Consuming Mass Quantities

As Beldar Conehead used to say, "time to consume mass quantities".

And in the somewhat narrow (yet large) world of Competitive Eating, li'l Takeru Kobayashi has just claimed his sixth consecutive win at the annual Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest, gobbling down a new record of 53.75 hot dogs in 12 minutes. Takeru, from Japan, has owned this 4th of July contest easily for the last six years - in his first win, they actually had to start making up new placards on the spot as they had never had anyone eat more than 40 of the wieners. And he only weighs 160 pounds.

The event began in 1916 when Jim Mullen won the contest by eating 13 hot dogs.

The event has been aired live on ESPN for the last few years and many were expecting an California dude named Joey Chestnut who set a new record for an American, devouring 52 of Nathan's Famous dogs. But it wasn't enough to best Takeru.

Takeru also has a record of eating 17.7 pounds of pan-seared cow brains to win $25,000.

There are records aplenty among the Eaters - take Sonya "Black Widow" Thomas, who hold the female record for Nathan's at 37 dogs, the previous overall record for an American.

The International Federation of Competitive Eating (IFOCE) has a large menu of events and records to peruse, should you hunger for more information on this .... uh ... sport.

I was somewhat impressed as well with the achievement of Kate Stelnick, a 115-pound sophomore in college who, in 2005 devoured what's known as Ye Olde 96er at Denny's Beer Barrel Pub in 2 hours and 54 minutes - making her the first person to ever down the burger in less than the 3-hour time limit set by Denny's Pub.

That's 8 pounds of burger, 12 slices of cheese, an onion, half a head of lettuce, copious condiments, and a special bun which brings the total weight of this puppy to 11 pounds.

So remember, you'd have a heck of a long long way to go to match these Mass Quantity Consumers no matter how much you overeat on this particular holiday.

The Revolution of Independence

The concept of Independence from Tyranny remains as revolutionary an idea today as when the founders of this nation declared their independence in 1776.

So much history and so many events are murky or forgotten, but a rather comprehensive account can be found at the American Revolution Home Page.

Some facts from that site include:

The Americans of 1776 had the highest standard of living and lowest taxes in the Western World. Farmers, lawyers and business owners in the Colonies were thriving, with some plantation owners and merchants making the equivalent of $500,000 a year. Times were good for many others too. (The vast majority of business owners and professionals were white males.) The British wanted a slice of the cash flow and tried to tax the Colonists. They resisted violently, convinced that their prosperity and their liberty were at stake.
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There were two Boston tea parties. Everyone knows how 50 or 60 "Sons of Liberty," disguised as Mohawks, protested the 3 cents per pound British tax on tea by dumping chests of the popular drink into Boston Harbor on Dec. 16, 1773. Fewer know that the improper Bostonians repeated the performance on March 7, 1774. The two tea parties cost the British around $3 million in modern money.
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By 1779, as many as one in seven Americans in Washington's army was black. At first, Washington was hesitant about enlisting blacks. But when he heard they had fought well at Bunker Hill, he changed his mind. The all-black First Rhode Island Regiment - composed of 33 freedmen and 92 slaves who were promised freedom if they served until the end of the war - distinguished itself in the Battle of Newport. Later, they were all but wiped out in a British attack.
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There were women in the Continental Army, even a few who saw combat. Probably the best known is Mary Ludwig Hays, nicknamed "Molly Pitcher." She replaced her wounded husband at his cannon during the Battle of Monmouth in 1778. Another wife of an artillery man, Margaret Corbin, was badly wounded serving in her husband's gun crew at the Battle of Harlem heights in 1776. Thousands of other woman served in Washington's army as cooks or nurses.
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By 1779, there were more Americans fighting with the British than with Washington. There were no less than 21 regiments (estimated to total 6500 to 8000 men) of loyalists in the British army. Washington reported a field army of 3468. About a third of Americans opposed the Revolution.
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At Yorktown, the victory that won the war, Frenchmen outnumbered Americans almost three to one. Washington had 11,000 men engaged in the battle, while the French had at least 29,000 soldiers and sailors. the 37 French ships-of-the-line played a crucial role in trapping the 8700-strong British army and winning the engagement.
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In one key respect Jefferson used Natural Law instead of natural-rights theory, substituting "the pursuit of happiness" for "property" in the trinity of inalienable rights. In this change, derived from the Swiss legal philosopher Emerich de Vattel, he emphasized public duty rather than (as the language seems to indicate) personal choice, for natural law theory is that happiness is attainable only by diligent cultivation of civic virtue. Two passages in Jefferson's draft were rejected by the Congress -- an intemperate reference to the English people and a scathing denunciation of the slave trade. The document was otherwise adopted without significant change, and formal signing by 56 members of Congress began on Aug. 2, 1776.
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And if you wish to celebrate by blasting away with fireworks, you can simply click on this link, then crank up the volume and click away with your mouse for endless and non-flammable explosive fun.

As for me, Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death!

(NOTE: Apparently I should add Give Me A Spellcheck)

Bloggers Under Military Watch

I received an email this weekend which detailed a relatively new program as part of the apparently endless War on Terror, which says that the U.S. Dept. of Defense has decided that blogs and bloggers are now under watch.

The Air Force Office of Scientific Research has received funding to begin a study of blogs in order to:

"Dr. Brian E. Ulicny, senior scientist, and Dr. Mieczyslaw M. Kokar, president, Versatile Information Systems Inc., Framingham, Mass. said ... 'It can be challenging for information analysts to tell what'’s important in blogs unless you analyze patterns.'

"Patterns include the content of the blogs as well as what hyperlinks are contained within the blog."

This new program is part of an overall program created since 9-11 which has been dubbed "Transformation".

Of course, there is much understandable wisdom in a philosophy of action aimed at modernizing military operations, and in the last year or so, a serious effort has been made to target blogs and bloggers to provide information which may be incomplete or, in their minds, incorrect.

The concept is large in scope and is steadily working to provide levels of modernization involving everything from MREs to nanotechnologies.

"Drawing quite a bit of attention from onlookers, Staff Sgt. Robert Atkinson, of Natick's Future Warrior Concepts Lab, represented what soldiers may look like several decades from now.

Wearing a black padded suit and black helmet, he said, "I've been called everything from Darth Vader to RoboCop and the character from the Halo video games."

The prototype suit, though generations away in development, is a visionary project of the Future Force Warrior project and the Future Combat System program.

The helmet system for the suit will have a tiny computer system and monitor that will keep soldiers in contact with commanders; it also will have thermal night vision goggles.

But most amazing, Atkinson said, researchers are looking to use "nanotechnology" on the uniform to give soldiers superhuman strength. Electrical impulses sent to the human muscles will provide soldiers with extra strength, he said."

I'm all for a prepared military so we don't have to hear about celebrities like Cher raising money for armor for personnel or reports of equipment lacking in proper defenses.

What I am less sure about is the trolling of blogs for data collection.

Reality Me has a post about this topic today as well and comes to the same question I had - couldn't they just use Technorati for such informational opportunities? At least the information about the program is easily available to those who bother to seek it out. (hat tip to CSW for the info)

The Most Popular Blog Post In The World

Of all the blogs and blog topics in the world, I have inadvertently stumbled upon the most sought after information in all the internets. My initial discovery I simply dismissed as one of those momentary oddities, like the brief popularity of that web site that featured semi-clothed Barbie dolls engaged in lascivious activities, or like the video of that nerdy guy providing a history of white people dancing, or the omnipresent pleas from some Nigerian businessman e-spamming every inbox in the world.

It isn't some petition demanding Congress promote or prevent some heinous legislation. It isn't a picture of some celebrity giving birth in a Third World nation under the watchful protection of an army of Scientologists under orders to create a three-acre Zone of Silence during said childbirth.

