Thursday, December 30, 2010

Drunkest Cities

We're number 3! We're number 3!

Drunkest Cities - Galleries - The Daily Beast

_______

A little something for your imaginative awe:

Gigantic Storm With Huge Tail Erupts on Saturn | Wired Science | Wired.com

______

And little something for you sleepy-time nightmares:

Kayakers recount deadly crocodile attack in Congo - Yahoo! News:
"With no time to do anything but say 'Oh, my God!' Coetzee was gone, hauled beneath the green water never to be seen again."
_______
_____
___

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Fail Whale Success

Ping is the most ill-conceived project Apple has ever created. There's no clear purpose. Can't win 'em all, I guess.

Social Media Fails: 5 Social Projects That Tanked In 2010:
"Apple's foray into the social media music scene seemed to fall on deaf ears. The biggest fail? Ping doesn't actually let you see what your friends are listening to, which is largely the point of social media. As some critics put it, Ping could easily have been considered a marketing ploy gone wrong."
_______

Cool read and video on the creator of the Twitter 'fail whale'.

Yiying Lu makes splash with Twitter's 'fail whale'



_______
_____
___

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Santa Tantrum - For the Win

This tradition is kinda freakin' creepy. However, some of the reactions are pretty hilarious:

Santa Tantrum Awards 2010 ... the final field is here! UPDATED! : The Poop

_______

For the Wins - 2010:



_______
_____
___

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

The Little Bill That Could

Good news:

Timothy Karr: The Little Bill That Could:
"Little noticed but extremely important to progressives, on Saturday afternoon Congress also passed the Local Community Radio Act.

This legislation opens up radio spectrum to hundreds, if not thousands, of local independent radio stations (also known as LPFM).

Its passing will bring new choices and voices on the radio dial nationwide, but is especially relevant to a broadcast area reaching 160 million people who lived in areas where these stations had previously been barred from local airwaves.

Anyone tracking the rise of radio personalities like Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh and Michael Savage understands the primary political significance of gaining access to spectrum."
_______

Hey, Mickey. You blow my mind.

Mickey Rourke Visits A Russian Hospital For Xmas (NSFW): Pics, Videos, Links, News

_______
_____
___

Monday, December 20, 2010

Spotty and light posting for the next two weeks which are my only two vacation weeks of the year.

351 days in a row of work. Yeah, I need a break.

Roll Tide.



_______

Wow.

Deadly Brooklyn Plane Crash, 1960 - Photo Gallery - LIFE

_______
_____
___

Friday, December 17, 2010

DBT Week in Review - 12/17/10

DBT!





_______

Kill the Body, the Head Will Die: Long Live the (new) Liner Notes - The 6149:
"The DBTs have a new album coming out on February 15th: Go-Go Boots. Once again they are breaking out the old video camera, but this time they are taking a slightly different, more personal approach. They have already posted their first video of the series. In it, Patterson Hood tells the what, why and how how they will go about creating videos for the album launch. He is not so much marketing as he is being transparent about how they want to connect with fans and tell the story of the album. I think it is brilliant and I am looking forward to it."
_______

Patterson Hood :: 2010 Year End Round Up – Rollo & Grady: Los Angeles Music Blog

Drive-By Truckers Ready to Show Off Their 'Go-Go Boots' - The Boot

Drum Roll Please: All Songs Considered Listeners Pick The Year's Best Music : All Songs Considered Blog : NPR

Rock The Body Electric: Album Review - Drive By Truckers - The Big To-Do

_______

Best Songs of 2010: 50 Tracks That Blew Our Hair Back This Year - Spinner:
"If the Drive-By Truckers were a barfly's usual order, they'd be a Boilermaker -- can of beer, shot of whiskey. No grenadine, no lime wedges or muddled sugar, no paper umbrellas. 'Birthday Boy' ain't destined to replace 'Happy Birthday' anytime soon -- it's written from the perspective of a jaded working girl. 'I ain't got all night,' she says. We'll make some time."
_______

Americana Music Association :::
"The Americana Music Association announced its year end Top 100 Albums of the Year. The Top 100 albums are based on those records reported to the Americana Airplay Chart during the period of November 17, 2009 through November 15, 2010.
_______

The Best 70 Albums of 2010 < PopMatters:
"34 - Drive-By Truckers - The Big To-Do

Character studies are fine and all, but they’re much more interesting if they rock. Case in point: “The Fourth Night of My Drinking”, funny and pretty when played on the piano, also sounds like an immense cloud of longing and dread when subjected to the Truckers’ triple-guitar attack. Their song subjects are ripped from the headlines, sure—a working stiff is worse off than his daddy, a preacher’s wife goes on trial for murdering her depraved husband, the local music scene dies. But you keep listening because the rhythm section’s a powerhouse, their chord progressions are unique, and the guitarists have a penchant for noisy squall like nobody this side of Sonic Youth. Though the second half’s got some filler, it’s in the grand tradition of filler that sounds pretty good whenever you put it on. And put it on you should, because for sheer beautiful guitar tones, nobody can touch this band. Josh Langhoff"
_______

Brent Best/Slobberbone/Glossary





_______

Top Albums of 2010: Caitlin Rose, Action!, KORT among the year's best releases | Cover Story | Nashville Scene:
"#9 Glossary
Feral Fire (The Rebel Group) It's always a good year when there's a new Glossary record on the stereo, and 2010 is no different. Well, except that this time they had their buddies in Lucero releasing the album — which is the rockin'-est conglomeration of Dinosaur Jr. and Thin Lizzy we've heard in ages — and spent more time on the road supporting it than they ever have before. And if that weren't hot enough, they also spiced things up with the debut of Saussary, their tour-only homemade hot sauce, and solo records from Joey and Kelly Kneiser that were chock-full of Murfreesboro's finest players and songwriters. —Sean L. Maloney"
_______

Billy Reid

Talking music with Billy Reid | Full Frontal Fashion

_______

Awesome

The perfect 8-ball companion.

