Feel sorry for me, I can't do it alone

I had part 2 of my horrible dental process today, and have been mired in a combination of pain and self-pity all day, so forgive my lack of blogging.

$1000 they'll get to keep

9/11 Families for a Secure America is offering $1000 to anybody who can get Hillary Clinton on record saying either:

1. I support Governor Spitzer’s plan to give driver’s licenses to illegal aliens; or

2. I oppose Governor Spitzer’s plan to give driver’s licenses to illegal aliens.

Song of the Day

"The Only One" by Morphine.

It's off of "Good", my favorite Morphine album. If the album has a theme, it's a celebration of individuality and sincere connection. Some of the songs are "nobody understands me but you" ("I know you", "You speak my language") and others are "you're not like anybody else I've ever met" ("The only one", "You look like rain", "Good"). It also has one of the best "on the way to Atlantic City" songs ever: "Have a lucky day".

C'mon New Yorkers...

...how much do you love Eliot Spitzer right now?

Hat-tip Larry the angry Redskins fan.

The 'Boys

Why is Tony Romo partying with Britney Spears?

And, Perez Hilton wants to know what's so hot about him anyway. I can see his appeal; Romo has the aw shucks thing going on that some girls tend to swoon over. I'm not into it myself, I much prefer that fiery look in T.O's eyes.

Losing a Yankee

The biggest Yankee fan I know has some kind words for ARod. I'll miss him too. I hated the booing fans, that always made me crazy.

UPDATE: LA steals everything; Dodgers to hire Torre.

Be there

On November 7th (mark your calendars. No, seriously, go mark it, we'll wait) I'm participating in a debate about whether the government knew in advance about 9/11. The debate starts at 8pm and the room is on the small side so be on time or risk not getting in.

My opponent, Sander Hicks, owns a cafe called Vox Pop in my childhood neighborhood and, as I've written before its existence riles me right up.

I've spent the last few weeks reading up on many different 9/11 conspiracy theories but realized that because most of them are such utter nonsense, and they don't necessarily have anything in common with each other, I'd have to read Sander's book to find out to which theory he subscribed.

Last week, my friend M offered to drive me to Vox Pop to purchase the book. He was living up the block when the cafe opened and, though moderate-to-liberal in his political beliefs, felt much like I did about the propagandist cafe. "We'll go buy the book holding coffee we bought across the street."

We didn't get a chance to go that night so last Friday I swung by Vox Pop and bought the book. And now that I've spent $14 on a book I'm already finding ridiculous, I expect each and every one of you to show up and watch the show.

The one where I blog about TV at 1:30am

"Is it 2002 by you?" Ari asked after I recounted my third or fourth Sex and the City plot of the month.

Yeah, it kind of is.

I'm not particularly girly (no chick lit, no shoe obsession, no navel gazing about feelings) and I hated this show when it was on TV. Despised. Everybody around me watched it and it was unbearable. I hated all the characters. I hated the way they looked and the way they talked. I just found them completely idiotic. I thought they made women look stupid and, being a woman and all, I could not abide that.

And, in reality, I still sort of hate the show. But just like I'm a sucker for the 9pm Sunday hour on HBO, if I'm in the mood for TV, I'm watching 11pm syndicated sitcoms on Fox, TBS and whatever Channel 11 in NY is called these days.

Sex and the City has hit syndication and, only 3 years after its last episode, I'm watching.

I've found a sort of appreciation for it. I still find the women mostly ridiculous but I like watching all the different relationships unfold. I also, quite prudishly for me, appreciate that they can only show so much on network TV.

My favorite relationship on the show is Charlotte and Harry. She had a picture in her head of what love would be like and he didn't fit it at all.

"Harry was bald and he talked with his mouth full. And I loved him anyway."

I love that. Ok, maybe I've got a teensy bit of chick in me.

The character I'd most like to be friends with is Samantha. She's completely no bullshit and I appreciate that so much in a friend. I wouldn't be able to stand the graphic sex talk but I would like to take advantage of her on-point advice.

