Antidisingenuousmentarianism

1) Pussycat Dolls, "Stickwitu" -- Warmed-over Mariah tune. Dark is right. This is lame. That one girl in particular (the redhead) looks like a dude. Sexiness seems misplaced. And if "Don't Cha" had a "ch" in it, why doesn't this? They very clearly say "stickwitchu."

2) Madonna, "Hung Up" -- The song's too long and just adequate, but the video's kind of fascinating. A bit of parkour, a bit of break dancing, some Flashdance a la Madge. The real thing you can't take your eyes off of in the video is her ass, whether you want to or not, and you're also pretty likely to find this disturbing, as Madonna does nothing accidentally. I'm sure the precise ratio of exposed booty to pink leotard was carefully calculated. So you keep thinking, "Is her ass going to pop out of there?" and "Is the leotard glued on?" and "My god, this woman has several kids. She's a mom of pretty long standing," and basically, I think this is kind of a good thing, in that it makes you uncomfortable, which is something she's always been good at.

1) Sudden Snatch is the name of my new chicksploitation rock band.

2) That's the ticket! The smoking ban puts Athens at a competitive disadvantage with regard to, um, Gwinnett County? Is that the closest non-dry county? Note that Rusk and Johnson are your two anti-smoking-ban mayoral candidates so far.

3) Shipp lets you test yourself on what will be the big issues covered in the next general assembly session. Woo! Jim notices that lots of kids who get HOPE can afford to go to college anyway, as evidenced by their shiny shiny cars; suggests that maybe we should think about steering some of the lottery cashola to K-12 education. Winders comments on neighborhood change and the fact that everyone's a little on-edge about it (also clarifies literary reference for idiot who can't read).

4) Athens Politics talks about ABH editorial saying not to mess with the voter ID law.

The state's voter ID law, currently under a legal attack from various civil rights groups, is eminently reasonable. Requiring voters to show a piece of state-approved photo identification at the polls is not an egregious affront to the right to vote. Particularly in light of steps the state has taken to make a photo ID affordable and available to anyone in the state who wants one, it's hard to accept the argument the law constitutes a prohibited poll tax.

Yeah. Having a bus in one area of one community for one day. Fuck. Does it get any easier than that? So here's the translation: actively and explicitly trying to roll back the Voting Rights Act of 1965 = not cool. But hampering people's ability to vote = totally fine, as long as you couch it correctly.

5) Grow Green hearts Prince 3-laning, says it hasn't been a problem for emergency vehicles on Baxter.

6) ABH wants dem taxes from Navy School property too.

7) Pro-LPDS letter disses the convenience stores on the eastside. Anti-LPDS letter says the eastside will become like the Atlanta suburbs if we allow one reasonable mixed-use business. Some residents of northeast Georgia (read: probably cranky old people) looove ARMC and hate 3-laning. Here's another anti-3-laning letter, this one accusing cyclists of driving the whole thing, which just isn't true. The major push for 3-laning seems to be coming out of a desire to make the road safer for everyone, not primarily to create bike lanes.

8) Yes! Finally an article on Ultimate Christian Wrestling!

9) Regents dragging feet just as much on adding sexual orientation to anti-discrimination policy.

The Board of Regents has refused to give the University administration legal advice on whether to add “sexual orientation” to the policy, and the University is refusing to move forward until it has a response from the regents.

“No action has been taken. No action is currently planned,” regents spokeswoman Arlethia Perry-Johnson said Friday.

...Patrick Miller, the director of information for Lambda Alliance, said he thinks the regents are waiting for a more gay-friendly political environment before making a recommendation on the proposal.

He said he thinks Adams and the regents have not taken action on the proposal because neither wants the “blame” for adding “sexual orientation” to the policy.

I'm thinking you're right, Patrick Miller.

10) Apparently, the University Health Center wants you either trapped in a tiny box of safety or totally date raped. There is no in-between.

11) R&B wants a snazzier graduation speaker again. Fails to realize it's December graduation we're talking about here.

12) Legal challenge to school-funding formula in Georgia will go forward, says Fulton County Superior Court judge.

[bugmenot ABH; bugmenot AJC]

Really. Maybe being traumatized while in her ballerina outfit warped her young mind. i.e., the video for "Confessions of a Broken Heart (Daughter to Father)" is up at numerous places, including AOL Music and MTV. It's definitely a prime example of the video surpassing the song, and while the destruction could be more extreme (throwing that wastebasket around is pretty wussy), it's fun to watch, even as the video itself amateurishly criticizes you for doing so at the same time as it invites you in. OMG, we love the mixed messages and the emoting. Yay, LinLo!

1) How do you know when it's a flaw in methodology versus a flaw in results? Most people only measure by results. It's about the only way you can measure. Witness De Podesta's firing, for example. Also witness the last half of my life wrt the Braves. Which is easier? Retroactively blaming methodology due to results? Or standing by the methods used despite the results obtained?

2) Which is catchier: "My Humps" or the song in the K-Bob commercial?

S/L: hot in boyd [a building on campus, for those of you non-locals]

Content: does anyone know why Boyd is so hot. Is the chiller, broken???

There is something haiku-like about the punctuation.

I was going to have photographs for you of the most exciting moments of my weekend: namely, getting a new door installed in the kitchen (woo!!) and perhaps the only picture that turned out from Zig's 30th birthday bash (of the balloons on the ceiling of Little Kings; unrelated balloons, as far as I know). But I forget things. Especially in the mornings. When I am disoriented by all the light that has newly appeared due to the wonderfulness of the time change.

Things I don't have photographs of:

1) People who dressed the hell up. Props, all.
2) How it can be a bad idea to get a giant martini just because it's on special.
3) The pain in my heart induced by the annual Cocktail Party, luckily muted due to location of game-watching, i.e., father-in-law's, where there is no saying of "fuck."
4) Brief moment of joy and awe at Joe T. trick play that lifted us all off the couch.
5) Exactly how crazy people in Lawrenceville are when it comes to decorating for Halloween. Ten monsters on the lawn, people.
6) Me yelling at Jacksonville for not ever throwing the ball to Jimmy Smith.

And much, much more.

Dead Like Me, season 2: I suppose it grew on me. I'm not sure if season 2 is actually better than season 1, but I do like it more. The same flaws remain, and it's depressing to watch it knowing there will be no further development, but there's some good stuff with Daisy and Mason. Question, and a very factual one at that: is the commission for realtors 5 percent in California? Because it seems to be 6 percent everywhere else in the country. Things like this--that is, potentially weird and obvious mistakes--do have a habit of getting under my skin.

NO POINTS for ...