Are Juice Boxes of Jameson the Next Four Loko? | Uptown Almanac

_______
_____
___

Thursday, December 16, 2010

Red Planet

Al Franken's pitiful mea culpa for voting Yea mimicked GOP talking points to a T. Very disappointed in Franken,

Repeat after me. TAX CUTS ARE NOT STIMULATIVE. TAX CUTS ARE WHAT'S GOT US IN THIS GODDAMN MESS TO BEGIN WITH. THIS TAX CAVE IS THE FIRST STEP TO KILLING SOCIAL SECURITY.

Daily Kos: The End of Obama's Presidency, According to Him (Updated):
"If the last two years have taught us anything, it's this: never put your faith in a politician. The only way for citizens to find their power in our present corrupt governing system is to band together outside the corrupt party apparatus and demand change from without. When even Al Franken goes along to get along, there seems no other choice."
_______

I'm all about Uptown Almanac at the moment. Cool old vid from Hwy 1/Ocean Beach.

San Francisco Motorcycle Cops Trained as Daredevils | Uptown Almanac

_______

Awesome.

Jim Bell: 'Postcards From Mars': 15 Amazing Pictures Of The Red Planet From New Book (PHOTOS)

_______

Because it is broth season.

For the Love of Cooking: Homemade Chicken Broth

_______
_____
___

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

What Do San Franciscans Want for Christmas?

High hilarity:

What Do San Franciscans Want for Christmas? | Uptown Almanac

_______

Wish I lived in a country where the leaders stuck it to the people who are financially fucking us.

AMERICAblog News: Ireland to failed bank: pay bonuses and you won't get bailed out

_______

As far as lobbies, go, this one if flush, and I mean FLUSH with cash.

Marijuana-legalization push gets voice on Capitol Hill | McClatchy

_______

Can this bloody week be over, please, so I can be on my holiday break... bitches.

_______
_____
___

Monday, December 13, 2010

Social Un-Security

Don't kid yourself. Obama is coming after our social security.

If you aren't disgusted yet, you really aren't paying attention.

Tax Cut Deal A Hidden Threat To Social Security:
"WASHINGTON - The tax cut deal that President Obama struck with congressional Republicans contains a provision that could ultimately be the undoing of Social Security, say Senate Democrats and backers of the old-age and disability program."
_______

The Obama Tax Deal: Giving the Hostage Takers More Hostages | TPMCafe:
"However, after further thought and conversations with people around Washington (first and foremost, Nancy Altman, the co-director of Social Security Works), I have become convinced that this deal would be a disaster. Paul Krugman does a nice job laying out the limited benefits of the stimulus, but my greater concern is what happens to Social Security in this story. Effectively, this deal would give us a permanent two-percentage point reduction in the payroll tax in a Washington climate very hostile to Social Security."
_______

Daily Kos: The payroll tax holiday won't be temporary:
"But as I wrote yesterday, there's a problem: the payroll tax holiday won't be temporary. Sure, it's supposed to be for just one year, but if you think Republicans are going to miss an opportunity to demand permanent extension of a tax cut -- especially one that covers the cost of Social Security -- then you haven't been living in the same country as the rest of us. In fact, I can already hear Republicans saying that it must be extended, because now is not the time to raise taxes on the American public. And I can hear them now, laughing privately about the fiscal crisis that such an extension will cause for Social Security."
_______

Remember when Obama was a Democrat:



_______
_____
___

Saturday, December 11, 2010

Thursday, December 09, 2010

Goddamn Wrong

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy




Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy



Let us view Obama taking a play right out of GWB's play book. Makes me feel all hopey and changey.

Living in fear... just the way Obama wants it:

WH warns tax defeat could trigger new recession - Yahoo! News

_______



George Carlin - Wikiquote

There's a reason for this, there's a reason education sucks, and it's the same reason it will never ever ever be fixed. It's never going to get any better. Don't look for it. Be happy with what you've got... because the owners of this country don’t want that. I'm talking about the real owners now... the real owners. The big wealthy business interests that control things and make all the important decisions. Forget the politicians. The politicians are put there to give you the idea that you have freedom of choice. You don’t. You have no choice. You have owners. They own you. They own everything. They own all the important land. They own and control the corporations. They’ve long since bought and paid for the Senate, the Congress, the state houses, the city halls. They got the judges in their back pockets and they own all the big media companies, so they control just about all of the news and information you get to hear. They got you by the balls. They spend billions of dollars every year lobbying. Lobbying to get what they want. Well, we know what they want. They want more for themselves and less for everybody else, but I’ll tell you what they don’t want. They don’t want a population of citizens capable of critical thinking. They don’t want well-informed, well-educated people capable of critical thinking. They’re not interested in that. That doesn’t help them. That’s against their interests. That’s right. They don’t want people who are smart enough to sit around a kitchen table and think about how badly they’re getting fucked by a system that threw them overboard 30 fuckin’ years ago. They don’t want that. You know what they want? They want obedient workers. Obedient workers, people who are just smart enough to run the machines and do the paperwork. And just dumb enough to passively accept all these increasingly shittier jobs with the lower pay, the longer hours, the reduced benefits, the end of overtime and vanishing pension that disappears the minute you go to collect it. And now they’re coming for your Social Security money. They want your fuckin' retirement money. They want it back so they can give it to their criminal friends on Wall Street. And you know something? They’ll get it. They’ll get it all from you sooner or later 'cause they own this fuckin' place. It’s a big club and you ain't in it. You and I are not in the big club. By the way, it’s the same big club they use to beat you over the head with all day long when they tell you what to believe. All day long beating you over the head with their media telling you what to believe, what to think and what to buy. The table is tilted, folks. The game is rigged and nobody seems to notice. Nobody seems to care. Good, honest, hard-working people: white collar, blue collar, it doesn’t matter what color shirt you have on. Good, honest, hard-working people continue — these are people of modest means — continue to elect these rich cocksuckers who don’t give a fuck about them. They don’t give a fuck about you. They don’t give a fuck about you. They don’t care about you at all! At all! At all! And nobody seems to notice. Nobody seems to care. That’s what the owners count on. The fact that Americans will probably remain willfully ignorant of the big red, white and blue dick that’s being jammed up their assholes every day, because the owners of this country know the truth. It’s called the American Dream, 'cause you have to be asleep to believe it.

