Raznor's Rants

Quote of the Day

2008-08-28T08:30:00.000-07:00

Posted by Raznor

Here:

I’m consistently amazed at the ways our punditariat has of explaining why every good thing for the Democrats is actually bad. Hillary giving a good speech is bad for Biden and Obama. Biden giving a good speech is even worse for Obama. Obama giving a speech that makes John McCain break down into a quivering mass and announce that his running mate will be his blankie is horrible news for Democrats in general, for we are a people who, particularly heading into the colder months, appreciate and revere our blankies.

It's sure good to have Jesse Taylor back blogging.

What I don't get

2008-07-27T19:48:00.000-07:00

Posted by Raznor

So apparently John McCain has an ad that says Obama "made time to go to the gym, but canceled a visit with wounded troops," while showing an image of Obama playing basketball with the troops in Kuwait. And I'm thinking, if you're going to be that dishonest, why not just make stuff up? Why not just accuse Obama of being a baby-eater or something?

Hey look, another post

2008-07-18T11:36:00.001-07:00

Posted by Raznor

So just nonpolitical video blogging I guess, but I just love this song so much I must post it - "Love Me Dead" by Ludo.

Also, what the hell, this song always makes me happy - "Young Folks" by Peter, Bjorn and John.

I'm still alive

2008-07-07T11:29:00.001-07:00

Posted by Raznor

Just thought I'd post this primer on what's metal:

. . . and while I'm posting Adult Swim videos, here's something the mass media won't tell you:

And on the subject of dead celebrities, Pollak sums my thoughts well on his most recent toons here and here. Plus what he said about Helms:

Jesse Helms actually hated black people. And no one punished him for it. He retired, having been re-elected repeatedly by a majority of North Carolinians who decided that something like this wasn't racist at all, because they're fucking assholes. And when you watch that, keep in mind this isn't the remnants of a racist past that has advanced with the rest of the country. That ad was from 1990. And when it became socially awkward for Helms to openly degrade the existence of blacks, he switched to open hatred of gays.

He hated people who loved each other. He hated people who loved music. He hated parents who wanted a public education system and music programs to make them smarter and more artistic and more open to the beauty of this world than a vile person like him was ever capable of being. He hated art. He hated.

Anyway, so does this post mean a return to blogging. Maybe. I have a job htat doesn't require me to stand in a kitchen all day, so that gives me more energy. Maybe the blog shall return.

This may be the dumbest ad campaign ever

2008-01-25T14:49:00.000-08:00

Posted by Raznor

Okay, so the whole point of this ad campaign is that when Burger King stopped selling the Whopper for one day, people freaked out, since the Whopper is apparently the greatest burger ever made by man. And by "freaked out", I mean, "were weirded out that a major fast food chain inexplicably stopped selling their signature item".

Post Iowa

2008-01-04T20:35:00.000-08:00

Posted by Raznor

As I said, I was hoping Edwards would win it in Iowa, and I still think Edwards is the best candidate, but still, I can't help being excited by Obama and the prospect of a black president.

I can't tell if Obama's rhetoric means he doesn't understand the partisan rancour of Washington and the level of corruption of the beltway, and will end up, a la Reid and Pelosi, caving in to every Republican demand, or if it means he understands it perfectly, and has the ability to package progressive change so that the establishment will accept it. I hope for the latter, but the last 7 years of politics have left me quite cynical with politics in general.

Still, I can't help but feel inspired by the Obama candidacy. It's an emotion that has no rational thought behind it, but it's there.

What I'm Hoping For

2008-01-03T14:11:00.000-08:00

Posted by Raznor

I really hope Edwards wins in Iowa, and then ultimately the nomination and election. Amanda pretty much summarizes why.

But beyond that, I'm hoping for an Edwards/Obama ticket in November. Then if they pick George Clooney as Secretary of State, we will have the most handsome Administration in the history of time, previously held, of course, by Kennedy.

Santa's Evil

2007-12-17T21:32:00.000-08:00

Posted by Raznor

For the hell of it, here's a couple of happy holiday videos for you.

Raznor Recipes #1

2007-12-11T19:12:00.000-08:00

Posted by Raznor

So, I've been wanting to restart this blog for a while, but politics just makes me angry. But I was inspired by a post by Ezra to post what recipes I've invented, so without further ado, here is Raznor Recipe #1: Steak and Potatoes a la Raznor:

You will need:
approximately 16oz of steak, give or take, any cut, even buffalo if you so desire
1-2 potatoes, any variety
1 tbsp butter or olive oil
dried parsley
some amount of steak sauce

Cut up potatoes into half inch slices, put to the side. In a large saucepan on medium heat melt butter or heat up olive oil. Add parsley, mix into oil or butter with a spatula. Add potatoes, cover, and heat until potatoes are soft. Then, with spatula, push potatoes to the edge of the pan. Then add steak, splash on steak sauce. For medium rare to medium, cover for 5-7 minutes, then flip steak over, splash on steak sauce again, cover for another 5-7 minutes, then serve.