"As far as I'm concerned, the test of a good relationship is if you're like this (Samantha frowns) or like this (she smiles vivaciously)."

For sure, girlfriend.

I don't get the Carrie/Mr. Big connection, he's boring and ostentatious, and I'm not a fan of Miranda with Steve. It just seems like she settled for him because he was nice to her. I love me some Smith Jerrod but the scene where he's waiting for Samantha, knowing what she did with Richard, I mean, how can a man have any self respect after that?

So, commenters, who was your favorite couple on SATC?

And, completely unrelated exit question: What do you think happened with Jerry and Elaine after they got out of jail?

Turn your pages to 2003

Awww, look at Ken Wheaton still making blogger chicks hot.

A non-political round-up

**I am going to the Cowboys/Giants game on the 11th! With my friend Oschisms whom I adore. How can I not when he responds "that's what I live for" to my "do you know how happy you've made me?" I wish he still blogged. It will be my first live football game. I am very, very excited.

**Would you enter your girlfriend in an "ugliest girlfriend" contest to win $50? Via Iggy.

**Online dating is weird. I've never done internet dating but if I wanted to meet someone I'd be much more likely to use MySpace, Facebook or Meetup than any of the dating sites. I've been loving the Facebook feature that lets you search for people based on their political beliefs. Being newly single, I'm not looking for a man just now but I've enjoyed adding some interesting conservatives to my friend list. On MySpace, I've been looking up poker players on the upper east side.

**I've been really doing the cooking thing, as I vowed to do a few weeks ago. Last night I made Funkypundit a fairly random little meal and he didn't run screaming from my apt so it must've been ok. I've been having various friends over to teach me to make different dishes and I've been incorporating what I've learned. I love it.

**What? Baseball? What're you talking about? Baseball has been over for weeks! ;-)

Dumbass deeds done dirt cheap

In a move reminiscent of Muslim cab drivers in Minnesota refusing to pick up passengers carrying alcohol, Utah's liquor commissioner wants restaurants to hide their alcohol lest anyone get offended:

Liquor control commissioner Bobbie Coray asked her colleagues on Wednesday to consider a rule to cover up bottles of booze displayed at restaurants because some diners may be offended at the sight of alcohol.

A glass partition between bartenders and customers required under current regulations may not be enough, Coray told her fellow liquor control commissioners at their monthly meeting.

Coray, a lone holdout opposing liquor licenses for strip bars, now wants the commission to place more restrictions on glass partitions in restaurants. She called the partitions "a Zion curtain," imposed to satisfy Mormons whose faith eschews alcohol.

Although the four other commissioners have not supported Coray in her quest to take away liquor licenses from sexually oriented establishments, they did not indicate whether they would back Corey's bid to keep alcohol out of view.

Glass walls don't obscure the alcohol, said Coray, a nondrinker, turning the "atmosphere in a restaurant to more of a bar." She singled out the Cheesecake Factory, which opens its first Utah outlet at Fashion Place in Murray on Nov. 1, because alcohol bottles are in plain view.

"We have a dual responsibility," she said. "We are to make alcohol available for those who want to consume it and at the same time not make anyone uncomfortable."

Really? The responsibility of the liquor control commission has become to insure comfort? Because I'm completely uncomfortable with the idea that I have to pay for booze at all. It should be free. Make that happen, Bobbie.

If I've said it once

Associated Press: Things looking up for McCain

Ahem:

Fear the McCain

Beware of John McCain

Don't Misunderestimate John McCain

Don't Misunderestimate John McCain (I thought I was so clever I used the headline twice.)

Scary

Are we just counting on the Secretary of State to be able to throw down if she needs to? Because, otherwise I'd like an explanation of why Condi seems to have zero security.

What do you save?

Time Magazine has a piece about what people save when evacuated during a disaster.

I would take my journals that I kept from age 16 to 24, pearls my grandmother gave me, and one special photo album. Everything else is replaceable.

In terms of practical advice, the best line in the article has a conservative philosophy tagged right on: "Learn how to text-message, do not let your kids watch TV news, and never depend on the government."

