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Posted by: Pixy Misa at 08:42 PM | Comments (6) | Add Comment
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It was located here.

An illustration of the anticipated effects:

(click)

The cool thing is, in the future someone standing on the edge of the jackassiverse will be able to see the light produced from someone getting their ass kicked billions of years in the past.

Posted by: Pixy Misa at 08:21 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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. . . I realized that my consciousness wasn't a vast thing—that it was, in fact, limited to this person everyone called Joy. I was merely a single person, and not some kind of oversoul. I would forever be limited to a solitary point of view. I was about four years old. It was a tremendous disappointment.

Wherever this "Joy" person went, there I'd be. When she skinned her knees, it would preoccupy me. When her Mexican baby sitter put on a movie about a giant spider eating a city, I'd be watching the giant spider, too: I couldn't simply flit over to occupy some other body, and live that person's life when the fancy struck.

My perceptions would be a miniscule fraction of what I'd assumed they were going to be at the outset.

For some time I grieved, until years later, when I realized that blogging as an oversoul might be tougher, and I really would have to pick up my typing speed in that event. And in general, I think, there's just a lot more responsibility for an oversoul vs. a single consciousness: the hours are better this way.

It turned out fine in the end.

Though there is the occasional pang of regret. Inevitable, don't you think?

Posted by: Attila Girl at 04:22 AM | Comments (7) | Add Comment
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. . . signed "your friend, Jeff," I might blow my brains out as a precaution.

Better safe than sorry.

Posted by: Attila Girl at 04:10 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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But not by the leaders of other groups; by their own "leaders," who make the poverty pimps of the U.S.A. look good.

Posted by: Attila Girl at 02:43 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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. . . includes the biggies: Steyn, McMillan. Go read. This is a massive shift, and we need to pay more attention to where Canada is headed.

Posted by: Attila Girl at 02:30 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Joy: Hello?

B: Aren't writers supposed to know their readers?

Joy: I assume all my readers are exactly like me, to avoid confusion.

B: Well, you don't have to work tomorrow.

Joy: Thanks, but how come I'm getting this confirmation at 10:00 at night? Isn't that a smidge late?

B: Because I didn't have your schedule, so I thought you probably weren't available this week anyway.

Joy: But I e-mailed it to you!

B: That gets us back to "know your reader." Or audience. You know I don't check my e-mail very often.

Joy: Sure. I know that. But surely you get to it once a day?

B: Once a day? I check it a couple of times a week. I'm not one of these obsessive blogger types, who check their mail all the time.

Joy: A couple times a week? Are you freaking kidding me? The average dog checks their e-mail more than that.

B: People know how to get hold of me.

Joy: [finally grasps the implication, and realizes that some people default to those little last-ditch emergency-only voice box thingies on their desks and belts when they need to communicate] Oh.

Joy: I have to go now. Goodnight. [pulls over to the side of the road; replaces phone on its holster with a shudder; slowly restarts the car, and drives up the hill, badly shaken]

Posted by: Attila Girl at 12:54 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Glad you asked. Dilettantes. They should all just die.

Posted by: Attila Girl at 02:50 PM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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Just fuck.

In no way, shape or form can this be good. Unless the tail starts wagging the dog.

P.S. Fuck.

Posted by: Attila Girl at 02:48 PM | Comments (10) | Add Comment
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The Gold Adstrip (to the left; prime positioning) is now open. Put your money where your mouth is! Go through the eye of a needle on a camel! A stitch in time saves none!*

Practice makes perfect! You have to spend a buck to make a buck! Your candle is under a bushel basket, and wants to get out!

If you can't afford an ad, just send me the amount of money you would have spent on one directly, and you'll know very little of the dough is being wasted on administrative costs. Plus, you'll feel all warm and gooey inside.

* I stole this one from James Thurber.

This bleg is not applicable to people who are broke, or already link me a lot, or make my site more entertaining with their brilliant comments, or live in a state wherein e-panhandling is prohibited by law.