_______
_____
___

Wednesday, December 08, 2010

Poison Pillz

Must take a break from President Lam-o-crat. Cannot find desire to sort through the 30 qued posts regarding the tax cave.

So....

RIP Elizabeth Edwards. I saw her and John once on a North Carolina beach shaking hands and politicking before John was elected N.C. Senator. I voted for John in that election.

RIP Elizabeth. You were a damn good one.

Elizabeth Edwards Posts Apparent Goodbye Message - Political Hotsheet - CBS News

_______

Assange is a mixture of Bond and various Bond villains. Lovin' this guy and his work

We can handle the truth. Those trying to prevent us from learning the truth will not be able to handle us when we know the truth.

Julian Assange Vows "Poison Pill" Release Of Damaging Secrets If Arrested Or Killed | TPM LiveWire

Besides, our government is nothing but a self-fulfilling perpetual hypocrisy machine.

Freedom for me, but not for thee:

Flashback: Sec. Clinton hailed Internet freedom as tool to ‘spread truth and expose injustice’ | Raw Story:
"US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton gave a public speech in January 2010 championing Internet freedom as a vital tool to open governments and promote transparency, while criticizing 'dictatorships' who seek to target those who use technology to expose their transgressions.

'In many respects, information has never been so free,' Clinton said at the Washington, D.C. Newseum. 'There are more ways to spread more ideas to more people than at any moment in history. Even in authoritarian countries, information networks are helping people discover new facts and making governments more accountable.'

'This challenge may be new, but our responsibility to help ensure the free exchange of ideas goes back to the birth of our republic,' she added, invoking the First Amendment to the US Constitution, which guarantees freedom of speech."

Dude is wicked smart, too. Obama should take some negotiation lessons from Assange.

Julian Assange Vows "Poison Pill" Release Of Damaging Secrets If Arrested Or Killed | TPM LiveWire
_______


Been done, but not to this extreme:

In the Name of Art, Wafaa Balil is a Walking Tripod - PCWorld:
"Iraqi-American Bilal, an assistant professor at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, has implanted a titanium plate into the back of his skull for the sake of his art. The plate allows Bilal to attach and remove a camera to the back of his head magnetically, for his project which is called 'The 3rd I.'"
_______

Ricky Bobby comes to mind for some reason.

Utah Pilot Survives Plane Crash In What Authorities Call 'A Miracle'

_______
_____
___

Tuesday, December 07, 2010

President Huckabee

Goodbye Democratic Party...

Goodbye soul of the Progressive...

Goodbye Social Security....

Hello President Huckabee.

Because nobody is gonna campaign for you, Obama:

Daily Kos: Obama staffers speak out:
"Jeana Brown, Obama 2008 Field Organizer in Georgia:
I personally am saddened. It is clear to me that we have not seen the 'change we can believe in.' Extending the Bush tax cuts will kill volunteer recruitment and retainment.

Daniel Roche, Obama 2008 Deputy Field Organizer in Nevada -- a key swing state Obama won:
If he capitulates on this, there really is no point in voting for him in 2012. The difference between voting for a Republican and voting for someone whose default negotiation strategy is rolling over and dying whenever the Republican Party says mean things is marginal. This should be a ridiculously easy fight to win.

Matthew Donoghue, Communications Staffer for 2008 Ohio Campaign for Change
'I want the President to adhere to his campaign promise. I didn't go to Ohio eleven weeks after completing chemoradiotherapy to have him uphold the reckless Bush/GOP 'spare the wealthy' tax scheme.'"
_______

Maybe someone will squash this bastard of a cave.... I'm not holding my breath, though:



And, regardless of history, Obama should be primaried so we'd at least have some chance at finally capturing the Presidency.

The only way that happens is if the African-American community turns on Obama. Say, one of MLK's main men:

Clarence B. Jones: Time to Think the Unthinkable: A Democratic Primary Challenge To Obama's Reelection:
"It is not easy to consider challenging the first African-American to be elected as President of the United States. But, regrettably, I believe that the time has come to do this.

It is time for Progressives to stop 'whining' and arguing among themselves about whether President Obama will or will not do this or that. Obama is no different than any other President, nominated by his national party. He was elected with the hard work and 24/7 commitment of persons who believed and enlisted in his campaign for 'Hope' and 'Change.'

You don't have to be a rocket scientist nor have a PhD in political science and sociology to see clearly that Obama has abandoned much of the base that elected him. He has done this because he no longer respects, fears or believes those persons who elected him have any alternative, but to accept what he does, whether they like it or not.

It is time for those persons who constituted the 'Movement' that enabled Senator Barack Obama to be elected to 'break their silence'; to indicate that they no longer will sit on their hands, and only let off verbal steam and ineffective sound and fury, and 'hope' for the best.

The answer is blowin' in the wind"

...Or even a commenter on a news site....

Unhappy Dems Mull Obama-GOP Tax Cut Deal | TPMDC:
"Well, as a black man, all have have to say is...let's hope Barack Obama never comes up with an 'initiative' to advance the interests of black people. By the time he's halfway through his pre-compromise phase, the question up for debate would be, 'To exactly what extent should Jim Crow be reinstated?'...LOL!"
Oh well....

President Huckabee.

We should have elected a Democrat. Too bad one wasn't running in 2008.

_______
_____
___

Monday, December 06, 2010

What we need is more WikiLeaks

And that's the truth, Ron Paul. Assange is a modern day Robin Hood.

Ron Paul: ‘What we need is more WikiLeaks’ | Raw Story:
"“In a free society we're supposed to know the truth,” Paul insisted. “In a society where truth becomes treason, then we're in big trouble. And now, people who are revealing the truth are getting into trouble for it."
_______

Not sure this is gonna work.... squirrel is scary, though.

