Antidisingenuousmentarianism

1) Remember when I was suggesting we're fucked, budgetarily? Yeah. I think we still are, actually. The focus of this ABH article (Morris-provided) is on closing some sales tax loopholes to increase revenue collected by the state, but right in the middle is this:

The Georgia Budget and Policy Institute said it expects the state to face a shortfall between $550 million and $700 million in its budget for fiscal-year 2006, which begins July 1.

Alan Essig, the institute's executive director, said that Perdue should be credited with turning the focus on making programs prove their worth to receive funding.

Eff! AJC also covers it, a little more in-depth:

In Georgia, bills proposing tax cuts must carry a fiscal note, saying how much revenue the state will lose. However, Essig said, lawmakers often don't realize the ongoing costs, and, in the case of breaks to businesses, don't know if they helped create jobs as intended.

"Once you get a tax break, it's in forever," he noted. "If we're talking about dropping 45,000 children from public health care, we ought to look at some of these expenditures. Maybe there is a strong public policy argument, but we're cutting funding for children, for education."

Good points. Basically, what's being proposed is a look at whether these tax cuts actually do anything positive.

2) WaPo has a brief editorial about minority enrollments falling at large universities, in which UGA is included. Kind of fair, kind of not. The thing is, they may have fallen 26% at UGA, but when the numbers are so small to begin with, even a little downturn looks huge percentage-wise. What it should be addressing is why those numbers are so small. And it's not a simple answer here.

3) Another, more forceful editorial from the Red & Black on how students should have control of activity fees: "SGA should be students' voice in campus and administrative affairs. Nowhere is that voice more crucial than in the dispersion of student activity fees." Erm, maybe, but the fact that they used a "should be" instead of an "is" shows about where SGA ranks on campus. Also, a couple of letters on the topic. You know, it's generally not a good idea to start a sentence with "Maybe I'm just boring."

[bugmenot ABH; bugmenot AJC; bugmenot WaPo]

Already mentioned this over at Athens World when it was more of a rumor, but now the Cedar Shoals thing is being covered in the ABH. Long story short, here's the first paragraph of the article:

Some Cedar Shoals High School parents and students are complaining to school district officials about a poem read by the principal over the school's intercom last week that talked about prohibitions on school prayer while at the same time, students "dress like freaks," get pregnant and use bad language.

The bit I love is this one:

If he was going to read the poem, he should have taken time to preface it with some remarks about how he wanted it to spark discussion of the changing political scene, he said Monday. His focus was intended to be on the political scene, not the religious scene, he said.

Nuh duh, fella. Of course it's political. The entire issue of school prayer is. I'm offended by the badness of the poem more than anything, but also, obvs, the lack of understanding or deliberate misrepresentation of previous constitutional interpretation. [bugmenot]

1) Elf: Not that they took long enough to put this out on dvd or anything... Anyway. Yes, it's all charming and Christmassy and a little bit corny in parts, but mostly carried by Ferrell's enthused and relatively believable performance. He's great, though I hate to admit it since he's the recipient of so darn much love these days (and I still won't concede that he's right for Ignatius J. Reilly). Is it the next Miracle on 34th Street? I don't know about that. But it's hard to do any sort of Christmas spirit thing without falling prey to massive cheesiness, and though it's predictable plot-wise, it's also weird enough to avoid a lot of that without completely cutting it out (and I'm not sure that it even should do that). Lots of fine character acting, including what's probably Kyle Gass's biggest role ever. My comparison was to School of Rock as far as a mainstream flick that makes me like it in spite of itself, but then in the discussion following with J, realized that prefer School of Rock some because am a bigger fan of rock than Christmas. One thing that struck me as really off though is the casting of Michael Lerner as the evil boss who wants things done on Christmas Eve because he's one of the more obviously Jewish actors around, and he comes off as villainous and anti-Christmas. Not that I think any of that is intentional, but it's the sort of thing you'd think you'd keep an eye out for in order to avoid it.

2) Envy: Do not get why everyone hates this so much. J contends that he prefers it to Elf, though that's informed somewhat by having seen clip after clip of that film and virtually nothing of this. I don't think it's awesome or anything, but it's not the gross-out comedy it was marketed as, which is a good thing. Ben Stiller does frustrated, which one of his strengths; Jack Black is Jack Black; and Christopher Walken almost seems to be riffing on himself, with more exaggerated pauses and weird emphases than usual. Would I buy it? No, but it provided me with enough amusement and maybe even more than I expected.

TvTattle links to this brief Yahoo article that tells us the AFLAC duck will have a brief cameo in the new Lemony Snicket flick.

In the upcoming movie, starring Jim Carrey, Meryl Streep and Jude Law, the duck is shown being launched off a boat. But that's as far as the in-movie product placement will go. The duck will be identifiable, but it won't be heard yelling its usual AFLAC plug, Johnson said.

So how is this possible?

1) Nothing snotty to say about Thomas Meredith's car accident and injuries. Can't even come up with a good conspiracy theory.

2) More on textbook costs and faulty statistics; not that those costs aren't a strain for some families, but, as the AJC points out, hardly 20 percent of total cost of college. Archie Carroll has what seems like a pretty nutty op-ed on the topic, making the case that it's the ever-increasing number of used books that drive up prices. I'm sure there are some examination copies floating around, but not so many as to affect prices nationwide.

3) Hee. Students want to have control over how their activity fee money is allocated. Because it wouldn't just degenerate into total chaos if that happened. Op-ed supports it and then some because representative government is apparently not understood. Students are here for four years (theoretically). Administrators much longer. Who would have a better idea of context and history and so on? What is foolish is the General Assembly's cap on amount of fees HOPE can cover, one of several desperate measures to save the scholarship program without those dirty words (means testing) being mentioned. R&B also provides a breakdown of allocation of those fees.

4) Looks like a reasonable compromise on the stormwater fee for the university is being discussed at least.

5) Modification of UGA anti-discrimination policy to include gays etc. (though there is a separate policy proclaiming this) hung up in red tape. It is a bit strange that we feel the need to go through the Regents, while GSU, Tech, and Georgia State just went ahead and did it without asking, but Adams must need to throw them a bone occasionally.

[bugmenot ABH; bugmenot AJC]

Or really, the love was around, but not concretized. This is just to say that finally, finally Team Brown got around to buying the Joanna Newsom album, after months of delay or it not being in or whatever (found it, oddly, at Borders rather than Tower). And yay if it isn't as good as the songs I knew before. My favorite track ("Inflammatory Writ") didn't even show up among all the downloads posted on various sites. So thanks to Comcast for its fancy on-demand stuff, which happens to include videos, which themselves included one for "The Sprout and the Bean" under Fuse (category? pop), which reinvigorated interest and desire to pass the plastic over the counter. Should I buy it for my dad for Christmas? It's a thought at least. Coincidentally, stereogum has a long post on the same, including mp3s and link to the video, which is cool. I might hate what Modest Mouse says about the album, but I can't help swooning anyway.

33. The poems range from 22 words (Carl Rakosi) to 13 pages (Fanny Howe); they are, as you might expect, rarely written in traditional forms (Frederick Seidel's disturbing ''Love Song'' is an exception); and they're often more interested in peculiar surface effects ('' 'Let's be logical.'/ Your panties.'') than in constructing a reliable voice. [from review of The Best American Poetry 2004, written by David Orr; 11/21/04; not a very exciting mention]

34. The prototypical dirty find may be Kat McCurry's. Over the course of a year Ms. McCurry found a series of cut-out photos of nude and underwear-clad bodies — sans heads — on a stretch of Frankfort Avenue in Louisville, Ky. One linking factor is that many of the photo subjects wear oversize white panties. [from a weird piece on the R-rated version of Found; 11/28/04; worth a read]

[Previously]

Of Alexander, by my half-brother-in-law, age 17, even though he was repeatedly warned not to go see it because it would suck for sure:

I fell asleep and I left early.

Actually, really not all that huge considering the long, long weekend. But still.

1) Something's Gotta Give: Sad fantasy of middle-aged ladies everywhere. And also, at the very end, of aging men (not to, you know, spoil anything, but I don't see why she can't end up with the hot, young, non-assholish doctor). I hated this movie. And yet I also found it completely watchable. Ugh. I remember pointing out, while watching, that you know you're watching a movie made by and geared to old people when, during an instant messaging conversation, each party moves the mouse to click on the "send" button after typing. Hit return, you ancient bastards! Merely the smallest of examples of innumerable irritations. I know it's supposed to be liberating yadda yadda, but if it shouldn't be a big deal for older people to be in a relationship with one another, why does the movie make it into such a big deal? Also also, idiotic color symbolism. Couldja be more obvious?

2) The Hunger: Started some time ago and just finished, upon remembering. So. Yeah. Sometimes I have trouble remembering why I'm not totally crazy about the Scott brothers. This reminds me nicely. I suppose I don't necessarily have a problem with something being all style and no substance, but I do have to like the style, and this is just too floaty and extended and druggy. It is pretty, but it's also dated, and once Bowie vanishes into a box, there seems much less reason to keep watching. Meh.

3) Lemora: A Child's Tale of the Supernatural: Also often annoying, dreamy, plotless, and too stylized. Also containing a female vampire trying to turn a younger woman (or girl, in this case) into her companion. Also a big disappointment in a lot of ways. And still more interesting than the previous. It is, at very least, rich material for anyone with a tendency toward Freudian analysis because, even before it gets made more explicit through a brief montage toward the end, this movie is absolutely psycho-weird about sex. I don't think any of it's been thought out, but there is amazing tension about adolescence and ripening and who's to be trusted and so on, plus religious stuff. None of what it might mean is spelled out, but I'd bet, if he's seen it, that David Lynch likes this movie.

4) Moon of the Wolf: Early 1970s made-for-TV werewolf movie set in Cajun country and really not bad at all, even if it does subscribe to the hairy face and hands methodology of werewolf makeup rather than something more "realistic." Not scary, but competent and well-acted. This and #6 below are part of an 8-movie, 2-disc dvd set that retails for $5.99, meaning that even if local movie rental places had these movies and they could be rented under the five movies, five days, five dollars special that is endemic to Athens, it's a better deal to buy. We'll see if that's true.

5) Two Evil Eyes: Dario and Romero collaborate (well, more like combine) on their own Poe pic. It's an abbreviated horror anthology, with only two stories instead of the usual three-plus, but it's more than solid. Romero's segment ("The Facts in the Case of Mr. Valdemar") seems to be thought of as lacking, but I think it's pretty good and an example of the better Romero (he can be slow and a little pretentious, but this is sharp). Dario's ("The Black Cat") is fucking genius, though. As in, it's even good when compared with a lot of his full-length films (the only major ones of which that we haven't seen now are his new flick, Four Flies on Grey Velvet, and The Five Days of Milan). What I love about Dario (and one aspect of what makes him an artist similar to Hitchcock because it means he plays games with his audience) is the way you always think he's not really going to show you something, that he'll show you for about half a second and then cut away, like most directors would. But he does show you. He wants to show you. And he lingers. And even when it's incredibly disgusting and violent, you also know that he's amused. He does it beautifully in this and he has conventionally good actors to work with, which is also rare. Big thumbs up.

6) Good Against Evil: 1970s made-for-TV Exorcist rip-off with shades of Rosemary's Baby and every other devil movie ever made. It ends very abruptly and nothing is resolved, making one think they must've had a sequel in mind. It's mostly not terrible but not really worth seeking out except for the awesome period fashions (lead chickie appears to do something fashion-oriented for a career and is constantly tricked out in, say, a billowy knickers jumpsuit tucked into boots and so on). Also, more good cat acting, which has been a bit of a mini-theme lately in the movies Team Brown has checked out ("The Black Cat" has plenty of it as well).

