I'm Turning Japanese.....

... I really think so.... song by The Vapors.... and here's a hilarious tidbit I just learned about said song:

The Vapors:

"As for the song itself, there was a good deal of confusion at the time as to just what the hell it was all about. A rumor spread here in the US that it was about masturbation, and that the 'turning Japanese' was a reference to the facial expression made at the moment of climax."

No better way to start your Monday with a hot cup of Joe, some talk about masturbation and an international post by my good friend David Shipper.

You might remember Shipper from such previous posts as "Palau Trip" or "Chinese Democracy" and even the award winning "Sharks Scare Me".

Dave's back with another globe trekking adventure. This time.... Japan! Home of giant lizard/dinosaurs, owners of much of the land in the U.S. and mangled English.

Take it away, Dave:

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I spent some time in Japan recently. Japan ranks among the top of all the countries I’ve been to. It’s beautiful, the people are nice, girls are hot, and it’s chock full of history that makes the U.S. look like the infant that it is. Add to that the weird, kinky, quirks of the Japanese society and you’ve got the recipe for a cool country.

First, a quick Japanese lesson. R for L, B for V. For example, Cola is Cora. Television is Terebi. Diving is Daibing. Easy enough. Now you are fluent.

My first stop was Tokyo where I hung out with a few Japanese friends and ate some weird shit. Horsemeat sashimi anyone? How about the spinal cartilage of some small animal that you can’t identify? Umm um.

We went to the Tsukiji Fish Market early in the morning. It is the largest fish market in the world.

You see those little bulldozers picking up tuna? Stay the fuck out of their way ‘cause they don’t give a shit about your picture-takin’ tourist ass.

(...."they don’t give a shit about your picture-takin’ tourist ass..." When I'm slinging tuna in SF, I just happen to don't give a shit about Japanese picture-takin' asses. I'll run them over right quick. Is that irony, irony or just Alanis Morissette irony? Whichever, I do feel a bond.)

After the fish market, we went to a Sushi Bar right next door. For obvious reasons, it is renowned for the freshest sushi. There was a serious line out front, but we stuck it out and had some great grub.

I said Fugu Me!

But I must say, it is certainly more appealing to suck down raw sea urchin over a beer at 10 pm than to have one at 7am, before you’ve even had coffee.

Here’s what $120 gets you in Tokyo in the way of hotel rooms:

Fortunately, it has some amenities. For example:

Save time by taking a dump while taking a shower!!!!!!!!

I wrote an earlier post about a trip to China. For all of you Redstaters, there is a difference between the two. Here are two I noticed immediately:

In Japan, air is invisible.

(accompanying picture from China post):

In Japan, shopping is voluntary. .

This is a shop. If you choose, you can go inside. If not, you are not stalked mercilessly by hawkers until you want to kill.

(from China Post):

Alabama Ass Sirens: Chinese Democracy by David Shipper:

"Here’s the progression of myconversations with hawkers:

Hawker: Hallo, Hallo, you want fan? You want hat? You want map?
Me: Wo bu yao, xie xie ni. (I don’t want it, thank you)
Hawker: You want fan? Hat? Map?
Me: Wo bu yao, xie xie ni.

[repeat]

Second Day

Hawker: You want lighter? You want tour guide?
Me: BOO YAH!

Last week

Hawker: You want silk? You want water?
Me: No speaky English."

And one similarity.

In Japan:

In China:

Alabama Ass Sirens: Chinese Democracy:

"This Starbucks is within the walls of the “Forbidden City,” named so because it was forbidden to anyone that was not part of the Emperor’s court. Today it is forbidden to Dunkin Donuts."

Come on, are you surprised?

(though to be fair, China did just kick Starbucks out of the Forbidden City. Decided to go with Pete's.)

In Kyoto I went on a Geisha Lecture Tour. It was given by a Canadian guy who moved to Kyoto about 15 years ago. I was skeptical at first, but this guy is the real deal. He is married to a former geisha, owns a tea house, and speaks flawless Japanese.

Stupid 2 year old obsolete digital camera made me miss this shot of a geisha. Wait, I mean, “This photo captures the ephemeral nature of beauty.”