It isn't the surreptitious download from a cell phone camera of a nameless student/employee/elected official caught in the act of a private and/or personal nature. It isn't even the latest conspiratorial scoop from pundits of the Instant variety. Or even just plain porn.

The evidence supplied by the statistics provided by the Site Meter application here reveals that nearly all of eastern and southern Australia, much of the United Kingdom, Sweden, France, Germany, Spain, Uzbekistan, India, Madagascar, Japan, Canada and all 50 states and additional territories of our great nation all point to a ravenous hunger for one thing and one thing only - pictures of Cats That Look Like Hitler.

(I was even compelled to followup with a second post.)

Certainly I was befuddled (but in a nice way) to realize that millions of people made time to view or link to Cats In Sinks, or The Daily Kitten, or just submitted pictures of Stuff on Cats.

But, dear reader, I am at an utter and complete loss to understand A.) why anyone would want to put tiny nazi clothes on a cat, B.) take pictures of it and C.) find that the majority of the civilized world which does not adorn their cats thusly STILL want to see images of cats thus adorned.

Since my first link to said page in mid-June, traffic here has been beyond the ken of mortal man. Naturally, I am most grateful for each and every visit. But no Technorati tag nor diatribe of the evils of Ann Coulter or the NYTimes or even detailed accounts of Brittney Spears baby-dropping can touch the importance, the insatiable desire, the relentless onslaught of web seekers for felines in the clothes of a brutal military regime.

So if you are a blogger who wonders if or when or how readers will seek your posts with rabid determination, then your choice is obvious:

The Holy Grail is made of Cats.

Camera Obscura - Superdickery, Asian Conflicts and The Silver Surfer

With all the attention being paid to a new "Superman" movie, there are certain notions which most reviewers have abandoned regarding the Caped One which I am happy to provide even if it tarnishes the shine on this American Icon.

It seems most reviews and media praise want to forget how overdone this storyline has become. First, I keep noticing comments that there seems to be overtones of a religious nature - um, folks, isn't that really, really obvious?? - a being with unheard of abilities arrives on Earth; his true nature is withheld during his childhood years until he realizes He Was Sent Here For a Purpose; his real Father urges him to Help Those In Need on Earth; His earthly Mom gives him constant encouragement and his friends don't seem to comprehend his Real Identity; He feels somewhat isolated from the mass populace even though His help is needed; many folks feel compelled to attack and hurt Him, etc etc.

Add to this that the story of this Hero has been on radio, television and in movies for about 60 years or more. Finding new tales to tell is a tall order. Early reviews indicate this newest version is quite entertaining - is this a sign viewers have a need for a Hero who is actually Heroic? Probably.

There has always been a certain cheesy quality to the Man of Steel comics - and one web site (provided to me some time ago by the legendary Cinema Monkey) which is absolutely hilarious - Superman is a Dick defines the aforementioned "cheese". Using only the actual comic book covers from decades past, yeah, ol' Supes has had kind of a mean and tricky side. You'll find much to entertain you at Superdickery.com.


There are pages and pages of examples on the website, plus a host of many other wildly hilarious comic book covers that leave you wondering just what the heck the publishers and writers were actually trying to say. (click on the image for a larger view)

Some other comic books news for you this Friday -- one that has me hopeful is that one of my favorite characters might finally get his moment in the spotlight. Rumors are flying the next "Fantastic Four" movie will focus on the Intergalactic Surfer Dude - yes, FF 2 will feature none other than the Silver Surfer.

Cinema Monkey was also kind enough to point me to the vast world of comic book blogging via the offerings at Marvel Comics Blogs. Tons of nerd-filled pleasure/debates/news. And I did note with some satisfaction that Marvel's Editor-In-Chief Joe Quesada has one titled "Cup Of Blog." I guess he knew "Cup of Joe" was taken, heh heh.

Some sad news to report today too - despite our mutual admiration for Asian Cinema, GoldenAppleCorp at Atomic Tumor took my advice and watched the horror movie "Pulse" (the American remake is out this summer) and GAC says - it was boring and made no sense. Aww, hate to hear that, but in all honesty, about half the people I encouraged to see it said the same, though the other half agreed with me that it was a well-made, disturbing example of the horrors of existential loneliness. (yeah, I know, soooooo many people like stuff like that in a movie).

Maybe my preference simply reveals I live a tenuous existence at the edge of the abyss of Complete Existential Dread with the ghost of Samuel Beckett whispering in my ear.

Using mostly shadows or the offscreen implication of weirdness, I think the movie scored a bullseye on the freaky/disturbing scale. Others say - made no sense, never was scary. I think it's one of those cases where the movie fired up my imagination via minimalistic methods and left others wondering what was the point of all that??

GAC recommended I watch "Volcano High" which I did this week. I liked it okay, especially the way it was filmed and the way images and characters collided in a story (one also kind of hard to decipher) about a new kid at school with amazing powers and the struggle for Power between students and teachers. Now, since this was a movie made in Korea, the plot twist of New Teachers with Super Fighting Abilities arriving to challenge and chastise both students and teachers made me consider the film as a bit of a metaphor for the current political climate in North and South Korea.

But, ya' know GAC, I liked "Pulse" better, as well as "Battle Royale", but still, I did like "Volcano High" - it sort of reminded me of the anime series "Cromartie High School" - a surreal and nearly slapstick action story.

Atomic T. himself expressed much excitement for the 2nd season debut of "The Venture Brothers" on Adult Swim - man was it good. I'll never miss an episode. Newbies can catch-up by getting Season One which is out on DVD. It's just so funny and very imaginative in the ways it plays with the conventions of television cartoons. It's like Jonny Quest meets Mad Magazine. Catch it on Sunday nights on Cartoon Network.

For horror movie news - would ya believe it - more and more horror remakes are ahead, including Rob Zombie's new version of "Halloween," and another take at "Aliens vs Predator," Brad Pitt's planned Zombie movie, plus more Romero zombies on the way and in general a heaping abundance of all things horror movie at ESplatter.com.

Next week, an exclusive peek at the DVD "The Garden" starring Lance Henricksen from Anchor Bay, AND a book review of "Comfort and Joi, by author Joseph Dougherty, which chronicles the career of the mostly unknown actress Joi Lansing, who was featured in "Singing In The Rain," Orson Welles' "Touch of Evil" and grade-Z 1960s horror schlock like "Hillbillys In A Haunted House."

Being Polite

I listened to a professor of language and media this afternoon on Fresh Air on the public radio station attempting to explain the differences and difficulties in today's political discourse. So, to say that sentence again in the way some of you might read it - I was listening to a liberal talking about useless liberal college agendas on a liberal radio network.

He made a fine point that after all these years since American encountered the Bunker family on "All In The Family", our political debate today most often is characterized and shaped by media as an easy-to-follow, endless Archie vs Meathead argument, where the point seems to be focused on outrage at the Left or Right and that most of us hearing or seeing the argument have really already got solid views on whatever topic is being "discussed". Most of us know it's enterainment-based and simplistic. To constantly narrow the views one has thru a limited prism of Left and Right is a ever-limiting and distorting of Reality.

Talk show stars, like Rush or Coulter or Hannity or Boortz or Franken or Carville, are just members of our extended family whose eccentricities are indulged out of politeness on our part; rodeo clowns of distraction who served a limited and defined function.

Here's a fine post today from Huck in Nashville that pretty much explains as well why people who believe in the Church of Rush Limbaugh aren't in the mainstream - or even a sidestream - well, really they are kinda just extreme. Nice one, Huck.

Poor Frist

Poor Senator Frist.