To invoke a cliche. Anyway. This is a nice article on the UN from Slate, particularly the conclusion:

And yet the truth is that the Camp Davids and the Daytons don't always wear that well. Bosnia is still hopelessly divided nine years after the deal that was meant to forge a new, multiethnic nation. You can force people to sign, but not to change. There is, by contrast, something to be said for inch-by-inch progress, which gives the parties time to adapt to the new reality. This is a tough time for Kofi Annan and the United Nations; it's good to remember that he, and it, actually make life a little bit better for people whom nobody else cares about.

Sometimes patience is not a virtue, but often it is, and while massive bureaucracy can be head-smackingly frustrating, it also is preferable (to me) to efficiency that can be both reckless and cruel. Sort of a lesser of two evils thing.

Someone loves Andrew Katz, but found me instead.

AJC gets a letter from a GSU prof that reads:

Academics' pay scale not as perceived

By focusing on a few highly paid individuals in the University System of Georgia, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reinforces perceptions that faculty and staff members are overpaid ("College chiefs among top paid," Page One, Nov. 15).

My resume includes 12 years of teaching experience, a book and several scholarly articles, and my pay is just over $47,000 a year. Given that I hold both a J.D. and a Ph.D. and teach between 100 and 230 students each semester, the university and the state are getting a bargain. Meanwhile, Gov. Sonny Perdue's budget priorities, increasing health insurance costs, shrinking numbers of faculty and growing enrollments mean I do more work every semester for less pay.

As Perdue has realized, there is little constituency for university faculty and staff. No one cares about the crisis we face -- until their child is in a 200-person class with a harried, overworked professor.

JONATHAN BRYANT
Bryant, of Statesboro, is an associate professor of history at Georgia Southern University.

Again, mostly appreciate the sentiment and what the letter says. Less sympathetic to the cause of those making $47K a year, even if it is a bargain. Sure. He should probably be paid more. But he's making a living wage. And whoever gets this job? Not so much.

So, I'm pleased Clint & Jeremy liked National Treasure, but my forehead went crinkly at more than just the gratuitous FDR crack. "No Jerry Bruckheimer movie should be more than two hours long"? Aren't they all?

National Treasure clocks in at a mere 100 minutes according to the IMDB, though with at least 20 minutes of trailers and ads for Sprite Remix (wizzle wizzle) etc. tacked on, I'm sure. Here's a selection of most of the rest.

Kangaroo Jack = 89 min
Coyote Ugly = 100 min
Days of Thunder = 107 min
Top Gun = 110 min
Con Air = 115 min
Remember the Titans = 116 min
Bad Company = 116 min
Crimson Tide = 116 min
Gone in 60 Seconds = 117 min
Bad Boys = 118 min
King Arthur = 126 min
Enemy of the State = 131 min
The Rock = 136 min
Pirates of the Caribbean = 143 min
Armageddon = 144 min
Black Hawk Down = 144 min
Bad Boys II = 147 min
Pearl Harbor = 183 min

To me, it looks like there's no correlation between running time and quality, except that perhaps Bruckheimer should stick to those flicks longer than 100 minutes. Anyone who wants to do anything more scientific with the data (sort by director, perhaps) is welcome to it.

The Oconee one's not up, but there is this gem in the regular Police Central section:

An Athens man intentionally cut himself and posed as the victim of armed robbery in order to get his girlfriend's sympathy, Athens-Clarke police said.

The 22-year-old Cedar Shoals Drive resident reported at about 3 a.m. that he had gone to a nearby convenience store to buy a cup of coffee when a man slashed him with a knife because he refused to surrender his wallet and car keys, according to police.

When the "victim" was being taken to the hospital for treatment of cuts to his arm and hand he pointed out the spot where the confrontation allegedly took place, police said, and an officer later examined that location, in addition to the man's car, and found blood in neither place.

The amount of blood on the man was inconsistent with no blood being found where he said the attack took place, police said.

The man admitted during an interview with a detective at St. Mary's Hospital that he made the story up because "he was not receiving enough attention from his girlfriend," according to police.

Adam? Did you move to Athens?

Have posted a thing or two over at Athens World.

So Dan is right in that the Mormon chickies Lena and Kristy may very well be the best team ever. Case in point: Jonathan and Victoria (though mostly Jonathan), upon arriving at a particular checkpoint thing, jump around a lot and chant "we're number one! We're number one!" They are, in fact, the third team to arrive, and so one of the sisters snarks, "no you're not." Instant love. Which was only magnified by the bazillion shots of them looking askance at Jonathan in a "what is this guy's deal" way.

Also, are Adam and Rebecca breaking up on the show? Is this one of the best bio details ever?

Adam & Rebecca are an ex-couple that met at a spinning class. Rebecca's first impression of Adam was that he was gay, but after he pursued her for months, he proved otherwise. Both of them are spinning teachers/personal trainers.

Can Lena and Kristy make it much farther (since I like them)? And why could I so not tell you anything about Kris and Jon if you asked me? Next week: way more screaming. Yay!

Constant rain and endless fire alarm system test (?) make Hillary something something.

New sitcom project from the creators of Will & Grace to be called Kings of New York. I know, I know. It's unrelated, but am crossing fingers for the first ever Ferrara-com. Tag line: "They never killed anyone (with laughter) who didn't deserve it."

A revisit of Punch-Drunk Love, which whomped me a little less than it did the first time I saw it, in the theater, but still pretty much squeezes my heart. In a good way. And I still think it's P.T. Anderson's finest film because it's so concentrated. It's such a mix of control and chaos. Things happen for no reason related to the plot, and I admire that. And the comparison that stands for me, other than musicals, is to Law of Desire, just in terms of the particular feeling of romance that pervades both films. It's a sense that love is a violent thing, but also that its quiet, less dramatic moments are on the same level as the violence, that they're braided together maybe. Basically, there's something that I think they both get right, in a way that Gone with the Wind, say, doesn't. My guess is that it's forgiveness. Unconditional love is a tainted way of referring to that, but let's call it the ability to say "okay." So. I still really really like this movie. Scratch that. Love it.

Plenty of people were just as or more pissed off by the swipe at the South in David Talbot's article, and they wrote letters about it. Letters that say things like

Last I checked, this country's three most recent Democratic presidents emerged from Southern states. Further, unless the 2004 Electoral College map has changed in the past 10 minutes, the "Southern mentality" apparently infected New Hampshire, Indiana, Ohio, Arizona, Nevada, Colorado, both Dakotas, Kansas, Nebraska, Montana, Alaska -- all of which went for Bush.

And

Need I remind the Left Coast that you elected the Terminator as your governor? Georgia may have its faults, but at least our trees are made of timber -- not plastic.

And

You should be grateful that we are still around; otherwise how would you indulge in your ivory-tower fantasies of superiority to the unwashed masses of dirt farmers chanting "The South will rise again!"?

And, strongly,

The recent election is another sign of the South's refusal "to accept the triumph of Northern values"? What exactly are Northern values? Anthony Walton, who wrote "Mississippi: An American Journey," described this scene from a 1989 Brooklyn march: "The sidewalks were lined with thousands of jeering whites throwing watermelons, rocks and dirt, spitting and shouting 'Nigger! Nigger! Nigger!' while holding guns to their heads. Tens of thousands of Brooklynites were waving red-white-and-blue flags, screaming veterans were dressed in military uniforms, signs and banners, GO BACK TO AFRICA and LOVE IT OR LEAVE IT and AMERICA FOR AMERICANS were hung from buildings." Are those Northern values? Looking through history, we find that Ulysses S. Grant owned slaves and that Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote, "It cannot be maintained by any candid person that the African race have ever occupied or do promise to occupy any very high place in the human family." Are those Northern values?

The Telegraph publishes its list of the 50 best cover songs, and there is much good stuff involved, including The Communards' "Don't Leave Me This Way" (#50, but on the list nonetheless), Richard Thompson's "Oops I Did It Again" (even though it's hard to find a copy of), Cale's "Heartbreak Hotel" (psycho!), and Devo's "Satisfaction." Unfortunately, Joss Stone's pseudo-soul "Fell in Love with a Boy" makes it (yech) and so does Buckley's "Hallelujah" (will I never be rid of it?), and I probably would've picked a different Johnny Cash tune ("Hurt" over "One") and a different White Stripes one (their version of "Jolene," not One Dub's), but mostly interesting if a little heavy on pop tunes done by less pop artists. (via kottke)

Also, Rolling Stone, with its list of the 500 greatest songs of all time is inching closer to infinity and the ultimate list that will encompass everything. Dude. The top-rated Who song is apparently "My Generation" (at #11), which tells you about all you need to know. "Hotel California" trumps "Billie Jean" (which I'll contend is a top-tenner). It starts to get more intriguing after you pass the first 100, and the B-52s, Hank Williams, VU, The Modern Lovers, and R. Kelly start showing up. What's the one that just squeaked in, you ask? #500 itself? "More Than a Feeling," which should be slots upon slots up.

1) Is this Xmas tree thing a metaphor for the recent relationship between Athens and Atlanta? Nah. It's totally not. But it shows how peeved I am at Perdue that I'm even mad about him getting a free tree.

2) This report on wireless negotiations by the state actually does point to some of the ridiculousness at UGA:

Virtually no data on wireless usage could be obtained from the Department of Labor, the Georgia Building Authority and the universities under the Board of Regents, all of which "could have significant expenditures on personal wireless services," the report states. George Stafford, vice president of UGA's Finance and Administration, acknowledged the problem and said the university is waiting for Regents to implement the state's new policy.

At very least, the info should be available.

Two from Hassiotis (i.e., lent to me by him).

1) Benjamin Smoke: Documentary about Atlanta musician/scene fixture Benjamin, of Opal Foxx Quartet and, later, Smoke. First, it's a pretty absorbing movie, though it could use a little more structure. Still, Benjamin himself is a character, especially once one gets past muttering "it ain't got no gas in it" a la Karl Childers (the voice + accent are very similar). I wish there had been a bit more on Opal Foxx, since I've wanted to know more about that group for a long time. But the aspect that grabbed me is the way you see Atlanta. My Atlanta. Not only do I know Cabbagetown (and the part toward the end where you see all the signs of gentrification is deeply familiar), but all the scenes on Ponce are most specifically my hood, down the street from where my mom still lives. The Majestic diner is where J and I spent hours upon hours both before and after romance, erm, flowered. The Clermont Lounge is down the block, though I never was of age to go there while I was in Atlanta. And the building where he ends up living, across the street from the Plaza shopping center, is one I've admired for years. He's right. It does look like a birthday cake at the top. So. Anyway. I understand when people say they hate Atlanta, and I hate a lot of it, but this shows facets that I at least have mixed feelings about. My block--where everything is fa sheezy.

2) The Iron Giant: So that I could understand the mind behind The Incredibles more. But I'm only now getting around to thinking about that because I was so swept up by the movie. And that no easy task, me being a fan of both the book and the Pete Townshend concept album thing (both very different; none of this major plot stuff about weapons; also, with a dragon from the sun). So, I was resisting, but he's a damn good director, with an eye for body language especially. I think the Mansley character is a little over the top in terms of movie villainy (right word? maybe not, since he's not evil or anything, just pig-headed and foolish and violent). So what's the similarity between the two films? The main thing I see is a focus on maybe self-determinism or at least the tension between one's nature and the choices one makes about what to be. In some ways, you can even see the films as presenting opposing views, the first being about denying one's nature (or changing it) and the second being about the impossibility of doing so. Anyway. Thoughts?

Dang it, Wendy's. When I read TV Tattle's link text ("Wendy's brings Dave Thomas back from dead for TV ads"), I was sincerely hoping it would be more along the lines of "try our new Classic Brains Select." Who says you have to treat a deceased beloved founder and spokesman with respect. Zombie that bitch up!