(Yeah, I bet it is hard to find a good camera in Japan.)

Geisha goin’ to get a Squishy:

Now for just a few pics of the place:

Takayama

Temple in Tokyo

Kyoto Samurai

Even simple plants get much respect in Japan:

I went to a historic government council office in Takayama. One of the rooms used to be used for torture. Of course that was hundreds of years ago -- no civilized country would engage in these types of activities today.

(They're called 'enhanced interrogation techniques', . Why oh, why do you side with the terrorist when the country you live in is part of the Coalition of the Willing TM?)

White House Notebook: Many Willing, But Few Are Able (washingtonpost.com)

There must have been shock in Baghdad and awe in Paris last week when the White House announced the news that Palau had joined the "coalition of the willing."
Palau, an island group of nearly 20,000 souls in the North Pacific, has much to contribute. It has some of the world's best scuba diving, delectable coconuts and tapioca. One thing Palau cannot contribute, however, is military support: It does not have a military.

Sayonara Bitches!

(Sayonara bitch, to you too . Thanks for the Asian getaway on this American Monday Morning!)

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Chinese Democracy

I've been begging my buddy David Shipper to do a post for AAW since I created the blog almost a year ago (One year anniversary post is coming August 22, so be on the look out). The very first posts on AAW were of my trip to see in Palau.

Dave and I grew up together in Florence, AL. We lived a couple of blocks away from each other and car pooled from 1st grade all the way through our senior year in high school. I was the first to get a car when we turned 16 and I use to do a little something called the "Gas Chamber" to every morning as we drove to school (more than likely The Beastie Boys, License to Ill was playing on the stereo. Cassettes, baby!). The "Gas Chamber" involved me releasing a powerfully noxious fart then holding the power locks and power windows so no relief could be found by my passenger, . Ahh, good times, good times. There use to be claw marks in the dash of my old Pontiac 6000 where struggled for oxygen. Still makes me laugh.

Anyway, recently took a trip to China and came back with a post for the ages. comments will be in the black font while any snarkiness I add will be in dark red and italicized.

Finally, finally, FINALLY, the international comical stylings of MY partner in crime for over 30 years, David Shipper:

China in Pictures
by
David Shipper

My Art House view from the gutter I woke up in after a night in Hong Kong.

I know, I know, less artsy, more fartsy, right? This, is the Chinese version of mudbugs. Great stuff. Think basil and chilies instead of crab boil.

Viewed through the lens of history, amidst the consumerism and the chaos, I found the true China in the love and respect between the generations. (actually, I paid this guy 10 yuan to hold hands with this orphan child. Okay, it was 5 yuan.)

Going through the three gorges. There goes that security clearance I was hoping for.

This Starbucks is within the walls of the “Forbidden City,” named so because it was forbidden to anyone that was not part of the Emperor’s court. Today it is forbidden to Dunkin Donuts.

Spreading Democracy two at a time in Tiananmen Square. Bring on the tanks.

The Chinese often engage in loud public arguments that inevitably draw a crowd. But like bad theater or bad sex, these “performances” rarely reach a satisfying climax. This one was different. After having sideswiped the other bus, the guy facing us is about to learn the meaning of the first Chinese word I ever learned: PAI YOWWW!

Fight, Fight!

One of the first Chinese Emperors had an army of 8,000 Terra Cotta Warriors made and buried with him when he died. They were meant to guard him in the afterlife. They are incredibly detailed – even down to the creases in the palms. Nothing funny here, move along.

Uhhh....

I’ve been to a lot of third world countries – Indonesia, Laos, Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines – and have always had to deal with the ubiquitous hawker selling cheap goods or cheap women. None of them can hold a cheap lighter to China. They are everywhere, selling everything, and they do not give up easily.

Here’s the progression of my conversations with hawkers:

Hawker: Hallo, Hallo, you want fan? You want hat? You want map?
Me: Wo bu yao, xie xie ni. (I don’t want it, thank you)
Hawker: You want fan? Hat? Map?
Me: Wo bu yao, xie xie ni.