Tables, ladders and chairs in a "TLC Match"
Tables in a "Tables Match"
Ladders in a "Ladder Match"
Steel cage door, bars and fencing in a "Steel Cage Match"
Chamber walls/glass/components in an "Elimination Chamber"
Cell components in a "Hell in a Cell Match"
Flames from an "Inferno Match"
The casket in a "Casket Match"
The dirt or grave/hole in a "Buried Alive Match"
Blindfold in a "Blindfold Match"
Bull Rope and cow bell in a "Texas Bull Rope Match"
Anything inside the bar in a "Barroom Brawl Match"
Anything in a "Hardcore Match"
Anything in a "Street Fight Match"
Paddle in a "Paddle on a Pole Match"
Pillows in a "Pillow Fight"
Gravy/mud/pudding in a "Gravy Bowl," etc., Match
Strap in a "Strap Match"
Ripped gown/tuxedo in a "Gown" or "Tuxedo Match"
Hitting the hearse in a"Last Ride Match"
The "Weapon of Choice" (Taboo Tuesday Weapon of Choice Match)

Yeah. That's right.

I also like this list of "finishing moves."

1) Apparently, ARMC's not interested in the Navy School property, and the university hasn't expressed much interest yet either.

But the LRA [Local Redevelopment Authority] is waiting until a March 1 deadline for state and federal agencies to express interest, as well as for authority members to finish the redevelopment plan, before the authority opens the Navy school up to private developers, Allen said.

i.e., There's plenty of time left, but private developers are definitely salivating. Looking for a cushy job?

In other business, the authority is looking for a paid employee and will receive a $100,000 state grant next month to cover the employee's salary, as well as administrative, travel and engineering costs, Allen said.

Again, it would be nice to have the property tax money the site could generate.

2) Well, they haven't seen any rats for a while at the old Gaines School Elementary site. Whoop-de-doo.

3) A little eyeliner might do wonders. Get the dog PR on this case, stat! Sure, there are plenty of soft-hearted folks out there who will be moved by the story and the picture, but those of us who are a little more human-centric are kinda gonna go "yech."

4) See, Georgia's up in the top five nationally in something.

5) Federal appeals court agrees to hear the voter ID case on an expedited timetable, but the suspension of the law will remain in effect through November elections.

6) Malachi York does the robot, but out of grief.

7) You think a little thing like death can stop a Presbyterian missionary? Pshaw.

8) ABH supports some "tax relief" for seniors in Oconee County, but doesn't quite go along with eliminating property taxes for all seniors. Also, doesn't like that argument people often make about not having kids in the public school system and therefore not having to support it.

9) Letters: What was that I was saying about corporate welfare? Arty bus shelter situation does keep improving.

10) Eff yeah! Sulu's a poofter!

11) Athens Politics has opted to provide you with amusement this a.m.

[bugmenot ABH]

See, it's possible I Am Me is topping the charts for a reason. I may not have been nuts about "Boyfriend" in isolation or the few seconds of "L.O.V.E." I'd heard or "Beautifully Broken" as performed on SNL, but the album totally works as a complete thing. "Coming Back for More" in particular is seriously fun and rocking, almost on an Avril-at-her-best level (and isn't online anywhere that I can see). Record has a Duran Duran-like sound in the production from time to time. Still a few too many ballads, but again, it's clear which Simpson has some kind of talent. (There are a couple of songs up at AOL Music, including "I Am Me," which is Pat Benatar-riffic.)

The real competition here is: Which school is administered by more pussies?

Fug girls, why must we fight? This is clearly nostalgia porn mixed with younger man/older woman porn. That is to say, I love the hair.

Don't ask me where the UK singles jukebox is. Because it's clearly not up. So I'm going to go ahead and post my comments here, in order of rating, as it's a half-day for me today.

Westlife, “You Raise Me Up” — Please, Lord. Make it stop. It doesn’t matter who does this song. It’s always the definition of schlock.
[1]

DONS vs Technotronic, “Pump Up The Jam” — Not improved. Repeating “jam” that many times makes me feel vaguely diabetic.
[3]

Kate Bush, “King of the Mountain” — You’ve got to wow after a long hiatus, and while this is nice, it definitely doesn’t wow. It doesn’t make good use of that amazing voice she has, and it doesn’t contain enough to keep me locked in for five minutes. If you’re king of the mountain, you have to defend your damn turf.
[3]

Roots Manuva - Awfully De/EP (lead track is Seat Yourself) — See, I don’t like everything that sounds like robots. Every once in a while the roboticness of a track fails to overcome the lack of a melody, and that is what’s happening here.
[4]

Circulus, “Swallow/My Body Is Made Of Sunlight” — When we sneeringly talk about hippies in the states, I don’t think we’re usually talking about anything this extreme. Incense and peppermints. Also butterflies.
[4]

Bowling For Soup, “Almost” — They kind of pussy out by going for a dramatic slow-down on the chorus when you want it to get faster and louder and more rocking, but it still has some promise.
[5]

The Wedding Present, “Ringway to Seatac” — Competent, but not interesting except in the few moments you can almost hear a little Proclaimers influence. Very soundtracky.
[5]

Hilary Duff, “Wake Up” — Fine prep music for going out and getting your drank on. La Duff’s vocals are sort of flat, and I’m not buying that whole “I party in Tokyo” thing, but she’s good at this nouveau new wave thing.
[6]

Mattafix, “Passer By” — Remember that brief moment when Moby hit the bullseye of the mainstream, before he tipped into near Celine Dion status? This song makes me think of that moment. I don’t know where to place it, other than in the middle of an ad for something widespread yet signifying some kind of cool—perhaps the next wave of hybrid cars?
[6]

Will Smith, “Party Starter” — Less innovative than some tracks on his last album, but also not too anxiety-ridden lyrically. I’m thinking it probably sounds pretty good extremely loud, where you can pick up on the subtleties of the bass end.
[6]

The Corrs, “Heart Like a Wheel” — Stop snickering over there. I was raised on this sort of tasteful, tuneful folk music sung by girls with purty voices. Yes, it’s a little piano bar, but it’s nice to listen to.
[6]

Audio Bullys, “I'm In Love” — That main beat doesn’t sound like a pulsing, fuzzily electric heartbeat, but it conveys the feel of one somehow. And also that of counting one’s steps and concentrating hard on getting back to something soft and familiar.
[7]

Maximo Park, “Apply Some Pressure” — Maximo Park continues to be much more fun than they should be. It’s not quite Franz, but they do have some caffeinated appeal and they definitely know when to cut a song off.
[7]

As ever, drop me a line if you're curious about hearing any of this.

"Watch" her team kick ass in the UPA Nationals. Woo! Which one is she? The one with the most bad-assedest photo of all.

You could always go as a UGA staffer's kid. For a mere $5. New tigers? I don't think so, but it is one hell of a sweatshirt.