Drunken squirrel to scare Russians off vodka : Hot Topics

_______

Please never let me get in a double-dog-dare situation with one of these.

World’s hottest pepper is ‘hot enough to strip paint’ - Yahoo! News:
"'It numbs your tongue, then burns all the way down,' he told the paper. 'It can last an hour, and you just don't want to talk to anyone or do anything. But it's a marvelous endorphin rush. It makes you feel great.'"
_______

In another life I would be a storm chaser.

Jaw-dropping image of enormous 'supercell' cloud in Glasgow, Montana | Mail Online

_______
_____
___

Friday, December 03, 2010

DBT Week in Review - 12/3/10

DBT!

Drive-By Truckers | Go-Go Boots - Pre-Order:
"All pre-orders will receive a complementary high quality digital download of the album on release date (February 15th, 2011) via email.

As a special pre-order GRAND PRIZE bonus, everyone who pre-orders Go-Go Boots from drivebytruckers.com will be entered in a drawing to win a pair of tickets to EVERY Drive-By Truckers show in 2011 (starting after February 15th, 2011)."
_______

Deadline December 14th.

Vote For The Best Music Of 2010 : All Songs Considered Blog : NPR

_______

Largehearted Boy: Book Notes - Lindsay Hunter ("Daddy's"):
"The Drive-by Truckers 'The Deeper In'

Oh my sweet dark Jesus by the lamp, this song. It's about sibling incest and it ends so abruptly that you are stunned. It damns and it forgives and it damns. This is the kind of storytelling any other writer could spend years attempting. In Daddy's, the story 'Let' is my attempt."
_______

I don't speak Spanish or any of these other languages.

Drive-By Truckers vs The Whybirds (Guitar hero en el Kafe Antzokia) | La Furgoneta Azul – Musica Independiente – Musica Indie

Drive-by Truckers – Sala Heineken (Madrid) 24 noviembre 2010 | Efecto t�nel

Cr�nica Drive-By Truckers, Razz 2 | BCNCultura.cat: agenda barcelona, llibres, cinema, m�sica, restaurants

Concertverslag: Drive-By Truckers @ Vera, Groningen 18-11-2010 � Martijn Koetsier

Drive-By Truckers, Vera Groningen - Cutting Edge

Three Dimes Down • View topic - Groningen 11-18-2010 (Holy crap!!!)

Overname van Paradiso door Drive By Truckers in foto’s | Rock | Written in Music

_______

However, Google Translate does a nice number on the following paragraph:

green bean sound: DRIVE-BY TRUCKERS, RAZZ2 BARCELONA, 23/11/2010:
"Que los Truckers son muy buenos, es un hecho. Que imparten lecciones magistrales de rock en el siglo XXI desde ayer, para un servidor tambi�n. Lecci�n de rock en may�sculas, sure�o de procedencia, y universal de contenido, contundente y sin fecha de caducidad. Muchos artistas deber�an envidiar el flequillo de Mike Cooley y los rizos de Patterson Hood. La barba infinita de Brad Morgan y la sensual timidez Shonna Tucker. A ella le grit� “Marry Me” esperando que Cooley nos regalara la canci�n y con ella obsequiaron mediado el concierto a una parroquia rendida."

Google Translate:

The Truckers are very good, it's a fact. That taught master classes in the twenty-first century rock from yesterday, for a server too. Rock lesson in capital letters, southern provenance, universal content, blunt and no expiration date. Many artists would envy the fringe of Mike Cooley and Patterson Hood curls. The beard infinite Brad Morgan and Shonna Tucker sensual shyness. She screamed "Marry Me" waiting for Cooley gives us the song and it flattered the middle of the concert to a parish rendered.
_______





_______

Patterson Hood

Aquarium Drunkard � Diversions :: Patterson Hood on Darkness On The Edge of Town:
"At the bottom of the page you will Patterson Hood’s live tribute to Darkness On The Edge Of Town recorded in 2007, by Sloan Simpson, at the 40 Watt club in Athens, GA. Last week, on the eve of the Darkness reissue, The Promise, I asked Patterson to share his thoughts on the original LP. He did just that. Below is his transmission from the Netherlands, thinking about Darkness, while touring with Drive-By Truckers. Look for the new DBT record, Go-Go Boots, out February 2011."
_______

Doc Dailey

Mayer’s Playlist for October/November 2010, Part 2 - Twangville:
"A strong Southern accent imbues Muscle Shouls musician Doc Dailey’s voice and music. His songs continue a rich Southern storytelling tradition, filled with characters struggling with the hands that they’ve been dealt. In album opener “Prove Me Wrong” Dailey strives to make a relationship work, only to confess “if a pictures worth a thousand words, how come I keep burnin’ hers.” The musical accompaniment – acoustic guitar, mandolin, banjo and fiddle – only adds to the melancholy feel."
_______

Music

What's the difference between California and Texas?

Willie's going to jail...

Legal Experts Question Willie Nelson Pot Bust | Rolling Stone Music:
"the offense carries a minimum sentence of 180 days in jail and a maximum sentence of two years plus a $10,000 fine."
Kurtis Blow got a $100 misdemeanor ticket as if his car was parked illegally.

Kurtis Blow Busted for Weed After LAX Body Scan | TMZ.com

_______

Dangerous Minds | Deconstructing ‘Gimme Shelter’: Listen to the isolated tracks of the Rolling Stones in the studio

Dylan's handwritten lyrics to sell in NYC

Fillmore Posters, Uncoded: Bid on Signed-by-Artist Posters From Grizzly Bear, Pixies, Death Cab for Cutie... | 7x7:
"Paul Grushkin, author of music bibles The Art of Rock and the Art of Modern Rock, explains the appeal. 'It's our way of remembering what it was like to go to these wonderful shows. 'Oh my God I was there!' That's what it's all about in any generation.' Though Grushkin's own collection includes some of the first Jefferson Airplane Fillmore posters, he doesn't turn his nose at newer music. 'The hardest thing for anyone involved in Rock n' Roll merchandising is not to look down at somebody else's music. It's very easy to say 'it was better in my youth.' But you can't tell a 13-year-old who's just discovering music that the music of his generation will never be as good as mine. That's a pretty shitty message to transmit. It's all about the attitude. It doesn't matter when you got on the bus, it's that you got on the bus.'”"
_______
_____
___

Thursday, December 02, 2010

No, It Is Not Right

There is absolutely no reason to support Barrack Obama or the Democrats. None. Zero. They are exactly the same as Republicans.

