The Burj Dubai or, Our Blog Yesterday

I was looking at our blog stats yesterday and, to say the least, we had a good day. I can explain why in another post/in person but I was struck by how much our stats looked like, well, the Burj Dubai:

That took cropping. I know, I’m good.

Happy Thanksgiving!

For your viewing pleasure- a simple treat:

Letterman’s Top 10 11/25/08

Last night’s “Top Ten” list was “Top Ten Signs President Bush Doesn’t Care Anymore” (“Late Show,” CBS, 11/25).

10)  “Hasn’t taken off his Iron Man costume since Halloween.”

9)  “The menu for the White House Thanksgiving dinner: corn dogs and Beefaroni.”

8 )  “Drew a picture of Garfield on Dick Cheney’s bald head.”

7)  “He’s barely trying to ruin the economy anymore.”

6)  “Spent the entire weekend in the Oval Office pardoning himself.”

5)  “Saw Osama at Arby’s drive-thru but didn’t feel like chasing him.”

4)  “Spends cabinet meetings scanning classified ads for next job.”

3)  “Primary focus is surpassing Hank Paulson’s high score on ‘Guitar Hero.’”

2)  “Asking Obama, ‘How soon can you bail me out of the White House?’”

1)  “Started dating hefty interns.”

Thank You, Keith O.

In a great segment, Keith Olbermann takes us all through his reactions to watching the now infamous “Turkeygate” footage for the first time.  Good Times.

Letterman’s Top 10 11/21/08

Last night’s Top Ten list was “Top Ten Sarah Palin Excuses.” CBS’ David Letterman read the list after showing the video clip of Palin’s recent interview after she pardoned a turkey in Alaska. During the interview, a turkey is being slaughtered in the background (“Late Show,” CBS, 11/24).

10) “I can see Russia, but I can’t see what’s going on 5 feet behind me.”

9) “Not thinking straight after spending all night reading every newspaper and magazine.”

8 ) “Damn ‘gotcha’ media got me again!”

7) “My Remington shotgun says I don’t need an excuse.”

6) “Those were al Qaeda turkeys.”

5) “I thought they were just torturing the little guy.”

4) “I mean, doggonit, you know, like we have to lower taxes, and like, it all falls under job security, and we need to drill, you know?”

3) “Uh, stomach flu?”

2) “I’ll get right back to ya! I’m still adorable, America.”

1) “Don’t blame me! Blame Joe the Turkey Slaughterer.”

Finally, Ann Coulter Will Be Quiet

HuffPost:

Ann Coulter may be completely silenced, at least for a while.

If the New York Post’s Page Six report is true, Coulter broke her jaw and her mouth is wired shut.

Apparently it hurts a ton to have your jaw broken and so I’m not necessarily taking pleasure in the plain- just the intensely gratifying result of having Coulter’s mouth literally wired shut.

Hertzberg on Mormons and Prop 8

Hendrik Hertzberg nails it in the most recent New Yorker:

You might think that an organization that for most of the first of its not yet two centuries of existence was the world’s most notorious proponent of startlingly unconventional forms of wedded bliss would be a little reticent about issuing orders to the rest of humanity specifying exactly who should be legally entitled to marry whom. But no. The Mormon Church—as anyone can attest who has ever answered the doorbell to find a pair of polite, persistent, adolescent “elders” standing on the stoop, tracts in hand—does not count reticence among the cardinal virtues. Nor does its own history of matrimonial excess bring a blush to its cheek.

It goes on and is definitely worth a read.

On “Sex Offenders”

No one likes a sex offender- and there are a whole collection of state and federal laws that indicate as much, ranging from stiff sentences to restrictions on where such registered offenders can live. Fine. That doesn’t bother me. I can understand society’s interest in protecting, in particular, children, from certain types of  sex offenders who show a depressing rate of recidivism. As a result of this deep and legitimate concern, however, our collection of sex offender laws have become draconian and self-defeating. They’ve become Draconian because they have been extended to cover “crimes”  that either should not be crimes in the first place or, even if they merit prohibition, the perps are by no means “sex offenders” (in any way outside of the ridiculously broad statutory definition). When you find out that someone is a “sex offender”, what is your immediate reaction? Mine, at least until recently, was a minor level of revulsion followed by a general desire not to associate with them. Be careful, though, because you might be a sex offender if….

