Lucky Adrastus
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Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in the "Lucky Adrastus" journal:[<< Previous 20 entries]
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02:12 am
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Iron Chef For Small-Brained Humans (i.e. Women Apparently)
Well, they finally put Rachel Ray on Iron Chef. And Giada de Laurentiis too (as if I really cared -- let's say it all together, food isn't sexy, food isn't sexy, food isn't sexy -- it's food). Anyway, the theme of this episode is extreme condescension to the pretty girls. They both go through "training" with male Iron Chefs. Ray: "I'm a cook, not a chef". Iron Chef Bobby Flay to de Laurentiis: "You'll do just fine... if the secret ingredient is corn or sweet potatoes."
Then they don't even run their own kitchens -- each is only assistant to their respective male Iron Chefs. Their interviews focus on their "fear". de Laurentiis: "I'm just worried about freezing up."
Announcer Alton Brown gets into the upittyness, calling the girls "special culinary guests", and two of Food Network's "best know personalities". So apparently even food nerds like Alton Brown (and, uh, me?) are supposed to look down on these two. Yuck.
Couldn't they just have had a cook-off between the two "personalities"? It's not as if the world would come to an end if Rachel Ray didn't use foie gras and de Laurentiis' cake isn't topped with a multi-colored sugar sculpture. It's just food. Isn't is supposed to be, y'know, fun?
Current Mood:  grumpy
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09:35 am
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Why Secretary Lieberman Isn't LIkely
I'm as dissapointed with Lieberman's recent positions as anyone else. But I can't agree with what I'm hearing from so many corners: that Lieberman will replace Rumsfield as SecDef, allowing the Republican governor of CT to replace him in the Senate, throwing it back to the Dems. (This assumes that the Dems take the Senate, of course, which appears likely this morning.) There are two (and a half) absoluely fatal flaws to the Lieberman flip theory, as far as I can see:
(1) The Secretary of Defense must be approved by the Senate. The 50 remaining Senate Democrats would be able to fillibuster the nomination.
(2) Lieberman would be giving up a guaranteed six-year term in the Senate, with a good shot at reelection, for a two year slot in a Lame Duck Bush administration. [As a subset of this point, how desirable would it be to run Iraq policy at this point anyway? Bush couldn't find anyone credible to run FEMA... But Lieberman is pretty delusional on this point].
(2 1/2) CT has already has a kind of "Shadow Senator", a popular mainstream Democrat whose been bidding his time to become Senator in a state where the two slots were held by popular Democrats only a few years older than him. Richard Blumenthal, the state attorney general. If Lieberman gives up his slot, it'll eventually end up in Blumenthal's hands (there aren't any credible Republicans in the state beyond the governor herself). It'd be infinetly harder to get it back from Blumenthal than from Lamont.
Now Lieberman could still change his vote, or even just resign out of spite (although why bother running for reelection then?) My impression is that in Lieber-land they really do think he's the future of the Democratic party. I think for ideological reasons he wouldn't want to out-and-out declare he's a Republican. Especially since he's getting to keep his seniority in the Senate, with the Dems (most of whom declined to really camapaign against him anyway).
UPDATE: Well, two hours later I'm proud (arrogant) to say that this post looks pretty prescient, as Bush just nominated Robert Gates for DefSec. Now, if only I knew anything about Robert Gates. I doubt Bush could win on anyone controversial...
Current Mood:  thoughtful
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09:10 pm
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:)
CNN just called the house for the Democrats!!!
Per Wolf Blitzer: "The will represent a significant change in the balance of power between the executive and the legislative."
You better fucking believe it.
Current Mood:  satisfied
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08:38 pm
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More on that...
Per NewDonkey, no matter what how else the rest of the night goes, it's been a great term for defeating atrocious pols. Includling primary losses and resignations, the last year has seen the demise of:
Tom Delay
Rick Santorum
Ralph Reed
Katherine Harris
Ken Blackwell
Cynthia McKinney (lone democrat on my sh*t list)
Washington is going to be a much butter run place. (And Ohio in the case of "religious" fascist Ken Blackwell).
Current Mood: happy
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08:13 pm
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Early in the Night
Just watched the concession speech of Senator Man-on... well, I won't kick a dog while he's down. The concession speech of Senator Santorum. Soon-to-be ex-Senator. (Ok, a little kick there). He was very gracious, and asked his supporters to cheer Casey. I know it's pro-forma, but it's still nice to see.
It's still early in the night. There's not anything unusual happening in the house, so that'll likely go Dem as expected. The Senate is still very much in play (races still in the run: VA, MO, TN, MT). We'd need three of those four, which is possible, but difficult. Even if we only narrow the gap in the Senate, but don't win it, there'll still be wins over a lot of lousy republicans (see e.g. Senator Man-On-Dog [yeah, I've gotten over my sympathy]).
Democrats did great this term in the Senate with only 45 votes. Now they'll have at least 47 votes, plus a House with subpoena power. So it's a good night even if we don't take the Senate.
Current Mood: good
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12:22 am
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Quick Apologies
Sorry for the paucity of posts. I've been very busy at a new job for about two months now. It's pretty much all I think about, but I think I shouldn't post about it on the off chance that anything I say might hinder my job advancement.
Actually, considering that I have to re-apply several times in the near future (it's a government, civil-service kind of job) let's not say that I might hinder my "job advancement" but rather my "job have-ment". Yes, I just graduated UCLA Law Review and have approximately zero job security and basically no salary.
So anyway, not to many posts even though I've got a lot of stories to tell. You'll just have to ask me about it in person (or on telephone, etc...) Now if only I weren't so busy I could start keeping up with my friends...
Current Mood:  tired
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10:56 am
[Link] | This could be nothing, or it could be frickin' huge.
Apparently this morning on "Meet the Press", Senator Obama switched from "I'm not going to run for President" to "I'm going to decide after the midterms whether to run for President". AP reporting.
In the world of Presidential politics that's normally lingo for "I'm currently planning to run". Almost everyone who says that ends up running.
Hmm... Clinton/Obama, or Clinton vs. Obama? Maybe both...
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10:17 am
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Speaking of Campaign Ads
If Harold Ford, the Democratic Senate candidate in Tenessee, wins his race he'll be the first African-American elected to represent a southern state since Reconstruction.
Is it any coincidence that the point of this campaign ad is pretty explicity "Harold Ford sleeps with white women"? This is, of course, a southern state. It features a blonde woman making thuddingly obvious reference to having "met Harold at the playboy party." It opens with a white brunette talking about how "Harold Ford looks nice" and closes with the obnoxious blonde cooing "call me" to Ford.
Shouldn't this be a "Macaca" moment in this Senate campaign? I think it's more explicit than calling a kid an obscure word that happens to be a slur in Tunisia.
BONUS FACTOID: I already noted that Ford would be the first black senator elected from the south since Reconstruction. It's not exactly just a southern problem. He'd be only the fourth black senator elected in the US, period, since Reconstruction.
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12:44 am
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Brr...
Now this is a powerful campaign ad.
Also a rather stark update on Michael J. Fox's condition.
Current Mood:  sad
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11:31 pm
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Little Dictum
Will the North Korea nuclear tests push Foleygate out of the news? No.
In the American consciousness, sex trumps violence. We bombed Iraq during the Monica Lewinsky scandal. Guess which one got more coverage. This will always apply, with one minor exception.
That exception? 9/11 pushed Gary Condit out of the news. But he still lost his bid for reelection. And the North Korea thing doesn't have anywhere near the magnitude of 9/11.
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12:59 am
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Nerdery Squared
D&D alignments for Avatar characters! I swear that I know several readers of my blog who should enjoy this.
( Read more... )
Current Mood: Really Geeky
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09:00 pm
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I'm Back!