1) UGA is recipient of some pork: "$1.5 million for the bio-refinery and hydrogen fuel cell research at the University of Georgia." Which is kind of nice, I guess. Doesn't really address educational issues, but not bad, considering the air pollution in this state. Also allows Congress to pretend they're doing something about that. Also, big grant for the Peabody archives, which I'm biased in favor of since I worked up there once upon a time and got to see what an amazing record of television (and therefore American) history they are.
2) Morris runs a relatively positive article (surprise) on Perdue's potential Medicare reform. Correction: more like an attempt at a positive article, since even the reform that ended up working okay took plenty of years to do so.

3) More on the modification of Presidential Scholar standards by the University Council. Again, students are unhappy about it, and I can see that it does reflect the same "what are you whining about attitude" that leads to the incredibly long and unmodifiable semesters (17 weeks, including finals; 5 classes or 15 hours being considered the standard for full-time enrollment). Students are (or are expected to be) in class a lot here. On the other hand, the Presidential Scholar certificate just isn't that big a deal (it doesn't come with money, as far as I'm aware). I have a folder full of 'em if anyone wants one that bad. (Editorial on the matter, too.)

4) Hmm. Sort of agree with the thrust of this letter (the bit about Adams leaving), but not so much with the way it's put. Bla bla bla faculty. Faculty faculty faculty. Staff? I know not this word. Again, do understand the need to be competitive nationwide and retain good professors. But also think it's important to pay employees a living wage.

[bugmenot ABH]

There is a line. And it is a clear one. J was wondering if the teams of these players can sue them if their season is then screwed.

At least, I felt so on arriving downtown a bit before 9 p.m. (door time) to see a line of kids going down the block, waiting for those doors to open. J's theory? Stupid freshmen. Think shows start on time. Or something. Which seemed right, as I did hear more than one conversation about how this 40 Watt place was pretty cool. Hee. Yes, kiddies. It is. But, anyhoo, managed to get in and discovered Coors Light's current 24-oz cans say "Georgia Rocks" in a pretty cool font on the side. And realized rapidly that this was just really not my crowd. So TFSP did let Andrew Katz (who opened for them last time around and must still be traveling with) play a couple of songs before they went on, and he got a decent reaction, but then by the time they went on the people were antsy and some were yelling and arg. So they half-assed it, which was understandable but still frustrating, since they were the band I was there to see. A couple of good new songs, but terrible mix to the left side of the stage, to where I couldn't hardly hear any lyrics. Anyway. After that was over and done with, Team Brown decided that sticking around for the rest of the action would probably be more irritating than worthwhile and made like a banana (and split). So there will be no "we saw The Killers when..." but then, heading home to watch Buffy felt much more appealing.

1) The conclusion of Category 6: Day of Destruction: We had taped it, setting the timer before going out, and spent a good deal of time while watching trying to figure out if we'd missed an hour or not. I'm thinking that we did. But it didn't make much difference if so. Anyway. The first half I was in the mood for, but by the time this half rolled around, not so much. Rapidly bored even with category 6-ness of the storm, etc.

2) Touching the Void: This, on the other hand, was very good, especially as it involved so much re-enactment. And damn are the English ever tough. And blunt. There is one moment where Joe is talking about how he'd been raised Catholic and eventually stopped believing in God (not to mention practicing), and he'd always wondered if he'd turn to God again if he were stuck in a particularly awful situation (say, trapped in a crevasse in the mountains of Peru, alone, freezing, with no food and no water and a shattered leg). And he says, "and I didn't." And that's that. There's not much trying to make themselves seem likeable. And there's no talk of "miracles." I'm sure that Joe recognizes there was some luck involved, but it's like the concept of divine intervention doesn't even occur to them. Different culture indeed. Also: interesting wrt thinking about hard decisions and stubbornness, esp as Buffy season 7 (which was blown through over the weekend) deals with a lot of that. What would I do, as PBS felt the need to ask me at the bottom of the screen? I really don't know. It depends who's on the other end of the rope, for one thing, and my impression is that I'd know at the time, but (fortunately) am not apt to put myself in such situations. Which is really the best approach, isn't it?

I'm outie in just a minute, but sink your teeth into the second listing on Gawker Stalker, of the Bush gals (via kottke). Sure, the maitre d's within his rights to some extent as it's a private establishment, but it's still unbelievably rude.

"John Wilkes Booth, the South's romantic villain, refused to accept the triumph of Northern values. Some things never change." Isn't that a nice tag-line for a book review? Note: Am not defending John Wilkes Booth here, but conclusions like this

Nearly a century and a half after the South was defeated, it is the South's social agenda and the South's beloved president the rest of us are forced to live with.

are maddening. Cf this comments thread over at harm's for context on the title of this post. People do realize the whole middle of the country voted for Bush, right? Not just the South.

1) "The key to the Athens area's economic development is in University of Georgia research labs, a group of about 100 people heard Thursday." Who did they hear it from? Oh. Um... Mike Cassidy, president of the Georgia Research Alliance. Apparently, we're doing the research here but not retaining the companies to do the business once the research is done. Adams talked too:

One is recent progress toward an intergovernmental agreement between Clarke and Oconee counties on the so-called "Orkin Tract," a 920-acre parcel of undeveloped land at Georgia Highway 316 and U.S. Highway 78 on the border between the two counties.

A second key, Adams said, is what happens to Ga. 316, which connects UGA to research universities in Atlanta.

All of which makes me very nervous. Knee jerk? You better believe it. But reflexes are often reflexes for a reason.

2) UGA has lots of students studying abroad. Which is nice, but seems like kind of a stupid indicator re: measurement of how well the university's doing. My guess is that it correlates more with a larger number of higher-income families (who can afford to pay for study-abroad) enrolling their kids at UGA.

3) If anyone's really wondering what I have to say about how the stormwater utility will affect UGA, I don't think the university should be an exception in this area. As far as how they will and should come up with the funds when (not if) it passes, it does seem unreasonable to pass the cost along entirely to the students, who aren't the only people on campus and will surely kick up a fuss, but it's also not fair to exempt such a huge landowner from its environmental responsibilities.

4) BOR asks for $10 mill for education to increase the number of teachers, but that's System-wide, not just for UGA. Kind of seems like a drop in the bucket.

5) Adams elected chair of National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges. Sigh.

6) University Council meets, raises standards for Dean's List & Presidential Scholars (you have to take more hours now; R&B is huffy and suggests that one uses tacks on a fridge; I agree that the requirements are a little high, but they are honors, not requirements), says no sending surveys out on the UGA listserv, the faculty rep to the Foundation says "The foundation really wants to start anew and be very supportive of the University" (hee! As in, they weren't before).

7) My department really not happy about major misquotes and misrepresentations in this shoddy article about distance learning being on the decline. Check the comment at the bottom of the R&B page.

[bugmenot ABH]

Page 2's letting Uni Watch get in on some of the action, and that fine column is running winners from a contest to design the new duds for Washington's upcoming baseball team. Unsurprisingly, I favor the old-school version that's highlighted (sucka for colored plackets and belts), but note that these would all have to go with non-white shoes. White shoes are an abomination (heh, and introduced by the A's, kind of unsurprisingly). Anyway. Scroll down to the honorable mentions and check the first. If a "W" is a loaded proposition, what in the world might this be? A tribute to the Clinton era?

On the latest Brit-Brit pic making the rounds, wherein she is gleefully holding up her bag of Mickey D's and pointing to it for the paparazzi: I think she just may be having a hella good time here and there. Yes. It's occasionally too much. But, smart or not as she may be, she does recognize and exploit the circularity of the whole thing. She knows she's getting crap from everyone and their mom for eating junk food, putting on a few, Fedders, et al., and so this is rather the more G-rated flip-off or punch of the camera guy or "you talkin' to me?" I'm seeing Larry David doing his Maury guest impression here.

So, I'm not down with the whole Fuck the South thing, but if anyone wants to start a Fuck South Carolina specifically site, I'm on board.

Sidebar: Lou Holtz is only 67 years old? And Anna Nicole's titties are real, yo.

Ha! So, the Friday after the election, there was sitting around and talking with Zig at Team Brown's home base, and when they showed a shot of W and Laura crossing the White House lawn in the rain, I sat upright and pointed and said "There! There's the perfect metaphor! Look at that absolutely huge umbrella he's carrying. It's the size of a golf umbrella. They could fit four people under there. And yet... Laura is also carrying an umbrella. A completely unnecessary one." Greed is good and all that.

But now comes this, from Wonkette's operatives reporting on Clinton Liberry hoo-ha:

"Gore....well-fed with a little tiny umbrella that will fall apart probably before Clinton is finished speaking. Looked like he'd just shelled out $10 for it. It didn't quite cover him and Tipper. Winners get bigger umbrellas. And libraries."

Are umbrellas actually a hidden indicator? Was I not just babbling with a NyQuil hangover? And if so, what in the hell does this mean?

Not just one:

Theft: On Nov. 13, a man reported he went to his deer stand off Flat Rock Road and discovered it had been stolen. He also encountered a man in the area whom he asked about the stand, but the man said he knew nothing about it.

But two:

Theft: On Nov. 8, a man reported he went to his deer stand in an area off Monroe Highway and found where someone had stolen it. The stand was about 30 feet from the highway. The property where the stand was placed belongs to an Atlanta woman. The last time the deer stand was seen was Nov. 2.

And yay. We love the lighter side of drunk driving:

Arrest: On Nov. 14, Deputy Ralph Kanouff and Deputy Scott Underwood were patrolling Mars Hill Road where Kanouff was giving Underwood some radar training. As they topped a hill, they saw an oncoming Jeep Cherokee that was speeding and moving out of the lane. They stopped the jeep near Pebble Brook Drive and the driver staggered out of the vehicle. They took him to jail on a DUI charge, where he told deputies he was drunk. He also threw up in the booking room cage. John Allen Taylor, 30, of St. Simons Island also was charged with failing to maintain a lane.

So, JJ, if you're with us, can you say whether this is a technical term or not?

Arrest: On Nov. 15, Deputy Scott Underwood stopped by the Golden Pantry at Butler's Crossing to get a drink shortly after 1 a.m. when he noticed a man in the store who appeared intoxicated. The man paid for some items, then got into a mini-van and drove off. Underwood followed him and noticed he was having trouble keeping the van in the proper lane. He stopped the van, administered a field sobriety test and charged Romero C. Garcia, 29, of Lawrenceville with DUI and a window infraction because the rear window was busted out.

Theft: On Nov. 10, a resident of Eaglewood Drive, reported she arrived home about 11:30 p.m. and parked her pickup in the driveway. The next morning she found where someone had busted out a window and stolen her purse, which she left inside. The purse, minus some cash, was found on the road in front of her house.

There's also a story from the regular police section this week, headlined "Chicken theft worries Jefferson woman." All from here. [bugmenot]

1) Athens has a shitty economic forecast because of the elimination of government jobs over the past year. Also retail ones. Why?

"These recent decreases have been more severe than usual and may be a sign that students are feeling the pinch of high gas prices," Dhawan said.

Or because people don't have jobs or are underemployed and therefore don't buy as much. Yarg. This is definitely the problem with living in a town where the state university is by far the largest employer.

2) Both R&B and ABH cover the BOR's worry about rising textbook costs.

Task force suggestions include standardizing the textbooks for certain classes; asking professors to use a certain edition of textbooks for a longer period of time; trying to use the system's buying power to negotiate with publishers for lower prices; and asking the General Assembly to provide tax breaks for textbook costs.

Some of these are more reasonable than others, but the root of the problem is with the textbook publishing industry. You can't keep using an old edition if they're not printing copies (AJC kind of points this out). And I'm not sure how you can do anything about that. Also an op-ed on the subject:

We hope individual textbook companies will do their part to help as well, even if it means cutting down on profits.

Now that's feasible.

