Professor Pollkatz's invaluable site has, among other interesting resources, an amusing political map of Middle Earth.

The map suggests that Isengard is the home of the So-Called Liberal Media. Does that make Tim Russert Saruman?

Lastly, speaking as a "blogger & internet activist", I am pleased with my location.

My output has been low lately, I might kick it into gear soon.

MUSIC PLUG

From my download.com music site, I highly recommend my new power ballad "No New Business".

Before you say anything, yes, there's a strong Coldplay influence going on here.

Over at The Corner, the National Review's blog, which I rarely visit actually, K-Lo suggests that the inspiration for Bush's handwritten "let freedom reign!" on the note from Condi informing him of the Iraqi power transfer may have been inspired by Nelson Mandela.

Glad to see this administration changing its tune on the former South African leader.

I was never a big fan of the Godfather movies -- mob pop culture doesn't really do it for me -- but I adore A Streetcar Named Desire.

RIP Stanley.

IN CASE YOU HADN'T HEARD THIS FROM EVERY MOVIE CRITIC ON THE PLANET,

Spider-Man 2 is a wonderful cinematic experience from start to finish. The effects are better by leaps and bounds, the plot is intricate and well-developed, the acting is solid, the romance is much less awkward to watch this time around, and I never found myself bored. Best action movie in a long time.

I KNOW YOU'RE ALL THINKING IT

It's one of those things everybody thinks and no one actually says.

So I'm gonna just come out and say it:

Man, he really looks a lot better with the beard. Why did he spend three decades running the country with those big ugly jowlish cheeks?

Now we just await the inevitable: Some right-winger will compare Saddam's new look to that of Krugman.

In other NY Times op/ed page news, TFM happily notes that Tom Friedman's temporary replacement (he's on book leave, oh boy) is the admirable Barbara Ehrenreich, whose first column can be found in today's paper. My last run-in with Ehrenreich was in fall quarter 2003, in which I read a piece of hers where she absolutely skewers Fukuyama on a thesis of his pertaining to gender roles and political leadership. Baboons were involved, by the way.

LATE UPDATE: Wow, I feel so gratified. In yesterday's "Monologue", Matt Passet says:

We're all thinking it, fine I'll say it. Saddam looked kind of sexy in his most recent court photos.

Yes!

(Obvious disclaimer: He's a bad man, I know, but that's beside the point here!)

BLOG CIVIL-WAR AT CALJUNKET?

Rebecca sez:

Losers. Every last one of them.

Item! As of 6:47pm today, about a dozen men and women were lined up outside Cody's Books bearing blankets and coffee. Though early speculation indicated that the patrons were competing to be the first in the East Bay to pick up the long-awaited "Best of BBQ" issue of Sunset Magazine, further investigation revealed that they were in line to meet former president Bill Clinton tomorrow at noon.

Listen, folks. If you want to have an impersonal and rushed encounter with a former president, catch Jimmy Carter when he's in the middle of laying 2"X4" studs in the future house of some Guatamalan family. Or rub a $5 bill on your nipple. Don't waste your money on a mediocre book, and certainly don't waste your time camping our on Telegraph. You just might wake up with herpes.

Meanwhile, in the comments to a CalStuff post, Tommaso sez:

Cody's isn't giving out any more tickets. People with tickets (about 900) will get to go ahead of those in line. I might try to spend the night before to get a signature.

Uh oh.

Maybe the resolution is in semantics: 6:47 at this time of year falls nearly two hours before sunset, so maybe just "spending the night" does not cross Ms Brown's loser threshold.

Let's just hope nobody initiates Plan R or anything like that. :)

Wonkette makes the necessary joke regarding the early transfer of sovereignty in Iraq.

I'll be gone all day tomorrow on official business. I should be back tomorrow night.

WALL BLOGGING

I'm a compulsive room decorator. Whenever I move, I'm never at home until I've made my poster&clipping-related imprint on my personal space.

I just moved into a new room at an undisclosed location in Berkeley (unless you recognize the paint job on the walls, that is), and true to form, I have taken a variety of my posters and clippings (mostly music-related) and saturated the walls.

I did this with my room from my family's house when I was younger, and I even catalogued it on my archaic Geocities website years ago.

Now, just for the hell of it, I'm going to do it again. Dig my four walls...



North Wall
Top row (L to R): Weezer, Grateful Dead (with Jerry just below), Tool, Ben Folds Five, my production of Jesus Christ Superstar, Howard Dean.
Below left shelf: Julian Casablancas, Ryan Adams, Dave Matthews, The Strokes, George Carlin, Elvis&Nixon, Talking Heads, John Lennon, Kurt Cobain, Eddie Vedder, UCSB pennant, Cake, Bill Clinton & Paul McCartney, Ben Folds.
Edge of East Wall: The Strokes, Bob Dylan, MoveOn flyer.