Via Fark.

On behalf of all women, I say "yeah, right."

"The fatter a woman is, the less depressed she gets."

Rumors of my demise...

...are greatly exaggerated.

On a sidenote, I am sad to see Urban Elephants call it a day. And I agree with Azi (at the link above) that there is "a void in the area of city-based, right-leaning blogs", in particular, I'd say, those that focus on local politics. If someone would like to start such a blog, perhaps in the community format of UE, I would definitely be interested in helping them. Like I noted in Politicker's comment section, I am not really interested in local politics so wouldn't do it myself, but I can see something like that succeeding in a big way.

Da Boys

When multiple people send me an article, I blog it, that's just how I roll.

Turns out my 'Boys aren't just great football players and completely adorable, they're also unique and original dressers.

Hat-tips to BG and Bad Boy In A Suit.

Listen

This is from the show I mentioned a few days ago, a clip of my friend Armen Ra performing on the theremin:

I'm filming this on my little camera so it's not the best quality, but still pretty cool. A better vid of Armen is here.

One of those personal posts, or "Kim, you need to leave him."

I was planning on having a busy weekend. A birthday party and a poker tournament tonight, followed by a Sunderland game and another party tomorrow.

Then, two days ago, I went to the dentist and ended up spending four hours there. When I left, my cheek was swollen and my dentist warned me I might have a black and blue.

The next morning I did indeed have a bruise and my cheek had swollen to chipmunk proportions.

Now, I'm not vain (egotistical, maybe, but not vain). It's not that I mind people seeing my deformed face, it's more that I'm afraid people will notice it, not ask about it, and think I'm catching a beating somewhere. And while I joked with my friends all last night that my friend Pheeleepok has been laying down the law on my face, I'm not sure how to jokingly bring up to strangers that it was a dental procedure and not the back of someone's hand.

The two parties are my main concern. At both I will likely only know the birthday boy/girl, and maybe one other person. At the poker table I can comfortably joke about my condition. I guess I can skip the Sunderland game if I feel uncomfortable going. Should I just stay in all weekend? Or can you all suggest a good way to bring up to strangers than I'm not a battered wife?

Reagan was no Reagan

Charles Krauthammer reminds us that no candidate is perfect:

Well, what about Reagan? This president, renowned for his naps, granted amnesty to three million illegal immigrants in the 1986 Simpson-Mazzoli bill. As governor of California, he signed the most liberal abortion legalization bill in America, then flip-flopped and became an abortion opponent. What did he do about it as president? Gave us Sandra Day O’Connor and Anthony Kennedy, the two swing votes that upheld and enshrined Roe v. Wade for the last quarter century.

Via Hot Air.

Two football questions

I want to go to the Giants/Cowboys game on 11/11.

Question 1: Is wearing a Cowboys shirt to Giants Stadium as bad as, say, wearing a Red Sox shirt at Yankee Stadium? What level of harassment can I expect?

Question 2: Where does one get tickets?

Conversations with Dawn

Me: Obama said he would take up arms himself to prevent another 9/11.

Dawn: Obama would take up arms at 7/11?

Me: No, doofus, to prevent another 9/11.

Dawn: Oh.

Me: OH! And he also said he would have no trouble “going down low and throwing elbows” if opponents went after him. Which is a bad...

Dawn: ...because black men really shouldn't say the phrase "down low" out loud. Ever.

Go Satan!

I'm still sort of bitter about Giuliani's support for the Red Sox in the World Series. This pretty much sums it up:

Real Yankees and Red Sox fans would rather throw themselves off a bridge before rooting for their rival in ANY situation. It could be Red Sox vs. The Antichrist and I'd be on the sidewalk rocking the sign of the beast and talking smack about how eternal hellfire and damnation rules the school.

Via Steve Silver.

In NYC

There's a really cool, non-political event coming up in NYC on November 1st. Hendrick's, a brand of gin, is hosting a Sip&Shine party where you'll get free drinks and a shoe shine. How cute it that?