Asked why the public has a low approval rating for the GOP and Congress in general, the Senator blamed CNN. (via TGW and Enclave)

The dang ol' commie media doesn't focus on the Great Works accomplished under his gentle, guiding hand. They don't report the legislation that really matters.

I wonder if he means the Senate resolution he sponsored last week - a daring statement of congratulations for the cities of Bristol, TN and Bristol, VA for existing for 150 years.

It Must Be An Election Year

Score and goal to Volunteer Voters for pointing to a fine quote in reference to the failed attempt to change the Constitution and add flag burning as a Constitutional Crime.

"Although it is not true that all conservatives are stupid people, it is true that most stupid people are conservative."
John Stuart Mill

Kleinheider knows what he's talking about:

"This is, quite frankly, a stupid debate."

Not to mention the preferred method for disposing of a flag that has become worn out or damage is burning it. Yeesh.

Inside a Maze of Secrets

Attempting to understand the shuck and jive political game of blaming the media for all ills in America, as well as the dizzying maze of innuendo and accusation flowing from the President and Vice President and their supporters who cry "treason!!" at the drop of a hat is like looking at one of M.C. Escher's surreal staircases.

God only knows why I bother to puzzle the maze out - it seems that Facts are merely blank ciphers formatted to fit the needs of the moment. The hysteria regarding the NYTimes report about U.S. efforts to trace terrorists via banking activity has been prodigious, Facts less so.

Glenn Greenwald points out what many others have as well - there is no clear sign the NYTimes report could be seen as aiding terrorists. Should such proof be presented, I will happily retract any criticisms - in other words, "treason" needs some evidence beyond the reporting of a commonly discussed policy.

"... all anyone has to do to realize the sheer falsity of those claims is to compare the "treasonous" articles in question to prior public statements and documents from the Bush administration. Terrorists already knew that we were attempting to eavesdrop on their telephone calls because the Bush administration repeatedly talked about our surveillance programs. And, for the same reason, terrorists already knew that we were monitoring banking transactions -- including specifically those effectuated through SWIFT. And yet we are subjected to an increasingly frenzied lynch mob insisting that reporters have committed treason without their ever really being challenged by the media itself over these factually false claims.

None of this has to do with anger over "helping the terrorists." The articles in question so plainly do nothing of the sort. The anger that is unleashed by the media doing its job is the by-product of a belief that the Bush administration should be able to act in complete secrecy, with no checks or oversight of any kind. "

Others in the press and on TV have likewise wondered just what specifics did the NYTimes story provide that were secret? And the Talking Point Repeaters seldom curse The Wall Street Journal for their coverage - so one wonders if its just anger from the White House aimed at the NYTimes.

Vice President Cheney's comments addressing surveillance programs contained a very revealing comment:

"What is doubly disturbing for me is, not only have they gone forward with these stories but they've been rewarded for it, for example in the case of the terrorists surveillance program by being awarded the Pulitzer Prize for outstanding journalism. i think that is a disgrace."

Wait a minute. Is this the NSA program that was at first denied to exist, then denied by phone companies and then argued by Administration officials before courts that lawsuits seeking information about it should be dropped due to the need for secrecy?

Too often in the news business, government officials at every level will respond to certain questions that dig deep with this kind of "trust us" or "without secrecy others can harm us" defense.

Given the emormous and historic level of power now gathered in the office of the president, an outspoken and assertive press is the public's last line of authority which can question and examine the policies and programs and what they mean.

That is not treason - it is a function of a free press.

Al Gore A Streetwise Pimp??

Would anyone have expected Al Gore to present himself as a comedy foil to the robot Bender from "Futurama"? He does just that in this ad to promote his movie "An Inconvenient Truth."

Had Me Laughing All Day

What had me laughing all day?

Was it Rush Limbaugh having to explain to Customs Agents why he had a bottle of Viagra with someone else's name on it as he returned from the Dominican Republic? Was it that the DR is known as a "sex tourism" favorite?

Was it the fact that Tom Cruise couldn't sell his photos of his wee new child for the price he wanted?

Maybe the kinky mix of lingerie and gun holsters? (via Boing Boing)

No, it was this picture, which Brittney posted at NiT. Just what the hell is that logo supposed to represent? Take your time and look, I'll wait.

Now also funny was the ad copy to go with the logo --

"First a massive invasion, not at ground level but at pole level, wall level, everywhere: a curious, subtle but definitely amorous message.

Oh, yeah,that had me laughing all day.

Immigration Challenges

Once again a comment left on the previous post has stirred a few thoughts which I think are very pertinent to the concerns about legal and illegal immigration. The comment simply put was "do local bosses profit from illegal immigration?"

I'd say yes, definitely. For example. there are many locations thru Hamblen County, and around the country, where landlords charge the highest amounts possible to legal and illegal immigrants - $100 or $200 per person, and anywhere from 6 to 10 people in a two-bedroom apartment.

For years, many East Tennessee farming operations used what was called "migrant/seasonal" work. But I've not heard that term used much anymore.

Some years back, when the current Koch Foods was Burnett Produce, the facility was raided several times and illegals rounded-up, and perhaps one or two Supervisors were arrested on charges related to providing fake documents to the workers. More recently, Koch employees successfully created their own union at the plant. That has prompted some to predict the company will close it's operations there in the near future.

Under President Bush, the only label that applies to efforts at finding and punishing those who profit from illegal immigration is the label of Failure.

"Over the course of five-and-a-half years, the administration has quietly (and, I believe, intentionally) failed to enforce our existing immigration laws. An employer who willfully hired illegals was 19 times more likely to be sanctioned under Bill Clinton than George Bush. Illegal border crossings have increased under Bush, and the value of illegal drug trade across our southern border has risen to a whopping $65 billion dollars in 2005, dwarfing that of oil, Mexico’s largest legitimate industry of $28 billion, and more than tripling the $20 billion Mexicans working in the U.S. sent to their families in Mexico last year."

Read more of this assessment at the National Review Online.

The political profits are being sought as well by candidates for the open Tennessee Senate seat. Former congressman Ed Bryant is front and center on this topic, stating that illegal immigration is the Number One issue on voter's minds.

"On illegal immigration, Bryant said he worries that President George W. Bush's plan to put National Guard troops at the Mexico border will not be sufficient. Bryant pledged to try to amend a law that prevents the use of active military people to enforce civilian law."

via Blogging for Bryant.

Since we are hardly a border state, wouldn't local resources be best used to discover and hold accountable those employers and agencies that hire illegals?

Protest Draws Law Enforcement to Hamblen Co.

After checking with a few sources about a local protest against illegal immigrants in Hamblen County, a few details are quite disturbing -

- Armed officers on the Courthouse Roof (reported in the local newspaper print editions)

- Nearly 100 law enforcement officers on site (who pays for that?)

- Videotaping all those in attendance

- Tasering a disabled vet who wanted to bring a flagpole with the American flag onto the site

- A helicopter buzzing the crowd

Like others, I don't think much of the anti-immigration stand, but they did have a permit and this IS still a free nation (isn't it?).

Video footage here and R. Neal has more details here (via KnoxViews)

UPDATE: To clarify the point about armed officers on the roof of the courthouse, it was reported in the Sunday, June 25th edition of the Citizen Tribune, in an article titled "Opponents of Illegal Immigration Rally in Hamblen":

"Everyone was searched, and a THP videographer and still photographer documented the event. Two men equipped with high-powered binoculars - and presumably, hihg-powered rifles - were stationed on top of the courthouse annex."

I don't think the word "sniper" quite fits the armed officers on the roof, and after re-reading the article, I cannot verify they were even there.

Fear Of Fat In Formative Years

I'm so old I can tell you that as an elementary and high school student, we used to walk across the street from school to a soft drink machine daily. It helped remove that nasty slick taste of weird milk from little plastic boxes. Oh and we had phys-ed class at least 3 times a week right thru our senior year. And even then there were kids who were overweight.