[bugmenot ABH; bugmenot AJC]

This whole thing is weird enough as it is, but when you see what the "cake" was made of ("corn bread, bleach, glue and Tabasco sauce, covered with green icing made from Play-Doh"), you have a tiny evil voice inside you that says anyone who would eat it maybe shouldn't have been too surprised to end up at the hospital. I mean, tell me there was some sort of actual cake involved. [bugmenot]

Can I get a C-O-B-B? Woot to the best county evs.

Kinsey: Sneak preview of it last night at Beechwood. And yes, it's good. Even though Bill Condon seems to be painting himself into a corner as the classy bio-pic guy (better than being the sequel to Candyman guy), he's a pretty decent director, and I preferred this to Gods and Monsters. They're both a little heavy on the violin music, literally and in a more extended sense, but he's clearly good with actors, and I'll be surprised if Liam Neeson isn't deservedly nominated for an Oscar. Sure, he gets to cry and rage a bit, but that's not where the best bits of the performance are. I think he's best when lecturing to his class on biology and his extensive study of the gall wasp, making bad quips that he sort of knows in his heart are so, but carried along by his enthusiasm for the subject into displaying that enthusiasm more than he almost should. Laura Linney does her usual stellar job, and everyone else shows up too (though I think Lithgow overdoes it). So. They could cut half an hour out, most of it from the end, where things get sort of too dramatic for their own good and stray from the emphasis on the importance of rational study and science in most of the movie. And, of course, Love has to be considered. Because moviegoers? Probably not that into the romance of science and biology and knowing the connectedness of all things. More into thunking tree metaphors. It will be especially interesting to see how it's received, since it almost couldn't come out at a more perfect time (when "the forces of chastity are massing against us"), and also because, as Michael brought up, there are a lot of moralistic people who will see their ideas confirmed rather than challenged by the movie (i.e., the downfall of Western civilization was provoked by sexy talk). On the whole, it's not a great film, and it does fail to slip the chains of the genre completely, but it wiggles out of a lot of them, and it's absolutely worth a couple of hours. Plus: rather an abundance of penises for a mainstream release. Whoever thought up the promos handed out, the best of which is a ruler (for reasons that become clear when you see the movie), is hereby given props.

So we've all seen the McNabb-Mitchell play about a hundred times now, right? And has anyone yet mentioned that the Eagles were already up two touchdowns with hardly any time left to play? Why were they passing 60 yards down the field? Anyone know where I can link to a video of the play to see if I'm right about the clock?

1) "Regents vote today on spending reductions." $5.3 mill rather than $5.2 mill to be trimmed from UGA. Now hopefully this isn't a crucial bit, but it certainly could be:

Instead, regents dug into the health insurance reserve, reappropriated about $9.4 million from a UGA project that was funded but never built and passed on $27.5 million to universities and colleges - including about $5.3 million that UGA must cut.

Reappropriating money from the defunct UGA project will require the approval of the Georgia General Assembly in January.

If Perdue's already proved that he's willing to first use accounting tricks and then yank them away, what's to stop him and the general assembly from screwing the University System again? That is the point, right?

2) Andy Herod points out the same Kemp thing I did a few days ago.

3) Georgia needs more teachers, Regents told:

A plan to raise the number of teachers --- which also includes initiatives to increase teacher diversity and retention --- would cost the state about $10 million a year. Kettlewell said the University System has added the plan to its 2006 budget request currently under review by the governor.

But, "A spokesman for the governor's office said Tuesday that it was too early to comment on the plan." i.e., don't count on it.

4) R&B does a nice job on the Adams salary thing, pointing out,

A full professor at the University is paid $90,900 and doesn't rank in the top 20 of public institutions, according to a spring study by the American Association of University Professors.

Average faculty pay at the University was thousands of dollars behind the average salaries of faculty members at Georgia State University and Georgia Tech.

Also bla bla, more fussing about what constitutes compensation exactly from an email Adams actually sent to the R&B. One would assume that the Chronicle included perks for all the presidents they provided numbers on.

Perry-Johnson said the Chronicle used a different method for tracking pay than the system did.

She said the civic club dues, expense accounts and travel expenses for spouses are not considered compensation by the Regents, although the Chronicle counted them.

And, of course, it wouldn't be for cosmetic reasons that they're not counted as compensation by the Regents, would it?

5) Their editorial on the subject is kinda bass-ackward though, finishing up

In this time of budget cuts, the University must find a way not only to maintain the president's pay, but also to assure faculty they are just as valuable to the University's educational mission.

Or (and get this) we could not pay our president so damn much.

[bugmenot AJC; bugmenot ABH]

Okay. So if your bookmarks are somewhat alphabetical, you would read this story first (under A, for AJC; bugmenot), which names no names and merely says "CHICAGO — New York Yankees star Gary Sheffield and his wife were the targets of a blackmailer who claimed to have embarrassing sexual videotapes of her and a musician, the slugger said Tuesday." But you know anyway, don't you? You don't even need this confirmation by the time you hit G for Gothamist.

Erm. Still a musical genius? Unfortunately. Yes.

From the F-Pole's Movie Pick this week: "Chugging through woods white with snow, racing through tunnels, and sliding across a vast frozen lake, The Polar Express is a literal rollercoaster ride." Grumble grumble...

New column. And a little box on TFSP.

Good stuff in this past week's New Yorker, though the main wonderfulness is not online, much to my sadness. John McPhee, who can make anything interesting, has a long, long piece on freight tows on the Illinois, called "Tight-Assed River," and, as usual, it is a frickin' marvel. Here's one of my favorite paragraphs (with a nod to Beau):

Six hours a watch is a long time for him and Mel to be up here, their hands on or close to the sticks. They can't leave or go below when they need to urinate. So a toilet is part of the furniture in the pilothouse--open, unscreened. It's just there, in one corner, like the radar. At first I felt I shouldn't use it. For the skipper to pee in my presence somehow seemed politically correct, but not vice versa. I got over that in the first thirty-six hours, and have been peeing up here in the pilothouse as if the toilet were a bush on a fishing trip.

Then (or, really, previously, page-wise) there's Surowiecki's indictment of what "an ownership society" actually means ("the Bush plan is asking you to swap an insurance policy for a lottery ticket"). And I am currently immersed in Updike's review of the new MOMA building. Yes. Updike. Because who else could make you actually close your eyes with pleasure at the invocation of what it all means:

It used to be said that airports were our new cathedrals, the spires replaced by ascending and descending planes. But they have become workaday and shabby, cluttered with the machinery of heightened security and menaced by airline bankruptcy--bus terminals on the brink, more like refuse-littered marketplaces than like places of worship. The art museums, once haunted by a few experts, students, and idlers, have become the temples of the Ideal, of the Other, of the something else that, if only for a peaceful moment, redeems our daily getting and spending. Here resides something beyond our frantic animal existence. Leonardo spoke scornfully of those men who do nothing in their time on earth but produce excrement. Art, in its traditional forms of painting, drawing, and sculpture, is a human by-product whose collection, in homes, galleries, and museums, lightens the load, as it were, of life. By its glow we bask in the promise of a brighter, more lasting realm reached by a favored few--St. Vermeer, St. Pollock, St. Leonardo. In Paris and Florence, tourists from Japan come by the busful, pose giggling for a photograph in front of the “Mona Lisa” or “The Birth of Venus,” and hurry on their way, blessed.

Or maybe don't. The Dayjobs sent this link my way to the site of some people following in Martin Luther's footsteps. Their theses are here. If one wanted to be mean, one could point out pasting their pieces of paper over and over again to the door of the DNC kinda fits the definition of insanity that heads up the thing. And if one wanted to be cynical, one might notice that they don't seem to have any money, and while (as we just saw a few weeks ago) money isn't the only thing that drives politics, that doesn't mean it's not required. One could also blame the fact that "it's the economy, stupid" doesn't seem to work any more on Clinton, for presiding over a good-sized rise in the standard of living.

I hate Terry McAuliffe as much as the next liberal person, but it's not all his fault. Maybe the people who voted for Kerry in the primaries not because they liked him but because they thought he was electable should bear a teensy bit of the blame. If you're not going to have any balls, how do you expect your national party to?

All that said, I'm curious to see where it goes.

Panties at CNN officially bunched over hiring of Kwame for fluff talk/interview show on CEOs.

"Don't they have enough apprentices working for that company already?" wondered CNN co-founder Reese Schoenfeld, who has been at odds with the network for years.

What? Ted was too busy to give the NYP a quote with some claws? The winning section is obvs this one, though:

CNN staffers — many of whom are far more qualified — were horrified at the news yesterday. "It's insane with a captial 'I,' " said one.

Mes Ecl, tell me that was Ice. And tell me that's not a typo...

Tonight, I'll see my love tonight.
And for us stars will stop where they are.
Today the minutes seem like hours,
The hours go so slowly,
And still the sky is light...

I don't get it? Is it made to sell me products or not? Hee hee. Eyeballs. Psychotramatic, pretension, gratuitous and misused whomever. Tee hee.

1) Followups on the rich-ass college prez story in the AJC. One negative ("If Georgia's public universities face a financial crisis, why do the college presidents earn so much?"), which unfortunately contains this paragraph:

Because of their autonomy, the regents have escaped political repercussions for turning University System jobs into some of the best-paid public posts in the state. The vast fields of middle management at Georgia's colleges are dotted with employees earning six-figure incomes.

It's accurate, but it also makes people think there's plenty of fat to cut and that all University System employees are well paid, which they aren't. And that's not just my opinion. The classification and pay study that's ongoing concluded that the upper-level jobs pay more than their private-sector counterparts, but the lower-level ones (secretarial, clerical, custodial, etc.) pay way less. And one positive ("Education chiefs' pay helps maintain edge"), which contends

Today's public research university president is more like a corporate chief executive than the classroom professor many visualize. They must lure eminent scientists and researchers, raise millions of dollars to complement public funding, manage massive real estate holdings and construction projects, and balance the demands of faculty, staff, students and alumni.

Solid gold wastebaskets, yadda yadda...

2) R&B runs one article and one editorial on the Franklin Faculty Senate's generation of a report on the negative effects of budget cuts. From the article:

Doug Crowe, an associate professor of geology and presiding officer of the senate -- the governing body of the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences -- said the University's administration has handled budget cuts over the past three to five years by talking about all the the University's achievements.

...For the report, they will ask the administration to provide statistics and figures for how different programs at the University have dropped in rankings, how the student-to-faculty ratio has been affected across campus and exactly how many faculty positions have been lost, among others, Ross said.

Editorial, on the other hand, concludes "In a time of budget crisis, the University needs positive action, not negative complaints," and says, "they should realize the root of budget cuts is not the administration's positive spin; it's the unsteady economy." You're gonna eat your gruel and love it, faculty members. Don't you ask me to pass the salt or nothin'.

3) On the brighter side of things, those who are fans of short and extremely muscular chickies will be happy to see Courtney Kupets has committed to Georgia and Loran Smith sez it's drankin' season (was the loss to Auburn that bad? Don't answer).

[bugmenot AJC; bugmenot ABH]

Rewatched Hands on a Hardbody last night, the second time in the past few days for J, and it sure does hold up. I'll watch any documentary, and probably enjoy it, but that doesn't mean I'm not cognizant of flaws. I've learned in spades that a great topic does not a great film make. It is eminently possible for a bad filmmaker to eff it the eff up. Cf. Starwoids. What it is more than anything is an editor's field, just like reality television (though that field also relies heavily on casting directors).* And it's an extremely well-constructed movie. Every time we think someone's about to drop out, that person gives an interview saying "I could go two, three more days. I feel strong. I'm in this thing until the end." Cut to an hour later as the person staggers off the lot. Also (another J point), you could indeed make a full-length doc about nearly every single contestant or hanger-on. Benny Perkins, first and foremost. But also (tied for first?) Janis Curtis and her husband. And their air conditioner. It is a human drama thing.