Pete’s Tavern, 129 East 18th Street (Corner of Irving Place). 7PM – 9PM

Perhaps we should have an unofficial blogger party then? By "unofficial" I mean you all can consider this post your invitation. We'll have a real big blogger party by New Years, I promise.

Which would maybe make an iota of difference if we had national elections

In a head-to-head poll, Hillary is beating Ron Paul by less than she's beating Fred Thompson.

Giuliani/Brownback?

Allahpundit reported yesterday that Sam Brownback is considering an endorsement of Rudy Giuliani, which is most shocking because Brownback ran almost entirely on the issue of "life" and Rudy Giuliani is pro-choice.

Back in May, during the first GOP debate, I live-blogged this:

8:32pm: Brownback just made the reason for his candidacy obsolete. He says he could support a pro-choice candidate because, like Reagan, he thinks he should support someone with whom he agrees 80% of the time.

Perhaps he wants the VP job and knew it even back then?

Fred!

I've been as disappointed as anyone by Fred Thompson's low energy campaign but I think he kicks some serious butt in this speech to my beloved Club for Growth.

Album of the Day

"Different Class" by Pulp.

The Depeche Mode album I wrote about the other day is one of the lesser known DM albums while this album by Pulp is, by far, their most prominent. It is also the most accessible. I got my parents singing along to "Common People" and Dawn Summers rocking out to "Disco 2000".

The themes on this album are:

1. Partying too hard (funny then that their next album would have a song called "Party Hard" on it). "You can't go home and go to bed, because it hasn't worn off yet, and now it's morning" on "Bar Italia" and "Going out late from Monday, chuck up in the street on Sunday, you don't want to live till Monday, and have to do it all again....Oh I know that it's stupid but, I just can't seem to spend a night at home" on "Monday Morning". "Sorted for E's and Wizz" was the druggie theme song while I lived in Britain and this album was everywhere.

2. Shameful/bad sex. "Underwear" is about it being too late to say no. "I Spy" details getting vengeance on a enemy by bedding his wife ("smoking your cigarettes and drinking your brandy, messing up the sheets that you chose together"). "Common People" has a Greek art student wanting to have sex with common people like the guy singing the song. "Pencil Skirt" is yet another song about sleeping with another guy's woman.

3. Awesome, real love. "Feeling Called L.O.V.E." and "Something Changed" are two of the sweetest songs by Pulp ever. Both songs are how you never know when it's going to happen: "it's not convenient, no, it doesn't fit my plans" from the former and "life could've been very different but then something changed" in the latter.

4. Longing. "Live Bed Show" is a song about a relationship told from the point of view of their bed. "Disco 2000" details a guy's love for his childhood friend, how he always thought they'd get married, and how he wants to meet her again in the future, in the year 2000."

The song that doesn't really belong is "Mis-Shapes." It should have been on His & Hers, released a year before Different Class.

Really an incredible album from one of my all-time favorite bands. I don't think there exists a bad Pulp album but this is the best starter album for anyone wanting to hear this band. It's for everyone.

Don't kill me, Chuck

Huckabee not so hot.

Support the Paramo Patriotic Front

A glass statue to Che Guevara in a country condemned to live under the policies he promoted? Bad. Idea.

Via Fark.

In NYC

The Israeli Film Festival kicks off today in NY. The schedule is here. Who's in to see some movies from the land of milk and honey?

The worst thing he could ever do.

No, really, how am I ever supposed to support Rudy now?

UPDATE: Some headlines I'd enjoy seeing too.

Normal people don't obsess about politics

Life is good, food is plentiful, there are a million and one distractions. In advanced democracies, politics is not everything, and we get on with our lives. In a sense, we outsource politics to those who want it most and participate albeit fitfully in whatever parameters of discourse emerge.

-Mark Steyn from a great piece on our current "Cold Civil War".

Album of the Day

"Violator" gets all the attention but tonight it was all about Depeche Mode's "Songs of Faith and Devotion".

"In Your Room", "One Caress", "I Feel You" and, my personal favorite, "Rush" are some of DM's best stuff.