By the late 1980s, most schools had soft drinks for sale in the schools and some even had a little McDonald's franchise in the cafeteria. I guess phys-ed died out around the time Big Hair Rock Music came to prominence.

And every boy (and some girls) always had pocketknives but this was all pre-Columbine. Schools are now known as "gun free zones" - which doesn't stop a kid from bringing a gun to school - and police patrol the corridors. I guess I got out just in time.

Now in addition to gun fears we have Fat Fears.

So schools, like the ones in Greene County, are ditching soft drinks and will sell juice and water. I wonder if the "free" water fountains in schools of my youth are also a fading memory?

But along with the Fat Fear there are the Funding Fears:

"When the proposed wellness policy came up for discussion, Armstrong said he had been receiving calls about how adoption of the new wellness policy might affect the income the four high schools receive from contracts with soft-drink manufacturers that have been granted exclusive rights to sell their products in the high schools.

He noted that during the school year that just ended, Chuckey-Doak High School alone received $30,068 as its share of proceeds from the sale of Coca-Cola products at C-DHS.

He also noted that C-DHS had received four athletic scoreboards paid for by Coca-Cola. The soft-drink maker, he said, also pays for maintenance of the scoreboards.

Armstrong said school principals were concerned that they might not derive as much income from the sale of juices, flavored-water beverages, and healthful snacks as they had from sales of soft-drinks, candy and other less-healthful snacks from machines.

More can be read in the article here.

And apparently the No Child Left Behind laws require eliminating soft drinks and snack machines. Maybe the kids will have to go back to running to nearby stores and back to get their exercise.

I'm just glad I left the school years behind and I have no kids who have so many fears and fat to contend with. And I don't have to attend Special Committees who meet and empower each other and get to use fantastical words like "wellness." I still have no idea what the heck a "wellness" is, unless it means to have the qualities of a well.

I wonder if the kids in the next generation will have to meet a Fat Quotient to go along with their Grade Points.

The picture below arrives via a web page dedicated to Tales Of Obese Kids Around the World.

Ann Coulter Republicans Part 2

UPDATE: Big thanks to juliepatchouli for providing an eye-opening link to what the legendary internets leader, Betty Bowers, has to say about Coulter's ruthless hatred for the families of the murdered Americans. See Julie's post.
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Thanks to an anonymous commenter yesterday I have found a nifty little spot on the internets where neo-cons and Coulter fans gather and talk about how she makes them hot and drooly -- yes, drooly.

"Ann Coulter is smart and good looking, I don't know if she can cook or not, but if she can, as Homer Simpson says, uuhhuuhuuhuuhuuhuuhhh, (droll drool drool)"

I love that one - she is a woman, so her best attributes are being smart, good looking and making food for the Man in her life. Haw! I'm sure she dreams of such a paradise. Maybe her fans desire a posable Action Figure. The li'l oasis for the Coulter fans and neo-cons is here - and by the way, I am glad you found my humble but loveable blog - all readers all welcome as are your comments, though you may be held responsible for what you say.

The ire raised at yesterday's little experiment revealed some of these neo-cons have no grasp of irony or humor, though they have learned to insult like a pro (like Coulter, who is professional insulter) And one of the folks at Tounge Tied made a hilarious observation based on ... well, I have no idea what they based their viewpoint on.

"Oh, that's just Joe Powell and his rantings. He's in a petulant and perpetual snit 'cause the Dems have been on the outside for so long...they're gonna show the evil reactionaries, come this November, damnit!"

I often encounter this perspective from hard core Party Faithful. The truth is I have never been and never will be a member of a political party. It is far more sensible to examine politicos and candidates on their own merits, as both Parties, in my opinion, suffer from too much self-annointed power madness.

And a more-than-casual-reader will find praise given to politicians on both sides of the current system, and more than that, the reader will find a fierce support for independent appraisal and thinking and the rock-solid Truth that government and parties will never solve problems but the individual always will.

What you will not find on this blog is support for the Bush administration and its policies. Prior to 9-11 and after, the administration has charted a course challenging the Constitution at nearly every level, a large amount of cronyism and a willingness to permanently damage anyone who might offer dissent.

And there is the reality that the press and the public have bought into the Big Lie about war in the Mideast.

The reality is - for 16 years, by air or by ground the U.S. and the U.K. military have been engaged in combat in Iraq. We tend to view it as three wars - the first in 1990 to "defend" Kuwait, the No-Fly Zone patrols which lasted from 1991 til 2003, and the current warfare which began in March of 2003.

The key players have remained the same - Rumsfeld and Cheney and their loyal staff, and of course the Bush family.

Last week PBS aired an episode of "Frontline" which pointed to this tremendous shift in presidential and vice presidential powers.

I know most people already are aware of the shift and change in national policy and they don't like it. Not only are polls revealing that disapproval, the public has an even lower opinion of Congress since they have failed in their jobs of checking and balancing the powers of government.

Also hilarously wrong were the Tounge Tied crew claiming my post yesterday was "vulgar". That's just a lie, but you will find plenty of swearing in the "anonymous" comments. The proposal is that she is a Bad Person, but her views are Gospel Truth. (Does that mean she has Truthiness?) This seems to be a popular mode of thought among neo-cons and the Bush Administration - the ends always justify the means.

Lies and distortion have served the neo-cons well. And truly, I'm happy they have found a common set of talking points and values - big government knows best and all who disagree are, as Coulter has claimed, the creators of "Slander" and "Treason" and are all "Godless". It is mindlessly simplistic to blame every Evil since Eden on the Democrat Party. Read enough Coulter and you'll discover Eve was a Democrat Party Chair and Satan was a Vietnam War Protestor.

Painting every Fear with one Face, Coulter and her supporters have followed in the footsteps of the "Two-Minute Hate" from Orwell's "1984" as she appears on TV wailing against the Evil of Them, the Others, who, though powerless, are constantly creating new Evils to Hate:

"Before the Hate had proceeded for thirty seconds, uncontrollable exclamations of rage were breaking out from half the people in the room. The self-satisfied sheep-like face on the screen, and the terrifying power of the Eurasian army behind it, were too much to be borne: besides the sight or even the thought of Goldstein produced fear and anger automatically. He was an object of hatred more constant than either Eurasia or Eastasia, since when Oceania was at war with one of these Powers it was generally at peace with the other. But what was strange was that although Goldstein was hated and despised by everybody, although every day and a thousand times a day, on platforms, on the telescreen, in newspapers, in books, his theories were refuted, smashed, ridiculed, held up to the general gaze for the pitiful rubbish that they were - in spite of all this, his influence never seemed to grow less. Always there were fresh dupes waiting to be seduced by him. A day never passed when spies and saboteurs acting under his directions were not unmasked by the Thought Police."

Are You An Ann Coulter Republican?

It's time.

You are either for her or against her. Since Ann Coulter has found much money for painting the political world in her two-tone dialectics, then it's time to paint her and her supporters with the same brush.

"The question, "Are you an Ann Coulter Republican?" should confront every Republican running for every office in the land, from President to dog catcher. Every Democratic candidate should accuse his or her opponent of being in favor of poisoning Supreme Court Justices and killing Congressmen. At every opportunity, every Republican should be made to answer: "Do you agree with Ann Coulter that the 9/11 widows are witches and harpies?" And George W. Bush, Tony Snow, Dick Cheney, Laura Bush and Barney (the only lapdog with a good excuse) should be confronted with these questions as well."

More of the article here.

No middle ground for those of you who devour her bile as Truth - either you are with her hateful, mindless group or you're opposed to her.

Period.

The End.

