The Tao of Zen Nihilism
This is not me. I answered questions that would disqualify me from this category. I should have shown up higher on the political spectrum and far more permissive on the social spectrum.
What’s more, friends of mine that I know to be Conservative have shown up as Liberal.
I call shenanegans.
| You are a Social Liberal (83% permissive) and an… Economic Liberal (26% permissive) You are best described as a:
Link: The Politics Test on Ok Cupid |
Take a picture of yourself right now. Don’t change your clothes, don’t fix your hair…just take a picture. Post that picture with NO editing. Post these instructions with your picture.
(only because emmylouangel told me to do it and I do anything she says.)
On Friday, I’m throwing a birthday party for my dad. I’d like you to attend.
My dad is very shy and has a very few close friends. I’d like to get a bunch of folks together–at a bar or something–and have a great time. It’ll just be a casual get together. Nothing fancy. But my dad hasn’t had a bd party in a long time. I’d like him to be surrounded with good people wishing him well.
You’re invited. And bring your friends.
Friday. Someone suggest a location. I’ll confirm later this afternoon.
Cancel your plans. Please. I’d love a whole bar full of folks saying "Happy birthday!" to my dad. I’d consider it personal favor.
I didn’t watch much of The West Wing after Sorkin and Schlamme left, but I am a great admirer of Alan Alda, as a writer and as an actor and as a compassionate human being.
When he appeared as a candidate for President on the show, I began getting interested again. I own the collected DVDs and I’ve watched the three seasons without the A/S combo. By far, my favorite moments are with Alda front and center. I’m certain he had more than a little say in his character’s direction and dialogue.
And here is something we should be seeing in today’s political arena.
If only…
When the Coen Brothers’ Fargo won multiple Oscars (missing out for Best Film to–wait for it–Braveheart of all things), they quickly followed it up with one of their "goof off" films, The Big Lebowski. Known for messing with both their audiences and their critics, you could almost hear the Brothers’ cackling as American audiences tried to figure out exactly what the Coens were thinking. Fargo was a bloody and merciless crime story told in one of the nicest places in the world (my home state of Minnesota). And here… here’s the tale of the world’s laziest slacker in the world’s most ambitious town.
Needless to say, The Big Lebowski seemed a world far, far away from Fargo.
Following on the heels of what may be seen as their greatest success (No Country for Old Men), the Cohens have unleashed a movie about incompetant dunderheads in the world’s most… well, Washington DC. A world far, far away from the desolate Texas countryside of their previous film. There are no inhuman, merciless killers with bad haircuts here. Instead, what we have are people pretending to be anything other than what they are in the country’s capital. A "Coen Goof Off Film" to follow up their nearly silent bloodfest. And if you listen closely, you can hear them cackling, as if to say, "Wait ’till they get a hold of this."
Burn After Reading is a typical Coen goof off film, but I don’t want you to be fooled by that word. Typical. This is not your standard Hollywood fare, as demonstrated by the advertising. Hollywood doesn’t know how to sell a Cohen Brothers movie. It isn’t exactly a comedy, it isn’t exactly a drama. It’s the Brothers writing a plot so thick you don’t know to eat it with a spoon or a fork, getting a bunch of their friends together, writing some of the best dialogue in Hollywood today, and ending the movie with a Cohen ending: an anti-climax that makes you laugh your ass off.
In the midst of all this nonsense, most of the attention will be directed at the goofballs. And make no mistake, Brad Pitt, George Clooney and Frances McDormand deserve high praise for their roles. They bring a degree of nonsense that would make Salivore Dali’s head spin. But, as anyone who’s studied comedy knows, you can’t have all ham without some pineapple, and the straight men in this piece deserve equal high praise. John Malkovich, Tilda Swinton and the forelorn Richard Jenkins really make all the madcap down-the-rabbit hole logic work and give real consequences to all the absurdity.
(Malkovich’s anger at a world seemingly populated with idiots is something I’ve felt myself all too often, and I have to say, I realized I sympathized with nearly every action he takes in the film. Something that frightens me much more than any Anton Chigurh.)
If movies like Raising Arizona, Barton Fink and The Big Lebowski aren’t your cup of tea, you should probably avoid this one. A little bitter, a little sweet, add blood to taste. And take care when you drink: it may come right back up your nose.
I’m writing the Slumming book and I just can’t think of a word. It’s right on the tip of my tongue and I just can’t find it.
The City Management system breaks a City down into Neighborhoods. Within each Neighborhood are Buildings. One of the Building types is a construction full of cramped, poor families.
It isn’t a barrio (that’s a neighborhood) and it isn’t a slum (that, too, is a neighborhood). What is it?
… happy birthday to the man who inspired me in so many ways. Writer, drummer, thinker, traveler, poet… and occasional goofball.
Thank you, Neil.
(from Time Magazine; thanks to flamesrising for the link)
Determined to shape his legacy in Iraq, President Bush has cut Congress out of his negotiations with the al-Maliki government. Despite repeated requests, the Administration has refused to share with congressional committees the text of its negotiating draft, even on a confidential basis. But elements of the proposals under negotiation have steadily leaked out from the Iraqi side, and now an Arabic-language newspaper, Asharq Al-Awsat, has published what it says is the full draft agreement.
The draft agreement published by Asharq Al-Awsat would clearly contravene the U.S. Constitution. It would not be a treaty, requiring the consent of two-thirds of the Senate, or a congressional-executive agreement, requiring the approval of both houses of Congress. Instead, the President would assert his power as Commander in Chief to commit the nation to his deal with Iraq without seeking the consent of the legislative branch. The provisions of the published text, however, decisively refute his claim to unilateral authority.
____
Hey Congress?
WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU WAITING FOR???
IMPEACH THIS MAN!!!
Here’s what you and I do. (What I’ve already done.)
You contact your Senators and Congressmen. You can find them here and here.
You write to them right the fuck now and tell them you’ve had enough.
Take whatever they’re doing off their plates and put impeachment right at the top of their agenda.
Tell them to do this or you’re voting for the other guy. It doesn’t matter if he’s a Democrat or a Republican, you’re voting for the other guy. A clean sweep of the Congress for catastrophic failure to perform the duties they swore to uphold when they took office.
I don’t give a single shit what the date is. I don’t give a single shit about folks who say "It’s too late."
It’s not too late. It’ll take a five minute vote. Everyone in Congress sits down and says, "Bush has violated the oath he took to uphold the Constitution with every single decision he made as President. Let’s vote to impeach."
Then, they vote. And it’s done.
Five fucking minutes.
On my end, it’s already done. Now, it’s up to you.
Feel free to re-post this anywhere you like.
Over at the Narrative Control podcast, the hosts Sean Nittner and Justin Evans discuss one of the chapters from Play Dirty: "The Living City."
(And they use the word "genius" a whole lot.)
Go take a listen. And thanks guys!
If you do it yourself, you can’t complain when McCain does…
From Factcheck.org.
A new Obama-Biden ad includes misleading claims about McCain and education spending:
