Archive for July 2008

The monthlies.

• Lending Rape

  “[Construction lending] was always a pretty risky bet for lenders, but they were so busy raping people in other corners of the market, it made sense.” — A friend of a friend that formerly worked in construction lending and now works in international shipping, from an email on the subject.

• The Savages

  This movie pairs together probably the two best (and for a long time, the most underrated) character actors of our generation — Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Laura Linney (who continues to make every character she plays memorable). However, this script is not that great. The film takes place in Buffalo, and was shot there, so [...]

• The Homes of the Homeless

  Something that everyone knew but didn’t want to admit — especially organizations that aim to help those “in need” — the majority of homeless people (on the streets begging for money; you know, “beggars”) are not homeless. Long-time readers probably know that I am not a fan of the homeless (especially when they have dogs). [...]

• 527 Spam

  Am I the only one to find this morning email view unintentionally hilarious…

• Morning Politoon

  I enjoyed the New Yorker cover. Satire is golden in this age of all-too-serious politics. David Horsey piles on… Image: Seattle Post-Intelligencer And the original controversial cover… Image: New Yorker

• New Yorker, Continued

  This week’s New Yorker caption contest… Image: New Yorker You have to admit, counselor, the defense does make a convincing argument.

• Obama’s Foreign Policy

  In a speech today… “This war [the Iraq war] distracts us from every threat that we face and so many opportunities we could seize. This war diminishes our security, our standing in the world, our military, our economy, and the resources that we need to confront the challenges of the 21st century. By any measure, [...]

• Liveblogging the Bush Press Conference

  7:44am Bush: “We understood what was coming.” We just didn’t do anything about it. 7:47am Bush: “Is this a war? Or is this like law enforcement?” 7:48am Bush: “One front is going better than the other, and that is Iraq. Afghanistan is a tough fight. Afghanistan is reminiscent of what was going on in Iraq [...]

• Little Impact

  I think this news-story sums up the Bush administration… “By itself, the move [the lifting of a presidential moratorium on drilling for oil and natural gas on the Outer Continental Shelf] will have little impact, because Congress enacted a moratorium in 1982 that remains in place.” One might say that the Bush presidency has had, [...]

• Obama Opines

  Barack Obama penned an op-ed for the New York Times… We should seize this moment to begin the phased redeployment of combat troops that I have long advocated, and that is needed for long-term success in Iraq and the security interests of the United States. [...] In this campaign, there are honest differences over Iraq, [...]

• Hagel, Obama, Iraq

  Chuck Hagel would be my choice for Obama’s VP, and he will be traveling with the Illinois senator on a trip to Iraq, so hopefully that conversation will continue on the plane.

• Snob

  Haha. After finding this image beyond hilarious (and clever), I realized something. It makes me like Obama even more. After eight years of a “common”-man president* (and the disaster that he created), I would appreciate my president being elitist (head held high)… Image: Michelle Malkin * And I use the term “common” loosely; the son [...]

• The Boomer-Clinton Love Affair

  I wanted to post this awhile back, in the midst of the Obama-Clinton slug-fest; alas, I ran out of time. Holding down four-and-a-half jobs, all the while volunteering at my local societies, and still not being able to fill-up my gas tank, unfortunately leaves me with not enough time to post all of the entries [...]

• Slate

  When was the last time you actually read an article on Slate? I have clicked on the colorful headlines on the front-page so many times, and then when I started reading the first paragraph — “eh” — I quickly lost interest. When will I learn? New rule: No more Slate Magazine. It has been removed [...]

• Quarter-Mile

  And now, some timely wisdom from reyonthehill… I am not the person who says that I’ll run a mile, and then stop after a quarter-mile because I am too tired to continue. Instead, I’ll tell you I’ll run a quarter-mile, and then I’ll run that quarter-mile. And the next day, I’ll tell you I’ll run [...]

• Fiorina

  A potential GOP vice-presidential nominee failed to realize that John McCain favors the repeal of Roe v. Wade… “[Former CEO of Hewlett-Packard Carly Fiorina] argued that ‘many health insurance plans cover Viagra but won’t cover birth-control medication. Those women would like a choice.’ [...] It wasn’t the first such slipup. Fiorina’s public reassurance to a [...]

• Golden Gate Jumpers

  I am not a proponent of modifying the Golden Gate Bridge to reduce the potential for the landmark to be a location and method for suicide (I think it is a silly idea), but with the five choices offered, I would choose the netting option. It certainly would have the least visual impact on the [...]

• How To Pretend You Give A Shit About The Election

  The Onion News Network is here to help you… I promise I won’t talk about politics tonight.

• Take Me Out

  Long-time listeners of the A’s Superfan Network are well-aware of my disdain for the ubiquitous seventh-inning stretch number that is played in every stadium, truly the bane of the game, Take Me Out to the Ballgame. A recent investigation by ESPN reveals that we can thank the Cubs for the horrific sideshow. I say, bring [...]

• Pirates of Silicon Valley

  This movie changed my outlook on life when I first watched it on TNT in 1999. I had to make sure my wife saw it too before it was too late, and although the soundtrack sound-levels are considerably “off,” this made-for-TV movie stands up pretty well over time. I hadn’t realized, however, that while I [...]

« newer — older »