1) As Athens Politics notes and everyone expected, Barrow's moving to Savannah. Follow the money. Also, it seems like he'll still have the property next door to his soon-to-be-ex wife. Damn, that's awkward.

2) People commute to Athens to work. Nuh duh.

Of about 66,000 jobs in Athens, 27,000 are filled by people from outside Clarke County, according to the state Department of Labor. Athens has more than 48,000 workers, but about 9,000 Clarke County workers travel to jobs outside the county, according to labor department statistics.

Also, UGA demographer Bachtel incidentally freaks a bunch of people out about the commuter rail when he says it could turn Athens into another New Orleans-type party scene.

3) Ladies learning how to handle big tools. Huh huh.

4) Athens is giving a chunk of the tax money received as part of tobacco lawsuits to CertainTeed to build a road.

The grant is unrelated to a possible expansion of the CertainTeed manufacturing plant. Company officials have said it may enlarge the Athens plant, adding jobs, or instead expand another company plant elsewhere in the United States.

Technically unrelated, that is. I'm sure it doesn't detract from Athens's attractiveness. CleanAirAthens points out the irony of transfering money obtained from one polluter to another. I'd point out that if it's "unrelated," why are we participating in this corporate welfare under the guise of helping the economically disadvantaged?

5) And Oconee County wants to cut money from its school budget to give it to old people, regardless of how much they have in the bank.

6) Hey, real-estate smarts people, what's the deal with minimum size restrictions for new homes? I've been following the story of the increases in Barrow, but I don't quite get why a) they exist in the first place, and b) local govt would feel the need to up them. Is it related to property tax? Not wanting the town to look slummy? Because the new ones mandate 1,600 feet for a one-story house, which is a whole room larger than mine, for example. ABH editorial confirms some of this but doesn't really explain the need for restrictions. If it's not profitable for builders to go smaller, then chances are they won't.

7) Yeah, but that's only the healthy majority. We fat-asses don't like it at all.

8) Letters: LPDS and the drankin'. Think of the children! Anti-three-laning. Think of the Hawthorne!

[bugmenot ABH]

You say "Phil Spector-plus production" like it's a bad thing...

And what is an ELO intro without a mention of "Showdown"?

You recruit Steve Perry as your mascot, you end up with this as the fan face of your team. Not that they don't look like nice dudes. They just also look a little, let's say, Dragoncon.

Chapter 14:

For it has to be admitted, although my opinions were then thoroughly and fundamentally republican, my relations had passed on to me in their entirety their aloof and aristocratic tastes. This defect has remained with me, and prevented me only ten days ago, for example, from taking advantage of a fortunate chance. I loathe the hoi-polloi (to have dealings with), while at the same time, under the name of the people, I long passionately for their happiness, which I think isn't to be got except by putting questions to them on an important subject. That is, by summoning them to appoint deputies for themselves.

My friends, or rather purported friends, go on from this to cast doubt on my sincere liberalism. I have a horror of anything dirty, but the people are always dirty, as I see it. The one exception is in Rome, but there the dirt is concealed by ferocity.

So there is another debate on the war going on, prompted by someone's mentioning that there's a vigil tonight because of Death 2K. "Debate" being a very very generous way of putting it. Anyway, one guy just posted quite a monologue in favor of the war and signed himself "a former veteran."

Maybe he meant veterinarian?

So, this Stylus article and the concept in general (a week of ELO) weren't previously linked to because, well, it seemed so obvious. What kind of jackass could possibly dislike ELO or deny their place in musical history? Mr. Barthel informed me that, indeed, some people are assholes. The comments contain much of this.

1) ARMC Board opposes three-laning of Prince, thinking it'll delay ambulances. It seems more like they're nervous about it being extended to their area of Prince.

2) One of the two new substations to aid in community-oriented policing opened yesterday in the Iron Triangle.

3) Pretty interesting recap of what's gone on so far in the Pilgrim's Pride shooting trial. One way not to help your case of "it was an act in the heat of the moment"? Saying "I'm not crazy. I'm not going to kill anybody else" and giving the gun to another worker.

4) Opposition to the gay-straight alliance club at Madison County High doesn't stop the local commissioners from voting yes on a referendum to extend the sales tax that helps fund the school.

5) Cocaine. It's not what's for dinner.

6) ABH wants dads to be more involved in their kids' schools. And would it kill them to pick up their own socks every once in a while?

7) Bill Shipp has a light week in terms of writing. Almost his entire column is a quotation from someone's letter supporting Mark Taylor. Did you know the Big Guy has been behind every wonderful piece of legislation in our state ever?

8) More LPDS letters. One saying Winders is flip and slangy (what of it?) and using States's column on the issue as evidence of his sanity. One saying Cedar Creek ain't racist (not what the column contended); in fact, it's "ethnically balanced and cosmopolitan." And one saying Andean music is the shiznit. [Added: JMac on suchlike.]

9) Not online: The Athens Banner-Herald prints a clarification of a Saturday story regarding funding for the UGA president’s salary, making it clear that there have not yet been discussions between the Regents and the Arch Foundation on the matter. [says egamorning]

10) KA planning to move off campus rather than to River Road. R&B reports on what was discussed in Atlanta relative to the design of the new frat houses. There won't be enough parking. University not sure whether it's going to offer short- or long-term leases.

11) R&B says differential tuition plans kind of dead for now, but may get brought up again once the University System has a chancellor; points out that it already exists to some extent.

12) Dudes think about chicks.

13) R&B not buying Sonny's plan to "fix" HOPE.

14) Letter to R&B complains Homecoming photo coverage was overwhelmingly white. Have you looked at the campus demographics lately, honey?

15) Newsflash! Pollack's Press changes name! Vince Dooley has eaten there! Jeremy Thomas not so busy!

16) Headline of the year.

Added:
17) Hear ye hear ye. Athens Politics back up with take on all, including Pete's "three-lane the fuck out of Prince now!" column in the F-Pole.

[bugmenot ABH]

Yes, I'm late on this, but Schjeldahl's piece on graphic novels in the New Yorker is worth a look. Sometimes he's all "I'm a cranky old dude, grrr," but he does like Ware and Satrapi. And he says this,

Like life-changing poetry of yore, graphic novels are a young person’s art, demanding and rewarding mental flexibility and nervous stamina. Consuming them—toggling for hours between the incommensurable functions of reading and looking—is taxing. The difficulty of graphic novels limits their potential audience, in contrast to the blissfully easeful, still all-conquering movies, but that is not a debility; rather, it gives them the opalescent sheen of avant-gardism.