Posted by: Attila Girl at 12:15 PM | Comments (25) | Add Comment
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1 Hey, Miss Attila, I want to make a bid but I do not have access to the donated funds to promote Condoleezza Rice for President. Since we will be seeing your blog at CPAC, I can think of no better way to welcome you than to advertise on your blog. You will see a tremendous groundswell of support for Condi at CPAC, and I hope to share some insight with you and our national chairwoman, Jessie Jane Duff. You Go Attila Girl!

Posted by: Crystal Dueker at January 24, 2006 02:13 PM (PzHr9)

2 "...or make my site more entertaining with their brilliant comments" Moi? Aw shucks... (hands behind back, looking at ground, blushing, tracing half circles with toe...)

Posted by: Desert Cat at January 24, 2006 02:33 PM (B2X7i)

3 Must be you, DC, 'cause I don't comment here often enough to have much impact, statistically speaking.

Posted by: McGehee at January 25, 2006 05:29 PM (lAOTn)

4 Well y'know it's an odd feeling, waiting for the other shoe to drop... Ya stick your neck out with false modesty and self-aggrandizement, and ya expect *someone* will take the bait. I mean, who can resist a good ego-thwacking opportunity?

Posted by: Desert Cat at January 25, 2006 05:45 PM (xdX36)

5 Oh. But I agreed with the premise that you're a major contributor here. So your comment was cute, and seemed to stand on its own. And I can't seem to do the frontal assault ego thumping very well: I'm more of a stick-the-knife-in-when-they-least-expect-it type. I'll bet it's a man-woman thing.

Posted by: Attila Girl at January 25, 2006 08:15 PM (XbEp3)

6 hey DC, I got you beat as a three out of four! you got the others but I am broke and you are NOT! so there! Not to mention being the most lame-ass blogger of a blogdaughter two such illustrious blogparents could be embarrassed to claim. smirk smirk. No false modesty here, guys. heh heh! we're a happy family we're a happy family we're a happy family me mom and dad-dy --the ramones

Posted by: k at January 25, 2006 08:23 PM (wZLWV)

7 ...sitting here in Queens eating refried beans.

Posted by: Desert Cat at January 25, 2006 08:32 PM (xdX36)

8 But I agreed with the premise that you're a major contributor here. So your comment was cute, and seemed to stand on its own. (Pang of guilt...I'm so bad...and I'm gonna admit it too...) When trolling with a lightweight fuzzy spinner doesn't produce any hits, it's time to switch to a flashier rig. (*cough cough* *hack!* *youreanattentionwhoreDC* *cough* *ahem*...whew, got that off my chest...)

Posted by: Desert Cat at January 25, 2006 08:47 PM (xdX36)

9 Hi, Desert Cat! How are you? How are things in good old AZ? I hope Daisy is doing well, and you haven't had to go to Phoenix lately. What's your favorite Bible translation? I'm going through the Catholic One-Year version right now, but I'm thinking of trading up to something more accurate--this one is the Living Bible. Paraphrases are yucky. Hope it isn't getting too cold out there in the desert: the temperatures there drop so drastically this time of year. I haven't dropped by your blog lately; maybe I'll stop by tomorrow after my medical procedure. Love, Joy P.S. Have you guys gotten rid of McCain yet? Okay, bye!

Posted by: Attila Girl at January 25, 2006 09:15 PM (XbEp3)

10 skewered...

Posted by: Desert Cat at January 25, 2006 09:27 PM (xdX36)

11 we're in all the magazines gulping down thorazines!

Posted by: k at January 26, 2006 05:33 AM (y6n8O)

12 Oh, yeah. That 80s vibe is coming through loud and clear . . .

Posted by: Attila Girl at January 27, 2006 12:07 AM (XbEp3)

13 80's? naw, that was 70's. Went down to La Mer Viper by Armitage and Halsted, dancing the night away at the world's first punk *disco*, meaning they played records instead of live bands...1976, 77, like that. Ya know. Back in the day.