One of the benefits is the steak sauce and parsley soak into the potatoes, giving them a quite distinct and delicious flavor. I tend to like to steam some broccoli with this.

Anyway, there's Raznor Recipe #1, if anyone's still reading this, let me know what you think.

Easin' back into blogging maybe

2007-08-26T13:30:00.000-07:00

Posted by Raznor

So, yeah, my life since April has been pretty hectic, but I wanted to try to get a few posts in and try resurrecting this blog.

So to start with, if anyone's reads this, I thought I'd link to this Cat and Girl comic and leave in comments your various names.

Me, my singer-songwriter name is Benjamin Berlin, and my trust fund name is Russ Grant-McKinley II.

Adendum to "Bummer"

2007-04-13T09:25:00.000-07:00

Posted by Ross

The Sirens of Titan was the first Vonnegut book I ever read (and has a sacred place in my heart) and his work played a pivotal role in my intellectual development during my teenage years. I always dreamed of getting the chance to meet him, but I guess that one's gonna have to wait. I'm not saying I wouldn't be a writer if it hadn't been for Kurt Vonnegut, but I can say it wasn't until I started reading Vonnegut that I was inspired to dedicate my life to the craft.

I'm also not saying I wouldn't be a humanist if it weren't for Vonnegut. But when I learned that was what he called himself, I knew it was what I am too.

Peace.

Bummer

2007-04-12T08:24:00.000-07:00

Posted by Raznor

Kurt Vonnegut died. Probably the most unique American writer of the 20th century. He'll be missed.

My first Vonnegut book was what is considered his darkest - Mother Night. Vonnegut's warning in the introduction to that book is one that has always stuck with me. "We are who we pretend to be, so we must be careful who we pretend to be."

In high school, I read Cat's Cradle. If people ask me about my spirituality and I don't feel like getting into details, I tell them Bokononism. It's as good a description as any.

What I was wrong about in March, 2003

2007-03-06T21:31:00.000-08:00

Posted by Raznor

Brian Flemming has an interesting challenge for bloggers, look back into the archives from March, 2003 and find out what we were wrong about. For me this was an interesting trip down memory lane. Here's what I've determined by looking at my archives from March, 2003.

1) I was a much more avid blogger when this blog was still new.
2) But this was partially because I was used to reading huge amounts for college. I am stunned by how many articles I was reading back then. Plus I was treading through long comments threads at Alas, A Blog. I just don't read as much since college ended.
3) My html skillz sucked. They still aren't that good, but man, 3 years ago? Terrible.

Anyway, there was one thing that I was particularly wrong about. It was here where I was predicting what victory in Iraq would bring:

ut what if we win? Al Qaeda will get at least as many new recruits than from the loss, we're now proven to be on a Crusade. We'll likely use the victory to spur us onto more Imperial conquest of Syria and Egypt and Iran. Soon we'll be occupying, and we'll lose a lot of men for it, and acts of terrorism against the citizens of the US would likely reach unimaginable levels. We'll likely be at war with Turkey to keep them out of northen Iraq, and don't forget that we'll lose a lot of service men and women in occupying hostile territory. And if we keep attacking nation after nation, and I would not put it past the Administration to do so, if we keep getting victory after victory, our Empire will grow, and the greater the Empire the more unstable, and it will fall if history is an indicator.

Of course, what ended up happening is we neither really "won" nor "lost" but are still bogged down in a long occupation. But I was right about Al Qaeda. And I think the next paragraph was damn spot on, and really remarkably candid. (really, I'm impressed with 21-year-old me)

So maybe the best course we could reasonably hope for is a loss in this war. Something that will slap awake the American populace. Make us realize that war is never clean, it's a messy endeavor. Maybe, if that happens, a loss in this war will save more people than the war will destroy.

If Iraq had managed to repel our invasion, the fallout would have been immeasurably damaging, but I can't imagine it being significantly worse than the indefinite occupation and drain on our resources we're seeing now in Iraq.

Friday Random 10

2007-03-02T11:15:00.000-08:00

Posted by Raznor

Here's the list:

1) "Pink Love" - Blonde Redhead
2) "The Dark of the Matinee" - Franz Ferdinand
3) "Space Dementia" - Muse
4) "Dissident" - Pearl Jam
5) "Extraordinary Machine" - Fiona Apple
6) "16 Military Wives" - The Decemberists
7) "Misery is a Butterfly" - Blonde Redhead
8) "Close Edge" - Mos Def
9) "Hated Because of Great Qualities" - Blonde Redhead (Wow, third Blonde Redhead song in this random shuffle.)
10) "Wouldn't Mama Be Proud" - Jeff Trott (great rendition of Elliott Smith's original version)

Well enjoy that, I'll include a post with music videos later today (Youtube doesn't like me right now). In the meantime, make your own list in comments.