*Note this too. On FOX's Trading Spouses: Meet Your New Mommy, which was flipped to and which is both ridiculous and kind of watchable (in that once you see one wackjob family, as J was pointing out, you think the other one's going to be much more normal in contrast, but then, of course, they're not), one of the families was deeply Christian, and there was a Bible study held in which the participants prayed for the people involved with the reality show: "Dear Lord, please bless the editors" --> next scene. High five, y'all.

Checkit. News obit and all.

And the creator of my new new favorite show, Phil of the Future. So, you know, while Team Brown is waiting for college football to come on on Saturdays and also for Endurance (as previously here, and oh man, has it gotten good; the necessity of rooting for yellow team is absolutely painful and also kind of awesome; every time Monroe is on camera, I literally writhe), it likes to flip around and see what else is goin' on. Phil of the Future is one of those things, though it also apparently shows at 7 p.m. on weekends on the Disney Channel. Unfortunately, the DC site gives no hint of the major weirdness that is the main attraction of the show, but if you've ever caught an episode of Even Stevens or Parker Lewis Can't Lose, you might have a decent idea of what to expect. It's left-fieldy, suffice it to say. I also see, from IMDB, that Fred Savage has directed episodes, which isn't exactly a selling point or a detraction, but just something tid-bitty. Also semi-parenthetically, may have to check out Romeo!, to which the IMDB message board queries at the bottom add a bit of charm; e.g., "Y dont u people like Romeo," which goes:

He is a good actor and rapper/singer or w/e.I luv him he is sooooooooooooooo cute.If i eva met him I would go crazy.Now yall hatin on him cause he betta den yall and look betta den yall.Now im not sayin its somethin wrong wit yall but STOP HATIN ON ROMEO.Yall people make me so mad sayin "Romeo cant act or rap","Romeo ugly","Romeo is the worst actor eva", and his show is the worst.Please if there is anybody out there that like him like i do reply pleasr.POSITIVE words NOT NEGATIVE

If the first four words of this article are music to my ears, the rest of it is some kinda symphony. [bugmenot ABH]

1) Cuts were still up in the air on Friday, but R&B today says the extra will come out of the university's contingency fund, which we didn't hear much about when there actually were layoffs. Anyway.

Perry-Johnson said the regents had not given out any figures to the institutions yet -- she said they were waiting until University System Chancellor Thomas Meredith gave them out.

How long are they going to delay before they give out information? My guess would be it'll come out over the Thanksgiving weekend, to minimize poor press coverage. We shall see.

2) And there's this. Which I really was trying to come up with something to say about. Consider it not speechlessness resulting from surprise, but rather something in the vicinity of learned helplessness. Can I get a what-what for that nearly twice the median? Egamorning does point out that

The Chronicle of Higher Education, in a story picked up by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Associated Press, reports four Georgia college administrators are among the nation’s top 20 in compensation. However, the Chronicle includes an expense account that is not income to UGA President Michael Adams, whose pay is set by the Regents at $547,466 plus taxable fringe benefits of some $14,000, not the $637,966 reported by the Chronicle.

So don't hate him because he's beautiful. The man only makes $540K a year. It's amazing he can feed his children.

3) Non-UGA, but in Athens news, pep the Commission's latest. W00t to the old folks.

1. Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things: Augh. Maybe if you're not expecting it to be good, it's not so bad. But I was. Bob Clark slips up big time (admittedly, early on). Not that funny. Not scary in the slightest. Mostly annoying and badly lit, though there is one swoopy shot that is all I'd have to see to know who directed the movie. Overacting is forgivable, as they're all playing actors (ac-TORs), but just... meh.

2. Category 6: Day of Destruction: The first part, that is. It's ridiculously tv movie, but then that's what it is. FX are not that hot, but still. I clearly enjoy the whole "tornadoes ripping through a heavily populated area" thing, even if it's not done so well. Also, as J pointed out, their feeble attempts to inject a bit of sex are very amusing (e.g., winds strong enough to tear off a bride's skirt, briefly exposing her garter belt, ooh la la). It has no idea what it wants to be (weather thriller, ensemble drama, energy policy and corruption investigation, etc.), and it makes some leaps of logic that are sort of enjoyable in their silliness ("I'm reporting to you live from Chicago [this is for local news, note], where all the power has gone out"). Will I watch part 2? I most likely will.

I am. Funeral was nice. Good speeches. Not ridiculous amounts of Jesus (Presbyterian). Good to see family. Pennsylvania is frickin' cold. I took the Greyhound to Atlanta and, after napping some, woke up to a discussion between two guys re: the election. One in his 30s who could've played football if he hadn't messed up his knee senior year who was working on starting his own clothing line in Atlanta. The other about to be 70, who hadn't had a car in 20 years and worked as a contractor. People who ride the Greyhound? They vote Democratic. It's just kind of nice to hear people who are not the so-called media elite or elite in general also having no damn idea why things turned out the way they did.

Also, in the words of the changey-letter sign on Eat 'n Park: "Don't delay. Order pies today."

Why do I persist in remaining on various listservs, despite feuding involving Jesus and gays and the military and also the off-topicness of these subjects and so on? It's partially the prose involved and, even more so, the stories one can get at. Witness:

BeBop is approximately 3 yrs old, loves kids but absolutely HATES chickens. For this reason I must give him away. We keep him in a pen but he gets out every so often and my father in law is constantly threatening to kill him. Please come get him and give him a home where he can run and play without the threat of being shot. If it matters, he is unaltered and the father of a 7 wk old puppy we have, you can see the puppy but puppy is NOT being offered. BeBop is full blooded Jack Russell.

And, as required, an update, not even an hour later:

The reason my father in law threatens to shoot BeBop is beacuse he kills his chickens when he gets out of the pen we keep him in. It is stupid, I know!! but that is why I was looking for him a new home. The puppy is not in any danger and does NOT need a new home as he does not kill chickens. Please do not email me to blast me about this. I am just trying to find BeBop a safe, loving home.

1) Hooray! We're totally fucked. Gotta love an article that kicks off with

The state budget cuts that have lopped some $48 million off the University of Georgia budget in the past three years are just the beginning, according to a new study by an Atlanta think tank.

So, basically, we have a choice.

The state now faces a stark choice, Essig said: It must either overhaul its tax code, perhaps closing loopholes and taxing previously untaxed services, such as landscaping or accounting, or rethink the role of government, deciding what areas to cut and which to spare.

So which is easier and doesn't mean public outcry about taxes being raised? I repeat: totally fucking fucked.

2) And here's the beginning of it. "Care management organizations," my ass. You can call it whatever you want (might I suggest "sweet sweet love and puppies management organizations?), but that disguise ain't gonna get any thicker.

3) What's really important? We might get another flag vote.

4) Oh, and the ABH's love affair with Brian Kemp is already over? Over a hotel-motel tax? You mean he's not standing up for the interests of Athens loud and clear? Who'da thunk it?

5) A late letter on the Doug Haines incident. Apparently a) he overreacted, so b) she needs a gun, because that's not an overreaction.

[bugmenot ABH]

Thanks, you fuckers. The thing is, people will be inclined to make jokes like, "this hasn't happened since the last time the Braves won a World Series," but actually, it was even longer ago. There are kids who weren't born the last time who are in the middle of puberty now. There have been three different presidents in that time-span. The last time it happened, Barry Bonds was still wearing a 32 waist and a 14 neck. Lord knows what'll happen if we ever make it past the first round again. [bugmenot]

We'll see your gay governor and raise you one ex-School Superintendent skimming funds to pay for a face-lift. The question is: if the government wins its case and is allowed to collect the funds, can they reverse the procedure and turn her back into a scary old bag? [bugmenot]

Paris Hilton? Sam Jackson? And you thought those would be the best offered. Oh no. Scroll to the end for the item that will truly get you acclaim and worship from your officemates, starting at a mere fifty dollars. Best auction ever.

Almost too hard to choose among this week. We have no more concrete bulldog thefts, but we do have a living version of same:

Threats: On Nov. 4, Deputy Laura Teet was dispatched to a residence on North Burson Avenue in Bogart, where an animal control officer said a man had threatened her. The man was upset because the neighbor's bulldog had been in his yard. The man also posted a sign in his yard saying he was going to kill the bulldog. The man said it was running loose earlier and when he tried to pick it up, the dog tried to bite him. "I'll kill the dog and throw it over the fence," the man said, adding he also would kill the officers with animal control. Teet advised the man not to make any more threats toward his neighbors or the animal control officers.

Halloween mayhem:

Damage: On Nov. 1, a resident of Trailwood Drive reported Halloween house decorations were damaged. Two cars were egged, some trees and bushes toilet papered, a hole cut in a pumpkin and the legs were pulled off a skeleton.

Not one, but two cases of vehicular assault:

Assault: On Nov. 3, the principal at Oconee County Middle School was outside while students were being dropped off in the morning. He noticed a woman in a convertible dropped a child off at the wrong place. He went to her car and told her she wasn't supposed to do that. He said the woman accelerated her car towards him, causing him to push away with his hand or risk being hit. When the woman stopped in the car lane for traffic leaving the school, he went back up to her car and told her she would not be allowed to drive on campus again. Information about the woman, who lives in Stonebridge subdivision, was turned over to deputies.

Assault: On the morning of Nov. 3, a resident of Arizona Bend reported she was taking her morning walk when her neighbor drove his car across the opposite side of the road at a fast speed and came within inches of hitting her. She said she had an ongoing problem with the man, but now its seems to have gotten out of control.

A pretty awesomoid truck:

Robbery: On Nov. 6, deputies were called to an armed robbery at T's Corner on Monroe Highway. The clerk said a man entered the store about 1:20 p.m. and asked for one cigarette, but the clerk explained they didn't sell them that way. He seemed angry and slammed his hand down on the counter and walked out. He later returned, was told the same thing, and he left again. When he came back in a third time, he asked for the cheapest pack of cigarettes the store sold. But when he didn't have the money to pay for the cigarettes, he explained to the clerk that she was going to give him the cigarettes and he would show her why. He then pulled a silver revolver from a holster on his side and pointed it the two clerks. He reholstered the pistol, got the cigarettes, and left. He was seen leaving in a red or maroon colored Toyota pickup with a lightning bolt design on the side. There were two young boys in the pickup with the suspect who was described as white, about 6-foot, one-inch tall, reddish brown hair with a full beard. He last was seen driving on Ga. Highway 53 in the direction of Barrow County. A security camera caught the crime in progress.

Belligerent, intoxicated teens:

Arrest: On Nov. 5, Deputy Marvin Williams was working special duty at Oconee County High School during the football game when Georgia State Patrol trooper Brent Erickson told him to be one the lookout for a young male, who was acting intoxicated. Later, Erickson walked up with the suspect and Williams asked for his name. The teen replied, "You're so ------- smart, you figure it out." As he cursed at the officers and called them rednecks, Williams explained he was committing the crime of obstruction. The man had bloodshot eyes and was rocking back and forth. They searched him and found a small amount of marijuana. Howard Hayworth Lemmons, 17, of Holly Fall Drive, Athens, was charged with possession of marijuana, public drunkeness and disorderly conduct.

And this, which is a contender for best police blotter item ever:

Complaint: On the evening of Nov. 1, Deputy Jay Parker was dispatched to Mill Point where a man was complaining about a woman blowing a loud whistle. He said it was a constant problem. Parker talked with the woman who also complained about the man, saying he had committed the "perfect crime."

There are yet more for your reading pleasure available here. [bugmenot]

  Was trying to find a way to convey the greatness of this. Other than making ecstatic "yum" noises, which don't come across so well in print. Anyway. That and figuring out travel plans. Have to head to Pittsburgh as grandpa has died (condolences really not necessary; he lived a long time). And (sigh) will miss the Georgia-Auburn game, which is a silly thing to think about but nonetheless on the mind. So if things are light on here for a while, that's why. Dang ol' life. Interfering and stuff.