President Bush explained in a major speech today that we don't "torture" prisoners in the Global War on Terrorism. No he clarifed, we use "an alternative set of procedures".
You see, don't call it "torture". It's an "alternative"! Take waterboarding. You shouldn't think of it as strapping a man upside down to a inclinced table, tightly wrapping celophane over his face, and pouring water into his partially blocked esophagus. Think of it as offering him an alternative. Chicken or Fish?
Apparently he chose Fish.
Current Mood: defending the indefensible
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10:34 am
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More Tracking
This morning the computer arrived from El Paso, TX into Phoenix, AZ, on it's way to Los Angeles. It left Phoenix fifteen minutes ago.
Current Mood: quivering in anticipation
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11:00 pm
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Ahhhhhhh
Feels so good. One week late, my computer has finally shipped. Seven minutes ago, it left a FedEx shipping facility in El Paso, Texas for it's trip to my apartment. Estimated delivery is on Wednesday.
Current Mood: ecstatic
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09:54 pm
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Gerk!
So my big reward for passing the bar was a new computer. I haven't bought a computer since I got a laptop in 2002, in preparation for law school. That means I haven't been able to run any of the new games I want to play (Civ4, Oblivion, and GTA:San Andreas). So the new computer is big. Or would be, if it were on time...
I ordered it two weeks ago with a brand-new Intel Core 2 Duo processor. It was supposed to ship last Monday. Unfortunately, it seems that Hewlett-Packard, from whom I ordered the computer, oversold and underpurchased the processors. So I'm still waiting. And waiting. And going kinda nuts.
I ordered from HP because I read they had good customer service, and I'd been driven rather round the bend by Dell's atrocious customer service. And indeed, HP's customer service and has been prompt and friendly as I deal with this. Of course, I still don't have my computer...
At least I'm occupied with something wonderful. Alexander Neil, my nephew who was born yesterday. My older nephew Michael is a sweetie as well.
Current Mood: cranky
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02:56 pm
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More Lieberman Stuff, Because Hey, It's Fun
Lieberman seems to have decided that the trick for winning as an independent is to run to the right. Free of the demands of the primary, he can unfurl his wings for the war and so forth.
See him today: “If we just pick up like Ned Lamont wants us to do, get out by a date certain, it will be taken as a tremendous victory by the same people who wanted to blow up these planes in this plot hatched in England,” Mr. Lieberman said at a campaign event at lunchtime in Waterbury, Conn. “It will strengthen them and they will strike again.”
Is this really the right strategem? Lieberman wins if Lamont is seen as being solely the left-wing candidate. All other things equal, the only way you beat a liberal-democrat in a blue state is by being the moderate-democrat. You don't win by being the Republican (unless you're the liberal Republican) -- that's why the call it a blue state. This has been the pattern for ages in Los Angeles mayoral elections, where every election cycle since the early 90s has featured a moderate Democrat (or liberal Repbublican) beating a liberal Democrat. It's even the pattern in San Francisco, where Gavin Newsom (the gay marriage mayor) and Willie Brown won elections against strong Green Party candidates, not against Republican opponents.
Lieberman should try tacking to the left, and present himself as the true moderate Democrat in the race. Lamont gets the lefties, and Lieberman gets moderate dems, non-liberal indepdenents, and Republicans. But if he presents himself as the conservative, he loses moderate dems, liberal republicans (who exist in CT), and liberal and most moderate independents. If you only have the moderate to conservative indepdendents and Republicans, you end up, well, whereever the Republican party has ended up in the Northeast recently. Certainly not in Washington.
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11:32 pm
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Lieber-lessons
There's been a lot of discussion about what the Lamont-Lieberman election means. Is this the start of a purge of moderates from the Democratic party? Is it about more than Iraq? Is it about nothing?