Posted by: k at January 27, 2006 05:31 AM (wZLWV)

14 Is the "questionable content" detector broken again? It's hassling me over inocuous words.

Posted by: Desert Cat at January 27, 2006 09:13 AM (B2X7i)

15 I s h u d d e r to admit that I was very into punk rock for a couple of years around 1980 or so.

Posted by: Desert Cat at January 27, 2006 09:15 AM (B2X7i)

16 Why s h u d d e r? It was fun. It remains some of the most danceable music around. A lot of nice dry humor in there, too. Maybe once or twice in a person's lifetime, they get to be on the cutting edge sweep of some new phase of an art form - music, painting, dance, poetry, movies, blogging, whatever - and music is one of the most moving, enduring, all-encompassing art forms of them all. If it happens in one's early adulthood, that's a very lucky person. Born in 1958, I was able to get into bars (the local intimate music scene) at age 15. Then, it was legal to go in when I was 18, yay! Then a couple weeks before my 21st birthday they changed the law to 21 again. So I could submerge myself in that new music scene, up close and personal, at a wonderful age for it. I never pierced my lips with bobby pins or shaved my head into a Mohawk or dyed my hair green. But that breath of fresh air, that extraordinary burst of creativity and newness, and of acceptance of one's self not just despite - but also (right or wrong) because of - one's idiosyncrasies? God almighty. It was great. Oh, I saw Talking Heads playing at the Quiet Knight, with a total of maybe 50 people in the audience, and suits from - who was it? Arista? Sire? - more or less auditioning them for their first "real" album...Went to see Rock and Roll High School, and had half the theater dancing in the aisles...Got up on my feet to dance on (and over and around and upside!) my folding chair or velvet seat while seeing Iggy Pop, the Ramones, Roxy Music at beautiful old Chicago venues...My home-town-band friends the Cleaning Ladys, whose very first performance I witnessed - in a suburban basement no less! - made me an Honorary Lady one beery exhilarating backstage night...Dancing at Le Mer, I saw some seriously naughty behavior, sure. But no one ever - EVER - did one thing to hurt me there. Unlike the environs of great wealth and *taste* and *class* I also forayed through at the time. I can't dance for shit. Really. Just don't know how. But back then I sure could jump around and pogo and do a half-assed new wave-y twist on the twist, and mostly, see, I have Happy Feet and couldn't quit grinning when I danced. And any guy that wasn't embarrassed to dance with me spent all his dancing time grinning, too. Happy. If he was uptight - well then, he's not the right dance partner for me anyway, huh? Nothing wrong with youthful silliness. Especially when you're still young and not, say, 55. I had some very hard, some truly terrible things going on in my life, too, with my husband and with other things besides. Fears, like any late adolescent, and probably worse for me than for many others. I'm both intensely curious and counterphobic. That can be dangerous indeed. But I am what I am, and living a (mildly?) wild youth probably had a lot to do with helping me stay alive and stay sane. And when I look back, I think it was a very good thing that I lived hard and fast when I could. Because by the time I was 32, my health was destroyed. (NOT due to lifestyle, thank you!) So it was all over. I can't much travel or work or often even leave my house any more. Worse, too, as you know. Sure can't dance. When we keep growing up - often it's as we're approaching middle age - people sometimes get embarrassed about the things they did in their youth. The styles they loved, the life they led, the politics, religious beliefs, whatever. Not me. I still value things like generosity and stopping to smell the roses and helping others and good food and good friends and growing flowers and tolerance and being independent and thinking for yourself. Music. Hugs. All that old corny shit. Hippie stuff. Why not? Those are still good values to have. As far as I'm concerned, make love not war still holds. Fools who try to pounce on that and call me names and laugh at me for supposed attributes like inexperience or ignorance or naivete (!) only embarrass themselves, not me. I know the difference between *right* and *wrong,* and between *parroting a not-thought-out position* and *I just disagree.* The difference between name-calling BS and civil discourse, too. So here I was, bemoaning my own blogdaughterly uselessness, way too wrapped up in hurricane recovery and health things thus not posting - lazier yet, spending posting time COMMENTING!!! - and then, sunning myself toasty warm at blogmama LMA's, I saw I have fine cause to remember that some nice things run in families, and blogfamilies, and THEN... Hey, Mr. DC! Who else here could have come right back at me with the next lyrics to that song? Not many. God above! I had NO idea! How perfectly delightful. So, Pops, your blogdaughter orders you to not s h u d d e r no more, or she will hold her breath till she turns blue. there's a girl I used to know her face is her fortune, she's got a heart of gold...

Posted by: k at January 27, 2006 03:16 PM (Ffvoi)

17 Maybe because it was a very raw and painful time in my life. The music fit. Later it didn't fit so much anymore. Lucky you though. You got to see the cutting edge side of punk. I only caught on to it after the first wave was past (but fortunately before the "abomination of desolation", which was the Clash going pop.) I clearly missed a few things, it seems. I don't recognize those lyrics at the end of your post. I did wear an oversized safety pin in my lapel for a few years, and once, just once, I wore a studded dog collar. Soo...did you get the opportunity to see that penultimate punk movie "The Decline of Western Civilization"? I severely regret not being able to join my friends when the Pretenders came to town. This was, again, before Chrissy went pop, back when she was still punk and cool.

Posted by: Desert Cat at January 27, 2006 08:55 PM (xdX36)

18 She never goes out much But boy--when she does, Then you know. She´s got no money, Well, maybe a dime. But she knows what she´s worth, And that´s reason why She´s gonna make it --She´s got what it takes, You´ll appreciate that She´s probably late-- But I know, And you know: We all know She´ll have a really good time.

Posted by: Attila Girl at January 27, 2006 10:02 PM (XbEp3)

19 Lucky, yes. It was just one of those right place right time things. And having that raw harshness in my life that made that scene such a perfect union was too. I'd say I was in the last half of the very first wave - starting around late 1975, at 17 - but pretty much out of it by the end of that first wave, 1980 or so. Like with you, it just didn't fit so well any more. In a way that was lucky, too, since I wasn't emotionally involved in the disintegration that naturally follows the first blast. And Chrissy Hynde always struck me as inherently more pop than punk - like Blondie vs. Patti Smith, or the Police vs. The Clash - but that was okay by me. They each had their place. Selling out after an honest start is different in any genre - leaves a bad taste in your mouth. (Walt Disney.) Oh, such a tiny but dense record collection still remains! Original issues of the Clash, some Sex Pistols 45's, The Vibrators, Roxy Music (European edition of Country Life, with the naughty pix on the cover), David Bowie, Lou Reed, Blondie, Ramones, The Jam... I had totally forgotten about The Decline! Never saw it. The Chicago punk scene was allied with the New York one, but LA seemed inexplicably different to us. Perhaps because of the lack of the bitter cold years of the late 1970's? How could people in California ever tap into that broken glass edgy urban rawness that powered all that music? (They certainly could, of course; it just seemed so counterintuitive to us up there in Chi-town.) The lyrics are from a Roxy Music song, a quiet one, very sweet and simple and direct, called *A Really Good Time.* You´re heard enough Of the blues and stuff You´re pretty swell now ´cause you´re pretty tough But I don´t have to tell you How hard it can be to get by You never bothered About anyone else You´re well educated With no common sense But love - that´s one thing You really need to get by All your troubles Come from yourself Nobody hurts you - they don´t care Just as long as you show them A really good time All the things You used to do A trip to the movies A drink or two They don´t satisfy you They don´t tell you anything new You know I don´t talk much Except to myself ´cause i´ve not much to say And there´s nobody else Who´s ready and willing And able to know me - I guess Listen to me I´m not finished yet There´s something to tell you That I can´t forget Just have a really good time There´s a girl I used to know Her face is her fortune She´s got a heart of gold She never goes out much But boy - when she does Then you know She´s got no money Well, maybe a dime But she knows what she´s worth And that´s reason why She´s gonna make it She´s got what it takes You´ll appreciate that She´s probably late But I know And you know We all know She´ll have a really good time

Posted by: k at January 27, 2006 10:30 PM (Ffvoi)

20 whoa! mama knew! Some things run in blogfamilies...