[repeat]

Second Day

Hawker: You want lighter? You want tour guide?
Me: BOO YAH!

Last week

Hawker: You want silk? You want water?
Me: No speaky English.

The pollution in China creates a smog blanket that traps in the heat and silts the lungs. For asthmatics is a horror – for nasal archeologists, a godsend. Everything is booger in China.

My ticket to fame on Alabamaasswhuppin. (an international sensation after 36 years. Thanks for the awesome tour, Dave! Leave him a comment, y'all!)

Paddlin'

I'll be here today paddlin' 10 miles of glory...

DBT WIR on Monday.

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Bears

In the wilds of mountainous California. No time to blog as I fend off bears.

Watch Van Jones' speech. Yes, another speech.

WATCH: Van Jones tells Fox News “You’re not America!”�|�Raw Replay

Little less conversation, a little more action baby.

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Passport Divide

Not good.

U.S. shows growing alarm over Japan nuclear crisis - Yahoo! News:

"The State Department strongly urges U.S. citizens to defer travel to Japan at this time and those in Japan should consider departing,' it said."

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What happens if a Japan-sized earthquake hits California? - The Week:

"What are the chances California will get hit by the Big One?

'The question is not if but when Southern California will be hit by a major earthquake — one so damaging that it will permanently change lives and livelihoods in the region,' warns the United States Geological Survey in a 2008 study. A magnitude 7.8 quake in California — Japan's quake was 30 times more powerful — would kill at least 2,000 people and cause $200 billion in damage, the USGS estimated. Because of how the state's many faults are structured, a quake of more than 8.0 is unlikely in much of California, geologists say."

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Bay Area Sushi Bars Face Daunting Supply Shortages � CBS San Francisco

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America's Great Passport Divide - Richard Florida - National - The Atlantic:

"At the opposite end of the spectrum, less than one in five residents of Mississippi are passport holders, and just one in four residents of West Virginia, Kentucky, Alabama, and Arkansas.

It's a fun map. With the exception of Sarah Palin's home state, it reinforces the 'differences' we expect to find between the states where more worldly, well-traveled people live versus those where the folks Palin likes to call 'real Americans' preponderate. Mostly to entertain myself, I decided to look at how this passport metric correlates with a variety of other political, cultural, economic, and demographic measures. What surprised me is how closely it lines up with the other great cleavages in America today."

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Hard to be a Good Man....

....listening to the Drive-By Truckers....

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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."

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Speaking of Pffft.

Obama Seeks Approach to Counter Anti-Business Image - BusinessWeek

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."

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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

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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."

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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

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Confucian Technology

Our next rulers. How the fuck do they create this technology before we do.

Thank Confucius I've mastered chop-sticks.

China's Great (Quantum) Leap Forward - Yahoo! News:

"While China has been showing off its new hardware, a potentially more important military advancement has gone largely unnoticed: In May, Chinese scientists announced a demonstration of 'quantum teleportation' over 16 kilometers (10 miles), creating what Matthew Luce, a researcher at the Defense Group Inc.'s Center for Intelligence Research and Analysis, calls 'secure communications guaranteed by the laws of physics.' China is now at the cutting-edge of military communications, transforming the field of cryptography and spotlighting a growing communications arms race."

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Needs to be done. Will never be done.

The Case for a New Top Income Tax Bracket � The Washington Independent:

"Democrats could, for instance, offer to create a new tax bracket for the top one percent of earners (those making more than about $410,000) or for any earners making more than $1 million."

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A-to-the-men.

Teh Stupid owns our world.

Daily Kos: An army of stupid:

"'Barack Obama is racist'. 'Barter chickens for healthcare'. 'I read all of the newspapers that are put in front of me.' 'I can see Russia from my house' (ok, fine that one wasn't her exact quote, but still). 'Terrorist anchor babies'. Birthers. Railing against high taxes when 95% of Americans received a tax cut - the biggest middle class tax cut in history. 'Barack the magic...' well, never mend. An American where 'freedom' means that you love the country so much that your spouse can join a separatist political party as you talk about how great this country is. Conspiracy theories about ACORN, about unions, about 'big government', except when it was a few years ago and it was in the name of 'freedom'. And of course, 'death panels'.