The Dirtier the Person, the Cleaner the Slate

The original title of this post was going to say something along the lines of “I finally have a reason for being a smelly bastard,” or “Andy Officially has Academic Substantiation for Being a Dirtbag,” but they were too wordy. True, but verbose.

This week’s issue of the Economist has a fascinating article about a study done by a group of psychologists who attempted to make a correlation between people’s standard for physical hygiene and their personal moral code. In an experiment that asked participants to evaluate their reactions to myriad morally contentious scenarios posed to the group, researchers simultaneously observed the volunteers’ subsequent approach to maintaining their physical hygiene. Simply put, the study attempted to find out if there is a greater social aspect involved in the phrase “to wash one’s hands clean of something” than just a play on words.

The findings of the study indicated that those who were more likely to maintain their physical hygiene were also likely to perceive the situations posed to them in the first half of the experiment as less morally contentious than those who weren’t keeping track of washing their hands. …no, really, they had to wash their hands in the second part of the study.

I thought this article was really interesting for a couple of reasons – feel free to comment; I’d love to read responses to this. Setting aside that I definitely know people whose behavior matches the findings to a tee (yes, I regret to say that I know sheisty people who are obsessed with showering), I thought this was especially cool because of the researchers’ attempt to link physical movement to moral judgment in such a particular way.

On the other hand, the study’s attempt to link moral “hand washing” to actual hand washing is, arguably, a hell of a stretch for academia. Are we running out of things to research here? What purpose / impact do these results have in today’s world? Should I consider showering more frequently?

The answer to the last question is clear: hell no.

Kick a Ginger Day!

From Calgary, Canada:

Thirteen high school students in Calgary have been suspended after a red-headed teen was beaten because of the colour of his hair….

“The fact of the matter is from a policing perspective, it is a hate crime, and this individual was targeted because of the fact they have red hair,” said police spokesman Kevin Brookwell.

The attacks came on a day promoted by a Facebook group as Kick a Ginger Day. The Facebook group urged members to kick people with red hair — referred to as ginger kids — on Nov. 20.

The phenomenon originated with South Park, an animated TV show. An episode of the satirical show that originally aired in 2005 presented red-haired people as evil and soulless.

Hillary Accepts, Geithner Chosen, New York Dominates;

While Chicago has been a natural source of talent for the Obama administration (after all, his headquarters are there), New York has scored two big cabinet seats. Let me introduce you to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Secretary of the Treasury Timothy Geithner. Pics after the jump.

First Murph & Ditto?

As we Washingtonians* get pumped to welcome the Obamas to their new home, we’re (read: I’m) really excited to find out the details of the new life the First Family is building for itself… for example, interesting details include what kind of puppy Malia & Sasha are getting (YAY puppies!). Although this article seems to indicate that the AP is upset that the girls will have to get a hypoallergenic pup, I’m actually thrilled. Why? The answer is only three words long: Murphy and Ditto.

puppies!!

(Lhasa Apsos are hypoallergenic, which is part of the reason we got them.. aside from their awesomeness. I’m allergic to everything, including fugly dogs.)

So, even though I wouldn’t REALLY be willing to give up my dogs to Malia & Sasha, I’d totally entertain the idea of bringing them over to 1600 PA anytime they wanted to play with them. As long as they were appointed as Joint Secretaries of Cute and Cuddly Services.

Our Hometown Heroes

Remember them?

Well, apparently they’re being investigated for still more hate crimes on election night:

Picture of the Day; November 19th, 2008

Letterman’s Top 10 11/18/08

Last night’s Top Ten list was “Top Ten Things Overheard During Obama’s Meeting With McCain” (“Late Show,” CBS, 11/18).

10) “Oh, just preparing to be President. What have you been up to?”

9) “I know a guy who would be a perfect Secretary of Plumbing.”

