Adam Magazine on the Crazy Years

Trying again

2008-07-23T19:58:00.001-04:00

Trying something else

2008-07-23T18:49:00.000-04:00

The Daddle.

2008-07-20T21:00:00.001-04:00

Really. Why, when I was a lad we rode our dads bareback.

The US is in the slow lane on the Info Superhighway.

2008-07-18T22:28:00.000-04:00

Why?
Because there are some things in which the government must take an active role.

I, Cringely . The Pulpit . Inflection Point | PBS: "Ten years ago, the United States had the fastest and cheapest residential Internet service in the world. Today U.S. residential Internet service, especially broadband, is among the slowest and most expensive. Fortunately, this is likely to change as U.S. broadband Internet services become decidedly more competitive, both in terms of cost and available bandwidth. Unfortunately, U.S. broadband adoption rates are slowing at a rate that suggests ultimate market penetration under 90 percent."

Yes, I know the title of this post is hacky.

Fun with motivational posters.

2008-07-18T15:29:00.001-04:00

Made with Automotivator.

Out of the Yellow Closet?

2008-07-09T13:46:00.004-04:00

OK, what do we know about Ted, aka The Man With The Yellow Hat?

- He lives in a huge Park Avenue apartment, alone except for an exotic pet.
- He's thin and fit -- runs marathons.
- He travels.
- He's obsessive about cleanliness, especially his clothes.

On the other hand:
- He seems to have a crush on Professor Wiseman, who is female.
- He always wears the same outfit.

On balance, I think TMWTYH is straight. Close call, though!

God hates Boy Scouts

2008-06-25T09:25:00.001-04:00

http://stuffgodhates.wordpress.com/2008/06/16/28-the-boy-scouts-of-america/

They need to be more racist.

Adam Magazine | 202 270 2923 | adam@adammagazine.com

Military confrontation in the Arctic?

2008-06-25T09:10:00.000-04:00

Seriously. Russian saber-rattling.

http://www.canada.com/topics/news/story.html?id=ac0d24df-dc10-43da-89f3-b3c3c0928ae7

Adam Magazine | 202 270 2923 | adam@adammagazine.com

Why Joe Posnanski is one of the best writers on the web

2008-05-15T12:51:00.000-04:00

Joe Posnanski is a well-respected sports columnist in Kansas City. A few months ago he started a blog that's unconnected to his newspaper, just so he can post about whatever he's interested in -- a lot of it is sports, but many other topics. Plus, he writes the longest blog posts I've ever seen.

Here's a paragraph from a post today that made me laugh:

"when Lebby asked me if I wanted to eat the best Italian food of my life, my first thought was, “OK, who do I have to kill? Is it someone I know? Because if it’s someone I don’t know, then yes, for the best pasta of my life, absolutely, I’m ready to do what has to be done, but if it’s someone I do know, then no, I’m not killing someone I KNOW just for Italian food, you know, unless they have a really good chocolate dessert too.”"

Who among us would not agree with that sentiment?

Good News From Iraq (if by good news you mean bad news)

2008-04-04T12:11:00.003-04:00

It's a good thing that we've been training the new Iraqi Army for the last 5 years. Otherwise, who knows how many thousands of deserters there would have been in the fighting in Basra last week. The New York Times reports the good news that it was only a thousand or so.

More than 1,000 Iraqi soldiers and policemen either refused to fight or simply abandoned their posts during the inconclusive assault against Shiite militias in Basra last week, a senior Iraqi government official said Thursday. Iraqi military officials said the group included dozens of officers, including at least two senior field commanders in the battle.

The desertions in the heat of a major battle cast fresh doubt on the effectiveness of the American-trained Iraqi security forces. The White House has conditioned further withdrawals of American troops on the readiness of the Iraqi military and police.

Even as officials described problems with the planning and performance of the Iraqi forces during the Basra operation, signs emerged Wednesday that tensions with Moktada al-Sadr, the radical cleric who leads the Mahdi Army militia, could flare up again. Mr. Sadr, who asked his followers to stop fighting on Sunday, called Thursday for a million Iraqis to march to the Shiite holy city of Najaf next week to protest what he called the American occupation. He also issued a veiled threat against Mr. Maliki’s forces, whom he accused of violating the terms of an agreement with the Iraqi government to stand down.