But really. If you didn't catch this the first time it aired on GPTV, you really should make an effort this time around. Sanford is a beautiful, beautiful structure, and (dare I say) I was even a little moved. Features excessive amounts of Dan Magill. [bugmenot]

Is that what BCS stands for? I'm sure one of y'all can come up with something much better. Anyway. The Home Team complained mightily on the radio about it yesterday, pointing out that our poor standing is largely due to the computer polls (programmed by leftist elitists, no doubt). For example, one of these is Anderson & Hester, which actually has Georgia ranked at #12, one slot higher than its average from the computer polls. Margin of victory is not considered. Conference strength is apparently factored in, as well as strength of schedule. Georgia's strength of schedule ranks 56th. Tennessee's (one slot above, at #11) ranks 6th. Both teams play South Carolina, Florida, Auburn, Vanderbilt, and Kentucky; plus, each other. Tennessee's other games are against UNLV (2-7), Louisiana Tech (4-5), Ole Miss (3-5), Alabama (shockingly, 6-3), and Notre Dame (ditto). Georgia's were against Georgia Southern (AA, but 8-2 and victors of one game 84-3), Marshall (5-4), Arkansas (3-5), and GA Tech (5-3). I just don't see a huge difference. Unless it's that we're on Tennessee's schedule and we're that much better than they are, which is why a) they beat us and b) the computers rank them higher. Insanity.

Is it just because "latte" is a lot shorter and more conducive to puns than cappuccino?

Okay. So the greatness that is Lexis-Nexis comes to the rescue again. Or partly to the rescue. Like, it's pointing to where the fire hydrant is or something.

From the earliest archived stuff they have for the NYT (late 1970s) until 1988, every appearance of "latte" refers to the publishing house of Congdon & Lattes or (occasionally) people with the last name Lattes. Then we start to see "caffe latte" showing up.

1988: in an article about Stendhal's syndrome, "'I don't know what's happening to me,' the American woman at a nearby table said over breakfast in the Pensione Bartoli in Florence, 'I don't seem to be able to function.' She stared off in the distance and ignored her caffe latte."

1989: in an article about the World Series and recovering from the earthquake, "Now that electricity is back in much of the Bay Area, life goes on. Fresh caffe latte and good bread are back in the shops while rescue crews sift the ruins of homes and freeways."

1990: in an article about the World Cup, filed from Rome, "Sitting around the Termini station the other day, I was observing trains every few minutes, fans carrying banners, the babble of languages, soccer headlines everywhere, and steaming caffe latte."

1991: review of Caffe Vivaldi, in NYC: "Most of the vaguely bohemian-looking clientele -- people even read there -- come for one of the assorted coffees, which include cappuccino ($2.50), espresso with Sambuca ($3.50), latte macchiato (glass of steamed milk stained with espresso, $2.50), caffe mocha (espresso, cocoa, steamed milk and whipped cream, $3.25) and caffe Viennese (double espresso, vanilla essence and whipped cream, $3.50)"; also appears in 1991 wrt San Francisco and again wrt soccer and Italy

1992: ref to New Bohemians ("For all the caffe latte and torn turtlenecks implicit in the name of the recently disbanded group"); article re tourists invading Montana (a la this past week's King of the Hill; "many of those people sipping their iced caffe lattes have come to Bozeman"); article about the new coffee culture starting to catch on in NYC (and another, later one)

1993: article about Portland; article about Starbucks coming to NYC ("It features Italian-style coffee bars selling fresh-roasted beans, pots to brew them in, and drinks like latte (pronounced LAH-tay), a shot of espresso topped with hot milk but less foamy than cappuccino." This is really the first time it gets mentioned without a "caffe" in front of it.); also, it hits Connecticut; home espresso makers (described as a West-coast thing); Leo DiCaprio drinks them; more stuff on coffee in general in NYC

1994: Chock Full o'Nuts starts serving them in NYC; what will become of Greek coffee shops ("Do they spend 60 cents for American coffee or $3.25 for a caffe latte grande?"); upper West Side and bookstore-cafe hybrids (only in headline); health care (small coffee shop used as example; latte provided as high-priced example); more on Connecticut; the Village; Brooklyn ("Manhattan business owners caught on to the $2 coffee and skinny cookie craze a few years ago, and recently, neighborhoods like Park Slope have jumped on board with a variety of coffee bars."); super sizing; social smoking (in a cafe)

1995: whether to tip at a coffee bar; New Jersey (from a former SF-ite); Starbucks ("With designer coffee bars on almost every corner, terms like 'slim grande' and 'short latte' have become regular staples of the city's lexicon"); Lavazza beans ("Partly, Mr. Paderi says, what drives espresso is profit. A latte -- espresso coffee and lots of steamed milk, and in some places a shot of syrup, like strawberry, raspberry or banana -- sells in New York coffee bars for $3 to $3.50, for instance. The ingredients cost 15 cents."); independent booksellers (who don't offer them); Lower East Side cafe/bar

1996: review of Eye for an Eye ("She is on her way home from the kind of job that entails wearing pert suits and sipping nonfat caffe latte at her desk."); poetry readings at cafe; cheap workouts ("less than the price of a caffe latte"); Madison Smartt Bell revisits Manhattan ("In fact, you don't have to go thirsty half so long if what you want is chichi coffee -- soon enough there'll be a Starbucks on every corner, but how much enlightenment is all this caffeine producing? Coffee or booze, there's almost no one left to drink it but the gentry, and the trouble with those sorts of clients is they're too much like oneself."); Steve Earle drinks 'em; even available in Alaska; stuff about Friends; basketball article with a Seattle reference (two of these); can buy it at DMV in Cherry Hill, NJ; Patti Smith drinks it; so does Arianna Huffington; brief Starbucks ref (wrt The Rules)

1997: complaint about inability to get simple cup of coffee ("Today if you want a coffee you've got to speak a foreign language"); Colgate University opens cafe; juice bars want to imitate coffee success; editorial re apathy (i.e., we're well off financially, rich enough to drink lattes, so what do we care); Seattle; cybercafes; San Francisco; NYC (Milky Way latte)

1998: Boomers are aging; teens think fancy coffee is cool; most people don't eat breakfast; Jane Swift (ex-preggers MA gov) drinks 'em; Seattle (two); cafe at NYC indie video rental place; Pacific Northwest; fishing off Long Island ("The boys and girls and Porsches and lattes of summer were long gone from the East End of Long Island"); 1998 elections and how things have changed ("The number of Americans who have tried cappuccino, latte or another espresso-based product grew by 34 percent from 1997 to 1998."); letter to the editor about wastefulness ("The total amount of money 'wasted' on affordable luxuries far exceeds that spent on ridiculous toys. Does anyone really need a $3 cup of cafe latte when a 50-cent cup of coffee will do?"); article about football (? "It is chilly, early mornings like these that explain why cafe latte was invented.")

1999: associated with discussing Hegel; Mission District ("The people sipping lattes at the new Intermission Cafe are young, trendy and non-Hispanic"); indie bookstore ("Her customers at Good Yarns in Hastings-on-Hudson are more than happy to bring their own coffee, a plain cuppa joe for 60 cents from the bagel place next door, rather than take out a loan for a double latte at the nearest superstore."); life style marketing; sex emporium (Hustler Hollywood; two articles); Greenwich Village ("This tiny, rumpled cafe is an oasis of sorts for its dog-loving, cigarette-smoking, Rollerblade-wearing, trend-weary Greenwich Village clientele."); Brooklyn Public Library ("But while the look may be Starbucks at these public establishments, customer tastes are more Dunkin' Donuts. 'This particular group demographic is not latte-cappuccino,' said Ms. Mamary, who sees more demand for plain coffee."); Starbucks in Harlem; northern CA ("a ferns-and-latte hamlet"); exurbs ("this late-20th-century cross of countryside and latte"); Seattle; Starbucks; megaplex gaming complex; banks in Oregon; tea ("lately, ordering tea has ascended into another realm, a ritualistic ceremony with enough bowing and scraping to transport the diner to the days of the Raj"); China; football coaches (NFL)

2000: Starbucks; bookstores; new diners; jazz; popularity of breath mints; World Bank/IMF protests in Seattle ("Starbucks stayed open, keeping the latte flowing hot and thick"); another on the same that seems like satire (protesters drink lattes); smell and memories (dismisses differences among coffees); Seattle; rich people ("It is an early September morning at the Four Seasons Hotel, and Manhattan's power brokers are back from their summer vacations, posturing over caffe lattes and toast in the hotel restaurant"); garage bands (two dudes who work at Starbucks); bodybuilders (don't drink lattes); 2000 election ("I decided to do what all yuppies do when they wallow in meaningless bouts of self-pity during the holidays: drown my sorrows in an overpriced gingerbread latte at Starbucks"); Matthew Shepard drank them

2001: the Clintons (two articles); Seattle (two); San Francisco (two); make 'em at home; economy sucks ("The $4 double-shot latte is being replaced with coffee brewed at home."); Harlem (two); economy sucks in CA ("Think of an economic slowdown in California, and the image that comes to mind these days is of dot-commers having to make do with town houses instead of mansions or, worse, regular coffee instead of caffe latte."); Starbucks (two); anti-Starbucks ("corporate latte"); breakfast; here's where Hesser's "Mr. Latte" begins to appear (several times this year); Starbucks in China (not so Commie any more); making fun of product placement in books ("Even when I finish a first draft and settle in to revise my work while sipping a scrumptious mocha latte at the nearest Starbucks, I strive to keep one principle in mind: integrity above all."); Sony's Aibos (one is named Latte); joke about Bin Laden ("Bin Latte" har har); Starbucks in Japan; Modesto, CA; no lattes ("Hong Park runs a greengrocery on Prince Street in Manhattan, in a land of lattes, fancy beans and chic cafes, on the front line of a raging battle for the coffee customer"); the newly unemployed

2002: it's expensive; Modesto again (where Condit was from); surfing in Australia; Dowd uses it but just to mean caffeinated; too many Starbucks in Manhattan ("Mr. Damian thinks that $3 is a lot to charge for a small latte, but he is willing to pay, if a little reluctantly, to avoid the unexpected."); headline re MOMA's temporary move to Long Island ("Vendors, at Least Some, Brace for the Latte Crowd"); Paul Bettany drinks 'em; so does Mary Hart; Matthew Herbert (anti-consumerist experimental musician) uses one in his art; Denver and art-house theater; Montana; Starbucks v Tim Horton's; Jerry Seinfeld drinks one (but it's his first); automats give way to lattes; fashion and responsibility ("Designer labels are no longer chic, except among rap stars and tourists. Modesty is in. But the $3.75 grande latte at Starbucks is a permissible indulgence. Addictive, nonhallucinogenic and perfectly legal."); baseball from Dowd ("We have the right-wing, left-wing World Series between anodyne Anaheim and a team from latte-land [i.e., San Fran.]"); Friends; Nancy Pelosi ("Republicans cheerfully revived all the old stereotypes of the loony left -- the latte-drinking, culturally alien, soft-on-national-defense limousine liberals."); holiday stuff and buying ("silver stirrers (battery-powered, of course) whirring in latte lovers' newly installed stainless-steel kitchens")