Which is pretty much the opposite of the way I feel about them. I mean, Ware is one thing, but most of the graphic novels I've read so far are much swifter to get through than your regular type-centric novel. I may be relatively young, but I'm also not all that visual. And he compares Clowes to Schultz, which is really odd. But he does say this, which is fantastic enough to serve as a kind of very long motto for yours truly:

If the true nature of human consciousness were replicable, the art form that succeeded in doing it would crowd out all others. The true nature of human consciousness—in the time that can be spared from the quest for food, sex, and whatnot—is to enjoy itself by every means possible, an aim enhanced by aesthetic inventions from the “Ring” cycle to Cracker Jack prizes.

[Updike's piece on book design is also interesting.]

That is to say we have a spate of incidents partially notable for their lack of specificity. For example:

Complaint: On Oct. 19, deputy Scott Underwood was dispatched to Moreland Heights Road for a person who was hallucinating. The woman told Underwood that she took the drugs on her own, but was not sure what they were. She obtained the drugs from a woman who drives a red car. She was taken to an Athens hospital.

And also:

Burglary: On Oct. 20, deputies went to a home on Aiken Road, where someone broke into a vacant duplex, then climbed up into the attic and apparently fell through the ceiling.

They're not sure though. And then:

Threats: On Oct. 20, a resident of Millers Lake Drive reported that a woman with a foreign accent called her home and claimed a bomb was in her van and it would blow up in 28 hours. Sgt. Byron Smith arrived and upon checking the van, he couldn't find anything that looked like a bomb. The victim's caller ID showed the call came from a home on Old Cedar Creek Road in Athens.

Also, we learn that a good attitude will get you nowhere:

Arrests: On Oct. 21, a deputy from Effingham County radioed that two men, one in a red Integra and another in a blue Honda Prelude, were racing on Ga. Highway 316. Both cars were stopped near the Oconee Connector, where one driver, Alan Sang Nguyen, 21, of Oak Ridge, Tenn., admitted racing, but was apologetic. The other man, Khom A. Phan, 17, of Suwanee, denied racing. Both were charged with reckless driving.

Want more?

S/L: may I borrow your leather?

Content: for work on saturday our group costume is going to be the Village People....i'm the biker. I have neither the time nor the finances to go out searching for black leather anything, so I'm sending out a plea to anyone who might have anything biker related....chaps, pants, vests, hats....it doesn't matter. all suggestions are welcome.

Note: This from a woman.

Look, if you saw the combination of words "Magic Johnson's Celebrity Horse" and "reality show," you too might be disappointed to find out it involves the basketball game and not the Paris Hilton of the equine world.

1) Arcade, Jefferson, and Pendergrass give out a lot of speeding tickets. Because a lot of people speed through there. It's possible they're running a speed trap, but the percentage of tickets given to speeders going less than 17 mph over the speed limit seems pretty small.

2) This guy gets shot by the cops in Commerce. There seems to be buzzing about whether or not he did have a weapon. Also, you can really be charged with underage possession of cigarettes?

3) You can check all kinds of info on the schools report card put online by the Gov's Office of Student Achievement. Yes, information wants to be free, but this doesn't seem like it'll detract from shopping around for schools. And not that people shouldn't be. It's just a little creepy.

4) Youth of Oconee County need cool accessories to decorate their bedrooms?

5) Protesters march outside Nakanishi. Guess is there's already at least one letter to the editor in complaining about it not getting more coverage in the paper.

6) What's the all-purpose excuse for why things cost more? Yeah, it's the case with the bids for 316 fixin' too.

"There will not be lane closures on Saturdays when there is a home football game in Athens," Pope said, despite jokes about the project being run by engineers who graduated from rival Georgia Tech. "My own cousins would come after me."

7) Loran Smith on political correctness.

8) Thanks, officer, for locating my prized possession that I left on top of my car.

9) Chip Rogers responds to Shipp:

We must ask the question, "Which Georgia residents does Shipp believe should be turned away so that taxpayer services can go to illegal aliens?"

Facts tell us the poor and elderly are hurt first when services are cut. Surely Shipp isn't suggesting we cut off services to poor Georgians and senior citizens. I must admit, I am confused about whom Shipp stands for. As for me, I have sworn to protect the citizens of Georgia and defend the rule of law.

That is one awesome-ass straw man you've got there, Chip.

10) LPDS updates are all in the letters. Cedar Creekers say they love Mexicans and demand an apology from Winders. You know, it'd hold slightly more weight if one non-white, non-aged person had spoken at the commission meeting. OMG, though, the Mexicans are totally preferred to the coloreds.

11) Journalism major criticizes other students for not being into math and science.

12) Did you know the Green Bay Packers are an institution of higher education?

13) Oy. Adding sexual orientation to the university's anti-discrimination policy is still held up, even though Tech, State, and Southern all have it.

“Because of the status of UGA as the flagship institution of the University System of Georgia, decisions made here may be magnified in the eyes of the citizens of Georgia and may have a ripple effect throughout the University System,” he wrote in a letter dated May 31, 2005, obtained by The Red & Black through an Open Records Request.

Translate: our state hates the gays? We're scared of south Georgia legislators who have the power to hold up university funding? R&B urges him to stop stalling.

14) R&B does BBQ.

15) Will the Potts/Rourke/Bon Jovi combo be too powerful?

[bugmenot ABH; bugmenot AJC]

To Mack, who has been genius lately at finding/creating great things. Also, it is pretty much what the video he links to in this post is. Highlights include the dude rocking the big 912 shirt and the surprisingly non-gay dance with candycanes. But what's with the Pepsi drankin'? Is that how they do it down in Waycross? Partake of the devil's beverage?

Due to a break in the WS action, Prison Break was back on. We have progressed from threatened ass-rapings to cat killing (though the method for the latter was a little unclear, as the animal seemed to have gone completely stiff), ever-more-dramatic framings, an ad for cameraphones, perhaps a subtle "smoking is bad for you" message, and the revelation of who's behind it all. Yay!

There are photos, mostly from a very long Homecoming day, beginning with this one. Just keep hitting the arrows to progress.

On to The Life of Henry Brulard, Stendhal's autobiography, even if it doesn't sound like it. He's sort of hard to excerpt because he's so brief, but I'll try.

Chapter 2, p. 39:

The great draw-back of being witty is that you have to keep your eyes fixed on the semi-idiots around you, and absorb their worthless sensations. My failing is to attach myself to the least slow in imagination and to become unintelligible for the remainder who are perhaps all the better pleased.

Chapter 4, p. 39-40:

Anyway, suppose I am lying about these spears of intelligence breaking through the soil; I am certainly not lying about everything else. If I am tempted to lie, it will be when it comes to telling of my very serious failings much later on. I have no faith in the idea that intelligence in a child promises superiority in the man. In a genre less subject to illusion, because after all its monuments survive, all the bad painters I have known have done astonishing things around the age of eight or ten giving promise of genius.

Alas, nothing gives promise of genius, perhaps obstinacy is a sign of it.