Estimates by Iraqi military officials of the number of officers who refused to fight during the Basra operation varied from several dozen to more than 100. But three officials said that among those who had been relieved of duty for refusing to fight were Col. Rahim Jabbar and Lt. Col. Shakir Khalaf, the commander and deputy commander of an entire brigade affiliated with the Interior Ministry.

At this rate it sure looks like McCain isn't far off in his estimate that we will have to be in Iraq for a hundred years. We are doing just as good a job turning over losing the war to the Iraqis as we did in Vietnam.

Shocking news at washingtonpost.com

2008-03-21T09:54:00.001-04:00

No way. Really? The Pope lead a service during Holy Week? Wow.

> http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/20/AR2008032002252.html?hpid=sec-religion
>
>
>

I had to share this thought.

2008-03-18T11:01:00.002-04:00

Are there French superheroes known as crèped crusaders?

You know what's lame?

2008-03-06T10:49:00.001-05:00

Bloggers apologizing for not blogging.

I can't believe I care this much about a reality tv show.

2008-03-06T09:30:00.001-05:00

That little <i>pisher</i> Christian won. I'll admit that he was the
most talented contestant, but he is so insincere and bitchy.

--
Adam Magazine | adam@adammagazine.com| www.adammagazine.com | 202 270 2923

Oh yes, things are getting better in Iraq.

2008-03-05T11:15:00.001-05:00

Iraqi deaths up by a third in February.

--
Adam Magazine | adam@adammagazine.com| www.adammagazine.com | 202 270 2923

2007-08-22T12:24:00.000-04:00

I received the following by email today:

The Redskins have received tickets back from the opposing team. There are an extremely limited number of tickets available including lower level seats for Saturday night’s game versus the Baltimore Ravens, August 25th at 8:00 PM.

These tickets are available on a first-come, first-served basis.

Tickets are limited to 6 per person.

Tickets range from $53 for upper level tickets to $109 for lower level tickets

Thanks, Redskins, for the opportunity to spend $109 dollars on a game that doesn't count.

All this and offensive name.

Greatest ... comic .. ever

2007-08-22T11:51:00.001-04:00

Another amazing moment from Dinosaur Comics.

It's funny because it's about drinking.

Usually I don't like musicals

2007-08-06T11:42:00.000-04:00

Jihad The Musical (yes, no colon) is playing at the Eniburgh Fringe Festival. It's actually received good reviews:

the guilty-pleasure award goes squarely to the Jihad.
Here, the radicalisation of a clueless young Afghan gets the razzle-dazzle Broadway treatment, as in the scene in which an al-Qa'eda leader (Sorab Wadia, terrific) belts out The Jihad Jive as dolly birds in sparkling burkas slink around him.
It's all thumpingly inappropriate, in a manner that owes a hefty debt to The Producers.
But it seldom forgets the tragedy beneath the gaiety, and its wit and musical polish see it through. You can see why those who protested in advance were worried, but - shamelessly pat ending aside - it does pull off a difficult balancing act.

I'd like to try producing it here in the States. I'm sure there would be loud howls of protest and condemnation for insensitivity to (a) the victims of 9/11, (b) our troops and/or (c) Moslems. We Americans need a sense of humor.

Go here for video and audio highlights.

That Mozart fellow is always causing trouble.

2007-08-02T16:03:00.000-04:00

My new favorite webcomic is Dinosaur Comics.
Cool people, like my friend Mr. Joel, have known about it for a long time, but I'm late to the party.

It always has dinosaurs, but only rarely do those dinosaurs rap.

You can pick your friends, and you can pick your nose...

2007-08-02T16:00:00.000-04:00

Speaking of classy, here's a video of neo-con uber-pundit and former Dan Quayle chief-of-staff Bill Kristol speaking nonsense and picking his nose.