Here's what I think it's about. No matter how strong a general election candidate you may appear to be, don't say anything to totally piss off your base before a primary. Lieberman wouldn't be in this position if he hadn't given a speech a few months ago telling Democrats they shouldn't criticize Bush. That's not exactly the way to ask someone to vote for you.
Consider 2003 and Richard Riordan. Riordan was the astoundingly popular liberal Republican mayor of Los Angeles. He entered the California Governor's race with polls showing him crushing the dull, unpopular Gray Davis. Just crushing him. So what did Riordan do? Start running to the center/left in the Republican primary. At the major Republican candidate debate he was asked to name his two favorite California Governors. His answer? "Pat Brown and Earl Warren."
He named Pat Brown, a Democrat, and Earl Warren, perhaps the most famous super-liberal Republican of all time. And he didn't say two simple words -- "Ronald Reagan".
I think if you don't have enough respect for the Republican Party to say that Ronald Reagan was your favorite governor of California, you have no business asking for their endorsement. And if you're going to tell members of the Democratic Party, while they're in the opposition, that it is somehow wrong to challenge Republican policies, you don't get to win the Democratic primary.
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11:09 am
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A Very Vexing Problem
You know what gets me? When I hear (or read) people saying "very unique". If you're a normal human being, your probably asking right now, "so what?".
Well, you see, "very unique" is incorrect English. "Unique" means one-of-a-kind. "Very" means more than usual. Nothing can be more "one-of-a-kind" than anything else. It's already one of a kind! Is it so unique that it's only 8/10ths-of-a-kind?
I've been noticing a lot of usage of "very unique" recently. Here it is in the NYTimes today (admittedly, in a quote). Meanwhile whenever I see behind-the-scenes clips discussing Avatar:The Last Airbender, the creater, Michael Dante DiMartino, cannot stop saying "very unique". He used the expression some three times in thirty seconds discussing really cool new character Toph. "Toph is very unique because she's a blind earthbender ... Unlike other earthbenders, she uses a very unique martial arts style called Praying Mantis Style." And so on.
The thing is, should I care? Does it really matter that it's not proper, Formal English? Most of these rules (me vs. I; no split infinitives) are just silly shibboleths. "Unique" is used these days to mean not just "one-of-a-kind" but also "very unusual". When people say "very unique" they just mean "very, very unusual."
So I guess I should probably get over it.
But it still pops out at me.
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11:08 am
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Democracy Still Works!
In a repeat of Dover, PA election results last November, voters in Kansas have voted out a creationist majority on the Kansas School Board, meaning that "Intelligent Design" will soon be on the way out (again) in Kansas.
Current Mood: cheerful
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07:53 pm
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Sweet
In the pipeline, three Timm-verse/DCAU direct-to-video movies with PG-13 ratings. Justice League: New Frontier, Superman:Doomsday, and Teen Titans:The Judas Contract.
Timm is intimately involved with the first two, and apparently connected to the third one.
New Frontier is an amazingly good comic in the DCAU style that retells the origin of the Justice League, set very specifically in the 60s. It's a cross between Superman/Batman/Flash and 60s Sean Connery James Bond and 40s to 50s John Wayne. A cross in all the best ways. I'm very excited, though kind of surprised anything so good and adult-ish could every be created (kind of like Avatar:The Last Airbender, which is at least aimed on the surface for children).
I don't have anything terribly useful to say about the Superman project, other than to note that what I've read indicates it would retell the Superman/Doomsday rivalry already covered in Superman:TAS and JLU. I'd hope it would instead take off from the end of JLU, where Luthor gave Doomsday the Anti-Life Equation. (Yeah, I'm a big geek).
The Teen Titans piece would not be the Murakanime style that the cartoon made famous, and would be written by Marv Wolfman, the originator of the cool Teen Titans upon which the anime was based. The Judas Contract was the original storyline that introduced (and debauched and then killed off) Terra.
I'm skeptical of what could come of this, but there's always room for hope.
Current Mood:  bouncy
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