Monkey Gangs Grab Own Flags

Who knew a monkey could contract patriotic fever? Well, it's really World Soccer Cup fever.

The report also mentions that the Monkey Gangs number 120. And whenever I have the chance to use words like Monkey Gangs, I will.

Camera Obscura - New Star Trek, Petulia, and The Best Movie Posters Ever

It isn't often a TV series gets so big it outlives its maker, takes on the movies, gets remade again and again, has its own postage stamp, line of books and collectibles, and becomes almost a modern myth, but Gene Roddenberry's "Star Trek" does all that and more.

I'll give you some insight into what's new in the Trek world, point to some classic movies now on DVD,provide a sneak peek at a Superman-ish hero poised to land in the U.S., and give you a chance to select the best movie poster ever - all in today's humble offering.

My sister was the first Trekkie I knew - and she was there at the beginning. She had 8 by 10 glossy black and white photos on her wall from NBC of Kirk and Spock and Chekov, copies of scripts from the show and more, all while the show was still in its first run in the 1960s. Someone gave her (or me, I cannot recall exactly) a model of the Enterprise spaceship, which somehow got lost or tossed over the years. That really makes me angry when I think of that - it would be a rare prize these days. And thanks to the vast resource of the internets, I located a site that has many details on all the history behind the props used as the spaceship - and a major attraction on the page - a way for you to order your own Enterprise model. Just go here. And you're welcome.

Over the years I made friends with deeply loyal and committed fans - one of them provided me a link to this page, where you can read about J. Michael Straczynski's ("Babylon 5" creator) pitch to studios on a re-invention of classic Trek which has the fans worked up. It is a must-read for fans or the curious. The internets is humming away too talking about the possibility that Matt Damon may play a young Kirk in a movie from J.J. Abrams ("Lost", "Alias").

A very interesting, well-made and continuing Trek series following the adventures of the Starship Exeter, all made by fans which took years to complete and is continuing to provide "new" episodes, can be found here. That's bona fide devotion, people.

I think I hit my tipping point about Trek one Christmas, circa 1993, when I saw a Christmas tree decorated with Trek ornaments. I knew then the fans had become much, much more than fans - they were an economic and religious force to be reckoned with and they continue to expand faster than Wal-Mart.

William Shatner is not just an actor, he is an Icon of America, all thanks to the repeated broadcasts and the simple but powerful writing of Roddenberry and many other fine science fiction writers. Forget John Ford/John Wayne - no fans or groups ever did so much to keep and uplift an actor.

Since we're on the 1960s, two of my favorite movies from that decade got new DVD treatments this week - a tragic romance and a satire beyond compare.

Tragedy and love set in San Francisco starring the beautiful Julie Christie can be found in "Petulia." The movie blends in the madness of the late 1960s and the madness of love as Petulia gets involved with a doctor named Archie, expertly played by George C. Scott - the pair go to the Fillmore and dance to the Grateful Dead - as they sort through their troubled lives and attempt to comfort each other. Director Richard Lester and cinematographer Nicholas Roeg made a masterpiece, in this terrific snapshot of the 1960s. The DVD is long overdue and if you haven't seen it, you are in for a real tearjerker and a brilliant movie.

I love the poster for this movie (this is one of several made for the movie), which I mention since, at the end of this post, you'll find a link to a great collection of movie posters and your input can round out the top 100.

The other movie that landed on DVD is the hilarious creation of writers Evelyn Waugh and Terry Southern called "The Loved One". The movie starts as a satire of business and funerals and becomes a shotgun blast of offbeat humor with a cast of Hollywood's most famous names. Man, were the 1960s surreal and strange. When else would you find a poet in a Hollywood cemetery and Liberace and Rod Steiger filling out the background?

Newscoma has a fine post about the top 100 movie posters of all time.

I think too many of the posters in the listing are new, and given the hundreds of thousands of movies made, they could have done better. I was glad to see mention made of Stanley Kubrick's "A Clockwork Orange" poster and of course "Jaws" and "Alien" are on the list.

I have just two of many suggestions I could make to the list, starting with:

And another fine one:

Go and add your faves to the list.

Finally - as Superman is about to return to theatres, moviegoers in India and beyond have Krrish. Somehow, I don't see that name catching on quiet as well.

Return of The Cats That Look Like Hitler

Pointing out places with the goofiest crap on the internets has its rewards, judging by the hundreds (if not thousands) of people who've visited this humble but lovable blog in the last week in search of Cats That Look Like Hitler.

I doubt the searchers have spent much more time actually reading what has been written here on all kinds of topics, despite any attempts to offer news or analysis of modern America. Well, the times are worse than tough so why not have some mindless fun - just chalk all this down to my amazement at the world I inhabit.

Yes, I've ranted plenty over the cons of neo-cons, but did that bring me mention on the Air America blog? Nope. Cats That Look Like Hitler did.

Viral ads, illegal immigration, corruption, bribes, waste, war - does that bring attention? Nope. Cats That Look Like Hitler does.

Do posts about loopy and meaningless Senate votes bring attention from Senate offices? Nope. Cats That Look Like Hitler does.

I confess to an attraction to writing about the odd and the weird along with any thoughts about how strangled the Constitution and Civil Rights have become, how deeply misguided Americans are wallowing in revenge and hate and loooooooove of money. But weird wins the contest by a huge margin. I've even become acquainted with the miniature universe of Catbloggers, and two weeks ago I'd never heard of it.

As any writer does, I hunger for readers and spotlights and links to this page. Like Faulkner or Chandler, millions more people will see the movie The Big Sleep than bother to read the books either man sacrificed and slaved to create.

But, dang - is a search for funny kitty pics outweigh most any use the internets has??

Survey says - YES!!

If I had known, I'd have written about and posted pics of Illegal Immigrant Cats Who Might Be Gay Nazis a long time ago.

Oh - and just in case - more Cats That Look Like Hitler:

Happy Summer

There is a way to stay current on the all the astronomical adjustments needed to appreciate summertime fun at the Summer Solstice News page.

I know it's summer because it's hot and humid and the NBA finals just ended.

Before there were NBA finals in June (which began in June 1976 - yay Celtics), humans huddled around the giant rocks at Stonehenge (when Celtics meant something rather different).

Many humans still gather on the spot today (see image below from the BBC). Yay humans.

Yay astronomy and yay daylight for a long long time today. Yay.

Oil Addiction, No - Style Addiction, Maybe

Despite a national plea from the President to end the "oil addiction" in America, county government (and I'm willing to speculate the same is true for city and state) seems to be addicted to big gas guzzling vehicles.

I love Mayor Ragsdale's responses to questions about the purchases of big expensive SUVs (via WATE-TV reports):

"County Mayor Mike Ragsdale first said, "I don't want to stand here and discuss cars."

And

"This vehicle is appropriate for the mayor of a major metropolitan county like Knox County and we consider it an entirely appropriate expenditure of public funds.

I suppose Knox residents should be grateful, since in Hamblen County, officials refuse to even release public records regarding mileage on vehicles paid for with tax dollars.

What type of vehicle is "entirely appropriate" for you? Me, I wanna new 2006 Mustang Convertible. Budget realities say my 1996 pickup at 26 mpg is best for me right now.

The Terrorism Index

Gathering the views of former government officials and other experts, both Democrat and Republican, some facinating information in the War on Terror emerges at Foreign Policy.com.