West Wall
Left of the door: Weezer, Pink Floyd, Lennon Murphy (signed), Eddie Vedder, John Lennon, Jerry Garcia, Talking Heads, The Onion, John Kerry sticker, Prince.
Right of the door: Beatles, David Byrne, This Island Earth (production still)



Bed Area (partial):
Map of USA, Nelly Furtado, Natalie Portman (as close as you get to pinups I suppose), myself & Laurie, John Lennon, Beck.



Windows / East Wall:
Gore-Lieberman sign (with Lieberman covered), Beck, David Letterman, Bill Clinton… oh, and I think that’s Jack’s blog on my computer.

I'll probably add more by the end of the summer.

REINVENTING GOVERNMENT

Tom Burka informs us of changes in Senate procedure following Dick Cheney's recent verbal self-conjugation.

Problematic question: If you are an Iraqi insurgent and you were planning an attack for June 30, yet the United States made the transfer of power two days early, on June 28... what reason is there not to carry out the attack anyway?

MISS BAGHDAD


Iraqi Administrator Paul Bremer
leaves Baghdad by helicopter, as
the transfer of sovereignty
to Iraq is completed two
days early.

Meanwhile, the US Military -- whose presence in Iraq has no impact whatsoever on the "full sovereignty" of the Iraqi government -- is launching a new bid to catch Zarqawi. CNN is reporting that there the administration believes that Zarqawi is the "mastermind" behind much of the insurgency, suggesting that if he's captures, then the insurgency will fade.

Tell that to every man and woman in uniform killed since Saddam was caught in his spider-hole.

Anyway, I have no idea how this is going to work out. More than one hundred and thirty thousand American troops will still be on the ground in Baghdad after today's transfer of sovereignty, so I sure hope that our continued reiteration that we are giving Iraq "full sovereignty" wont backfire on us. Let's hope for the best here...

UPDATE: Hehe, I beat Chris Bowers to the Saigon photo by around 8 hours.

AHH, BIGOTRY

It's Gay Pride parade weekend, and just as DC follows AC, you can be sure that the missing-chromosome types over at Free Republic will have plenty of nice things to say. Goggles on:

Adam sure looks like he's prancing, with his little limp wrist flopping up and down. Jeeze, these people make me sick.

6 posted on 06/27/2004 1:47:16 PM PDT by Cobra64

-- -- -- --

Sick, Sicker, Sickest.

7 posted on 06/27/2004 1:50:39 PM PDT by hgro

-- -- -- --

If these fruits are so proud of their perversion, how come the parade isn't called homosexual pride parade?

8 posted on 06/27/2004 1:52:23 PM PDT by F.J. Mitchell

-- -- -- --

Faggot marriages or not, Barney will be so disappointed when he learns that Flipper John will never have his marriage to his current wife annulled just to marry Barney. Fwank simply doesn't have the bucks!

12 posted on 06/27/2004 2:15:20 PM PDT by Tacis

-- -- -- --

How disgusting! Sickos!! I wish they would ALL go back into the closet and quit displaying their perversion in public.

14 posted on 06/27/2004 2:26:11 PM PDT by NRA2BFree

What a bunch of charmers!

TONIGHT'S "WHAAA?" MOMENT

It's late Saturday night, the SNL rerun is over (it was the Janet episode), and for some reason I click over to Fox News, and find myself stuck on Heartland with John Kasich, hosted by the former GOP Congressman.

He was doing a segment on the Green Party's decision not to endorse Nader/Camejo for President, and he had two guests taking opposing viewpoints on the 2004 election. You know, the usual sock-puppetry.

It's too bad I caught this mid-segment, because Kasich said, and later repeated nearly verbatim (thank tivo for the quote):

The issue of Ralph Nader... Now, today was a bad day for John Kerry because Ralph Nader is not going to be the candidate of the Green Party, he's not gonna be on 22 or 24 states. What's the impact? It seems as though this works big-time for George Bush.

[jonstewart]Whaaaaaaaa?[/jonstewart]

Kasich must have said something before I clicked over that provides this oddly contrarian claim with some more context. But what the hell could he possibly have said? Kasich leaves me no choice but to tear down strawmen:

--With Nader not being on the ballot in some states as a result of the non-endorsement, some progressive voters may not be as energized, perhaps. But of course, that subset of voters probably aren't voting for Kerry anyway.

ummm, lemme think...

--Nader will add this to his general "I'm being shut out!" narrative, potentially causing more disillusionment among the Democratic Party's left flank. But the Greens not endorsing him isn't exactly a charge he can use against the "Republicrats", can he?

uhh...

--Oh! All those wayward Republicans who left the Bush flock to support Nader will now go back to Bush! Yeah, there are about as many of those as there are Catholics at Bob Jones U.

Other than that, I'm fresh out. The tone of Kasich's voice does suggest that he was just starting the Nader discussion right there, so maybe there was no context or support for his argument asserted.

The Democratic spokesperson made no direct attempt to challenge Kasich's assertion, even though she cold have pointed out the actions of another retired GOP Congressman, Dick Armey, whose group Citizens for a Sound Economy has launched an aggressive effort to get Nader on the ballot in Oregon.

But she had to play Colmes on this day.