Posted by: k at January 27, 2006 10:34 PM (Ffvoi)

21 I know a guy who was an "early adapter" with punk, so he was in it in the late 70s. I was probably more New Wave; I listened to a lot of Elvis Costello. Graham Parker. I think some people did think that colder cities created more "authentic" music than warm ones, but there was plenty of raw stuff coming out of the South Bay at that time. I did go to a lot of clubs in the 1980s. Mostly in small groups, which meant that I could dress as trashily as I wanted: I remember getting skirts in thrift shops and hemming them within an inch of their lives, then wearing 'em with fishnet stockings, heels and a black velvet jacket. And, of course, a stud earring in one ear, with a dangly one in the other.

Posted by: Attila Girl at January 28, 2006 02:19 AM (XbEp3)

22 Oh, FUN! Hey guys. See that girl up in the left hand corner? Any of you who haven't gotten past those Glorious F-F-Formidables should be alerted that our Little Miss Attila is also blessed with a pair of million dollar gams. Which used to grace the streets of LA all dolled up in the *shocking* attire described above... --I think I just heard a collective *sigh* emanating from the blogosphere... and now I'm wondering if DC still has that studded dog collar somewhere, stashed away in the back of the bottom drawer of the dresser?...

Posted by: k at January 28, 2006 05:50 AM (Ffvoi)

23 I was getting dressed once, because a bunch of us were going to see one of the local bands, and a friend of mine was visiting--also getting ready for the outing. When I was ready (or thought I was), she said, "you know, you should dial it back. You look like rape bait." I think I changed into a less-short skirt to make her happy: after all, she was--and is--a much more practical person than I. My legs used to be nice; I don't know, now, what with my new chubby middle-aged look . . .

Posted by: Attila Girl at January 28, 2006 06:15 AM (XbEp3)

24 This is why it's such a fine thing to more or less hang with your peer group. Once past what I call the Gorgeousness of Youth period, the good thing is, none of us can see quite as well as we could. Then, just as we're regretting our newly acquired affinity for Gorgeousless Gravity and Puffier Parts, what happens? Why, we're all in the same boat! And those bits that would have been inexcusable in our youth, don't look near half bad any more. Not even if we could see them nice and clear.

Posted by: k at January 28, 2006 02:20 PM (y6n8O)

25

Posted by: Attila Girl at January 28, 2006 05:55 PM (XbEp3)

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Is celebrating the win of Canada's conservatives. Apparently there are high hopes that this will begin a transformation for our neighbors to the North.

UPDATE: Not surprisingly, Captain's Quarters live-blogged history in the making.

Posted by: Attila Girl at 04:04 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Josh is carrying some of the same baggage around. But with, I think, a bit more panache.

Posted by: Attila Girl at 03:41 AM | Comments (5) | Add Comment
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Just go to his new website, and it's there in the upper left (it alternates with the promo for Operation Iraqi Children; this one is called "Fighting on the Home Front").

Also: remember to update your blogrolls and bookmarks. I was always impressed by what Yon and his team were able to accomplish on Blogspot, but this new site really kicks it up to the next level.

Also: buy his books and pictures. (He's not saying that; I'm saying it. How much would we pay for a service like Yon's if we had to "subscribe"? We should support the guy who's telling us the truth.)

Posted by: Attila Girl at 03:26 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Bad idea? Good idea? Antinomian idea?

Discuss.

Posted by: Attila Girl at 10:59 PM | Comments (6) | Add Comment
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Wind storms all night long: they make us nervous, since the first winter we lived in this house the wind blew three trees down, one of which landed right on our driveway, narrowly missing the garage and blocking the entire street for most of the day.

The power went out last night at around 10:00, and just came back on an hour ago. I've been sleeping a lot today: snuggling up seemed like the only way to stay warm: our gas heater is, of course, dependent on electricity. And our stove is electric.

I was under the weather anyway, so I haven't been able to do much about making food or eating: I've just been nibbling on whole wheat bread here and there. Soup would have been nice. Maybe I'll heat some up now.

I wish I could enjoy wind storms now the way I did ten years ago, before that first disasterous winter in this house. Maybe someday. Maybe when we're renting again.

Posted by: Attila Girl at 04:29 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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. . . when the media is controlled by large corporations, beholden to the military, and in bed with a Republican Administration. From a David Boaz article posted to Reason Online:

Remember all those news stories in 1993 about how the nomination of former ACLU lawyer Ruth Bader Ginsburg to replace conservative Justice Byron White on the United States Supreme Court would "tilt the balance of the court to the left?"