Kung Fu Hustle: So I'm a big jackass for waiting this long to see it. Fire away. You'll be right. It's hard for me to say if it's my favorite Stephen Chow movie or not (of the three I've seen). I still have great affection for God of Cookery. But it's maybe the most fully realized vision he's had yet, if that doesn't sound too nose-in-the-air. Gravity and logic get defied in ways one really can't even conceive of. Usually, it's good to lay down rules first and then break them, but he's not interested in the first part, and it's amazing how unnecessary it feels after you see this. It's just a mad, gorgeous explosion of style, and it rarely drags.

They're back on. Anyone else with Haloscan who's being driven mad, go to your "settings," then to "beta" and turn off the automatic spam redirect. That should fix it.

1) LPDS delayed for redesign. "McCarter and other opponents of the rezoning did not return telephone calls seeking comment Friday." Athens Politics covers nicely. Blake frames it as "LPDS has a better chance of passing now" (also mentions the McCarter fan club). Winders thinks all the shying away from mentioning race might mean it actually is an issue. States comes off more reasonable in print at first, but then seems to be attacking Heidi?

Mayor Heidi Davison sent an e-mail June 25 urging some 100 or more folks to attend one of the promotional meetings arranged by the petitioners to try to convince folks that there is a lot of "community" support for the project. Unprecedented, and scary. These events were attended mostly by those who will not be affected by the rezoning. I know. My wife and I attended both.

...The hostility involved in this issue is regrettable. I apologize if I have spoken in a hostile manner to proponents of the rezoning. However, if I ever did, it was for the sole purpose of promoting the district I was elected to protect. I contend the proponents themselves have raised the issue to a certain level of hostility.

2) They're also on the ball with the public transportation issues that are bubbling up. Basically, Athens Transit is updating its plan, which was designed in 1975. By the end of the decade, you might actually not have to arrange your entire schedule around catching a city bus. It looks somewhat likely that the measure to allow Athens to levy a sales tax to fund public transportation might at least make it to the floor of the state house this year, but I'd think its chances of passing aren't good.

3) Looka that. UGA Foundation seems to be continuing to rake it in, while unburdened of the expense of Adams's salary supplements.

Adams's state contract is worth nearly $546,000 this year, Perry-Johnson said. The total includes $228,299 in state pay and a $15,000 "subsistence allowance" paid by the state. On top of that, Adams gets additional sums, including a $118,867 salary supplement, $40,000 in "executive compensation" and deferred compensation of $150,000.

Under a policy adopted in August 2004, college-related foundations such as the UGA and Arch foundations no longer will pay those extra sums directly to Adams, however.

The state pays it, and though it's not an official policy, the regents expect the foundations to repay the state university system a dollar amount equivalent to the extra pay, according to minutes of regents meetings.

Let's hear it for the letter of the law!

4) Fightin' at the State Board of Elections meeting!

Randy Evans, who in addition to his membership on the elections board serves as a lawyer for the Georgia Republican Party and for Gov. Sonny Perdue, said Cox should step down because she was not willing to defend a law requiring voters to produce a state-issued photo ID before casting their ballots.

She says she's not required to support it if it's unconstitutional. Someone else complains about violation of open-meetings laws, but no more detail on that aspect.

5) Task force Meredith put together is coming up with strange but creative pricing ideas to make up shortfalls from the state in university funding. i.e., Not only could different majors cost different amounts, but, as with airlines, non-peak times would be cheaper. National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education gives Georgia an F in affordability, but the methodology is a little flawed. Basically, I'm not sure an F is exactly fair, but I do understand the arguments, and I'm with Jane Kidd in believing the state should fund the University System instead of forcing it to keep raising tuition. Also, tuition will be going up again. Perdue says it's possible some cuts might be restored (also, in favor of screwing illegal immigrants out of health insurance, but not education, so it's good to have that all cleared up; Shipp talks about sucklike). Also, they might not be done messing with HOPE yet, even though they say they are.

6) Georgia's thinking about taking its lead from a state that feels the need to post "No concealed weapons" signs in bars.

7) Looking for an easy issue to take a tough stance on?

8) Rebekah Martin's next column, because I know you've been waiting for it. Are some college classes too hard? Or are some college students too stupid? Misunderstanding of "survival of the fittest" points to the latter?

9) Jim's not crazy about the New Urbanists trying to remake Mississippi's coast in their choice of image. ABH favors the free online SAT prep course Cox and Perdue announced back in August. It's hard to complain about even if it's a bit of a quick fix/CYA move. And it admits the arty bus shelter thing is improving with funds being raised but says more need to be.

10) Something John Barrow didn't fuck up on.

11) Bids are in on fixing 316, and they're pricier than expected.

The big question in this case may be the price. The estimates came in far more than $100 million, a guesstimate the DOT had been using publicly. Privately, deep in the bowels of the DOT, engineers have put together a more current, exact estimate that they keep secret. That number will play a critical role in deciding whether to award a contract at all or to send everybody back to square one and rebid.

12) What else did Perdue say during his brief meetings with the public? Well, the press can't really tell you.

Although the press was not allowed to sit in most of the meetings, The Red & Black was admitted to one conference.

In the meeting, Myron and Anita Downs, both veterinarians with a private practice on Prince Avenue, brought their four children ranging in ages from five to fourteen to the conference with the governor.

Mrs. Downs asked Perdue about the new state Voter ID law and its effects concerning her 81-year-old mother who insists upon voting in person but would have difficulty obtaining a valid government-issued identification card.

Perdue’s solution was to have the GLOW bus (Georgia Licensing On Wheels) make a trip to the elderly woman’s house to provide her with the proper identification.

Because it's not the principle of the thing. It's the specific case that matters.

[bugmenot ABH; bugmenot AJC]

Sometimes people don't want to apologize on their own, and so you have to do it for them. I'm gonna make that gesture for one Mr. LD, who says

I caught the video on one of the country music TV stations on Friday and let me tell you, if there is a worse video ever made, I have yet to see it. Aliens board a guitar the shape of one you might see in Helloween and they travel through a list of cities Big & Rich might visit soon. There are stripper-looking women, midgets and strobelike lighting. It is, in a word, diarrhetictacular.

I was going to recap the highlights, but they're pretty much all here, with the exception of the combination of midget and alien. The only problem I can see with it is that there is less walking to the beat toward the camera, which is something they do quite well. I think the size of the spaceship set combined with the number of people crammed into it prohibits too much movement.

The following christmas items are for sale:

-Unused christmas stockings, various gorgeous designs
-A large Angel that moves and plays music
-A large Bear dressed as santa that lights up and plays music
-Some christmas decorations, including porcelain gingerbread houses, and stocking hangers, and other "nic-nacs"

Sadly, no photos attached.

[Incidentally, sorry comments are fucked.]