Some snippets from the article:

"These pessimistic public perceptions could easily be attributed to the high cost, in both treasure and lives, of counterterrorism efforts. After all, Americans are constantly being told by their elected leaders that their pessimism is wrong, that the war is being won. But they’re also told that another attack is inevitable. Which is it?"
-----
"Despite today’s highly politicized national security environment, the index results show striking consensus across political party lines. A bipartisan majority (84 percent) of the index’s experts say the United States is not winning the war on terror. Eighty-six percent of the index’s experts see a world today that is growing more dangerous for Americans. Overall, they agree that the U.S. government is falling short in its homeland security efforts. More than 8 in 10 expect an attack on the scale of 9/11 within a decade. These dark conclusions appear to stem from the experts’ belief that the U.S. national security apparatus is in serious disrepair. “Foreign-policy experts have never been in so much agreement about an administration’s performance abroad,” says Leslie Gelb, president emeritus of the Council on Foreign Relations and an index participant. “The reason is that it’s clear to nearly all that Bush and his team have had a totally unrealistic view of what they can accomplish with military force and threats of force."

Is the Military response the only plan we are constantly reinforcing?

How is the U.S. doing a rebuilding the infrastructure of Iraq? Given the promises of funding reconstruction via a renewed oil economy in Iraq, information shows little has been accomplished.

"We installed a third of a billion dollars' worth of combustion turbines that can't be fueled."

No Warrants Needed, Just Buy Phone Records

Serious head scratching followed the story today that law enforcement at every level - local, state and federal - have been buying up phone records via numerous private companies, with a $30 million dollar pricetag, though the AP story reports these companies don't charge law enforcement.

I mentioned this in January of this year.

And then the House approved legislation to make it a crime to sell such records without notifying the customer. That legislation disappeared. Poof! Gone.

Now law enforcement says they are simply making use of a legal business - of course it's legal because the legislation meant to outlaw it ... missing in action.

As Alice said in Wonderland, "Curiouser and curiouser!"

Senate Says No To Punishing Waste, Fraud

Billions of dollars lost in outright fraud or waste - and zero attempts to correct it or prevent it thanks to Senate Republicans.

The brain goes numb attempting to conceptualized how much waste and/or fraud can occur when the budgets are topping $400 billion. In a subcommittee hearing on June 13th, officials with the Dept. of Defense and State Dept. admitted they really could not say exactly how much money has been provided contractors and sub-contractors and sub-sub-contractors for private security forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, nor how many companies had contracts, nor how many of those private forces had been wounded or killed, or if any had faced disciplinary problems. The hearings I watched on C-SPAN 2 were most informative - if only for the lack of information available.

TN Congressman John Duncan, member of the committee, said his constituents would be horrified to learn of the high levels of waste occuring as corporate giants like Halliburton, Bechtel, Blackwater, KBR, etc etc were simply supplying invoices for costs with little description.

Congressman Henry Waxman is prepping info about the vast sums of tax dollars getting Hoovered-up by private contractors, which you can access here.

I know - just because Halliburton's contracts with the Fed are up 600% doesn't mean anything is wrong. Except that Rep. Waxman's report identifies 118 Fed contracts worth $745 billion as qualified members of the fake it/waste it/overcharge it club. Iraq, Afghanistan, Katrina, Rita - all devour contracts worth billions.

Senator Byron Dorgan of N.D. attempted to add an ammendment to the current spending bill to require specifics on keeping contractors honest. Every Republican Senator voted against the bill which would halt any firm which:

" - Executes or attempts to execute a scheme or artifice to defraud the United States or the entity having jurisdiction over the area in which such activities occur.

- Falsifies, conceals, or covers up by any trick, scheme, or device a material fact.

- Makes any materially false, fictitious, or fraudulent statements or representations, or makes or uses any materially false writing or document knowing the same to contain any materially false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement or entry.

- Materially overvalues any good or service with the specific intent to excessively profit from the war or military action."

Sen. Dorgan offered many examples, including:

"Brand new $85,000 trucks that were left on the side of the road because of a flat tire and then subsequently burned. 25 tons, 50,000 pounds, of nails ordered by Kellogg, Brown & Root (KBR), the wrong size, that are laying in the sands of Iraq. 42,000 meals a day charged to the taxpayers by Halliburton and only 14,000 are actually served."

After telling the amazing tale of the KBR Halliburton subsidiary ordering hand towels for soldiers embroidered with the "KBR" logo, to allow them to double the price of the towels, Dorgan told one Halliburton whistleblower's story of his company serving food date-stamped "expired" to American troops rather than throwing it away.

"[Halliburton was] serving food at a cafeteria in Iraq for the soldiers, and a man named Roy who was the supervisor in the food service kitchen said that the food was date-stamped 'expired,''' said Dorgan. "In other words, it had a date stamp, which meant the food wasn't good anymore, and he was told by superiors that it doesn't matter. Feed it to the troops. It doesn't matter that they had an expired date stamped -- feed it to the troops."

Sadly, the mass consumption of tax dollars battling a "last-throes" insurgency continues at astonishing rates, and oversight by Congress evaporates faster than a drop of water in a 5th-grade instructional movie about the cycle of condensation.

Monday Afternoon Web Walk

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly are a few of the category names I could use but I'm not.

So as Mr. Serling used to say: "Submitted for your consideration:"

Funniest thing I've seen in a long time (many bloggers have been posting this like mad, so count me among them.) Here's a clue for those idjits in elected/appointed offices - if Steve Colbert wants to interview you, you're probably an idiot.

Well deserved kudos to Congressman Duncan for his vote against the meaningless non-binding resolution praising all efforts in Iraq. Go right to Congressman's web page and read some of his thoughts on the non-conservative wasteful and dubious achievements of the GOP-led administration. (BTW, Congressman Ford voted the same way.) A taste of what you'll find on Duncan's mind:

"There has been fighting going on in the Middle East for several thousand years. If we say we have to stay until there is perfect peace, that time will never come."

And

"It is sad that some conservatives, who have always been the main opponents of big government, have gone along with this huge expansion of government power just because the word terrorism is used by every government agency now to get more money and power."

How about hiding spending tax dollars from a local perspective. Hamblen County Commissioner Linda Noe rips away the curtain behind the sheriff's office (or tries too). I wonder if this is just one reason the current sheriff was not re-elected??

Speaking of being cancelled - the Chung-Povich show reveals yes, they have no idea what to do with a TV show. I've seen better things on public access. (via NiT)

Does it matter what Bob Corker's daughter does?

Lessons in getting attention for Immigration Reform - the press may find out you only prosecuted 4 employers in 2003, down from 182 in 1998.

"Between 1999 and 2003, work-site enforcement operations were scaled back 95 percent by the Immigration and Naturalization Service, which subsequently was merged into the Homeland Security Department. The number of employers prosecuted for unlawfully employing immigrants dropped from 182 in 1999 to four in 2003, and fines collected declined from $3.6 million to $212,000, according to federal statistics."

More later!

523 Mentos, 101 Two-Liter Bottles of Diet Coke

Science collides with Mentos candy and Diet Coke. The video is here.

Interest in sugar propulsion for rockets is a reality. Rockets launched with Oreos and more.

Cats That Look Like Hitler

Yes, it made me laugh. And there are many to view.

(via The Poor Man)

Camera Obscura - Ultra Groovy Edition

"This is my happening and it freaks me out!"

Which movie do you know that line from? Think it's from the first "Austin Powers"? Nope, he cribbed it from a script by film critic Roger Ebert. And Ebert crafted his screenplay at the end of the 1960s collaborating with one of his most favorite filmmakers, Russ Meyer in a big-budget Fox spectacle that finally gets the DVD treatment it deserves.

"Beyond The Valley of the Dolls" hit stores this week, loaded with commentary from Ebert as well as the stars of this very influential cult classic and several new documentaries which make it a must own for true film buffs.

Austin uses the line when he enters the Electric Psychedelic Pussycat Swingers Club - it was a line from BVD which the actor hated saying. Also, the tune "Incense and Peppermints" by the Strawberry Alarm Clock is playing, and that same band was actually in the scene in BVD when the line is spoken.