8 ) “What is the deal with that Alaskan babe?”

7) “Let’s wrap this up; ‘Wheel of Fortune’s’ on.”

6) “Seriously, what was the deal with that Alaskan babe?”

5) “Actually, it’s now the ‘Straight Talk Express and Girls Gone Wild’ bus.”

4) “Uh, John, this isn’t another debate.”

3) “Where’s the soup? Someone said there’d be soup.”

2) “I know I’m trailing by 192 electoral votes and it’s two weeks after the election, but I’ve got you right where I want you!”

1) “Maybe you’d be President-elect if you hadn’t crossed Letterman.”

Bailout:

Do we let the Big Three fail?

Schadenfreude and faith in the market makes me want to see them fail- any company that is so incredibly ignorant of future market developments deserves to fail. That’s how the market works- if you suck, you don’t get to exist anymore. They sucked. They fought tooth and nail against fuel efficiency standards- investing millions of dollars in lobbying and litigation. Now their lineup of cars simply can’t compete with the foreign imports that have this uncanny ability to get 30mpg. The alternative is giving them another loan- but is there anything to suggest that this $30 billion (or whatever number) will somehow allow them to change their whole company’s focus from behemoths to fuel-sippers? I don’t think so- so let them file under Chapter 11.

Sorry. Was watching the NewsHour during dinner and got worked up. Any other opinions?

Letterman’s Top 10 11/17/08

Last night’s Top Ten list was “Top Ten Good Things About Being Named James Bond.” The list was read by a New York City substitute teacher named James Bond (“Late Show,” CBS, 11/17).

10) “I’ve made a fortune selling autographed crap on eBay.”

9) “I have amazing gadgets like a clock that’s also a radio.”

8 ) “Lots of admiring looks when they call my table at TGI Friday’s.”

7) “At the movie theater I get a free squirt of chemical butter.”

6) “Once I received a $5,000 residual check that should have gone to Pierce Brosnan.”

5) “Calling my boss ‘M’ instead of Mr. Glickstein.”

4) “When my brother says, ‘Bond, Fred Bond,’ he just sounds like a jerk.”

3) “Always gets a laugh when I order my Jamba Juice shaken, not stirred.”

2) “Halle Barry once accidentally slept with me.”

1) “President Bush keeps calling me about capturing Bin Laden.”

Just a Personal Note

A little off topic, but today I filled out my application for a position with the Obama-Biden administration via change.gov.

 

While I probably won’t be getting a call back, I do feel a little empowered.

Letterman’s Top 10 11/14/08

Friday night’s Top Ten list was “Top Ten Signs You’re Watching A Bad Spy Film.” The list was in reference to the opening of the new James Bond film, “Quantum of Solace.” CBS’ David Letterman noted that the 22 James Bond films have netted $4.6B (“Late Show,” CBS, 11/14).

10) “Keeps leaking classified information on his Facebook page.”

9) “He has a license to fish.”

8 ) “It’s set in the dark, dangerous world of photocopier repair.”

7) “Hero’s new high-tech gadget: a shampoo that’s also a conditioner.”

6) “Sexy new Bond girl has 5 kids and a loving husband named Todd.”

5) “Villain’s plot to destroy the world’s financial system is foiled when the bank beats him to it.”

4) “Main character announces, ‘The name’s Bond, Shecky Bond.’”

3) “It’s about a plot to steal the Colonel’s fried chicken recipe.”

2) “‘Jet pack’ looks suspiciously like Hello Kitty backpack.”

1) “He promises to find Osama, yet seven years later, nothing.”

Badass of the Month

A woman fought off a serial rapist on Staten Island over the weekend with an ipod charger:

The victim picked Fields — a convicted serial rapist — out of a lineup yesterday afternoon, authorities said.

Sources told the Advance the woman fought back during the rape by jabbing her iPod charger into Fields’ neck. He still bore two prong marks on the neck from the charger, the sources said.

What makes this even better is that I didn’t even find this story on SILive originally. I saw it on Reddit- the woman is getting props on the internets.