Now you know

Hot as a pistol

This is for all of you basketball nerds...

Making a difference

Any attorney has some vague, romantic hope of making a difference in their client's lives.  For Huevos McGringo and this guy, it was helping out with his disability case.  Hopefully he didn't use his disability money to pursue his lifelong love of forestry.

Full disclosure requires pointing out that our office rode shotgun on his journey to life imprisonment, and less anyone take this a a jibe at my fellow barrister I'm well aware that I do more than my fair share of enabling bad behavior.

DeKalb Keepin it Real

In the internet age.

Keep your sound on.

January 20th, 2009

Today, I will take the entire late afternoon off and watch one of America's brightest days live on German television. The financial crisis and violent conflicts around the world will be forgotten - at least for a day. Many people all over are going to reflect on the time period that stretches from the day another unforgettable African American spoke in D.C. to the moment Obama is going to get sworn in.

For many citizens around the world the excitement will be twofold: Today will mark the beginning of something great, something new and unexpected (no matter how the Obama administration deals with the problems in the U.S. and around the world) and the end of something that can easily be described by your choice of different variations of this word.

The bush years will be hard to forget, even on a day like this. One reason for the never before seen excitement about an incoming president is the way the old one misused his power.

I had a hard time making up my mind about whether the Iraqi journalist hurling a shoe at the president displayed a totally inappropriate behavior or whether he fulfilled a secret fantasy of mine.

Thanks to my new addiction to Netflix documentaries I happened to watch several Iraq and 9/11 related documentaries in the days leading up to the shoe incident. I realized that I had forgotten about a lot of the stuff that was going on in the Bush administration. All these unbelievable events even seem more ridiculous looking back now after all these years. Check out this Frontline-documentary. I watched it again (in parts) after the "shoe incident". The documentary reveals the weird dynamics and little personal fights that where going on in the White House, the State and Justice Department and the CIA in a way that I have never seen before. I think it's worth watching just to make sure we don’t forget why the guy threw a shoe.

The documentary brought back memories of how a handful of people play destiny. The two-part documentary makes me want to hurl shoes not only at Bush, but also at the rest of the goonies:

CHENEY (a high heel) for making the case for WMD, knowing that it was a baseless one and his involvement and stance on torture even though Palin begs to differ. (During the Nuernberg Nazi trials the chief prosecutor for the United States, Robert H. Jackson, said in his opening statement, that even your enemies have to be submitted to the judgment of the law - one of the the great rules of international human rights. What has become of the once noble leadership of the United States was on display this week, when 4 Guantanamo detainees where released after beeing held for several years without any charges. Over 50 are to follow in the upcoming days. Rumsfeld who was charged by a U.S. group in Germany over the Prison Abuse Scandal probably will never have to see a court room from the inside.)

RUMSFELD (a muddy army boot) for going to war without ANY “after-war-strategy” but with a “victory strategy" instead. And an extra shoe for his stand-up desk comment, revealing an unbelievable inhumanity.

WOLFOWITZ (a shoe with a hole) for arguing that the U.S. occupation in fact ended the day Paul Bremer (than the head of the CPA) left Iraq.

TENET (a slipper) for his slam dunk remark. His attempts to set the record straight in his book are excuses of a man who realized later what he'd done or what he should have done...

LIBBY (a KGB Spy Shoe with Heel Transmitter) for you know what.

ADDINGTON and YU (one shiny black leather shoe each) for stretching the law to fit their bosses ideologies and demands.

BREMER (two Iraqi shoes) for deciding to disband the Iraqi army which left thousands of Iraqi military personnel without a job, out of control and with a weapon in their hand and his debathification decision which basically destroyed Iraq’s executive/administrative apparatus and education system

ROVE see Libby.

BOLTON (sneakers), a critic of the U.N., for accepting the post as the U.S. ambassador to the U.N. – in my opinion a total disregard for the institution (when I was working for the German Mission to the U.N. last year, my boss told me about working with Bolton in the 5th Committee. He described him as on of the biggest [insert the German word for dick in plural] he has ever met).

RICE (a slipper also) for not living up to her responsibilities as National Security advisor to the president and not weighing in on the weak CIA intelligence and the case for war coming from the vice president’s office

GONZALES (a shoe worn by one of this week's released Guantanamo detainees) for disregarding the position of the head of the justice department in an attempt to become Bush’s most loyal buddy.

And (I hate to say it) COLIN POWELL (a small one - size 7 1/2) for delivering the U.N. speech and not refusing to give a speech that was basically prepared by Cheney’s office (the documentary shows how he attempts to amend the speech but finally relies on Tenet’s wrong assessments. He must have known that the administration used him – the only one with credibility in the rest of the world – to make its case).

