came out firmly against gay marriage, Dubya finally admits he’s to blame for the Iraq-Niger claim in the State of the Union (while letting Condoleeza Rice cry “mea culpa” on Newshour.) Why on Earth did it take him so long to state the obvious? As President, he is in fact responsible for his own utterances.
Planning Ahead.
While I’m loath to link to these guys given the trouble Klayman caused back in the day, Judicial Watch gets a hold of Cheney Energy Task Force briefings from March 2001 and finds…maps of Iraq? (Via Pigs and Fishes.)
Avon Lives.
The original blueprint for Farscape, Blake’s 7 returns with a flash-intensive site and news of a possible mini-series. “As was the intention of the late Terry Nation, only Paul Darrow who played the character Avon will reprise his role, acting as a catalyst for a Rebellion Reborn. It is fair to say that all the original characters are dead and there are no plans for their resurrection.” Sure seemed like Avon died in the last episode twenty-two years ago, but I suppose he could’ve had a backup plan.
Grief and Anger.
“President Bush made a comment a week ago, and he said ‘bring it on.’ Well, they brought it on, and now my nephew is dead.” (Via Looka.)
Indy Carnies (Carny Indies?)
This Modern Age plays Hipster Bingo at the Siren Music Festival on Coney Island. (Via Listen Missy.) I was there on Saturday too, and was kicking myself for not printing out a card. (I must say I also quite relished being at a beach and being well within the skin tone median – usually I’m the whitest guy for miles, but with indy rockers galore about I felt certifiably tan.) At any rate, the only acts I caught were Hot Hot Heat (interesting), The Datsuns (bleah), and Modest Mouse (ho hum) – I spent most of the time enjoying ancient amusement park technology and eating carny food. All in all, it was a beautiful day to enjoy a quintessential NYC summer attraction.
A Chill in Damascus.
“Up through January of 2003, the cooperation was topnotch,” a former State Department official said. “Then we were going to do Iraq, and some people in the Administration got heavy- handed. They wanted Syria to get involved in operational stuff having nothing to do with Al Qaeda and everything to do with Iraq.” As Dubya accuses Syria of harboring terrorists, Sy Hersh examines the rise and fall of US-Syrian cooperation after 9/11.
Lies and Gaffes.
Two interesting editorials in today’s Globe: Derrick Jackson wonders aloud about the GOP’s double standard on Presidential lies, while H.D.S. Greenway laments the diplomatic damage wrought by Dubya’s ill-advised “axis of evil” rhetoric. Dishonest and incompetent…the total package.