Our classy President

2007-08-02T15:52:00.000-04:00

Ask him a question, and get insulted for being bald. He's like the class bully, only without the charm.

At a recent press conference at Camp David, President George Bush insulted BBC political editor Nick Robinson, the Daily Mirror reports.

Robinson, who has asked Bush pointed questions in the past such as whetherthe president was “in denial” over the Iraq war, posed a question to Bush about whether he could trust visiting British Prime Minister Gordon Brown not to “cut and run” from Iraq.

Bush replied with a dismissal: “Are you still hanging around?”

Later on, Bush poked fun at the bare-pate of Robinson, joking, “You’d better cover up your bald head, it’s getting hot out.”

The respected British reporter shot back, “I didn’t know you cared.”

Bush responded with a cool, “I don’t.” The Mirror reports that Bush then “snorted disdainfully” and “walked away to laughter.”

Can this really be true?

2007-07-31T14:41:00.000-04:00

Slate Magazine has an article today on The freaky origins of Christian rock. The article reminds me of the TNR articles by Stephen Glass -- it's to funny to be true.

For example:

The All Saved Freak Band is a different kettle of fish—at once more powerful and more disturbing, and a reminder of how apocalyptic convictions, Christian or otherwise, can go sour. The band began when a drugged-out Chicago guitarist named Joe Markko moved to Ohio, where he met a fiery street pastor named Larry Hill. Convinced that the Chinese and/or Russians were coming, Hill set himself up as patriarch of an isolated survivalist Christian commune, replete with guns and goats. When he performed, Hill wore a wide Amish hat and a priest's habit, and he sang to hector and convert. But the band didn't really gel until Hill and Markko were joined by Glenn Schwartz, an incendiary blues shromper who had played guitar for the James Gang but had publicly renounced commercial rock. Living collectively, the band made a handful of intense and very strange records, including the Tolkien-inspired folk-rock rarity For Christians, Elves, and Lovers.

Can there really be an album called For Christians, Elves, and Lovers? Evidently, the answer is yes. You can get a copy still in it's shrink-wrap for only $200.

Next time I'm in a band I'm wearing an Amish hat and a cassock.

RIP

2007-07-31T13:36:00.001-04:00

Famed vaudevillian Edgar Bergen and self-proclaimed "party-dude" Michelangelo passed away within 24 hours of each other.

Bergen's longtime companion Mortimer Snerd had no comment.

Bergen's distraught partner Mortimer Snerd.

I'd rather have a bottle in front of me....

2007-07-31T10:24:00.000-04:00

One of my favorite blogs, Boing Boing, linked to a post on the Neurophilosophy blog about lobotomies. The discussion of the "icepick lobotomy" is particularly fun:

Freeman was unhappy with the new procedure. He considered it to be both time-consuming and messy, and so developed a quicker method, the so-called 'ice-pick' lobotomy, which he performed for the first time on January 17th, 1945.

With the patient rendered unconscious by electroshock, an instrument was inserted above the eyeball through the orbit using a hammer. Once inside the brain, the instrument was moved back and forth; this was then repeated on the other side.

My favorite part:

Freeman's new technique could be performed in about 10 minutes. Because it did not require anaesthesia, it could be performed outside of the clinical setting, and lobotomized patients did not need hospital internment afterwards. Thus, Freeman often performed lobotomies in his Washington D.C. office...

That's what makes DC such a great city -- lobotomies on demand. I wonder if my health insurance covers it.

Combining electroshock and an ice pick to the brain -- now that's science.

Adam wants DeLorean -- because he misses 1979

2007-07-31T10:00:00.000-04:00

Wired tells us that new DeLoreans will soon be available. "The Houston refurb outfit that nabbed the trademark, DeLorean Motor Co. (Texas), plans to start limited construction."

Back in the early '80s we all thought the DeLorean was awesome. The gull-wing doors still seem like the future. I better have them on my flying car.

I actually considered seriously buying a used DeLorean in the late '80s. My mechanic talked me out of it, pointing out that getting parts for a car from a defunct company would be a problem. I should have bought one anyway.