I really could go on and on and on.

How the fuck did this become mainstream and acceptable enough that Sharon Angle and Rand Paul are where they are, and how Glenn Beck isn't mocked in every (other) corner of reality and society - is beyond me. How empty and hypocritically ironic slogans, sheer ignorance and stupidy - willfull, proud stupidity and ignorance - has become a bigger force in politics and American discourse than ever before is just baffling."

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Don't piss off the old boys from Alabama...

Police: 81-year-old set off device that killed him:

"Police say an 81-year old man died in an explosion he set off intentionally in his third-floor room at an Alabama home for senior citizens."

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Soothing, in a way.

LiveLeak.com - Pacific Sun Cruise liner in very heavy seas. Internal CCTV footage.

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Boston Dawna, the Batman of Venice Beach, retires - Yahoo! News

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Reality

Back to reality tomorrow....

I am....

here.

Soon to be doing this.

No bloggy-blog from me today

Rumors of debarment for BP

If true and if this occurs, then I'll be somewhat happy.

Rumors of debarment for BP:

"In what would be the most fitting punishment for BP's many crimes, there are rumors that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is considering debarment for the company. Debarment is somewhere between corporal and capital punishment for scofflaw companies. The most severe form is 'discretionary debarment,' which would cancel all government contracts and leases on federal lands, a move that would cost BP at least 16 billion dollars a year.

An article in ProPublica by Abrahm Lustgarten discusses the prospects for debarment for BP and gives even a cynic like me reason to smile. Let me touch on the points that had me licking my canine teeth."

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Makes a pretty good case that we are:

Sen. Sanders tells the ugly truth "We're an Oligarchy and I think it's getting worse"

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Nice. Great headline. Horse Mint.

Texas cops mistake actual weed for marijuana, spend hours doing yard work

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So much hilarity in this article. h/t Sloan:

Athens man beaten during pot party || OnlineAthens.com

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Picture of the year so far. Not for the faint of heart.

Julio Aparicio GORED IN THROAT During Bullfight (GRAPHIC PHOTOS)

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I've been lucky enough to live near 4 of them:

America's Top 10 Road Trips

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Was it just a dream.....

Was it just a crazy dream....

15 hours of travel back to the CA yesterday. Slowly but surely returning to the land of the blogging. Should full bore a couple of days.

Lots of pictures and video to edit from DBT's Athen's shows. Stay tuned.

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After last weekend, I should be cancer free for 5 lifetimes:

Why beer is the latest hope in fight against cancer | Mail Online:

"It might be your preference to crack open a bottle of red wine at the end of a hard day but you may be better off pouring a pint.

Researchers at the German Cancer Research Centre in Heidelberg have discovered that beer contains a powerful molecule that helps protect against breast and prostate cancers"

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Uhhhhhhh

A long way from home with mixed emotions.

Headed to CA soon, but not the one I really want to go to.

Oh, CA.....

Hey, I know the dude who took this picture......

(I am that dude).

This place will get back to normal later this week.

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Drag the lake.....

....Charlie. Charlie drag the lake.

A beautiful hangover today.

Must soak head to prepare for round 2.

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I'll be the laziest SOB.....

Patterson Hood and the Screwtopians killed in SF last night. Pics coming early next week.

Nice too meet some old and new internet friends.

Travel day, so blog is on the light side.

Instead of a bunch of articles, I'm bringing you "The Cute" today.

Can a brotha get an 'Awwww' for the roller skating hip-hop babies?

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Comfort Wipe My Arse

This is just super.

Military accepting neo-Nazis, white supremacists, probe finds:

"The US military has effectively adopted a “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy concerning white supremacists and neo-Nazis in an effort to bolster recruiting and retention, an article published Monday says.

Numerous articles have detailed the Army’s recruiting woes in the wake of two ongoing US wars abroad. Soldiers are less likely to enlist — or re-enlist — when faced with possible death overseas, though recruiting has gotten easier during the current recession.

But the Army’s recruiting difficulties have opened the floodgates to those who’d otherwise be turned away: neo-Nazis, white supremacists and gang members."