And while Ebert's work is exceptionally funny as is the BVD movie, the real genius for the movie is Russ Meyer. Meyer had a rep in the early 60s as That Guy Who Made Nudie Movies, but Meyer truly was a master and BVD is the best place to start your adventure with him. Without Meyer (Russ, not the actor who played Austin and no, no relation) there would never have been a John Waters, a "Rocky Horror", or the rapid edit style of MTV or the tounge-in-cheek Tarantino. Yeah, baby, yeah!!!

The studio got this hilarious send-up of Hollywood from Meyers under budget and under schedule and had no idea how to market the satire of the wild and the groovy and ultra-hip. The preview they made is a mash-up madness with some of the strangest all-time rambling announcer lines I've ever heard. The audience got it though, and the movie made ten times what it cost to make on it's first release and became even more popular with time. As for that preview, check it out below.

It is tough to make an easy label for this movie - an all-girl rock band goes to L.A. in a smarmy soap opera satire, is immersed in the most bizarre cult of personality and fame and fortune (yeah, the one that's still there cranking out Weird at high volumes) and encounters all the horrors of the hedonist life.

The stars from the movie are touring together for midnight showings of the movie to promote the DVD and RetroCrush has great interviews with them all here.

In Ebert's DVD comments, he says that the actors were pretty confused too - was this a comedy or not. He spent meticulous time with the actors, telling them how to play the scenes with all the backstory and emotional hoo-ha and to do it with a straight face. He would add the comedy, he said, thru the music and the editing. He does. When a beheading occurs you hear the 20th-Century Fox theme, and he also was the first director to blend in Wagner's opera just as Looney Tunes used much classical music the make their cartoons hilarious.

Also out on DVD in the US finally is the first classic from Meyer, a 1965 movie so bad and hot and wild the title still provides names today for rock bands and rock songs: "Faster Pussycat! Kill! Kill!". Gotta love that title. And the ad lines from the poster: "Filmed in Glorious Black and Blue!" "Belted, Booted and Buckled!!"

This comedy action crazy adventure is made most memorable by the star, Tura Satana - who as a young Japanese girl in America was held in an interment camp as a child with her parents, endured the horrors of rape at age 9 and then life in the girl gangs, dated Elvis, danced burlesque and found much fame from the movie. RetroCrush has a killer interview here.

I was lucky enough to catch the movie on the big screen at the Downtown West when it was re-released in 1995 and laughed myself silly. It's like Mystery Science Theatre and David Lynch made "Thelma and Louise" with the dialog of Ed Wood. Have to see it to believe it and you'll have to go to the late, great Russ Meyer page to order the DVD.

Ah, the 1960s - ultra groovy times indeed. This week I found another wild take on relationships, this time on the Moon with a crazy cast - Dick Shawn, Dennis Weaver, Connie Stevens, Anita Ekberg, Howard Morris (better known as Ernest T Bass ala Andy Griffith), plus cameos by James Brolin and Linda Harrison (soon to be Charlton Heston's girlfriend in "Planet of the Apes") and starring Jerry Lewis.

Yes, that Jerry Lewis. The movie is "Way ... Way, Out!"

A Cold War sci-fi sex comedy with Jerry Lewis ... sorta leaves any sane person speechless. Sadly no DVD on this one yet, look for it on the movie channels, and I'm one of maybe three people who like the oddity. The director was Gordon Douglas, who made the classic sci-fi "Them!" (and how come they don't put exclamation points in movie titles anymore?), and another classic groovy flick from the 60s, "In Like Flint" plus countless westerns and action films, including a trio of movies with Frank Sinatra as a private detective.

Finally this week a big thanks to GAC at Atomic Tumor for her post on Asian Cinema with some fine selections to consider and where I was allowed to ramble endlessly on the topic and probably killed the conversation.

I'll do that.

The Best Music Fest In The World: The 'Roo

Billboard Magazine says the Bonnaroo Festival in Middle TN is the biggest moneymaker music fest worldwide, according to an article in today's KnoxNews Sentinel. It would never have happened at all without the immense work by Ashley Capps, who truly seems in his element with the show. Fact is, he has done a tremendous job making TN and Knoxville a top destination for excellent live music shows.

Brittney is blogging from the 'Roo, along with many other folks, and I'd expect you'll see she has some fine concert clips and pictures of the event. Such an eclectic mix of musicians and people is gonna make for a fine weekend. (NOTE: Left of the Dial has directions to get a live feed from this year's event.)

No, I missed my chance to be a paid blogger there, too many applicants! There are many I'd like to see, but I have a real yearning to be in the crowd as the legendary Lousiana singer, songwriter, musician and producer Alan Toussaint perfoms during the hot humid middle TN summer. His tune, "Southern Nights" is so good you can feel the heat. (Yes, I know Glen Campbell ruined that tune, but his version is fantastic.) Not to mention "On Your Way Down," "Soul Sister" and many many more.

Live music is one of the best things in life.

On any given day or weekend in Tennessee you can see and hear an astonishing range of music. No bluegrass, no country, no rock and roll would be what it is today without the works of peformers and promoters who have who called Tennessee home. From the soul and blues in Memphis to the country heart of Music City to the bluegrass from East TN, we totally own the right to say we have helped define the American sound.

A Unanimous No To President Bush

It is obvious that a massive power battle is underway in Washington, and it's about time. After endless challenges from the Bush Administration to the checks and balances which have served our nation well, the House and now the Senate, in a unanimous votes, have told the President they will no longer fund the costs of our wars in Afghanistan and Iraq with emergency funding requests.

If, as Bush says, the wars are the "right thing to do" and that the conflict is a "long war", there is no reason for emergency funding requests from the Pentagon in tens of billions every few months.

The action requires specifics in strategies, supplies, force strengths and the lives of our soldiers abroad. The Constitution is so clear on the issue of oversight and checks of power and spending, even if our security is at stake -- to abandon the tenets on which our government works on a constant cry of "Danger! Danger!" is a reckless act. Both houses should have done this last year, or even required it within a shorter timetable following the approval of the President's decision to go to war in Afghanistan and Iraq.

The 98-0 vote demanding budget specifics and the end of emergency funding is, at last, a clear signal to the President that his days as Commander In Chief are waning and the true long-term function of our government needs to return to normal balances.

Will this administration fight this? Most definitely. But it appears the Senate and the House are finally making it clear - our government is meant to operate with oversight of the decisions made, not to write blank checks forever with zero scrutiny. It's the way we will see all our rights, our needs and the lives of those in harm's way best served.

TN Ranks 10th in Tech Exports

I'm glad to see that a push from the Governor's office focusing on development of high tech business in Tennessee is paying in huge ways, according to reports from the state's Economic and Community Development office. Since the Export Tennessee program was put into place, small and medium sized biz can educate themselves about how to make the global economy work for them, and rather than see jobs outsourced, there's now attention on making jobs selling products abroad.

The billions of earnings in increases are cited in a press release:

"According to the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Export Assistance Center in Nashville, Tennessee exports rose by 51% from 2003-2005, the highest rate of growth of any major exporting state in the country. Tennessee exports continue their rapid trajectory in the first quarter of 2006, growing 21% above the same period last year and far outpacing the national average of 14%. Tennessee is now the 14th largest exporting state in the nation in terms of overall dollar volume. In 2005, Tennessee companies exported more than $19 billion dollars worth of goods and services to foreign markets. The state’s largest export commodities include cotton, automobiles, auto parts and medical devices. The American Electronics Association’s 2006 Cyberstates Report showed unexpected strength in Tennessee’s technology sector, especially among companies which manufacture computers and data processing equipment. The AeA report placed the dollar value of Tennessee exports from this sector at $3.8 billion dollars in 2005, an increase of 23% over the previous year. That volume was good enough to rank Tennessee 10th among technology exporting states, ahead of traditionally strong export states like Georgia and North Carolina. Tennessee ranked 14th in technology exports in 2004 and 21st in 2003."

