One fuckup to another

Great Leader comforts the assembled heterosexual youth.

The Stars at Night Are Big and Bright 4

The good things about Texas: Ann Richards. Molly Ivins. Roky Erickson. Buddy Holly. T-Bone Walker. Blind Lemon Jefferson. Flaco Jimenez. And this!

We love Great Leader! 12

Um... hold on, wait a minute... we DID anyway...

We love Great Leader! 11

Even if his nose keeps growing.

Couldn't happen to a nicer bunch 2

Kos is godhead. Keep hope alive!

Mark Goes to the Movies

The Island (dir. Michael Bay) A Michael Bay movie that doesn't suck? I know, I didn't believe it either. But though it's too long and the storyline disintegrates half an hour before the (happy!) ending, this one is the real deal: an almost perfect summer movie. Because it's Michael Bay, the action sequences move along at a nicely breakneck clip, and lots of cool machinery gets destroyed very colorfully. Myself, I think it's at least as good as Batman Begins or War of the Worlds. neither of which had stars anywhere near as adorable as Ewan MacGregor and Scarlett Johansen. Markie's score (stupid points): ????

Last Days (dir. Gus van Sant) I'll admit I haven't paid as close attention to Gus van Sant recently as I have to other directors (though I did like Elephant, and was bothered by the way it aesthetized all the killing). Maybe that allows me to view this film on its own merits instead of as part of an trilogy or whatever. In any event, this is minimalist film that's also pretty rich: lovely ambient sounds of birds and insects in place of dialogue, long static shots of mountain streams and woods. The people story is pretty sad and uninvolving. The Cobain-like main character wanders around mumbling incomprehensibly, dressing up, playing with a shotgun, and nodding out. He makes every effort to isolate himself from every person in his life (his wife, child, band, manager, housematers). So there's not a lot to hang onto--it's watching a car crash in very slow motion, with zero catharsis. But a beautiful crash anyway. Markie's score: ***

Why I love James Wolcott

Like, where else are you going to read prose like this?

And if I may venture a modest editorial opinion of [Bernard] Goldberg and his pseudo-book, his inclusion of former CBS colleague Dan Rather on the list--at #12, no less--shows what a backstabbing little careerist fuckrat he is.

Edward Fortyhands

A wonderful new game brought to you by those lovable perverts who provide, for your entertainment, the immortal Drunk of the Week column.

Mmm, Tasty! 9 (for reals!)

Attention Seattlites: This roundup includes a review of my beloved Greenwood hole-in-the-wall, La Botana.

And while we're on the subject of vittles, allow me to put in a good word for the lovely people and wonderful Middle Eastern food now being dished up at Palmyra in Wallingford. (No link yet, but here's a map.)

Support our Troops!

Yeah, right.

With legal defenses like this, who needs the Justice Department?

The fascinating and colorful attorney who's been walking point for Unkle Karl. (Note: I don't have a subscription to the source, but I guess Josh Marshall does, so use his link.)

We love Great Leader! 10

Within the margin of error...

Take a look at those cakes!

Male behavior: universal or primate-specific? Discuss.

Baseballism of the Day

worm killer: (n) a very low ground ball.

Sandra Day O'Connor's Retirement and Reproductive Choice

While I sure as hell don't trust the bunch of clowns in control of the Executive and Legislative Branches to give two rips about women's right to choose, I'm intrigued by the argument in this article: that even some of the people on the list of O'Connor's possible replacements regard Roe (at least in their public statements on the subject) as settled law. Again, that doesn't mean that Bush won't nominate someone who's out to reverse Roe outright. But it does mean that at least one source of political conventional wisdom recognizes that if Roe gets reversed, a real shitstorm will ensue. And just maybe those soccer moms who felt "safer" with Bush Jong-Il at the controls will recognize who they were really voting for when they elected all those Rethugs in '04.