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"Shut your mouth and get your ass on the plane"

Man with fear of flying spending month on plane:

"NEW YORK – A man who says he's afraid to fly is spending the month of June living on a plane.

Mark Malkoff, 33, a comedian and filmmaker, boarded his first flight June 1 from LaGuardia in New York, where he lives, heading to Atlanta. He plans to stay on AirTran flights until June 30. The airline offers wireless Internet service, so Malkoff is posting updates about his trip on Twitter, Facebook, MySpace and on his blog, http://www.MarkOnAirTran.com."

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This may push me over the edge. It takes all my might not to kill someone talking on their phone in the gym/grocery store/etc. And if you're one of these assholes.... stop it!

Initially, probably hilarious watching idiots write in the air... but, ultimately gonna be deadly for someone.

Air Writing: Next Big Thing in Cell Phones? :

"Forget fumbling with tiny cell phone keys. A prototype of a new application allows cell phone users to write short notes in the air and send them automatically to an e-mail address.

This represents just one possible step toward allowing people to naturally merge the real world with the information power of the Internet. Travelers and other mobile users could air-write notes to themselves rather than have to text on the run.

'By holding the phone like a pen, you can write short messages or draw simple diagrams in the air,' said Sandip Agrawal, an electrical and computer engineering student at Duke University in North Carolina."

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Not just restaurants... everywhere.

Get off my lawn!

Michael Bauer: Between Meals : Let's ban perfume from restaurants:

"I am a restaurant industry professional. I am often faced with the issue of having guests arrive at the restaurant reeking of cologne or perfume. To say that this is both obnoxious, and in some cases nauseating, is putting it lightly. Can you explain to your readers to impress upon them the importance of not overdoing the use of cologne or perfume when going to a restaurant?

I feel -- and smell -- your pain. To me it's almost worse than secondhand smoke. I've had clouds of stinky floral perfumes engulf me as I try to enjoy my meal. Not only does everything end up tasting like a truckload of gardenias, I leave with a headache."

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It writes its own snark.

America. Fuck Yeah!

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The Body

'The Body" should be on the TV 24/7.

Here, Ventura dominates Hassleback on the Hell that is The View.

This is how you totally destroy Republican bullshit on torture.

Hassleback: "I understand that question".... She deserves a cookie.... fucking idiot.

Stay classy, Elisabeth.

Ventura on The View: If waterboarding is fine, why don’t cops do it?

Former Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura, making a guest appearance on ABC’s The View, gave co-host Elisabeth Hasselbeck a lesson or two about the torture technique known as waterboarding.

Ventura, who underwent a barrage of torture techniques at the military Survival, Evade, Resist and Escape (SERE) school, confirmed for Hasselbeck that waterboarding is torture and not just an “enhanced interrogation technique.”

“If waterboarding is okay, why don’t we let our police do it to suspects to learn what they know?” he asked to a chorus of applause.

“That’s an interesting question,” Hasselbeck said. “I understand that question.”

“If waterboarding is okay, why didn’t we waterboard [Timothy] McVeigh and [Terry] Nichols, the Oklahoma City bombers, to find out if there were more people involved? What’s your answer to that?” he asked. “We only seem to waterboard Muslims.”

“That’s an extremist statement,” said Hasselbeck.”

“Aha!” cheered Ventura. “Have we waterboarded anybody else? Name me someone else we’ve waterboarded.”

She could not, instead shifting focus to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) who has been criticized by Republicans for a seeming contradiction in disclosing what she knew about then-President Bush’s torture program, and when.

“They want her out because she lied?” asked Ventura. “Why didn’t they ask for Bush and Cheney to go out when they lied about why we went into Iraq.”

Better yet, watch it:

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Grand Old (Very) Party of Church Ladies.

GOP Losses Span Nearly All Demographic Groups:

"The decline and fall of the Republican Party in recent years has been so widespread that the party has lost support among nearly every major demographic subgroup of likely voters across the country, according to a new Gallup poll.

The party lost support among a broad swath of Americans, from conservative to liberal, low-income to high-income, married to unmarried, and elderly to young.