Of course you don't. Because there weren't any.

In the past three months, the major media have repeatedly hammered away at the theme that Judge Samuel Alito Jr. would "shift the Supreme Court to the right" if he replaced retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.

According to Lexis/Nexis, major newspapers have used the phrase "shift the court" 36 times in their Alito coverage. They have referred to the "balance of the court" 32 times and "the court's balance" another 15. "Shift to the right" accounted for another 18 mentions.

Major radio and television programs indexed by Lexis/Nexis have used those phrases 63 times. CNN told viewers that Alito would "tilt the balance of the court" twice on the day President Bush nominated him. NPR's first-day story on "Morning Edition" was headlined "Alito could move court dramatically to the right."

Now maybe all this is to be expected. Alito is a conservative, he's been nominated to replace a centrist justice, and he probably will move the Supreme Court somewhat to the right—which is probably what at least some voters had in mind when they elected a Republican president and 55 Republican senators.

But note the contrast to 1993, when President Bill Clinton nominated the liberal Ginsburg to replace conservative White. White had dissented from the landmark decisions on abortion rights in Roe v. Wade and on criminal procedure in the Miranda case, and he had written the majority opinion upholding sodomy laws in Bowers v. Hardwick. Obviously his replacement by the former general counsel of the ACLU was going to "move the court dramatically to the left."

So did the media report Ginsburg's nomination that way? Not on your life.

Not a single major newspaper used the phrases "shift the court," "shift to the left," or "balance of the court" in the six weeks between Clinton's nomination and the Senate's ratification of Ginsburg. Only one story in the Cleveland Plain-Dealer mentioned the "court's balance," and that writer thought that Ginsburg would move a "far right" court "toward the center."

The only network broadcast to use any of those phrases was an NPR interview in which liberal law professor Paul Rothstein of Georgetown University said that Ginsburg might offer a "subtle change...a nuance" in "the balance of the court" because she would line up with Justice O'Connor in the center.

No one thought that some momentary balance on the Court had to be preserved when a justice retired or that it was inappropriate to shift the ideological makeup of the Court. And certainly no one had made that point during 60 years of mostly liberal appointees from Democratic presidents Roosevelt, Truman, Kennedy, and Johnson—even as they replaced more conservative justices who had died or retired. ut suddenly, we are told by senators, activists, and pundits that a nominee should not change the makeup of the Court.

h/t: Eugene Volokh

Posted by: Attila Girl at 07:41 PM | Comments (8) | Add Comment
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Neo has an amazing piece about the Goebbels' marriage. I just finished Part II, and will go back to read Part I (just scroll down; it's right there).

It's an inside look at human evil, and has a lot to say about the cult of personality that leads some to join cults and some to support murderous dictators.

I just want to weep for the human race. And never stop.

Posted by: Attila Girl at 04:04 AM | Comments (5) | Add Comment
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1 Is this like a Woody Allen movie where you can't stop watching The Sorrow & the Pity? Maybe you need something more uplifting: Nights at the Circus

Posted by: beautifulatrocities at January 23, 2006 07:01 PM (iuDOZ)

2 I dunno. Is that a book for smart people?

Posted by: Attila Girl at January 23, 2006 09:52 PM (XbEp3)

3 Yes

Posted by: beautifulatrocities at January 24, 2006 08:25 AM (xpEK3)

4 FYI jinnderella - or whatever she's called now - read it & loved it

Posted by: beautifulatrocities at January 24, 2006 08:25 AM (xpEK3)

5 She appears to change her screen name every week, whether she needs to or not

Posted by: Attila Girl at January 24, 2006 12:18 PM (XbEp3)

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Steyn dissects Hollywood's drive to destroy itself, with special attention to Brokeback Mountain, Munich, and the fact that, four and a half years after 9/11, we have yet to see a major motion picture that envisions Middle Eastern Islamists as actual enemies.

Dreamworks has just been sold to Paramount. As The Daily Telegraph in London reported:

“Dreamworks, founded in 1994, has had a series of costly flops this year despite its early successes with blockbusters such as American Beauty and Saving Private Ryan.”

