Friday, February 24, 2006

Virus (the cause of all of our maladies.)


azfamily.com News for Phoenix, Arizona Health:

"In a surprising (not to me) discovery, researchers say they have found a virus in some prostate cancer patients, a finding that opens new research avenues in the most common major cancer among men in the United States.

The virus, closely related to one previously found only in mice, was found in cancerous prostates removed from men with a certain genetic defect. The researchers, with the University of California, San Francisco and the Cleveland Clinic, warn that they have not discovered any links between the virus and prostate cancer, but they were nonetheless excited about prospects for future research."

I have said it for years, that viruses are the cause of all health problems, and gosh darn it if I ain't right!!

I for one welcome our new Virus Overlords!!

Speciesism: a beastly concept



An essay by someone who hates PETA and animals almost as much as I hate them. He equates the concept of speciesism with Misanthropy.

"There are severe consequences of holding human life so cheap. For a start, it is demoralising, drumming home the notion that our lives are futile. There are practical implications too. Animal research has produced key medical breakthroughs, from insulin to heart transplants to vaccines. Many of us would now be dead were it not for these discoveries.Now that animal rights concerns hold back research, this will mean needless human deaths in the future."

She also feels justified in "using animals in a controlled, conscious manner" and as I have argued "none of this" implies "that we should be nasty to or disinterested in animals. Wanton torture is wrong, though less because of the pain it causes to the animal than because it reflects badly upon the torturer."

Thursday, February 23, 2006

Watchdog Group Questions 2004 Fla. Vote - Yahoo! News

Watchdog Group Questions 2004 Fla. Vote - Yahoo! News: "An examination of Palm Beach County's electronic voting machine records from the 2004 election found possible tampering and tens of thousands of malfunctions and errors, a watchdog group said Thursday.

Bev Harris, founder of BlackBoxVoting.org, said the findings call into question the outcome of the presidential race. "

Bush's Mysterious 'New Programs'


AlterNet: Rights and Liberties: Bush's Mysterious 'New Programs': "Is the Pentagon building U.S.-based prison camps for Muslim immigrants? Evidence points to the possibility. "

"Recent developments suggest that the Bush administration may already be contemplating what to do with Americans who are deemed insufficiently loyal or who disseminate information that may be considered helpful to the enemy. Top U.S. officials have cited the need to challenge news that undercuts Bush's actions as a key front in defeating the terrorists, who are aided by "news informers," in the words of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld."

Detention centers

"Plus, there was that curious development in January when the Army Corps of Engineers awarded Halliburton subsidiary Kellogg Brown & Root a $385 million contract to construct detention centers somewhere in the United States, to deal with "an emergency influx of immigrants into the U.S., or to support the rapid development of new programs," KBR said."

"Later, the New York Times reported that "KBR would build the centers for the Homeland Security Department for an unexpected influx of immigrants, to house people in the event of a natural disaster or for new programs that require additional detention space."

Tuesday, February 21, 2006

Catherine Keener shoots down fans - The Superficial - www.thesuperficial.com


Catherine Keener shoots down fans - The Superficial - www.thesuperficial.com:

Why does every famous chick I have the hots for turn out to be an ass-hat??

"You wouldn't think that Catherine Keener would be a demanding snob, but you'd be wrong. A couple recently made a charity bid on a backstage visit to PBS's The Charlie Rose Show but had to reschedule because Keener demanded no visitors be allowed in the green room before, during, or after her taping."

Monday, February 20, 2006

Whit Stillman's Metropolitan --my favorite movie of all time!!

16 years and I am still fucking relavant. Slate.com has a cover story on my fave director and fave film (what not Heathers?) Most of you are not prepared for the rich tapestry of my interests so I give you what you want to hear.

Of course I love A few Good Men, but Whit Stillman is a genius.

Whit Stillman's Metropolitan - A movie for the conservative in all of us. By Austin Kelley:

"Hollywood has been awfully hard on the rich. They come off as snobbish villains (Titanic) or snobbish fools (Gosford Park). At least, that's what the writer and director Whit Stillman might have us believe. In 1990 he set out to redeem the image of the bourgeoisie with his first film, Metropolitan. This month Criterion released it on DVD, complete with a critical essay by Luc Sante, reminding us of the romantic purity of debutantes in a world of new money and tabloid culture. "

"But in the 16 years since the movie's release, Stillman's defense of wealth has had a side effect, slightly unsettling to some of his fans: He has become known as one of the few Hollywood directors that conservatives love."

Not actually the case further into the review the truth comes out :

Perhaps the most conservative thing about Metropolitan is that it is not about class at all. The characters don't really venture out of their little group, and their money is treated more like a prop than a powerful subject. Their affluence hangs on them awkwardly like their gowns and tuxes. The panic about the "UHB" values seems, in the end, to be a form of teen angst more than a description of social change. And the reports of the death of the upper classes are greatly exaggerated. The net wealth of the richest Americans has actually grown at a much greater rate since the film appeared. I'm not sure if Metropolitan was good publicity for the aristocracy, but if you are concerned about the haute bourgeoisie, don't worry. They're doing fine."

Do yourself a favor and rent it, our borrow my VHS!!!

"In Metropolitan Nick rhapsodizes, "So many things which were better in the past have been abandoned for supposed convenience." He rails against his contemporaries. "Our generation is probably the worst since the Protestant Reformation." It was Chris Eigeman's first film role, and he is the most dynamic presence, seething with the snobbish charm that he would bring to the rest of Stillman's films (Barcelona and Last Days of Disco). He makes Stillman's retro-formal language sound perfectly reasonable, but a sly smile undermines the sincerity. "He's the scoundrel. I should have thrashed him," he announces while lying on a couch nursing a bloody nose.