The album came out in 1993, my senior year of high school, and it was the soundtrack to many a brooding drive with my best friend around Brooklyn. That Depeche Mode sure does know how to brood.

Why I will always prefer MySpace

Facebook is just out of all control. This is what I signed in to find today:

1 event invitation
1 group invitation
1 you're hot request
1 hottest friend request
1 new wall post request
1 werewolves invitation
1 join my entourage request
1 compare request
1 pink ribbon invitation
2 likeness unrated invitations
1 cause invitation
1 super wall invitation
1 linkedin contacts invitation
1 top friends invitation

I had already gone through a bunch of requests during the day too. I just don't have that kind of time.

Why, oh why, is my state's government so inept?

New York politicians have decided to take "decisive action" in the wake of some high profile noose appearances. They want to "to make it a felony to etch, paint, draw or otherwise place or display a noose on public or private property." Have you ever heard of anything so dumb? Ever?

Yes, banning the drawing of nooses (even on private property) certainly does qualify as "decisive action." Whether it's a decisive in the direction of common sense is, alas, quite another question."

-Funkypundit.

Proving age is indeed just a number.

When I was in Las Vegas, for my 30th birthday back in April, I stayed at the Hard Rock Hotel for the first two nights and at the Wynn for the second two. My take on the Hard Rock was that I was way too old for it. The non-stop rock music (and as our room was "upgraded" to pool view that meant blaring music from about 10am) was just too much, the people at the hotel were in total party mode and the whole place was just too dark. When I tell people I'm over the hill for the Hard Rock, I usually add "but both of my parents would completely love it." They love loud, happening, party-all-the-time kind of scenes. It's really baffling as my brother and I just tend to be really laid-back (though he loved the Hard Rock, perhaps because of the famous pool).

This is a conversation I had today with my father on the topic of meeting for dinner tomorrow:

Me: I'm going to see a show at 8pm at the Gershwin Hotel, a friend of mine is performing. So, I can do it before then or you can come to the show with me if you'd like. I invited a bunch of my friends but none have responded in the affirmative yet.

Him: What kind of show?

Me (totally excited at the possibility my father will come with me): My friend plays this instrument called the Theremin! It was invented in Russia! It was the only instrument invented last century! You know, like in the Beach Boys "Good Vibrations" the woooo woooo sound.

Him: Uh. Huh. So, he plays and we just...what, sit there?

Me: Uh, yeah.

Him: Yeah, no thanks. No dancing or anything?

Me: No, it's sort of a quiet instrument.

Him: Quiet?! Definitely no, then.

Mike Huckabee is picking up steam

First Jim Pinkerton comes out for Mike Huckabee and now Chuck Norris issues his endorsement. Back in August of 2005, I wrote:

Look for the nominee to be a popular governor of a medium sized state. It'll be someone we're not thinking of right now and he (yes, he, people) will be happily married, likely to his first wife. He will have had plenty of experience campaigning, will be pro-life and unequivocally against gay marriage. Most of his secrets have already come out during his previous campaign. He will not have a New York accent.

Could Huckabee be that guy?

George Bush doesn't care about white people

Malibu is burning.

24-14

How about them Cowboys?

The best political news in awhile

Bobby Jindal is now governor of Louisiana.

We've waited for this a long time. Make us proud, Mr. Jindal.

So, Rich, did Harry tell his wife or what?

Rich Sommer, who plays Harry on Mad Men, has a blog. Like, a real one, not one of those "Margene from Big Love has a blog on the HBO site". Check it out, it's very cool.

Via Paul Levinson who has reviewed all the Mad Men episodes.

Question for New Yorkers

Am I seriously expected to start referring to 6th Avenue as "Avenue of the Americas"? Does anybody actually call it that? I just had to mapquest an address and the program couldn't find "6th Avenue" in Manhattan but did find "Avenue of the Americas".

Mad Men Watercooler

I can't believe they ended with my favorite Bob Dylan song. I don't think anything could be better than "Don't Think Twice" as Don sits on the stairs.