2003: Starbucks (seven); going out of business nostalgia ("all reminiscent of a time when New Yorkers wore handmade clothes, drank more tea than lattes, and played with rag dolls."); article about liberals being pigeonholed by conservatives ("The new vocabulary makes consumer preferences the most telling signs of personal values, so that it seems natural for Richard Lowry, editor of National Review, to talk about the '"tall skim double-mocha latte, please" culture of contemporary America.' Some conservatives have tried to take that connection seriously. David Brooks of The Weekly Standard has tied urban liberals' fondness for expensive coffee drinks to their predilection for inconspicuous consumption. They avoid the traditional luxuries of 'vulgar Republicans,' preferring to spend extravagantly on items that used to be cheap, like coffee, bread and water, or on products that seem to answer to practical needs, like Volvos or hiking boots....Phrases like 'latte liberal' and 'Volvo liberals' have nothing to do with what anybody actually buys -- they're plays on pure brand aura. Liberals are exactly the sort of people you would expect to drink an expensive, milky coffee concoction and to drive a safe, practical car from socialist Sweden."); Catholics; Princeton Public Library ("People here are sipping lattes while translating Dante into Finnish and doing equations in string theory. One feels that a doctorate may be required just to order almond biscotti."); buzz (pun; Hiltons get mentioned); book superstores killing libraries; Hollywood ("tiffs like these are as common as liposuction and chai lattes here"); Harlem gentrification; midwest wrt review of Married to the Kellys ("Jokes about how you can't get lattes out here"); Westchester; pissy letter re sex ed classes ("Those Hollywood writers Walter Kirn refers to (The Way We Live Now, Nov. 16) are misleading today's young people into believing that young adults in New York City cruise effortlessly through life, swapping sexual partners with greater ease than they would a latte."); Greek diner ("an endangered species in latte-land"); Howard Dean

2004: Brooklyn ("Clubs, bars and latte joints continue to elbow aside the diminishing number of Polish-American shops"); Starbucks (five); suggested tax on lattes in NYC; David Bach, financial dude ("Everybody should cut back on mindless, chronic purchases -- he has coined the term 'latte factor' -- sock the money away and take advantage of the 'miracle' of compounded interest."); Starbucks in Harlem (people trying to stop it from closing because it's symbolic); review of Coffee & Cigarettes; watch TV on the go; Joe Queenan on nostalgia ("and of course the Blarney Stones that seemed to dominate every street before the latte-lapping gentry went and ruined everything."); rituals ("Riding a bike through Central Park every summer morning while listening to Maria Callas on my iPod, then coming back two hours later along the sunswept trees of Riverside Drive and finding Callas exactly where I'd left her. Listening to Brahms's intermezzos at Starbucks every afternoon while indulging my new addiction, iced grande skimmed lattes. Such rituals give greater luster to random things I already love."); 10-year anniversary of Cafe Cyberia in London ("John Major was prime minister of Britain. The Internet, to most people, was like something out of 'The Jetsons.' 'Latte' was Italian for 'milk,' not American for 'coffee.'"); hybrid SUV ("The hybrid is about to enter the latte generation's comfort zone"); again with the Hegel and the university; and finally, from Thursday (Nov. 4), this bit about the election ("Striking a characteristic New York pose near Lincoln Center yesterday, Beverly Camhe clutched three morning newspapers to her chest while balancing a large latte and talked about how disconsolate she was to realize that not only had her candidate, John Kerry, lost but that she and her city were so out of step with the rest of the country.")

Considering that the wallace-l was briefly discussing the evangelical movement and what it might think of reality TV, it was really quite appropriate for the Spider Monkeys to post this sketch this week. One of my favorites, not least because Jedlicka is eminently believable as the host.

So, still thinking about the thrust of this post, and reading Meghan O'Rourke's piece on Edward Stratemeyer, creator of Nancy Drew, the Hardy Boys, etc., as well as sort of the whole idea of assembly line young-adult fiction. Key paragraph:

Stratemeyer realized that the way to move books was to keep them constant. The “manufactured” nature of the series was curiously reassuring to kids, who felt that there was an endless supply of goods they knew and liked coming their way. Children, of course, love repetition, as any parent who’s had to watch “Finding Nemo” ten times knows. But so do adults. The hardest thing about selling what economists call “experience goods”—like books or movies—is persuading people to try something they can’t be sure they’ll like. That’s why a handful of brand-name fiction writers (often writing books with continuing characters) dominate the best-seller lists and the shelves of airport bookstores: in some way they’re a known quantity. As the Stratemeyer Syndicate grew, a snowball effect could be seen: the more books that appeared in any given series, the more children bought them, confident that supply would not run out.

Is this just human nature? And, if so, why aren't all of us completely fearful of change? Or why does it apply in different areas for different people? e.g., I'm perfectly willing to try a new book or movie or fried snack food, but much less happy about the continual revision of job descriptions and evaluation methods at my work (I've had to write at least 4 different descriptions in 3 years). I know there was a New Yorker article a few years ago that focused on this desire for the new and how it usually fades with age, so maybe I should dig around in Lexis-Nexis for that, if I can remember who wrote it.

J wants to know when the latte meme started. Clearly, it's widespread now. If I say "latte," you think "snooty east coast liberal elitist." It couldn't have taken hold if people didn't know what a latte is now (thanks, Starbucks), but someone had to popularize. Theories?

31. In September, at the start of the school year, Akademiks, a Manhattan-based hip-hop clothing designer, spent $58,000 for an advertisement that would run mainly on buses.
It featured a young woman in a sweater and panties, kneeling on a book-strewn floor and looking coyly at the camera. [from "A Risqué Ad on the Bus, if You Speak Hip-Hop" by Anthony Ramirez; 11/06/04; there's a picture, too]

32. The duo's playful, digressive performance seemed a bit shaggy after Ms. Wilson's nearly flawless set. But the two hit their stride in time for "Save a Horse (Ride a Cowboy)," a strutting boys'-night-out song driven by a snarling hard-rock riff and some muscular violin; the song is so popular that the duo sells women's underwear imprinted with the title. (The Bible doesn't say anything about not hawking your own line of panties, does it?) The night was building to an energetic finale. [Kelefa Sanneh's review of the "American Revolution Tour"; 11/08/04; the duo are, of course, Big & Rich; panties, unfortunately, not pictured or mentioned on their website]

[Previously]

This bit, transcribing some of Gilmore Girls, in Heather's article on TV teens in Salon:

Lane: Plus, you've got your bands that survived breakups, no doubt.

Rory: Wish they hadn't.

Lane: X, Superchunk, the White Stripes. But in the negative you have ...

Without the capital letters, the second line makes a lot less sense.

More substantively, as wished for in the article itself, there's this bit I should comment on:

Such commercial shorthand is decades old by now, but the speed with which it has moved into the mainstream and come to seem a reasonable substitute for substantive exchanges of ideas and emotions is remarkable.

When Ryan teases Seth for knowing about Care Bears and their "Care Bear Stare," he's basically calling him a fruitcake; when Seth says, "My gramma wears Uggs!" he means his grandfather's new wife is a hot little number. Is this clever, snappy dialogue, really, or just a lazy little shortcut?

I get what she's getting at, and to some extent it's right, but it's also possible that it's a clever shortcut. Sometimes efficiency isn't quite the same thing as laziness (or maybe it's just a good version of such). As far as the Wallace reference in the final paragraphs? Not even gonna go there.

1. Morris News Service continues to pour the love on newly re-elected state senator Brian Kemp, headline being "Kemp re-election to give Athens some power in Atlanta." Shouldn't that be something like "retain what power it does have"? Or are they admitting he did nothing before?

2. Perdue says he's optimistic about Georgia's financial health, but doesn't take budget slashing off the table. Make that future budget slashing. The ones this year are very much going through.

Perdue thanked agency leaders for their willingness to place certain state programs and even a few jobs on the budget chopping block, despite signs of rosier economic conditions down the road.

Yay! Way to just do what the governor wants!

[bugmenot]

Dang. They continue to be pretty nice and, thankfully, not even to bring the election up for the most part. Football is watched and analyzed in subtle form; also occasionally howled at for absolutely bizarre flags thrown (illegal motion on the kicker? what now?). Movies are briefly discussed (they didn't like Bad Santa, which is not so much the big shock; it is contested whether all indie films are in fact about gay cowboys eating pudding). Larry the Cable Guy? Officially funny even though he's raunchy. Ron White? Not so much. The "I'm a big drunk" facet of his act doesn't go over all that well. Everyone eats chocolate cake with ice cream and plays with the kids, who are reading Harry Potter or stacking dice from this sentence game or making an effort to put every piece of a play tea-set outside (reason a little hazy). Ob-la-di, ob-la-da, apparently.

1. Grand Theft Auto (1977): Opie's directorial debut, which he also co-wrote and stars in, and yet another fantastico Corman production. It manages to be both gloriously low budget and smash up at least 20 cars. Does it have a lot of plot? Not a ton, but dude... They crash a car in slo-mo through a house and into an above-ground pool. It's also entertaining in terms of how perfectly it sticks to genre conventions. Witness: the line that perhaps sums up the thrust of the whole movie comes in the first proper scene, and that line is "Get out of my mansion." It could damn near be a Simpsons episode. Have not found who does the self-titled "Love Theme from GTA" that plays over the DVD menu and closing credits, but it is Starland Vocal Band-esque and can hardly be removed from one's head except through surgery.

2. The Incredibles: So this was probably better than Finding Nemo, but not sure how it compares to other Pixar stuff, just really enjoyed it. Great eye for design, even in terms of the family's suburban residence, dining room chairs, etc., and beautiful, cinematic composition in general. Fine voice work, esp from Holly Hunter and my boyfriend. Am I nuts to think there's something about international law enforcement and the like being meditated on under the surface here? J kinda thinks so, and he's probably right. Anyway. Purty.

3. Club Dread: Meh. It's occasionally amusing, but it never really gets going as either a parody or an actual movie. Paxton has pulled ahead again in the race. Will still make an effort to see Super Troopers, but now expectations will be pretty low.

4. Mean Girls: Oh, good. Everyone was right, and it is pretty well made. Best movie ever? Not so much, but accurately described as a cut above most stuff like it. Tina Fey wrote Tim Meadows in particular a nice part, and she's all right herself. There are a lot of little things I could complain about if I were in a mood to do so (e.g., occasional slip into total slapstick, as with Lohan ending up in a trashcan, WTF), but with all the truly terrible teen flicks out there (and I see most of them), it feels kind of silly to bitch.

5. Dawn of the Dead (2004): J thinks the original is a little better because of more sympathetic characters; I just think there are fewer of them in that, and would place them maybe about even. This is, of course, much faster paced, though not dramatically bloodier. Weirdly doesn't explore the same type of consumerist stuff that the original does, but does have a woman accidentally getting cut in half with a chainsaw. So, you know, six of one... But may I request one thing? Something that Shaun of the Dead at least partially accomplished but not completely? Can we for once have a zombie movie wherein the characters actually have seen zombie movies and not only recognize what's going on but know (without being told) how to kill their foes? It's not like the rules aren't in every single zombie movie ever.

I mean, it's not like these things haven't worked out for the betterment of comedy in the past, right? What with the flourishing careers of Dat Phan and Ralphie May? And the total respect LCS is accorded? The only hope is that the tag line is something like "you're ooota here." [via]

Gotta love this too, also from Salon.

But to pretend that the Democrats are a bunch of effete, latte-drinking elitists who don't know how to connect with the "heartland" is not only hooey, but mindless, lazy, recycled hooey.

There is a name for the people the pundits describe -- and that name is "Nader voter." Democrats, by now, loathe these people even more than the folks in Idaho do. They're the overprivileged, Woodstock-era, insufferably smug liberals who think all the world's a poli-sci class and who'd rather be "right" than win. Especially since they're not the ones to feel the pain if the other guy wins. They cost Gore the White House in 2000, and the truly hardcore ones stuck to their "principles" even this year. They're repulsive. They're to be loathed and mocked to the skies. And they're not the people who were out there working day in and day out for John Kerry.