If we can't win the tax fight (we can, but Obama and Dems refuses to actually fight) then the next two years will be all about passing crazy-fucking Republican bills (kinda like the past two years).

Democrats poised to cave on tax cuts, extend temporarily for rich | Raw Story

If we switched teams for this argument, the Republicans would win either side because the Dems are completely subservient to their every demand.

And Obama loves him some torture, too.

Obama and GOPers Worked Together to Kill Bush Torture Probe | Mother Jones

Obama must go.
_______

Daily Kos: I am a pragmatist, but there is a limit to compromise.:
"Sam Johnson was a Populist at heart, even twenty years after the Populist party was dead and buried. And Johnson and a handful of men in the statehouse knew that they fought losing battle after losing battle, eating beans on their paltry salaries while other legislators ate steak and drank whiskey on the dime of lobbyists.

One time a frustrated compatriot of Johnson's half-jokingly asked why the Hell they didn't just surrender. And Sam Johnson responded that the things worth fighting for are worth fighting for in their own right. Win or lose.

That was 100 years ago. And I wonder now, as I look to my own party, where the Sam E. Johnsons are. Where are the men who will stand up and say, 'No, it's not right that the burden of sacrifice should fall to those least able to bear it while those who enjoy the greatest privilege sacrifice so little.'"
_______

Nothing I could write could ever match this brutal take-down.

Bob Cesca: Why Exactly Is President Obama Acting Like George McFly?:

"More often than not, I've attempted to give the Obama administration the benefit of the doubt, both in terms of policy and politics. That's not to say I've embraced every idea -- I most certainly haven't. But even when I've vocally disagreed with a policy position, I've attempted to see the wisdom and pragmatism behind the president's choices.

But this week I have no blessed clue what the hell he's up to. I've tried to look at this from every angle and each one leads me back to weak, weak, weak.

He's following rules that no longer exist, pandering to voter attitudes that will have zero consequence in terms of both his approval numbers and his reelection chances. He's completely off the rails -- well beyond any notion of post-partisanship. In fact, if his intention has been to 'change the way Washington does business,' he's currently and epically failing because I simply can't believe that the new and improved way is this way."

---------

"You'd never know it, though, because whenever a Democrat -- say, Bernie Sanders or Anthony Weiner or the outgoing Alan Grayson, for example -- steps up and forcefully tells the truth, they're assaulted by political hipsters who harrumph and bitch about 'both sides' acting insane and shrill and why can't we all just be nice! You know, nice like the glorious olden days when there weren't witch hunts or duels or beatings or civil wars. Meanwhile, the Republicans line up in lockstep on television and repeat the same lines over and over and over. The media repeats and validates during Sunday morning 'smackdown' often featuring John McCain. The Democrats concede. And the Republicans win the debate -- usually by grinding it into the ground with nonstop crazy and by filibustering everything."
_______

Obama's FCC:

FCC’s ‘Net neutrality’ plan would permit super-tiers, network traffic throttling | Raw Story

_______
_____
___

Wednesday, December 01, 2010

I Promise, I'll Never Hit You Again, Baby.

Good-fucking-grief. We are so screwed with this President.

Obama promises more outreach to GOP - CNN.com

And the Republicans promise to continue to destroy Obama at every turn. Nice and bipartisan-like.



Can we please just hurry up and get to the Huckabee/Palin reign of terror coming our way in 2013.

Oh, to have a leader that believed in something and fought for anything.

"Washington (CNN) -- President Barack Obama told GOP leaders behind closed doors Tuesday that he had failed to reach across party lines enough during his first two years in office, a senior administration official told CNN.

He promised to do a better job of bipartisan outreach in the days ahead, the official added.

'The president said he had to do better, and the president is ready to do his part,' the official said."
_______

Daily Kos: Dear Mr President Let Me Whisper In Your Ear

_______


Indeed. The entire game is rigged. Rigged and rigged to fail.

C-Span mic catches US Senator’s candor: The Senate ‘is all rigged’ | Raw Story

_______

CHAAAAAAANGE! Yee-haw!

Obama administration gives billions in stimulus money without environmental safeguards:
"In the name of job creation and clean energy, the Obama administration has doled out about $2 billion in stimulus money to some of the nation's biggest polluters while granting them exemptions from a basic form of environmental oversight, a Center for Public Integrity investigation has found."
_______

Wanna try this sometime.

DIY: Crab Fishing in San Francisco - Jared Rivera

_______
_____
___

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

On Our Backs

Ronald Wilson Obama, ladies and gentlemen, with a dash of pussified Carter.

Citing deficit, Obama to freeze federal worker pay

The dumbest move politically AND economically. That's a hard feat to accomplish.

Horrible for the middle class and horrible for our overall economic clusterfuck.

Say it with me "To make money, one has to SPEND money".

The Page by Mark Halperin | Trumka Torches Bam for Fed Freeze:
"Today’s announcement of a two-year pay freeze for federal workers is bad for the middle class, bad for the economy and bad for business. No one is served by our government participating in a “race to the bottom” in wages. We need to invest in creating jobs, not undermining the ones we have. The President talked about the need for shared sacrifice, but there’s nothing shared about Wall Street and CEOs making record profits and bonuses while working people bear the brunt. It is time to get our nation back on track, but we should not do so by placing an even greater burden on the middle class."
________

Daily Kos: Austerity is the New Hoovernomics, a Grover Norquist wet dream come to life

_______

Maybe the v-chip will get revived! Oh, boy! School uniforms become the top issue while the rest of us fucking starve.