Def by Temptation: A stew of mismatched things. Lloyd Kaufman may introduce the DVD version, saying that he thinks of it as the best movie Troma's ever put out, but he's well known as a big liar. It's painfully slow-paced in many parts, including a lot of scenes where Bond and Kadeem Hardison sit around and shoot the shit in the latter's apartment. There is a fashion montage. It's also not scary. Nor is there much in the way of gore. Bill Nunn, whose name I'm going to try to remember now, since I've seen a large percentage of his oeuvre, is good in the way he provides comic relief, but then the plot becomes quite strange wrt his character. Joe Bob gives a good overview of the highlights. The main thing that became more and more distracting as the movie went on was what Mr. Brown pointed out: Kadeem bears a striking resemblance to Ben Affleck--the jaw, the posture, the head shape, the facial hair patterns, the way of delivering dialogue, the inexplicable charisma.

Here is the action shot. It almost looks as though I can actually throw one of these things down the lane successfully.


10 a.m. at Allen's. The auction is just beginning. People are milling around, and there is tension in the air.


The menu was a pretty popular item. But not the _most_ popular. My pretty lamp with the horsies (Clydesdales) inside it went for quite a lot. Team Brown purchased a couple of small items, including a certificate presented to Allen's for involvement with some kind of candy-selling fundraising thing. We also requested a certificate of authenticity for our certificate. They will stay near one another. More photos to come.

37) The installation and the additional electricity have raised by 5 percent the cost of the women's panties sewn in the factory, said Ann Ho, Zhong Ling's chief sales manager. Yet despite being largely closed out of the United States market this year because of a trade dispute that has severely limited Chinese exports of women's underwear, the company felt compelled to provide a cooler factory. [from "Consumer Demand at Home Keeps China's Factories Humming, and Hiring," by Keith Bradsher, 10/21/05]

38) Her seemingly plotless story centers on an all-girls boarding school in a thickly treed forest of the sort usually inhabited by hungry wolves and little wayfarers in symbolic red hoods. The little girls in this tale wear short white skirts, white shirts, white socks and, as we are repeatedly reminded, white panties; they also wear dark ankle boots and color-coded ribbons in their hair (red for the youngest, violet for the oldest). [from a review of Innocence by Manohla Dargis, 10/21/05]

39) Neighbors also reported seeing Huizar in his back yard dressed in a woman's bra and panties, dancing with a broom handle, police said. [from AP story, "Man Arrested for Sexually Assaulting Dog," 10/21/05; what is with the dog fucking this year? Did I not get the memo?]

Panty-watch is a regular feature here dedicated to tracking appearances of the word "panties" or "panty" in the New York Times, partially because it's amusing to see the Gray Lady venturing into such areas and partially to see if it correlates with anything specific. There will be graphs or a graph at the end of the year.

[previously] [bugmenot NYT]

1) Athens Politics has a long legal post wrt the voter ID bill (ABH also has a forum column on this), one on Barrow's vote in favor of a bill denying victims of gun violence the right to sue gun manufacturers, and one calling Margaret Wood out for her idiotic anti_LPDS letter. She concludes,

The bottom line is we who live here should have more say-so than people not in the back yard of the Cofer property. Do you honestly think people living on the other side of town are going to come to the eastside to eat?

Because clearly Caliente Cab was in the middle of a restaurant district. No? A neighborhood? Huh... Also, again with the accusing the newspaper. Not so smart. Marta Dean writes in favor of it, noting she's a member of the Cedar Creek Association.

2) Commission talks about three-laning Prince at agenda-setting meeting. Public comment split about 50-50 in favor/against. They also talked about taking control of the whole thing.

Commissioner Kathy Hoard said she not comfortable with either proposal yet, and wants a work session on local control, and for Prince Avenue to be temporarily striped with three lanes for a 30-day trial period.

..."I'm being asked in a week to vote to spend approximately $100,000 a year, forever, for improvements that I'm not even sure what they are," Hoard said, pointing out that the county lacks money for other transportation projects like sidewalks, night and weekend bus service, and traffic-calming measures like islands and speed humps.

However, county officials said the commission can't wait any longer to stripe the road because it might be too cold by December.

How many ridiculousnesses can you point out here? Maxwell thinks auto safety comes before pedestrian and bike rider safety. Also,

In other business, the commission appears set to approve four new bus shelters decorated by artists who win a nationwide contest. Some commissioners had concerns about the price tag, but Athens Arts Council member Chris Evans said the organization raised $8,000 from private sources to offset the higher cost of the custom-made shelters. With the private donations, an art shelter will cost only $579 more than an ordinary one, he said.

Peanuts, yes, but let's see the designs before voting yes?

3) ACCPD argues that releasing the documents ABH is suing for would impede the progress of those cases. Which is a good argument, except for that bit about progress.

If and when police arrest suspects in the unsolved murder cases, Berryman wrote, prematurely releasing investigative information could damage those defendants' right to a fair trial.

Releasing the information could jeopardize the safety of confidential sources and reveal surveillance and other investigative methods police are using, Berryman added.

This seems like a better argument, but the paper is willing to accept a redacted version of the documents.

4) Oh the drama in this sentence: "Officers cycled after and caught them." R&B characterizes the story slightly differently through its headline.

5) ABH likes Talmo's restrictions on store sizes.

6) People also ring the bell during my Thursday class. I'm assuming it's an "I'm taking off the weekend/Go Dawgs" thing.

7) UGA updating to actual security for buildings. Because, as mentioned, someone's grabbing that flat screen in the Tate off the wall sooner or later.

8) Football apparently exists on our campus. And it has, like, traditions and stuff. Did you know people bark? OMG!

9) Member of SGA takes issue with their stance on the Lumpkin frat issue. 50 percent? Or 90 percent?

10) "most people just say ‘arrr’ to me and I say it back"...

[bugmenot ABH]

All your Tom and Katie questions answered.

I love you.

This was grabbed out of a newspaper box downtown yesterday afternoon. I have an inkling of who might know more.

Where do we go?

Where do I go
Follow the river
Where do I go
Follow the gulls

Where is the something
Where is the someone
That tells me why I live and die

Where do I go
Follow the children
Where do I go
Follow their smiles

Is there an answer
In their sweet faces
That tells me why I live and die

Follow the wind song
Follow the thunder
Follow the neon in young lovers' eyes

Down to the gutter
Up to the glitter
Into the city
Where the truth lies

Where do I go
Follow my heartbeat
Where do I go
Follow my hand

Where will they lead me
And will I ever
Discover why I live and die

Why do I live (beads, flowers)
Why do I die (freedom, happiness)
Tell my why (beads, flowers)
Tell me where (freedom, happiness)
Tell my why (beads, flowers)
Tell me why (freedom!)

You can replace "beads, flowers" and the like with "balls, strikes," or something of the sort...