But then this, at the end:

To me, the heartland of this country is anywhere that people work their asses off to make their lives better for their families. They stay true to their better angels no matter how miserable things get or how much easier it would be to succumb to hate and irrational fear. They read, and listen, and look for the truth and stay informed about what's really going on, no matter how grim the news. They don't live in Fox News cocoons, they don't blast Rush Limbaugh from their pickups, and they don't vote blindly for the guys whose prejudices most neatly line up with their own. Their concerns are genuine, their values are consistent, their principles are rock-solid, and their hearts are true.

So heartlanders voted for Nader? I know it's just a howl of rage, and I shouldn't expect such to be logical, but fewer principles is really not the answer. One thing that does need to be understood is a real fear and hatred of snobbery among (I guess) the heartlanders. It's rather like terrorism that way. It doesn't mean it doesn't exist at all, but it's also not as widespread as people think. I'm sure it's in the pay section by now, but the NYT piece on the difference between two restaurants, one a chain and one a fiercely independent local place, in the same town strikes me as absolutely indicative. Even when told the non-chain served, you know, basics like hamburgers (made with good beef), the patrons of the chain couldn't shake the idea that they'd be forced to eat, I dunno, raw beef topped with caviar on a wasabi flavored bun. (And not that there would be anything wrong with that being offered.) Maybe the real break in the country is between those who will try new things and those who won't.

[sidebar: newest F-Pole food column linked over in the sidebar, speaking of trying to counter the SNOOT image]

In addition to these. Bring back that ol' decapitation for blasphemy thing as a big chunk of the party platform.

And somebody's translation of the Book of Daniel is seriously effed up. [from Chris]

It's really hard to have this happen to you twice within the space of what feels like the longest year ever. To count on the youth vote to show up, only to find out they were apparently smoking up at home while their parents were in line to send a message to the gays. Would "Vote or You're Grounded" have been a better slogan?

Not much this week, but there is another incident of yard decor theft:

Theft: On Oct. 28, a resident of Latham Drive reported someone entered his yard and stole a Japanese pagoda.

No word on size.

Also, this heart-warming tale of love and theft:

Arrests: On Oct. 30, Deputy Marvin Williams was dispatched to a home on Moreland Way in Watkinsville for an argument. When he arrived, Williams saw two men walking around in the yard, shouting and challenging each other to fight. Williams asked one man, Willie Gene Ambrose, 45, what happened and Ambrose explained he went over to the house and asked a woman for a beer. She game [sic] him a beer. However, McArthur Mitchell, 36, of Moreland Way began shouting at the woman for giving away one of his beers. He walked across the street, took the beer from Ambrose, then poured it on him and punched him in the face. Mitchell said Ambrose hit him back. Williams charged both men with affray and disorderly conduct.

No, not really. But the City of Atlanta is shutting off poor people's water if they can't pay their bills, which have increased to pay to fix the broken sewers. Sign o' the times, kids. Are there no prisons? Are there no workhouses? [bugmenot]

Zoom's ZOOMout the Vote results are in, via J., who commented (pithily) "F. kids!" Indeed.

So farewell hope, and with hope farewell fear,
Farewell remorse; all good to me is lost.

But what's the next line? And why ain't it the right attitude?

Did I ever mention how much I love Slate, in spite of all the things they do that piss me off?

Also, did anyone else do a spit take at the appearance of reporter Carrie Edwards on the local news in Georgia?

And was the White House footage not the most uncomfortable thing ever? Didn't it remind you of being at a family function you'd really rather not be at, with everyone dressed up and sitting in the good living room on the edges of the couches, desperately trying to find common ground by talking about how cute the dog is?

And what does one do if when one votes one's conscience one loses badly and then when one votes on the basis of evil and lesserness one loses badly? And one really doesn't want to self-medicate. And not voting really doesn't seem like an option.

So. Yay. Apparently we do hate fags and towelheads just that much. My ox is so broken you wouldn't even believe it.

This morning, as I walked to the bus stop, there was a jet line splitting the sky in half.

And then, as I was watching cars go by and waiting and trying not to think, some dude in a pick-up truck did the half-wave thing where you raise your fingers off the steering wheel to acknowledge someone in a friendly way, and that was the closest I came to losing it completely.

It's been quiet on the hobbyhorse front for a while, but there are a few items today.

1) AJC op-ed defending Perdue's record: "Perdue's approach seems far more like Ronald Reagan's. He seems to allow those in charge of departments, agencies and the Legislature to manage their roles based on behind-the-scenes guidance, mixed with strong public initiatives." Yes, the Reagan comparison is kind of apt. Folksy public persona; steely, tax-cutting resolve behind the scenes. Also: "With very few public words he persuaded the Board of Regents to call off a proposed midyear tuition increase. No small task." Because it's not like the Regents will roll over for anyone or like they're all talk or like they're at least as worried about keeping their perks as the quality of the higher-education system.

2) Mark Taylor makes a little more noise:

"We need to be back next year as Democrats to protect the HOPE scholarship," Taylor said. "Education is no longer the top priority because of the Republican takeover."

My guess would be that he's generally been trying to gain ground on Cox as a potential candidate in two years, leading to the weird tough talk that's all over the place. If education's the top priority, why not raise tuition?

...the arctic fox, the white fox, the polar fox, the blue fox, gray fox, coast fox...

So, there is plenty of amusement transcribed in the WaPo article on Triumph's booking on Crossfire. Smigel's a funny guy, after all. But the best part of the article? Why it's the euphemism the Post chooses in this extract:

"Stop Hurting America!" Triumph, aka the right arm of comic Robert Smigel shouted, mirroring comments Stewart made when he got into his own dogfight on the show, calling Carlson a "[male pride]" but only after Carlson had twice called him Sen. John Kerry's "butt boy."

[bugmenot]

  This is what you see if you go to pitchfork's site today. It may be too small to read, so here's what it says: "Today, we request that our U.S. readers take the time they usually spend reading Pitchfork to do something more productive. VOTE." And then there are links to find your polling place, etc.

1) At least they admit it.

2) Dude. If you don't know where your polling place is by now...

But great headline. Pretend for a moment you don't know anything about Georgia football. The mental picture that would result from this wording is one worthy of some artist's talents. [bugmenot]

The Dark Angel: I believe this was originally a BBC production that was then picked up by Mystery on PBS. Anyhoo. Yet another flick shelved in the horror section that's not really a horror movie; this one's more of a gothic thriller (if I owned my own video rental place, chances are things would be highly categorized within a given section, e.g., within horror: slasher, monster, ghost, comic, holiday-themed, etc.). Not particularly scary, but appropriately creepy in bits, especially when one remembers what a beauty Peter O'Toole once was; he may, in fact, look better now than when this was made (1987). But still. He has his charisma. So there is opium use and abuse, great fortunes at stake, relatively heaving bosoms (chastely covered but in desperate need of a brassiere), the occasional dramatic clap of thunder, ominous portraits (that look as though their subjects aren't wearing any pants), and assorted gallant young men with mustaches, in the fashion of the time. I'd say it's solid, at very least.

Salon's piece on the politics behind various TV shows isn't that bad. It's got a nice bit on The Apprentice, for example:

I used to be puzzled by the fact that all those Upper West Side coffeehouse dwellers I know eat up "The Apprentice," despite the fact that Donald Trump may well be the closest thing America has to an embodiment of shallow materialism. But somewhere along the line I figured out that the show works better as a wicked satire of traditional capitalism than as a celebration of it. Sure, there are those that see "The Apprentice" as a window into a business world in which talent and the elevation of work above all else are justly rewarded, who marvel at the opulence of destinations Trump invariably describes as "the most luxurious in the world." But for the rest of us, the show's portrayal of back-stabbing, ambitious overachievers drooling over an ultimately meaningless brass ring is one of the most persuasive arguments against life in the boardroom that there is.

But then there's this:

"Reba" belongs to a category of shows -- along with CBS's "Two and a Half Men" and "The King of Queens," ABC's "8 Simple Rules," and countless others -- that are constitutionally committed to never breaking new ground. Even though there is more obvious conflict in these shows than there was on, say, "Father Knows Best," there's the same underlying message: As dysfunctional as families can be, they're still the best way to organize American life.

Interesting avoidance of mentioning Everybody Loves Raymond, suggesting the writer has actually seen that show, but he apparently hasn't bothered to watch KoQ, in which (as previously discussed on here) everyone is an asshole out for him or herself. If one were feeling particularly cynical, one might say something about the way American life is, in fact, currently organized. But at very least, one might feel snippy yet again about lazy pop culture analysis.

1. Pop Quiz, assholes. What is the millage rate in ACC? This is a nice little graphical representation of who would be best in each seat. If you don't know who's running against who, they're paired up, Dem on the left, Repub on the right.

2. And also this story about my commissioner getting into a very public spat. As the ABH points out, the timing is interesting to say the least, since the Chamber of Commerce has thrown its weight behind Annette Nelson (which, one could also mention, is kind of foolish, since McCarter isn't exactly the most "anti-business" commish around). Anyway, he's my guy, and I'm biased*, but between these two versions of events

McCarter says he said: "Why do you think I care about race? That's like somebody saying you only got your job because your black."

Wyatt says McCarter said: "Come on Tom, you were only hired because of your black face."

I do think McCarter's sounds more realistic.

*in his favor, not in general [collar tug]

[bugmenot]

Have your robocaller dial people in the Athens area during the Georgia-Florida game. Nuff said, Mr. Barrow.

No we don't. Because the kids who trick-or-treat in Green Acres thought Team Brown's living room was bad-fucking-ass. "Ooooh. It's beautiful." "Is one of y'all a artist?" "I like your wallpaper." And so on and so forth. It was neverending. Is it ridiculous to take the word of a bunch of pre-teens dressed like Spiderman on design? Maybe not so much.

1. The Day After Tomorrow: What I don't get is the metacritic score of 44 for this movie. Is it a work for all time? A masterpiece of cinema? Will it make you weep both tears of sorrow and of joy? No to all, in spades. But, dude... That part where the reporter gets shmacked by the flying billboard? It's fucking awesome, yo. Far be it from me to say I'm not a fan of disaster porn, and this is among the best ever. It's at least half an hour too long (that is, half an hour that could've been filled with more tornados et al), but the acting's not bad, it looks great, and it's way less corny than Emmerich often is. I mean, seriously. Do you remember all that nonsense in Independence Day? Sure. The science is ridiculous, but isn't that part of the appeal when it comes to this kind of movie? It's downright required for "scientists" to run around spouting unintelligible data at one another that doesn't hold up to any sort of real analysis (even by the people in the theater, who aren't mostly climatologists) and involves lots of gasping and statements like "those aren't months [pause pause]. They're weeks." If I had to compare it to anything, I'd compare it to The Core, which was equally full of science hoo-ha and entertaining beyond measure (if you like that kind of thing). Also, gratuitous wolves!

2. Body Bags: Have you noticed the horror anthology roll Team Brown has been on of late? Well, this is another entry in it, and one of the best so far. Loads of cameos, from John Carpenter* and Tobe Hooper (who split directing duties), Sam Raimi, Wes Craven, and Roger Corman. Great FX, especially in the middle tale, "Hair," which stars Stacy Keach (who I was pretty sure was dead, but am now seemingly proved wrong about) as a man who succumbs to his vanity. It's actually a little scary at times, with loads of those "don't go in there"-type moments, and seems like it could definitely be a favorite of the Simpsons' writers.

3. Wolfen: Large chunks of this are cool and atmospheric and tension-making, but it doesn't really pay off. I enjoy the "wolfen-vision" (especially when paired with junkie-vision), and I'm always up for some Albert Finney, but the plot doesn't come together well enough at the end. Also, great hair, on the part of both Finney (has it ever been so big?) and Gregory Hines, and, in lieu of cheesy werewolf makeup, actual wolves. Wish very much it were better.

*actually, his is an actual role; he hosts the whole thing in fine Cryptkeeper fashion, making good use of his creepy looks