The only subgroup in which the party saw a slight increase in support from 2001 to 2009 was frequent churchgoers."

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Methinks thou (Republicans) doth Pelosi too much.

My only issue is that Pelosi doesn't have the balls to stick to her guns.

The CIA lies. That's what they do. That's the very nature of their existence.

President's use the CIA to lie.

The CIA deserves to be attacked. Republicans can clutch their pearls till the cows come home. Fuck 'em.

I still can't wrap my head around the "Pelosi new about the torture thus it is all her fault and not the fault of Cheney/Bush who created the torture program". ???

Hopefully America has moved on from buying such loads of crap.

GOP's Torture Tricks Backfire - The Daily Beast:

"There's no sign that Pelosi or anyone else is backing off the truth-commission idea. And, indeed, by suggesting that Pelosi could be a target of an investigation, conservatives have helped cleanse the idea of the odor of victor's justice. The question of CIA briefings of congressional leaders would, after all, be a legitimate subject of inquiry. And it's very possible that, done rigorously, Pelosi and other Democrats, such as Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) and Rep. Jane Harman (D-CA), could wind up getting a black eye or two. But however bad an investigation might make the members of Congress who were supposed to be preventing illegal conduct look, the people actually doing the misdeeds are going to look even worse. Today, the congressional Republicans look extremely clever. But in a few months' time, we'll look back on this as yet another example of a conservative tactical victory that winds up backfiring. After all, selecting Sarah Palin looked brilliant for a week or two. And the anathematization of Obama's stimulus proposal seemed like an unexpected coup until it wound up pushing Arlen Specter into the arms of the Democrats. Gamesmanship, in short, can only get you so far. But conservatives sure are good at it."

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The largest fraud perpetrated in any state of the Union.

An innocent man will be sent back to jail.

Siegelman Judge Committed Fraud on the Court:

"Mark Fuller, the federal judge who oversaw the Don Siegelman trial, committed fraud on the court by failing to disclose his bias against the former Alabama governor. That means the judgment against Siegelman and codefendant Richard Scrushy should be vacated, says an attorney who has conducted extensive research on Fuller's legal and business activities.

'The evidence is clear to me that Judge Fuller failed to disclose his bias in the Siegelman case and committed fraud on the court,' said Paul Benton Weeks, an attorney in Springfield, Missouri. 'It is an example of what the Supreme Court has called an 'inexcusable' failure of a judge to remove himself from a case.'"

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Speaking of shitty judges....

Nobody could have predicted... except all of us who did.

Bush’s legacy: Chief Justice ‘more hard-line’ than Scalia:

"As President Barack Obama prepares to make his first appointment to the Supreme Court, the influence of Chief Justice John Roberts is coming under increased scrutiny.

In an article for the New Yorker, legal analyst and former assistant US Attorney Jeffrey Toobin describes Roberts as “the Supreme Court’s stealth hard-liner” and finds reason for dismay.

According to Toobin, despite Roberts’ disarming intelligence, charm, and wit, his actions on the bench have been those of a “doctrinaire conservative.”

“The first Democratic nominee to the Court in fifteen years will confront what is now, increasingly, John Roberts’s Court,” Toobin writes. “The majority of the Court is moving right as the rest of the country — or, at least, the rest of the federal government — is moving left. … Roberts’s service on the Court, which is, of course, likely to continue for decades, offers an enduring and faithful reflection of the Bush Presidency.”

Toobin explains that although Roberts sees himself as a strict constructionist and a “judicial restraint” conservative, “according to Harvard’s Laurence Tribe, ‘The Chief Justice talks the talk of moderation while walking the walk of extreme conservatism.’"

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Heh-heh.

Not a simple shot-gun here, folks.

Good luck young men of tomorrow.

Obama: Dating My Daughters Will Be "An Issue":

"Were you surprised at how quickly your family became part of the cultural iconography?