President Gimmick:
"And with that symbolic gesture we witness President Obama's unfortunate alter-ego, President Gimmick. President Gimmick isn't serious about solving any of our problems, he's only serious about demonstrating his desire to solve our problems.

President Gimmick doesn't offer up plans designed to do anything, he only offers up plans designed to give him zingers for his 2012 debates.

If President Gimmick actually cared about governance, we'd have a comprehensive fiscal plan. Instead, we're getting cheap applauses lines. You think announcing a federal pay freeze represents toughness? Ha!

Confronted with the choice between making the tough decision to defend federal spending during a recession or to develop a plan to actually slash spending, President Gimmick takes a third way: pretending to do something. In the process, he concedes that he believes his critics are right on the merits, but far from signaling strength, he signals that he's too weak to do anything serious about it.

The worst thing about President Gimmick isn't that he plays politics, though. The worst thing about President Gimmick is that he's not very good at it.

Let's hope it doesn't take President Obama long to realize that President Gimmick isn't going to do him or the nation any good. And then he -- and we -- can put President Gimmick back in the closet, where he belongs."
_______

Excellent choice:

Daniel Day-Lewis Will Be Steven Spielberg's Abraham Lincoln - MOVIE TALK on Yahoo! Movies:
"For what seems like forever, director Steven Spielberg has talked about wanting to do a biopic on Abraham Lincoln from a script by 'Angels in America' playwright Tony Kushner. But for the past decade, Spielberg has instead focused on other projects while Liam Neeson remained committed to playing our 16th president. When Neeson announced this summer that he was finally leaving the project, that seemed to be the end of it ever happening, but now the film is very much back on track: Daniel Day-Lewis is going to play Lincoln."


_______
_____
___

Monday, November 29, 2010

Everyday is Cyber-Monday

So much awesome in this video. The suspense is well rewarded.

Cat-Crow-Cat-Crow fight



_______

Add one more to this list. Cat fight. And not the cool kind that happens in bars with hair pulling and bra-snapping.

6 Deadly Injuries You Think You'd Survive (Thanks to Movies) | Cracked.com

_______

Because this is how we roll.

N. Calif. cities bring pot growing into the light | San Francisco Examiner:
"Farther north, the Sonoma County wine country town of Sebastopol passed an ordinance Tuesday allowing for the creation of two large gardens for medical marijuana dispensaries, and two more 'collective' gardens where patients could grow their own."
_______

This and Cowboy vs. Aliens. Two must sees.

Coen Bros. Rule.



_______
_____
___

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Coyote Blue

None of this security raping is keeping anyone a single iota safer.

Not. One. Person. Safer.

Freeeeedooooom! Pfft.

Passenger Chooses Strip-Down Over Pat-Down | NBC San Diego:
"Wolanyk was arrested for refusing to complete the security process. A woman, identified by Harbor police as Danielle Kelli Hayman,39, of San Diego was detained for recording the incident on a phone."

Because Obama has been so mean to Business at the expense of the poor and middle class.

Every policy OA has implemented has served Big Business at the expense of the poor and middle class. Straight up Republican. Don't kid yourself otherwise.
"Nov. 22 (Bloomberg) -- President Barack Obama is preparing new overtures to business that may start with a walk into the headquarters of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and a retreat with corporate chief executive officers, according to people familiar with his plans.

The Obama administration has been at odds with the Chamber, which fought Obama’s health-care and financial regulatory overhauls and committed $75 million to political ads in the midterm congressional elections, mainly directed against Democrats. The CEO summit would be a way to address complaints from some executives that the Democratic administration is anti- business."
_______

Yes, Obama SO needs to patch things up with Business. Such a cruel communist he's been.

Meanwhile, back in reality: 9.5% counted unemployment with an actual rate more like 20%, while Corps haul in cash and don't hire nary a soul.

We need a Progressive Labor Party.

Business Upset That Under Obama They Have Achieved Only the Highest Profits Ever -- Daily Intel

_______

Heckavuanother job, OA.

Oil Spill Found On Shrimp Seafood In Newly Opened Gulf Waters (VIDEO):
"Tar Balls. Not quite as appetizing a shrimp side dish as cocktail sauce. But according to FOX 10 News, that's just what the shrimp boat Our Mother caught in its net this past week - enough tar balls to ruin thousands of dollars worth of shrimp.

The boat was trawling in newly re-opened waters north of the Deepwater Horizon well site when it hauled tar balls in with its shrimp."
_______

The most sensible thing I've read all week. We have wild Coyotes in SF, too.

Let Loose the Coyotes? Chicago Embraces Rat-Hunting Predators | Discoblog | Discover Magazine

_______
_____
___

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Net Neutrality

And nobody gives a damn....

Long Live the Web: A Call for Continued Open Standards and Neutrality: Scientific American:
"Why should you care? Because the Web is yours. It is a public resource on which you, your business, your community and your government depend. The Web is also vital to democracy, a communications channel that makes possible a continuous worldwide conversation. The Web is now more critical to free speech than any other medium. It brings principles established in the U.S. Constitution, the British Magna Carta and other important documents into the network age: freedom from being snooped on, filtered, censored and disconnected."
_______

Thanks, Dems. We need a Progressive Labor Party in this country.

FCC may forgo ‘Net Neutrality’ for wireless networks | Raw Story:
"'They want a tiered Internet. 'Managed services' is what they call this. 'Gated communities for the Affluent' is what I call them.'"
_______

Leave Spiderman Alone!

Judge Orders Cops to Stop Harassing Superheroes | Threat Level | Wired.com

_______

At least someone in this situation had some good sense.

Car thief yells at mom for leaving toddler unattended : The Mommy Files

_______

The potential for awesome is exponential.



_______
_____
___

Monday, November 22, 2010

Garden of Eden

In news of 'no-fucking-shit':

Warren Buffett: I 'Should Be Paying A Lot More In Taxes'

_______

It is quite shocking how often he repeats right-wing lies.

