Does hating Britney Spears and her ilk make me an elitist? No. It means I have ears. Next question? Does disliking nearly all hip-hop does not make me, or anyone else, a racist? No. It means that I have my own musical tastes, which exclude most hip-hop, disco, teenybop, Celine-ish easy-listening divas, electronica, and heavy metal/punk where the vocalist sounds like he's about to throw up.
Hey, that was easy.
Americans have a bleaker view of the country's direction than at any time in more than two decades, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News poll. Welcome to the club, America. It's a little late, but... better than never, I guess.
Okay, I think I've just about stopped laughing over a bitter fight over ownership the "happy face" icon between Wal-Mart and some French guy.
No... it's still funny.
You know, it seems like the sort of thing that would be unconstitutional, to hire or fire someone based on their political beliefs. Yet U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Alphonso Jackson seems proud of it, here relaying a conversation he had with a prospective advertising contractor:
"He had made every effort to get a contract with HUD for 10 years... He made a heck of a proposal... he came to see me and thank me for selecting him. Then he said something ... He said, 'I don't like President Bush.' I thought to myself, 'Brother, you have a disconnect -- the president is elected, I was selected. You wouldn't be getting the contract unless I was sitting here. If you have a problem with the president, don't tell the secretary.'"
"He didn't get the contract. Why should I reward someone who doesn't like the president, so they can use funds to try to campaign against the president? Logic says they don't get the contract. That's the way I believe."
I know you've all been waiting eagerly for closure on the German Sex Cannibal. He was convicted of murder and "disturbing the peace of the dead" and sentenced to life in prison. His lawyers were arguing for the lesser offense of "killing on demand," since he does have the victim, on video, allowing that he wants to be killed and eaten. In 2004, he was sentenced to 8.5 years for manslaughter, a verdict that was appealed by the prosecuters.
I remember, about five or six years ago, reading a prediction that retiring baby-boomers would cause a hiring boom starting around 2005.
In honor of the upcoming release of the movie version of The Da Vinci Code, some actual information about Opus Dei. Strangely, although they are a conservative Catholic sect given to mild self-punishment, they are not generally called upon to murder Tom Hanks... or are they?
Nobody asked me. But I think the new slogan should be New Jersey: Cooler than you thought.
Apple computer scores another victory, this time against Apple Corps, the record company founded by The Beatles. British High Court Judge Anthony Mann ruled that the computer company's logo is used in association with the store - not the music - and therefore did not breach a 1991 non-competition agreement.
Wow. Something where I'm in the majority. (The six out of ten Americans who don't play video games.)
Music for those who plan ahead: a composition by John Cage called "As Slow as Possible," being performed at St. Burchardi Church in Halberstadt, Germany, where the performance is scheduled to last 639 years. The piece began Sept. 5, 2001, on what would have been Cage's 89th birthday. Notes start or stop once or twice a year, always on the fifth day of the month.
Did you know that in Poland, it is illegal to criticise foreign heads of state present on Polish territory?
I didn't either. Weird.
The Bush presidency officially descends into self-parody: when asked by the German press about the best and worst moments of his presidency, Bush unsurprisingly said "The most awful moment was September the 11th, 2001." But his best moment is catching a big fish?
The best moment was -- you know, I've had a lot of great moments. I don't know, it's hard to characterize the great moments. They've all been busy moments, by the way. I would say the best moment was when I caught a seven-and-a-half pound large mouth bass on my lake.
Global warming -- I'm sure it's still a myth. Go back to sleep.
Atmospheric circulation over the Pacific Ocean has weakened significantly during the past century, and scientists say the most likely explanation for the shift is human-induced climate change.
The head of the world's largest chipmaker unveiled a mobile personal computer... Intel Corp. Chief Executive Paul Otellini said the $400 machines, code-named "Eduwise," will feature built-in wireless and will be able to run Microsoft Corp.'s Windows or the Linux operating system.
Play-Doh scent? Which is funny, because I always thought Obsession smelled like Play-Doh. But I bet the Play-Doh doesn't smell like Obsession.
Sir Timothy "Tim" John Berners-Lee, inventor of the World Wide Web:
When, seventeen years ago, I designed the Web, I did not have to ask anyone's permission. [3]. The new application rolled out over the existing Internet without modifying it. I tried then, and many people still work very hard still, to make the Web technology, in turn, a universal, neutral, platform. It must not discriminate against particular hardware, software, underlying network, language, culture, disability, or against particular types of data.
I guess that's one way of measuring presidential performance: During the first three months of the year, Bush has been the punch line of 307 monologue jokes by Jay Leno, David Letterman and Conan O'Brien, according to the Center for Media and Public affairs, which studies this sort of thing.
That compares to 197 jokes during the same period last year. For all of 2005, the center counted 544 Bush jokes.