Even though people visiting the Inauguration celebrations haven't forgotten about the Iraqi journalist and are not done with Bush, yet, it is important to look into the future. However, we must not forget about the past.

Europe envies America for the new president ("Where is our Obama?") and America once again is seen as the land of opportunities. Let's hope that we all will have the opportunity to keep our shoes on in the following years. Congratulations America!

Two songs and a movie

The heater seems to not want to work in the house, so I'm staying warm with music and mindless internet surfing to keep my fingers warm.


Per Huevos 4KS recommendation awhile back, I bought a Blitzen Trapper record. I liked it and got their most recent record a couple of months ago. The title track "Furr" is awesome. Any song about a half wolf half man is a good song in my book. The rest of the album is good too --a little more focused than their last one. Another folk song to download from iTunes if you're bored with your 70s collection is Fleet Foxes's "White Winter Hymnal." The vocal harmonies are really cool. The rest of the album may get a little too close to Crosby, Stills and Nash reincarnated, but this song has an energy to it that sticks.

I liked "The Visitor." Richard Jenkins, the dad from Six Feet Under, is in it. It's nice to watch a movie where everyone just acts decent, even in some awkward and sometimes emotional situations.

freestyle:

actual battle found here.

Missing Tortillas

Somewhat nostalgic for Atlanta the other night, I googled Frijoleros, mentioned here. Frijoleros was really the first place I remember venturing out to when I moved to Atlanta in 1994. It was a Friday night, pretty late, and when we got there, from what I remember, I suspect I had a burrito and we watched what seemed like a pretty good local band. I don't remember ever returning to Frijoleros as it closed fairly soon after that. Anyway, my search for Frijoleros brought me to this. Apparently, some old Tortillas employee had a Tortillas party, complete with food made from the recipes and even at least one of the little toys they used to mark the tables (in the same way that Transmetropolitan uses postcards).
Tortillas was, in my mind, as much the center of the intown Ponce scene as anything, from when I moved to Atlanta until it closed in 2003. The burritos, which I always ordered except on the rare occasions I had a quesadilla, were plump, pinto-bean and cheese filled vehicles for the seemingly amazing green and red salsas, served in user-friendly transparent squirt bottles.
I spent a tremendous amount of time with friends, as well as solo, at Tortillas, and was kinda sad when it was gone. Tortillas is now some stupid make your own salad place. It got me to thinking of some other places I suppose I would miss if I was still there (in no particular order):
1. The Blue Lantern-Mediterranean food by the guys that owned Tortillas (and still own EATS, I think). Next door to Tortillas. Now houses The Local which, I guess, is a decent trade.
2. The Screening Room-A little theater that used to sit on Piedmont across the street that place Andruw used to love. Owned by the Lefont guy, it was one of those places that seemed about as big as your living room. I saw this movie there.
3. The Point-Great place, somewhere between the size of the Caledonia and the 40 Watt, but closer to the Caledonia. Saw the following there: Neutral Milk Hotel, Luna, Mo Tucker Band! (with Sterling Morrison and the drummer from the Violent Femmes), Portastatic, Silver Apples, Polvo, Pavement (two nights in a row, on the residency tour). The Point is now the Clothing Wearhouse. I also miss the Echo Lounge.
4. Pasta da Pulcinella (the original)-I think maybe this place actually took the spot of Frijoleros. Or maybe that's the Indian spot. Whatever. This was my favorite restaurant in Atlanta for about 2-3 years, when it was housed in its original location, up the street from the Cotton Club, a dark dining room with photos crowding the walls. There were only around six items on the menu, all pretty simple pasta dishes, and all worth trying along with the crusty bread and small salads with cheese that seemed to have been chipped straight from the block rather than grated. I never went to the new location near Crescent which, to my knowledge, is still there.
5. Oxford Books-The one at Peachtree Battle with the creaking floors, at least from what I remember.
5. Soto


Trader Vic's, contrary to rumor, is still open (according to Hilary's mom) or it would have easily made the list.

If you loved Tortillas as well, check out this Tortillas myspace appreciation page with actual recipes.