FDR, Reagan, and Obama - NYTimes.com:
"But Obama buys the right-wing smear.

More and more, it’s becoming clear that progressives who had their hearts set on Obama were engaged in a huge act of self-delusion. Once you got past the soaring rhetoric you noticed, if you actually paid attention to what he said, that he largely accepted the conservative storyline, a view of the world, including a mythological history, that bears little resemblance to the facts.

And confronted with a situation utterly at odds with that storyline … he stayed with the myth."
_______

When Dems do good. Not sure how to react since 'Dems Doing Good' and 'Tigers in the Wild' are similar in their rarity.

Oregon Senator Wyden effectively kills Internet censorship bill | Raw Story:
"It's too early to say for sure, but Oregon Senator Ron Wyden could very well go down in the history books as the man who saved the Internet."
_______

Hemingway's book Garden of Eden is one of the top five most influential books of my life. Yes, this opens up a can of psychological worms, but the fact remains. This book is a huge one for me. I've read it a gazillion times.

Wine wrapped in newspaper....

I had no idea it was being turned into a film. Not sure how I feel about that, but it looks promising if they didn't gin up the story too much.

And Caterina Murino... good lord.

Hemingway's Garden of Eden - Movie Trailers - iTunes

_______
_____
___

Friday, November 19, 2010

DBT Week in Review - 11/19/10

DBT!

Secret's new website. Several screenings are recently been announced with more to come:

The Secret to a Happy Ending
_______

Drive-By Truckers | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

Drive-By Truckers on RadioVA, Complete Audio � RadioVA

_______

The Greatest Song of 2011... and 2010. I freakin' love this version and the upcoming studio version.

The Thanksgiving Filter - Acoustic - Go-Go Boots - Drive-By Truckers from Drive-By Truckers on Vimeo.



Drive-By Truckers – The Thanksgiving Filter � RadioVA

_______

Go-Go Boots preview!

Go-Go Boots Preview Episode - Drive-By Truckers from Drive-By Truckers on Vimeo.



_______

First fan cover of I Used To Be A Cop and the album isn't even out yet.



_______

Very cool animation for Two Daughters:



_______

Jason Isbell

C&L's Late Night Music Club With Jason Isbell | Late Nite Music Club

_______

Bob Masse

Bob Masse's Rock Posters Home Page

_______

Billy Reid

Breaking News: Billy Reid Wins 2010 CFDA/Vogue Award - Vogue Daily - Vogue

_______

Bettye LaVette

The vernacular black singer Bettye LaVette : The New Yorker

News Desk: Dept. of Amplification: “Who the Hell Is Bettye LaVette?” : The New Yorker

_______

Music

Eleven Scientists Who Survived the School of Rock–One Year Later | The Intersection | Discover Magazine

Keith Richards Attacks Journalist During Interview | PopEater.com

_______
_____
___

Thursday, November 18, 2010

Beard Eater

The only thing being terrorized is the wallet.... and our junk.

Investigate the TSA, Not Tyner | FDL Action:
"This goes to show just how how constant threats of “terror” are used to create new markets for products nobody needs. The public is then intimidated into compliance in the name of “national security,” when in reality they’re sacrificing their dignity, their civil liberties and their tax dollars for the sake of enormous profits:

* 2005: Michael Chertoff, as head of Homeland Security, orders the first batch of porno scanners from a company called Rapiscan Systems. After his departure, Chertoff gave dozens of interviews using his government credentials to promote the device. What he didn’t tell people was that Rapiscan was one of the clients of his consulting company, The Chertoff group"
_______

Great idea.

TSA Opt-Out Day, Now with a Superfantastic New Twist! - Jeffrey Goldberg - National - The Atlantic

_______

Dear Reid and Obama: Results matter, not half-assed effort after the fact.

With White House Pressing, Reid Vows DADT Repeal Will Reach Senate Floor

_______

The over under that make it to trial AND conviction? I'm betting zero.

Fool me eight times....

FDIC launches 50 criminal investigations into bankers

_______

I'm so confident in my previous prediction that I'll eat my.... wait.

Ky. men sentenced in bizarre beard-eating case | Raw Story:
"Harvey Westmoreland of Lawrenceburg had said Holt cut off his beard and forced him to eat it while Hill allegedly held a sickle blade to Westmoreland and his brother during the May incident.

Holt could not say why he made Westmoreland eat his beard other than that things 'got out of control' after some heavy drinking.

He added, 'I ain't got no excuses about what I done.'"
_______
_____
___

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

One Way Bang

Come on, science! Banking on you to get us off this dirtball.

Proof of extra dimensions possible next year: CERN | Raw Story:
"Scientists at the CERN research center say their 'Big Bang' project is going beyond all expectations and the first proof of the existence of dimensions beyond the known four could emerge next year."
_______

Not sure why there's resistance to this, and yes, the private sector could roll wit it.

Scientists propose one-way trips to Mars - Yahoo! News

_______

Hard out there for a baby anaconda.

Anaconda Babies Live Birth: Can They Survive Piranha And An Ocelot? (VIDEO)

_______

I hate you, Ryan Reynolds.

GQ's 2010 Babe of the Year: Scarlett Johansson: Photos: GQ

_______
_____
___

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Soul Cookin'

Something about not being able to find its ass comes to mind....

Daily Kos: White House searches for its soul:
"I'd like to save you folks in the White House a whole bunch of trouble. When you all look for your souls, you had better find something that looks like JOBS. That is your soul. Your soul is JOBS.

Your soul is not a smooth, orderly process. Your soul is not bipartisan compromise with Republicans. The GOP could care less about 'changing the ways of Washington.' What independents care about right now is results. Results = jobs. Plain and simple."
_______

But, but, but....