Click on.

WHOAAAAA. How did Peggy not know she was pregnant? What a crazy twist! Suddenly her weigh gain makes all the sense in the world. So what happens now? She gives the baby away and continues in her career? And it's Campbell's baby! Creepy Campbell is such a great role.

The scene with Glenn made me really sick. She's my perfect Betty! What is she doing?!

Did Betty tell all that to the psychiatrist so that it would get back to Don?

What an amazing show. I can't wait for its return.

So, what should I be watching next?

Bye-bye Torre

We'll miss you.

Song of the Day

"Museum Mile" by Geneva.

I've written about Geneva, and their singer with the most amazing voice, before. One of my favorite songs by this underrated band.

UPDATE: My friend M sends along this live, but partial, performance of the song:

More Geneva videos here. I love "If you have to go" and "No one speaks" best.

Oh and I also just discovered this page that has all of Geneva's songs. I love them. I can't imagine anyone not finding them breathtaking and beautiful.

Tonight in NY

I'm attending my very first Fark party tonight. I'm not sure what to expect but I've been meaning to go to one of these because those Farkers are farking funny.

Late night on-demand watching

"Face it, buddy boy. There's two kinds of people in this world: you and everybody else. And never the twain shall meet."- Nate Sr.

I've never loved any show like I loved Six Feet Under. Big Love, Mad Men, Entourage, they're great, I like them, but nothing does it for me like SFU.

Question from a newbie cook

Why would anyone ever make anything involving butternut squash? I love butternut squash soup so I figured I'd make some. I'm basically just happy I still have all my fingers (though one of my nails didn't make it). Have you ever tried cutting or peeling that sucker?

Update: Injuries aside, I made one hell of a butternut squash soup (recipe here). And lest you think I say that about anything I cook, I made a Pumpkin and Tomato Bisque the other night which I immediately froze in case I run out of food and my only option is something bland and watery.

Air Embarrassment

A few days ago, reports began circulating that Air America host Randi Rhodes was beaten up on the streets of NY and lost several teeth in the battle.

Never a station concerned with accuracy or the truth, Air America Late Night host Jon Elliot jumped to all sorts of conclusions and asked "Is this an attempt by the right wing hate machine to silence one of our own? Are we threatening them? Are they afraid that we're winning? Are they trying to silence and intimidate us?"

Turns out, no, she reportedly just got plastered on 14 vodkas (14! I'm Russian and can do maybe 10 tops--and that's with food!), fell down and cracked some teeth. Stay classy, Air America, stay classy.

The job Indians won't do

I wonder where call centers will end up.

Song of the Day

"Discipline" by Gang Starr.

"That's why instead of preaching death in my songs, I breathe life."

A rap song about behaving yourself. Different.

Tonight in NYC

I'm going to see this movie tonight as part of the Russian Film Festival I mentioned yesterday. I'm going to try to catch at least one more Russian film before the festival concludes and we move on to Israelis.

Song of the Day

"Hang on to me tonight" by Mick Jagger.

It's got a couple of killer lines but I was always into "love is fragile, you hide it from the light." It's off Wandering Spirit, a Jagger solo album where he has an almost country sound. I think it's one of the most under-appreciated and unheard albums ever.

In NY

The work of one of my favorite artists, Gustave Courbet, is coming to NY in the form of a major retrospective. It's not until February, but y'all should mark your calendars.

He'll never want to go home

Bill Gates was denied a visa to travel to Nigeria "on the premise that they required proof he would not reside in Nigeria indefinitely, causing a strain on social services and a general nuisance for immigration."

We need socialized medicine like a hole in the head

English 'pull own teeth' as dental service decays

Hat-tip Fallen Sparrow.

I heart NY

There's always something going on in my city. Two upcoming events that I will be attending:

Russian Film Week, October 12-17, 2007

Israel Film Festival, October 23-November 8, 2007.

I also thought I would be attending Parkerfest but it turns out it already happened this year.

That's ok, 'Boys, next time