Wal-Mart To Go Free Trade Coffee?

A report from the WaPo claims the suits at The Mart are reconsidering some of their business practices, which I found most peculiar. The suits are just in the discussion stage with co-ops in South America, but is this an actual response to the anti-Mart movement or just a ploy to get trendy phrases and products on the shelf?

The story says in part:

"Wal-Mart executives are planning to visit Poco Fundo at the end of the month before making a decision. It's part of the new corporate philosophy outlined by chief executive H. Lee Scott Jr.: "Doing well by doing good."

And:

"At Wal-Mart, executives say a rebirth is occurring inside their no-frills headquarters. "Sustainability" and "trend-right" have entered the corporate lexicon alongside "everyday low prices." Chief executive Lee Scott drives a Lexus Hybrid.

Greg Spragg, executive vice president for operations and the No. 2 guy at Sam's Club, has christened Bom Dia's coffee his "volume producing item," which means everyone down the ladder is focused on boosting sales. "I really felt like it was important to be able to put the words that we had been using around sustainability [and] kind of bring them to life in an item," Spragg said from Wal-Mart headquarters. "What we had in these products were really great quality items at an extraordinary value."

Perhaps the spread of acts like this are having an effect?

Should Knox Co. Be Renamed Inertia?

There is an unholy mess in government in Knox County since their charter was never properly filed (for reasons of "I dunno") and just about everything enacted since then is in question as well. Voters everywhere can learn a tremendous lesson in the current state of disaster, chiefly that citizens must never assume it's all okay and that the principles of inertia are too often the dominant form of governing today.

Here's an excellent definition that applies:

"1. Physics. The tendency of a body to resist acceleration; the tendency of a body at rest to remain at rest or of a body in straight line motion to stay in motion in a straight line unless acted on by an outside force.

2. Resistance or disinclination to motion, action, or change: the inertia of an entrenched bureaucracy.

Too often government locally and nationally lumbers along under inertia, aka Business As Usual. Those who dare to question or examine the actions or inactions are vilified as the Anti-Whatever. Here in Hamblen County, we at least enjoy the ability to watch via re-broadcast on Charter Communications Channels the county commission meetings, though there are efforts by some to end that. More than 10 years after creating a government and education channel, the Morristown City Government continues to refuse air a single second of their monthly 4 pm meetings.

A lesson from Knox: even having the camera eye and the mainstream media on government, whopping failures exist.

First rate examinations of the issues can be found at KnoxViews, and No Silence Here notes that bloggers have taken command, swooping down like Al Haig did all those years ago since it's all up for grabs now.

via Rikki at KnoxViews:

"The will of Knox County's citizens has been persistently subverted by negligence and disregard, and [Chancellor] Weaver's ruling is just one more slap in the face. It is now too late to salvage this year's elections. Already defective in execution, they will now be defective in outcome. Office holders complicit in subverting the public interest will be awarded with continued power for as long as they can drag out the appeals process, and our elections, already tainted by big money, ballot manipulation and the two-party straightjacket, will degrade further toward becoming complete charades.

Eighteen years of governing called into question by this ruling. That's just pathetic.

Again, such things occur locally and otherwise. Morristown is notorious for issuing voter referendums under the "non-binding resolution" form of government, which allows them to proceed with whatever they wish despite any public vote to the contrary.

At the state level, increases in lifetime pensions for officials are granted in off-hours voting, with the allowance of some votes to be cast in the name of representatives who aren't even in the room, much less in Nashville.

The bottom line seems to be: We the people just means We the few who live in perpetual inertia.

A New Link - My Canadian Family

My niece has a blog and has just recently returned to the blogland and I most heartily recommend it. She has always impressed me with her writing and I like the blog title too - The Cuspidor.

She recently married young Marko (well okay its been a matter of years) and they are in Canada now, coping with couple-dom and other things and I know you'll like reading it. As we say here, They are good people.

Here's a sample of one recent post, about her efforts to complete guest worker status and being The Housewife:

"Anyway, most people don'’t know how to properly construct a sentence. I know how to write directions so that a sixth grader can figure out how to use a software suite. Yes, I am aware of what an enormous geek I am. Over the years, I have learned to embrace it.

I say, down with human resources! Just because you don'’t like your job, doesn'’t mean I won'’t like mine! If I can actually find one, that is. I must learn to defeat these demons that guard the gates to employment. Why do they ask such inane questions? There must be a right answer to "“What do you see yourself doing in 10 years?"” that will get me a second interview. Otherwise, I see myself vacuuming the living room, baking pies, and issuing time-outs."

Be nice if you visit or I'll have to get all Tennessee on you.

The Alchemy of Media Marketing

Getting that advertising out there is vital in biz, but how bizarre for the NYTimes web report this morning on the case of rape at Duke to have a huge banner ad for Victoria's Secret? I'll put the link in though I'm sure the ads change thru the day to increase ad opportunities and fees.

I know marketing is an often strange and marvelous world, sometimes hidden and subtle and sometimes as obvious as holding a rabid wolverine in your hands. The above instance is more of a hybrid, a designer rabid wolverine.

I noticed the other day that a new DVD edition of Monty Python's classic comedy "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" included two free passes to see the "DaVinci Code" movie. I suppose Columbia, which distributes both movies, have a file of Holy Grail-themed products. But alongside the Python DVD was an edition of "The Mark of Zorro" also with DaVinci tickets.

Discerning the logic and logistics of marketing have their own alchemical symbiosis, mystical and unknowable to non-practitioners, another cipher of meanings to fill your day, like some Sodoku puzzle of business.

Director John Waters noted some years back how the "cult" entertainments have been mainstreamed and alchemical mysteries are as good an explanation as any to mark the move of a longtime cult classic like Python's "Grail" moving from midnight movie to Broadway musical - turning lead into gold is primary for alchemy.

This morning's Washington Post had an article about product placement in books, citing an instance of a major change in a book for teen girls because Cover Girl made a deal with the publisher - not to pay them but to feature the book on a Cover Girl website. Proctor and Gamble owns Cover Girl and again, marketing is important for biz.

The story noted that award-winning novelist Fay Weldon was "commissioned" by Italian jewelry company Bulgari to write an entire book - "The Bulgari Connection" was the cunning name of that tome.

The marketing team that hit upon the Cover Girl/teen novel alchemical connections were the novel's authors, who helped design the vast web-based marketing mystery campaign behind the movie "A.I.", which was certainly one of the first successful web marketing efforts where so-called "viral marketing" was imprinted on the business world.

Our minds constantly yearn to find connections and the alchemical marketing wizards know this and exploit it, sometimes for gold and sometimes you just get the rabid wolverine.

I can play in the alchemical crucible too here on this internets dealie - if I include popular tag words from Technorati or Yahoo! I get more traffic, and the same goes for all kinds of words. Sex, hot sex, or free sex will bring readers. I can try this phrase - "Knitting Knowledge: The Basics of Expert Crafts". That too will bring certain readers.

Yeah, that's fun and easy.

Readers and Web-walkers could be seen as potential customers cruising the alchemy magic shop, and I am enough of a shameless self-promoter that even my blog's title exploits my real name and the elixir of the world, coffee. Make that Free Trade Coffee.

Dang - I gotta go - rabid wolverine on the loose! It'll smash my Ikea furniture I'm selling on eBay to finance my Net-Nuetrality petition, or pee on my Ann Coulter book collection, which I'm offering free to Christian Republicans to fight the Democrats Who Hate America.