The most awesome Family Guy moment ever

2007-02-23T15:43:00.000-08:00

Posted by Raznor

A recent episode of Family Guy, "The Road to Rupert" featured this:

And for those wondering just how well this syncs up with the original scene from Anchors Aweigh:

The big cliche is to wonder how creative types come up with their ideas. But I seriously want to know who was it who saw this scene and thought, "Hey let's put Stewie there."

I love George Takei and so do you

2007-02-21T17:03:00.000-08:00

Posted by Raznor

Takei on Hardaway, via JMG.

FR to da T

2007-02-16T11:04:00.000-08:00

Posted by Raznor

It really feels like spring today. I'm sitting in a cafe in the U District in Seattle and the door's open and just a really nice day which puts me in a nice good mood.

Anyway, here's the Friday Random Ten:

1) "Oh Well" - Fiona Apple
2) "Mama" - My Chemical Romance
3) "Days Like This Keep Me Warm" - The Polyphonic Spree
4) "Trap Door" - Heatmiser
5) "What You Meant" - Franz Ferdinand
6) "Splendid Isolation" - Pete Yorn
7) "Matinee Idol" - Rufus Wainwright
8) "The Engine Driver" - The Decemberists
9) "If There's Love" - Citizen Cope
10) "Carlos (Don't Let It Go To Your Head) (Live)" - Pete Yorn

Speaking of Pete Yorn, I got the pleasure of seeing him in concert this past weekend. It was my third time seeing Yorn live, and by far the best I've ever seen him.

Anyway, here's his music video for "For Us".

Comics I like

2007-02-16T10:49:00.000-08:00

Posted by Raznor

I'll do a Friday random 10 again today, but I thought I'd post a few links to comics that cracked me up or are generally good.

First off, August Pollak's latest is utterly hilarious. The penultimate panel still has me giggling.

Secondly, check out this Cat and Girl about the manifestations of rich privelege.

Then there's Mikhaela's take on the "100% heterosexual" Ted Haggard.

And what Valentine's Day would be complete without some cards from Brian McFadden and Scott Ramsoomair.

. . . adding: Looks like August Pollak's toon I linked to above will be in this Sunday's LA Times. Rock on.

Oh and in for those of you who don't get the above VG Cats, the horrified man behind the desk is the genius behind many of Nintendo's most popular franchises Shigeru Miyamoto.

Also, I forgot to mention one of my new favorite comics, Alma Mater about the lives of students at an all girl private school. Just start here and keep reading. I absolutely love the artwork.

the tamale lady

2007-02-14T23:24:00.000-08:00

Posted by Ross

My karate studio is about a ten minute walk from where I live. I go to karate usually three times a week, though have been going more recently because I am getting ready to test for brown belt. But I'm not writing this to talk about karate. I am writing this to talk about the bag of tamales sitting on my table.

When I was carrying that bag home, it felt like I was carrying a big bag of dog shit. Like from a Great Dane or something. And the fact that the tamales were still steaming didn't do a thing to enhance my appetite.

I generally see the tamale lady when I'm walking home from karate on Wednesday and Thursday nights, standing with her shopping cart full of tamales for sale. I speak Spanish so I always say something like, "Buenas noches."

And then she usually says, "Buenas noches, como esta?" (Always third person.)

And then I say, "Bien, bien, y tu?"

And then she says, "Bien, gracias."

And then I say, "Hasta luego."

And then she says, "Hasta luego."

Or sometimes I say, "Que te vaya bien."

And she says, "Igualmente."

I don't think the tamale lady is as old as I am, which is 30. And I know the tamale lady is considerably shorter than my wife, which is 5'1".

The point to all this has to do with the first time I said "hola" to her three years ago, after which point she asked me if I wanted to buy a tamale, and I said no. I didn't tell her that the reason I said no had to do with the fact that I just didn't find the prospect of buying tamales from someone's shopping cart particularly appetizing.

And now, three years later, there are dos tamales de pollo y dos tamales de queso sitting on my kitchen table still in that black bag so it looks like I brought the Great Dane shit into my apartment. And though I am hungry, I do not want to eat the tamales.