You know, the nice thing is that, partly because of temperament, partly because of Michelle's unbelievable parenting skills, I've just got some happy, normal kids. And all that stuff that's going on around them, they just kind of miss. We have not seen any effects, any fishbowl effects, yet on them. Now, I worry about them when they're teenagers where, you know, you're already embarrassed about your parents and even more embarrassed on TV all the time. And dating I think will be an issue because I have men with guns surrounding them at all times [laughter], which I'm perfectly happy with, but they may feel differently about it."

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The Group Mile High Club.

New Zealand Launches Hookup Airways | Autopia | Wired.com:

New Zealand Launches Hookup Airways

Love is in the air — Air New Zealand, that is. The Kiwi carrier has launched Matchmaking Flight to bring lonely travelers together. After all, what better way to get to know The One than sharing a 13-hour flight on your first date?

If you aren’t up for a blind date, you can try meeting that special someone on the airline’s Matchmaking Flight website, a social networking where passenger can meet and interact in the safety of cyberspace before meeting at the terminal. That could keep you from getting matched with that sketchy guy in Seat 35B who keeps mentioning the mile-high club."

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Coachella 2009 - Booker T and DBT

I had the pleasure of attending the Saturday session of Coachella to see DBT plus Booker T and the DBTs perform.

Lots of people to thank for this pleasure: Patterson and DBT and Christine for hooking me up with tickets and some sweet VIP passes. Traci Thomas for putting me in touch with Coachella's press people. Alex Greenberg, press liaison for Coachella who graced me up with a photo pass that allowed me to get up close and sweaty with some real photographers during the sets.

My good friend Kim (Kimtucky) who, upon a last minute invite, trucked it all the way to Indio from the Bay Area.

Thanks to all for a damn good time.

Usually, I'm not the biggest fan of festivals but I must say that Coachella is a grade-A, class act production. One that I'm seriously considering attending next year, DBT or not.

The polo field grass at the Coachella fair grounds made walking around to the various stages and art exhibits a delightful experience for the knees and the feet. Like a plush carpet it was.

Great weather, though it did get a bit toasty on Saturday.

Sat near Perry Farrell in the VIP section. Dude has got a large head... literally.

Checked out Calexico a great band from Tuscon.

OK, without any further 'blah-blah' here are some pictures. Click on them for the larger, more detailed versions:

The Globe that greeted us upon arrival to the field.

Art thingy structure that wasn't listed in the booklet. Art as shade. Very practical.

La Familia Divina-Shrine

Main Stage

Umm, some two-legged bio art. Lots of these types of pieces wandering the festival. (OK, OK... the amount of eye candy at Coachella is ridiculous. When you're pulling from PHX, L.A., Vegas and San Diego you're pulling nothing but the A-team.

Wide shot of the Do Lab

Drinky-poos in the VIP

Kimtucky getting her couch on.

VIP smoking lounge... which didn't make much sense at an outdoor festival... until you realize that it had aircon.

To the right the VIP cocktail lounge... with couches and aircon. I called this place 'Nirvana'.

Cauac Twins (the largest and most powerful twin tesla coils in the world)

Serpent Mother from SF (SM got fired up at night... literally)

Sol

Hand of Man (loved this one. It rocked out and crushed stuff)

Festival layout

Joss Stone performing on the main stage. Zexy

DBT performing at the Outdoor Theatre

Crowd

Tad from The Hold Steady sitting in on People Who Died.

Booker T and DBTs at the Gobi Tent

I never could nail my camera settings for the Booker T and DBT show. Sun was setting and I was too blissed out to see DBT and Booker together that I didn't struggle long with the camera before I sat back and enjoyed this incredible performance.

All of the photogs up front were crowded around Booker so the only shots I got were microphone enhanced.

Sharp Dresser

Again, thanks to all for a much needed exercusion to the California desert.

I'll leave with with some NSFW Coachella tasering. Two thoughts on this... the cops were really good in this situation. They gave the dude every chance they could. 2. Mushrooms must cause shrinkage.

Naked Wizard Taser Brawl At Coachella (VIDEO NSFW):

"The officer grabs the gown and tosses to the Naked Wizard, but he casts it away again. Then the cops put on their rubber gloves, and things get ugly.

Herewith, the best Tasering video since 'Don't Tase me bro!'"

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