I'm watching Song Remains the Same on VH1 Classic as I write this. They played No Quarter for like 30 minutes...I think. Now I'm at that scene with Robert Plant riding the horse, during the equally long Song Remains the Same. If all the side shit made any sense this movie wouldn't be as good.

stringer bell's gonna be on the office

what what: http://www.iwatchstuff.com/2009/01/stringer_bell_turns_to_legitim.php#comment

the tale of kenny who dances:

kenny was born in gainesville, fl on a steamy hot morning in the summer of 1949. he sweated continuously throughout his childhood, on through his 1968 deployment to vietnam as a young GI. the horrors that kenny witnessed during his ill-fated tour in that ill-fated war are too vast and unimaginable to be addressed here, but suffice to say they would have been enough to make colonel kurtz shutter.

upon returning to the US, private bowman grew his hair out and attempted to take part in the revelrous and drug infused anti-war movement. however, he was unable to escape the horrendous memories of all that he had seen, done, and had done to him. his inability to escape these recollections inevitably led to a volatile personal life, including two divorces, five separate stints in drug rehab, and a two and a half year period in the mid eighties when he lived as transexual and came very close to having sexual reassignment surgery.

it was in the early nineties that research revealed that MDMA, or ecstasy, can assist those coping with post traumatic stress. but how could this treatment to be administered regularly to an individual leading as erratic of a life as kenny's? the doctors at the veteran's administration came up with an innovative idea: they would install a pump in private bowman's chest, which could release ecstasy directly into his bloodstream. but how to trigger the release of the drug? surely this polysubstance/masturbation addict could not be trusted to determine the frequency of his dosages. a radical solution was arrived at. kenny's pump would be programmed to release ecstasy whenever his heart rate rose above 100 beats per minute. this inducement to aerobic activity would serve the dual purpose of encouraging kenny to exercise and nip his weight problem in the bud.

thus arose the kenny whose dancing prowess we've all come to know and love. the kenny who dances with his eyes closed, in a spastic groove, like he's the only person on the dance floor. the kenny who does this for hours and hours, oblivious to the gallons of sweat that pour out of him. when he is dancing, and only when he is dancing, kenny is able to forget the horror and tragedy of his past.

keep on dancing, kenny. keep on dancing.

james franco

i think it was hillary b. who told me to check this out. good stuff.

Acting with James Franco Episode 3: Scene Work by James Franco

Things I've been enjoying...

1. Blood Freak-If you missed it the first time, count the days until TCM shows it again...which I suspect will be never. In the "Manos" class of all time bad - or amazing - movies, Blood Freak is the tale of a man who becomes a bloodthirsty bird-headed bird-man after eating spoiled chicken and taking some sort of drug. The lulling, 2 o'clock in the morning haze of the movie is interrupted every so often by an off-screen commentator with an anti-drug message. And girls walk around with little in the way of clothes. It's saved on my DVR, permanently, if you ever visit. At least watch the trailer.
2. My new bike
3. The Foot Fist Way
4. The Salmon with Zanzibar spice rub I just made
5. Two blogs: The Black Lodge and Garfield minus Garfield (which I tried to use to teach existentialism)

The Elements of Spam

14. Use the active voice.
Notice how aloof the passive voice is.
Your balls are to be slurped the most by cum-starved nymphos!!!!!
Hardly persuasive. The five exclamation points feel tacked on, an attempt by an inexperienced writer to breathe life into a desiccated construction. The active voice, however, allows you to write with verve and straightforwardness.
Cum-starved nymphos will slurp your balls the most!!!!!

more here.

miscellany:

sorry for the lack of posting, ladies and gents. 4KS has been suffering through a bit of a post-election lull.


have been cruising through the wire complete series box set i received for christmas (which i requested on this very blog last summer). i won't bore people with any more holding forth on that program, except to say i spotted a cameo that PC would enjoy.


is anybody else tired of that "citizen soldier" song they've been playing before movies the last year or two. fucking terrible.


kenny and my fantasy squad, the tit whisperers, finished a solid 3rd in their inaugural year in the footbizzle keeper league. begrudging congrats to the cylindaz for their win. big props to the athens twinks for slaying the ATL in the wingjam, really wish i could have been there (i was living the good life south of the border). also props to excaliBRAH for his excellent addition to the fantasy rap cannon.


so the hawks are good. i thought childress would be missed, but he really hasn't been. as pops has pointed out, the additions of mo evans and flip murray have made up for his loss. mostly the hawks are better because bibby is more integrated with the team and is shooting well, because marvin is having a strong year (and has added 3 point range), and because of horford's continuing growth. getting josh smith back (who is better D this year) has been a big plus.


UNC dropped a tough one to BC last night. not an ideal way to start the ACC season. BC has the athleticism and length that can give UNC problems (see the final four loss to kansas). still, UNC probably remains the favorite this year. deon thompson and danny green have made big strides, and hansborough / lawson continue to be all-american caliber players.


again, i thank PC for his kind words and congratulations. for those inquiring, pencil in a june date in athens. hope all can make it.


ps- btw, check this out.