Marty Kaplan: Is it Audacity Time Yet?:
"Mr. President, when Mitch McConnell and John Boehner keep saying that they're not going to compromise on their principles, the amen corner on cable hails them as heroes. But if you say you're not going to compromise, they'll call you a tool of the left. Don't let it spook you. When you walk into that meeting with the Republican leadership, you've got to be seen as the best dealmaker in Washington, the kind LBJ was, the kind of mofo that Rahm Emmanuel was supposed to be until the course of the health care bill on the Hill revealed that he was something of a pussy.

Don't negotiate with yourself ahead of time. Trash talk the opposition. Play mind games with them -- freak them out with your confidence. Don't fall for their 'mandate' crap -- it's a con game. There's no evidence for it. Your tail is between your legs only if you say it is. You've got plenty of power, and it includes the power to define what victory is."
_______

Yes, look to California.

Jamie Court: How Can Progressives Win Again? Look To California:
"Progressive populism won in California and it can gain more power across America if progressives get back to the basics of populist power we practice here: 1. Expose 2. Confront 3. Force Your Opponents To Make Mistakes 4. Make the Mistakes the Issue 5. Don't Let Go.
.....

Progressives need to raise more hell and worry less about raising money."
_______

Brought to you by a Democrat. Super.

Will Internet censorship bill be pushed through lame-duck Congress?:
"A bill giving the government the power to shut down Web sites that host materials that infringe copyright is making its way quietly through the lame-duck session of Congress, raising the ire of free-speech groups and prompting a group of academics to lobby against the effort."
_______

Agree with the awesome and also to the horrible.

Why working at home is both awesome and horrible - The Oatmeal

_______
_____
___

Monday, November 15, 2010

Porpoises

Indeed. Why?

Eugene Robinson - Where's the Democrats' fighting spirit?:
"'Why don't they fight back?'

That's the question I've been hearing from the Democratic Party's stunned and dispirited base. For the past month, I've been on a book tour that has taken me to Asheville, N.C., Terre Haute, Ind., Austin and elsewhere. Everywhere I go, supporters of President Obama and his agenda ask me why so many Democrats in Washington don't stand up for what they say they believe."
_______

I doubt they could negotiate themselves out of a wet paper bag.

Paul Abrams: The White House Needs to Take "Negotiation 101":
"What makes the White House believe that, having achieved a bloodless victory, Republicans will settle for less than 100% of what they want when they actually have the majority?

Baffling."
_______

Toughen up, bitches. No, I mean it. Sick of pussy Dems (I'm looking at you, voting Dems).

Obama Without Tears | The Nation:
"People who still have great hope for Obama can help revive his presidency, but only if they toughen up themselves. Stop holding his hand (he's an adult) and start building a people's agenda that compels the president to change his. Obama won't like this at first—his own supporters talking back—but he can learn to draw strength from their courage. If people fail to step up with their own message, the president will likely fail with his."
_______

Shocking. See Negotiations 101.

No change: Wall Street finds loophole in financial reform

_______

I hope this scumbag finally gets what's coming to him.

Arizona Sheriff used hidden database to misspend up to $80 million, officials claim

_______

And then there's this....

Porpoises rescue Dick Van Dyke | Film | guardian.co.uk

_______
_____
___

Friday, November 12, 2010

DBT Week in Review - 11/12/10

DBT!

DBT WNRN session streaming at 11 am today!

WNRN | Virginia Radio

_______

Best Rock Albums of 2010 - Top Rock Albums of 2010 - Greatest Rock Albums of 2010: "2.

Smart, tough, touching and raw, Drive-By Truckers’ The Big To-Do� is the perfect album for our Great Recession times. This Georgia sextet merge arena-rock, alt-country, and indie-rock into a heady brew for songs about strip-club encounters, bad jobs, murder and the casual heartbreaks that make up too much of everyday life."
_______

New 'Secret' Fan page on Facebook:

Facebook | The Secret to a Happy Ending

_______

I suggest Google translate:

Drive-By Truckers : interview op KindaMuzik

_______

DBT Tribute Band!

RECORDING: The Dirty South: A Tribute to Drive By-Truckers - October 28, 2010 @ Rhythm & Brews | Chattanooga Live Music

_______



_______



_______



_______

Wes Freed

Facebook | Art Defining Music - Estel Gallery:
"Musicians rely upon artists to represent them visually from album covers to concert posters. Estel Gallery is pleased to feature current artwork by seven artists whose work has defined musicians, such as Bob Dylan, Pink Floyd, Buddy & Julie Miller, the Drive-By Truckers, Willie Nelson, Pavement, the Dave Matthews Band, the Waco Brothers, and Hillbilly Casino."
_______



_______

Doc Daily and Magnolia Devil

Amen to this review.

This Is American Music - Doc Dailey and Magnolia Devil - The Country Matters of Doc Dailey and Magnolia�Devil

In some ways, watching the CMA’s made me extremely optimistic about the future of country music, that future just wasn’t happening on TV. No, the CMAs provided a great reminder that while “country’s biggest night” was turning into a 60-car pileup in Nashville, there was real country music being made just a few hours to the south in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. “Thank God for Doc Dailey,” I told my wife as we turned away from the televised chaos and made our way to bed. I went to sleep knowing full well that on my morning commute seven hours later, I’d be blasting Victims, Enemies, and Old Friends, relishing in country music the way it was meant to be. If ever there was a time and a need for Doc Dailey and Magnolia Devil, it is now.
_______

Centro-Matic

Centro-matic: Miguel, el quiosquero on Vimeo

_______

DexaBainsFires

This Is American Music - Home - Lee Bains III and The Glory Fires�

_______

Speaking of which. Damn you, Cam Newton!

Friends of the Program - The 100 Offenses of Cam Newton:

Cam Newton invented Axe Body Spray.

Cam Newton thinks Steve Zahn was underused on Treme.

Cam Newton once forgot to check in on 4 square at the Auburn Moe’s.

Cam Newton caused The Dexateens to break up.

_______

Music

Warner Music Dives Into Its Archives - NYTimes.com

Warehouse with Neil Young items damaged in fire

_______
_____
___