This is the kind of comic irony that Stillman thrives on, and it belies simple conservative readings. The tuxedo-clad Tom calmly professes, "I'm a committed socialist, but not a Marxist. I favor the socialist model developed by the 19th-century social critic Fourier."(I am not a committed Fourierist, but damn!) Sally, scowling in her pink dress and pearls, proclaims, "I can't stand snobbery or snobbish behavior of any kind." All of the speechifying seems so removed from the reality of these characters' lives, not to mention our own, that it comes off as playacting. The film's peculiar sexual politics (an archetypal cad is the villain; girls can actually be "ruined") seem similarly anachronistic. When Tom wins his virtuous heroine through an act of chivalry involving a toy gun, the scene plays out like a Marx Brothers set piece.

ReviewS:

RottenTomatoes- 91% rating

This guy gives a lengthy plot discussion, but doesn't love the movie. He also describes the DVD!!

Saturday, February 18, 2006

Online gambling absolutely, definitely illegal


Online gambling absolutely, definitely illegal:

"Gamble online and you could go to jail. That's the message meant to be conveyed by a new bill introduced in the House of Representatives by Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) and his counterpart Rick Boucher (D-VA). The Internet Gambling Prohibition Act (PDF) aims to update the Wire Act, which makes it illegal to place bets over the telephone, for the Internet era.

The new law would make it explicitly clear that gambling using the Internet is illegal in the US, but it also seeks to target offshore gambling sites that are aimed at American users. Such sites are specifically forbidden from accepting credit cards, electronic funds transfers, or checks from US players.

Penalties for violations have been raised from two to five years in jail, where your only gambling will be with cigarettes."

Once again I am just providing documentation to people who question my mad skills.

Also to all those idiots who play 9/4 offsuit to a raise,... please fold!!!

Friday, February 17, 2006

HPD may add cameras to ranks (with audio)


Chron.com HPD may add cameras to ranks (with audio):

"Facing a shortage of police officers, Police Chief Harold Hurtt called Wednesday for a new type of patrol: surveillance cameras on downtown streets, apartment complexes and shopping malls and in extreme situations, private homes.

'If you're not doing anything wrong, why should you worry about it?' Hurtt told reporters."


OK, But what if (like me) you are doing something wrong??

Didn't I just write something nice about Houston?

Wednesday, February 15, 2006

So Many Men, So Few Women - New York Times


People are attracted to one another for lots of reasons, of course, but numbers count, too. And while sex ratios vary by place, nationwide the Census Bureau calculates that among single non-Hispanic whites in their 20's, there are 120 men for every 100 women. The comparable figures are 153 Hispanic men, 132 Asian men and 92 black men for every 100 single women in their 20's of the same race or ethnicity.

So Many Men, So Few Women - New York Times

I say things all the time that no one believes like this, so now I am gonna start providing documentation that I know a little bit more about everything than you do!!

Willie Nelson Has Gay Cowboy Fever - Defamer



Willie Nelson Has Gay Cowboy Fever - Defamer

Willie is constantly challenging his audience, first there was that Reggae album, now there is his GAY Cowboy song.
The title of the song says is all:

"Cowboys Are Frequently Secretly Fond of Each Other"

Go to the Defamer link to hear a sample of the song as it was aired on Howard Stern!

Friday, February 10, 2006

Robert Cray's Anti-War Song


From our good friends at

Crooks and Liars,

the powerful and grammy nominated Robert Cray's newest song challenges G. W. and the War in Iraq.

Fans of Cray will hear the familiar guitar licks , but be taken aback by the directly political message.Many of you know I love them blues and Robert in particular, but it's a good song! The link will take you to a music video. Who knew Robert even made videos anymore??

Thursday, February 09, 2006

The Self Help Guide to Gossip Sites on the Internets.


Okie dokies, so you are all wondering how I come up with all the straight dope on Britney and K-Fed and all.

Well here ya go.The best sites on the internets for all your gossipy trash.

If any of my lesbian friends wants some more sites-just e-mail me.

Thursday, February 02, 2006

ASU Lecture Series


Global Institute of Sustainability Wrigley Lecture Series

JARED DIAMOND, author of COLLAPSE: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed will speak on February 2, 2006 in the Memorial Union Rm 207, Arizona State University Tempe campus. Diamond is a Professor of Geography in the College of Letters and Science, Social Sciences division. His research interests include biogeography and environment. He received the Pulitzer Prize for non-fiction in 1998 for Guns, Germs and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies. In 1999, he received the National Medal of Science. His most recent book is Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed. More information.

I'll Be There!! Thanks K-girl for the scoop!!

Wednesday, February 01, 2006

Study finds Link between Virus and Weight Gain!


Science & Technology at Scientific American.com:

"New study results bolster the controversial hypothesis that certain cases of obesity are contagious. Over the last 20 years, some research has suggested that certain strains of human and avian adenoviruses--responsible for ailments ranging from the chest colds to pink eye--actually make individuals build up more fat cells.

Having antibodies to one strain in particular, proved to correlate with the heaviest obese people, and in one study, pairs of twins differed in heft depending on exposure to that virus. Now researchers have identified another strain of adenovirus that makes chickens plump. "

I have said it for years, all your problems come from the bugs! Turns out I am right! Now I am off to wash my hands. My dirty, dirty hands!