Before I get to the meatier hobbyhorse, it must be noted that some extremely dangerous muffins were handled by UGA's bomb disposal robot yesterday. Y'all think one of our many local eccentrics just forgot his lunch?

I apparently like Barbra. Who knew?

Lethal Bizzle, “Fire” — Mix acoustic guitar and pretty singing with a thumpy beat, and I’m pretty much there. The pauses at the beginning, the second slightly longer than the first, are amusing. Less fun when the guitar goes bye-bye for a while.
[6]

McFly, “I Wanna Hold You” — Starts out “Boom Boom,” but then huh? There are strings? And a vague Elvis Costello influence? I was told Lovebites were a female McFly and therefore expected more up-front rocking. It is short, but it’s also kind of wussy.
[5]

dEUS, “7 Days 7 Weeks” — Spoon-like, in that it’s supposed to ring a bell for me but doesn’t. There is a kind of low-frequency hum embedded in it that makes for a bit of coziness but, unfortunately, not for the interesting.
[4]

Jamie Lidell, “Multiply” — More faux soul nonsense. The tambourine’s nice, though.
[4]

The John Cale is fantastic. Shoot me an email if you want to listen to any of this.

1) The bright side of high gas prices is that, according to Art Jackson, it makes it easier to park downtown. Easier than when? (Last September seems to be the answer, according to figures on the side.) I don't think I'm buying the explanation.

The same number of people are visiting downtown, but more are walking, riding or taking the bus, which is an advantage for many businesses where customers are driven away by lack of parking, Jackson said.

For example, how is the number of people visiting downtown measured? Prestige Parking guy doesn't think it's gas prices either, but his reason (football RV traffic isn't down) is a little flawed. Also, the Classic Center deck is getting more traffic (due to advertising in Flagpole and presumably elsewhere, I'd think), which might explain the lessening of traffic in other areas of downtown.

2) UGA would like some money from GEMA for what it spent on the Rock Eagle shelter. "Preparing the Ramsey Student Center to house up to 574 evacuees cost about $32,000, though the shelter ultimately wasn't needed, she said." It cost $32K to set up cots and the like? AJC mentions it in passing (Adams doesn't know how likely reimbursement is) in an article on rising energy costs and how they'll affect the university. Adams is all "Dood! This be expensive," and Perdue is all, "Bitch, I know!" R&B suggests, a la Jimmy Carter, that you wear a sweater.

3) Several Jackson County towns are trying to restrict the building of big box stores, including Talmo, population 530, which doesn't seem too likely to get a Super Wal-Mart any time soon. On the other hand, when people are describing your county as "ripe for the picking," it can be a little unnerving.

4) Glenn Richardson is a horse's ass.

The [voter ID] law was vigorously opposed by Democrats as it made its way through the legislature and that party's chairman, Bobby Kahn, said Wednesday that Richardson's comments amounted to a temper tantrum. "When Glenn Richardson doesn't get his way, he throws a temper tantrum and tries to grab power," Kahn said. "This (lifetime appointment) provision was put in the Constitution by the founding fathers to prevent hotheads like Glenn Richardson from punishing judges for decisions they don't like."

AthensPolitics weighs in too.

5) Note that the ABH online now has a Marquee section, which is an improvement. This dude from Watkinsville is agin the redesign. I don't really like it either, but I'm not going to stop reading the paper, especially for free.

6) ABH reckanizes that the Senate's vote to forego their own pay raise this year was more symbolic than actually useful, but chooses to focus on "pork" rather than giveaways to the rich.

7) Three-laning letter that cites traffic calming, safety (aren't these first two things the same?), and neighborhood cohesion as reasons in favor of it. Thinks Lumpkin is incredibly efficient now. Yeah, in comparison to the year and a half they spent ripping up and repaving and ripping up again and repaving the damn thing.

8) Hot damn! I didn't know the East side and Cedar Creek in particular was God's creation. Intelligent design, my ass...

9) Open mic with Mike/University Council meeting reports: He's not a cup sniffer. He wants you to cool it with the binge drinking. (Check it, as the R&B takes his advice about peers talking to peers.) He's a got a profile on Facebook (not self-created).

10) Pakistan needs hoodies.

11) "Somehow (I am not sure, but I have a pretty good idea who did this), my name and cell phone number were written on a bathroom mirror a couple of weeks ago."

12) R&B visit Toppers. It's clean.

13) Yipe. Are you sure you want to come out of the closet on that one?

14) If you're gonna steal the tip jar, don't steal it from the meth-heads.

Added:
15) JMac points out this total gem, wrt to the anti-immigration rally the other day.

[bugmenot ABH; bugmenot AJC]

Book XI:

It is surprising how easily I forget past evil, however recent it might be. As soon as it has happened its remembrance returns to me weakly and passes away without difficulty every bit as much as its foresight frightens me and troubles me as long as I see it in the future. My cruel imagination, which ceaselessly torments itself by foreseeing evils that do not yet exist, diverts my memory and keeps me from recalling the ones that do not exist any longer. There are no longer any precautions to take against what is done, and it is useless to be concerned about it. In some manner I consume my unhappiness in advance. The more I have suffered by foreseeing it, the easier it is for me to forget it; while, on the contrary, since I am ceaselessly occupied with my past happiness, I recall it and ruminate, so to speak, to the point of enjoying it all over again when I want to. I feel that I owe it to this fortunate inclination that I have never known that spiteful mood that ferments in a vindictive heart, from the continual remembrance of offenses received, and which torments itself with all the evil it would like to do to its enemy. Being naturally quick-tempered, I have felt anger, even rage in the first impulses, but a desire for vengeance has never taken root inside of me. I occupy myself too little with the offense to occupy myself very much with the offender. I think about the evil I have received from him only because of the evil I might still receive from him, and if I were sure that he no longer is doing me any, the one he has done me would instantly be forgotten.

This in the second book, which is preoccupied to a large part, to cataloguing all the ills he received from his friends. So, not entirely accurate.

These, however, seriously need to come back in style. It's the ideal solution for college football drankin'.

Legs! And geographical movement! Also, hardly any Kate and no Jack (that dull boy). But why more background on characters we already know a lot about? How does this fit into the scheme of things? What did we learn that we didn't already know? That ABC is scared of the World Series or something? Don't they know only bumpkin flatlanders will be watching?

New recruits? Or bitter rivals?

Man, I wish they sold T-shirts...