Hmm. Steven SpielbergÂ’s studio is going out in style, with Munich—a film about the PLOÂ’s murder of Israeli athletes at the 1972 Olympics. As the great director sees it, the problem is “intransigence” on both sides, which has led to a tragic “cycle of violence”. “A response to a response doesnÂ’t really solve anything,” he says. “ThereÂ’s been a quagmire of blood for blood for many decades in that region. Where does it end?”

Bye, bye, Steven. That’s why we have “culture wars”: Those who fancy themselves of an artistic bent recoil almost reflexively from the “simplistic”, and so they take refuge in a sophistry that is itself laughably simplistic. The average joe rightly recognizes this as a crock. In my experience Americans aren’t particularly pre-disposed toward Jews, but at a basic level they get the difference between the two sides – as Leon Wieseltier puts it, “the death of innocents was an Israeli mistake but a Palestinian objective”. So all the artful symmetries Spielberg and his screenwriter Tony Kushner find between the men who killed the athletes and the men who killed the athlete-killers ring false to most of the potential audience. After all, even as the film was opening, the President of Arafatistan, Abu Mazen, was signing off on a new law that rewards suicide bombers by providing a lifelong welfare check to their relicts. That’s the difference.

Likewise, there are millions of Americans who reckon Islamism is a psychotic death cult with nothing to commend it, least of all if you happen to be a woman or a gay or an “artist”, none of which liberal-approved groups prospered under Taliban rule.

If youÂ’re making ten straight cowboy movies, a gay oneÂ’s neither here nor there. Similarly, if youÂ’ve made ten movies in which Jake Gyllenhaal or Heath Ledger kick terrorist butt from here to Peshawar, thereÂ’s plenty of room for a contrarian take in which it turns out to be the stewardesses who pulled off 9/11. But, in a conflict thatÂ’s already lasted longer than AmericaÂ’s participation in World War Two, Hollywood still canÂ’t bring itself to make a film in which AmericaÂ’s heroes whump AmericaÂ’s enemies. ThatÂ’s just lousy business sense.

Which is one reason why Dreamworks flopped. Dreams may work, but hallucinations don’t. And so Spielberg’s no longer a mogul and his company is a subsidiary of Paramount – the non-brokeback mountain. Yet.

Read the whole thing (link here; it's the third article down).

Posted by: Attila Girl at 03:49 AM | Comments (5) | Add Comment
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. . . another his-and-hers podcast! This one focuses on Iranian politics and nuclear danger. Guests are Austin Bay and Strategy Page's Jim Dunnigan.

I can feel my resolve on the podcast front weakening.

But, you know: if I listen to podcasts, I might be tempted to create 'em myself, which means I'd be spending even more time messing around with computers and my house would be filthier, if that's even possible.

Posted by: Attila Girl at 08:00 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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1 I've listened to a few podcasts, and every time I do, I'm reminded of why I stopped listening to talk radio. I can read faster than I can listen. If I want to know their opinion on something I read it. Otherwise I just got the latest Nickel Creek album, If I'm gonna listen to anything, I'm gonna listen to that .

Posted by: tommy at January 20, 2006 08:43 PM (Qmfgc)

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He's now settled into nicer, more spacious digs, so be sure to drop by, and bookmark the new location.

And his latest dispatch is in: this one focuses on Operation Iraqi Children, the first private charity Yon has fully endorsed since he started this important work.

Pour a fresh cup of coffee, and prepare to start feeling good about what private American citizens are accomplishing in Iraq, with the support of soldiers, Marines, and Coalition allies.

Disclosure: Most of you know that I'm a freelance copyeditor—not that it shows when you read the free-association contained in this blog.

I've begun lending some professional help to the Michael Yon Online Magazine. This should not change the rate at which I link Michael's dispatches, though the fact that I'll sometimes have "sneak previews" of his content may make my descriptions more complete: in the past I'd be so anxious to link a Yon dispatch that I'd often do so before reading it myself.

/obligatory statement from the Bloggers' Ethical Code

Posted by: Attila Girl at 12:02 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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