Which makes me wonder what happens next time I see the tamale lady. One possible thing I could do is never buy a tamale from her again. Another possible thing to do is that I always keep a dollar on hand and buy un tamale de queso every time I see her, and then throw it away when I come home. Another possible thing I could do is try the tamales, and who knows, maybe they will be amazing...or maybe I'll get some sort of parasite in my stomach...or maybe a fun combination of the two.

See what happened was I was walking home from karate tonight and she was walking to her spot with her shopping cart and I asked her, "Como estas?"

And she said, "Bien, bien, trabajando."

And it was the way she said "trabajando" that made me feel, not necessarily bad for her, and not necessarily responsible for her, but, well, I guess it made me feel generous (not that four dollars for four tamales is the hugest act of philanthropy or anything).

The only time I ever saw the tamale lady not at her little spot was this Sunday morning, like 8:45, when I was on my way to Sunday school.

She was walking down my street pushing her cart. And we said our greetings, and then she said, "Quieres un tamale?"

And I said, "Es demasiado temprano para tamales."

But I kept thinking, was she, like, out all night selling tamales? It made me think maybe I should buy a tamale at some point. It made me even think maybe they would be the world's greatest tamales. I mean, she's out there selling those tamales all the time, so she must have repeat customers, right?

So tonight I bought some. And she didn't really have a bag to put them in. Instead it was like one of those plastic bags from the grocery story that you put the fruit in. Except it had like been cut in half or something so that it was really just a thin piece of plastic. Only I didn't know that, so when I tried to put my change back in my wallet, the tamales slid all over the place and onto my karate bag and stuff, and I was doing my damndest to keep them from falling on the street, and then she was like, "Un momento."

And then she grabbed up the tamales in her bare hands and walked over to the little convenience store run by the guy whose car has an "Allah is Your Protector" bumper sticker on his SUV and he gave her a couple of those black plastic bags and she put the tamales in the bag and then gave the bag to me, and I said, "Gracias."

And she said, "De nada."

And then I said, "Hasta luego."

But I just don't think I can bring myself to eat them. Maybe I'll heat up some of those Trader Joe's turkey meatballs instead.

** Update: The tamales turned out to be good. **

Friday Random Ten

2007-02-09T11:05:00.000-08:00

Posted by Raznor

Why not?

1) "Jesus of Suburbia" - Green Day
2) "There There (The Boney King of Nowhere)" - Radiohead
3) "Big Man With a Gun" - Nine Inch Nails
4) "Together We're Heavy" - The Polyphonic Spree
5) "Why Did I Decide to Stay" - Heatmiser (Heatmiser, by the way, was Elliott Smith's band before he went solo)
6) "Division Day" - We Are Telephones (an Elliott Smith cover from To: Elliott, From: Portland)
7) "Hanging Around the Day Part II" - The Polyphonic Spree
8) "Yesterday Never Tomorrows" - The Stills (Side note: is that not the greatest title for a song ever?)
9) "Wake Me Up When September Ends" - Green Day
10) "Molly's Chambers" - Kings of Leon

And taking a page from Amanda's playbook, here's a music video of The Stills.

The National Media: A Summary

2007-02-09T08:11:00.000-08:00

Posted by Raznor

I can think of very little that's caused me to laugh as uncontrollably as today's Penny Arcade.

Edwards does the right thing

2007-02-08T14:57:00.000-08:00

Posted by Raznor

He's keeping Amanda and Shakes. Bully for him. Bully I say.

A note on Verb Tense

2007-02-07T13:10:00.000-08:00

Posted by Raznor

Just a further note on the faux outrage about the great and talented Amanda Marcotte and Melissa McEwan being hired by the John Edwards blog - note that when this is discussed it's always "Edwards mired himself in a scandal", and yet when people talk about Iraq and Bush, it's always "The Iraq war hurt Bush's popularity", like poor Bush, he was just sitting along and suddenly there was a war in Iraq that went poorly. What's a guy to do?

Also, as a must read, check out Pam Spauldings' thoughts.

This has made me so angry that I can barely enjoy my new favorite webtoon.

Right wingers manufacture controversy, MSM dutifully recites

2007-02-07T13:03:00.000-08:00

Posted by Raznor

It's going to be a long campaign season.

Day after Superbowl thoughts

2007-02-05T11:05:00.000-08:00

Posted by Raznor

One word - BORING.

This is the problem with the Superbowl. It's one game. One game can be very exciting, but usually it's boring and one sided.

The others of the big 4 sports, on the other hand, have series, which are usually more exciting than the individual games. Although last year's World Series was a pretty boring one, think of my personal favorite World Series of 2001, where the D-backs kicked some Yankee ass in a thrilling 7 game series. But don't forget that Game 6 of that series was a yawning 900-2 D-backs blowout. If that had been the only game of that series the result would be the same, Diamondbacks would be world champions, but things would have been much less exciting.