Et tu, Barbaro?

In regard to the thoroughbred Barbaro’s being euthanized, Harvey Araton opines in today’s New York Times that our supposed cultural obsession with the horse is perhaps due to the fact that “Barbaro, as the fallen champion, was reminiscent of a country that was seriously wounded on 9/11 and has been wobbly ever since. Maybe the horse’s medical roller coaster struck a chord at a time when a great American city, ravaged by nature and neglect, still can’t stand up. Maybe only in such context can we rationalize such widespread passion for the health of a horse that has exceeded that for any single American soldier killed or wounded in Iraq.”

Or maybe it has something do with the fact that we live in a country in which we’d rather watch a game show host—who, by the way, is mysophobic to the point of having shaved his head and refusing to shake hands with any of his disgusting, germ-infested contestants—try to look serious as he stands before twenty-six live mannequins with briefcases, while contestants, the studio audience, and audiences across America lose control over their bowels because the monkey on stage is one step closer to winning a game of statistical probability… wow, this sentence is getting long.

The point is that America needs to get its priorities straight: horses, briefcases, and the war in Iraq are all temporary; Tina Fey’s adorable nerdiness and ineptitude at finding true love on 30 Rock are eternal. Sure, in “real life” she’s “married” and has a “child,” but that doesn’t change the fact that we are both from Pennsylvania, have Greek mothers, wear glasses, and are destined for each other.

(Thanks to Noah Rachlin, King of Kings, for bringing the article and quotation to my attention.)

La trahison des images

This is how students used to recite the Pledge of Allegiance before the second world war. Seriously.

To point out the fascist associations would be obvious and unnecessary, especially given the fact that Hitler et allii likely appropriated the stance from the US, and not the other way around.

Less obvious is the fact that the young man in the front is definitely checking out the hottie in the white dress's t-bombs.


(n.b. the image and original research come from Wikipedia, but were verified by the conservative Cato Institute, just to preempt any accusations of bleeding heartedness, or the occasionally justified misgivings of Wikiphobes).

You don't have any more information, do you, Nina?

A former senior FBI agent specializing in tracking terrorists has condemned the latest plot twist in the Fox series 24, about low-grade nuclear explosions being detonated in the U.S. Jack Cloonan told ABC News that trainees in al-Qaeda camps had watched U.S. movies "to get ideas." The show, he remarked "ups the ante for everybody. ... We saw what Columbine did. Fox may think they are doing a public service, but I don't see any redeeming value at all."

I just hope the FBI isn't on to my plot to transport a cyborg super-assassin back in time to kill my enemies' mothers before they can give birth.

I don't spend 60 hours a week slaving away in my Skynet cube for the f'ing dental.

Let us not wallow in the valley of despair

If Schuyler Patterson, 16 year old Myspace blogger, had delivered a famous speech on 28 August, 1963 on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial:



i looked around me, and it was like they’re waz freedom everywhere. from every town and village and , um, Hamlet? and everyone was getting along good, black dudes and white guys and jews and everybody, you know? and they Where all holding hands, but not in a gay way… not that therz anything wrong with the gays but it just wasn’t like that… and they were all singing this old negro (can I say that?) song:

free at last! free at last!

thx god almighty, we’re free at last!

then my eyes snapped open with a gasp. I wiped the sweat off my face, then rolled over to find my girlfriend Meghan sleeping next to me. and that's when I realized – it was all just a dream :)

Happy 2007!

I'm going to sleep.


Wake me up when it's safe to eat spinach.