Part Two

Fall Out Boy, "Dance, Dance" -- Erg. An improvement on "Sugar," but it goes up and down a lot, as does the video. The bassline should not be allowed to hang out by itself. It sucks. But then the chorus is passable. But then they repeat it too many times. Nerds becoming cool through dancing is now possibly an overused theme. Copping a move or two from "Thriller" is now definitely so. I am conflicted and annoyed. 5. (video here at AOL)

Juelz Santana, "There It Go! (The Whistle Song)" -- I really thought I had written about this, but I can't find it. Does something else use the same whistle? Because I do love the whistle. Gimmick? Yes. What's wrong with gimmicks? 7. (video here or just audio here)

Missy Elliot, "Teary Eyed" -- Covered. (watch it here)

Ying Yang Twins f/ Pitbull, "Shake" -- Hoo, man, that's a great chorus/beat. It's sort of like an electrical current right into your brain. How many songs do we need about ass shaking? As many as the market can handle. One of the absolutely best-produced songs this year. Which is not quite the same as saying one of the full-on best, but it's similar. I would totally think about dancing to this. In public. 8. (watch here)

The Strokes, "Juicebox" -- I also think I don't know what to think of this yet. Still. But it continues to grow on me. I know a lot of people hate the thumpy metally bass that it opens with, but I kinda like it. It gets progressively more recognizable as your favorite puffy-haired band. Props for taking a chance. 6. (listen here)

Trina & Kelly Rowland, "Here We Go" -- Trina sounds all bark, no bite. She's no Keyshia in terms of the kiss-off. Also, Kelly sounds kind of thin, vocally. And the rhymes are weak enough to notice, since they're not buried in any kind of production. 3. (listen here)

1) Athens Politics tries to explain why the voter ID bill sucks, from a bunch of different perspectives, all of which overflow with love for the Constitution and its amendments (minus that pesky prohibition one). It's suspended for now, by the way. ABH seems to be rethinking it a little, too.

2) Actual educators? Not so into funding education with sales taxes. Personally, I think all funding coming from the state as opposed to locally isn't such a bad idea, considering how it would equalize things, but if you want to use that argument, go right ahead.

3) Heh, Shipp no likey Reed.

4) Privet is evil. Eeeeevil, I tells ya.

5) Yeah, it's textbook irony.

6) Student aid isn't keeping up with need.

"What happens on a national basis may not reflect any one state," said Nancy McDuff, associate vice president for admissions.

When the university receives less money from the state, it turns to tuition and fees to help make up the difference, McDuff said.

And it gets its chancellor booted?

7) A response to Jim's editorial about how to improve public education. And a couple more letters on LPDS, one taking issue with a previous letter (and in favor of LPDS?) and another requesting a public statement from Bruno on what his intentions are wrt music. Flagpole also has one on traffic issues in the area.

8) We can't help thinking of that Steve Buscemi Alice in Wonderland sketch on SNL.

9) Jittery Joe's as a learning experience. So you can learn how to make espresso for your eventual day job.

10) Playing spin the bottle at a party is different from working in the office.

11) SGA is pressing the university for more answers on frat-moving plan. Why? "Stephanie Barden, SGA secretary, said that about 90 percent of the SGA is Greek." She changed her name from Papadopoulos.

12) Even more on three-laning, in Flagpole (where else?). Also, crosses on Broad, bus service.

[bugmenot ABH]

Especially when you're considered the pre-eminent book designer around, the guy who established good design as the thing to do on classy literary-type books and even more so on their trade paperback versions. So yeah, it was weird. Chip Kidd is hyper, and he curses a lot, which is also kind of strange in a university context, when every act we ever brought through the Union was extensively warned about such. He also does an impression of Margaret Hamilton (as the WW of the W) for no reason. The question that I really kind of wanted to ask but a) felt like I'm probably the only person who cares, and b) there wasn't enough time (he only took three or four), was why the period after Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim appears and disappears on different versions of the cover. Because it's an odd choice to put it there, but then, if you're going to, why take it away? Basically, I would've like maybe a little more on typefaces, though he did talk about them a little in his anecdote on designing covers for the All-Stars line at DC. No question that he is a design snob, and I suppose there's nothing wrong with that. As a lecturer, he's a bit much with the "like me, please!" stuff to attract the audience's attention. That is, I felt sometimes like looking around for James Lipton. But I also recognize that, while I'm always there for a reason (i.e., you got me in the door already, which should mean I'm interested to begin with), perhaps not everyone is. Was Patrick Dean there? It was theorized that he was.

Sahara: Here's what LD had to say, which I pretty much agree with, except for the whole "better than National Treasure" part, which clearly ain't so (unless African civil war stuff pushes your nerd buttons in the same way American history and Masonic mythology does, which I doubt). It runs a little bit long at the end and Cruz's accent occasionally irritates, but it's comparable on the whole to Flight of the Phoenix, another well-executed desert adventure with a heap of planning involved, though the latter is a leaner, meaner machine. It's sorta Bond minus the gadgets or Indiana Jones minus the religious hoo-ha (mind you, I like the religious hoo-ha), and mostly what it is is a bunch of fun.

Deputy Yoder uses detecting skills:

Damage: On Oct. 12, a resident of Lane Creek Road reported someone smashed her mailbox. While investigating, deputy Bryan Yoder found a piece of cement that may have been used to hit the box.

Could they charge him with dyslexia too?

Arrest: On Oct. 13, deputy David Gilstrap was running radar on Ga. Highway 316 about 3 a.m. when a car came by at 76 mph. Gilstrap stopped the vehicle and smelled alcohol on Robert Scott Meadows, 23, of Auburn. Meadows, who had slurred speech and bloodshot eyes, told the deputy he had consumed two beers. When he got out of the car, he was unsteady on his feet and Gilstrap told him to stand on one leg and say "one thousand." Meadows attempted to balance himself on one leg and said "one Mississippi." Gilstrap eventually stopped the roadside testing and arrested Meadows for DUI and speeding.

Also, how long is "eventually"?

Arson: On Oct. 14, a resident of McNutt Creek Road reported that someone came into his yard and set his 1999 Ford F-150 pickup on fire. The pickup, which was destroyed, was set on fire in the driveway and pushed about 20 feet into the yard. The owner said he had no idea why someone do such a thing.

Seriously. Wouldn't you push it first and then set it on fire?

Arrest: On Oct. 14, as deputies were investigating the arson of a pickup on McNutt Creek Road, they observed a Ford Explorer drive by the home several times. Deputy Laura Teet decided to stop the vehicle and she asked the driver about his behavior. Edgar Vaca Vilchez, 19, of Birch Place, Athens, explained he was out looking for goats. He only had a Mexican driving permit, so he was arrested for being unlicensed.

They're not that hard to find.

Dispute: On Oct. 11, police were called to the Butler Motor Inn on South Main Street after a local woman found her husband in a motel room with another woman. The other woman fled the scene.

All the stuff and more.

Reviews of new Sinead and Tony Yayo in this week's F-Pole.

But also:

1. An ad that reads: Anyone with information about a person falling from or near an escalator at the recent Motley Crue concert at Phillips Arena" and gives a contact number.

2. The promise, in an ad for Fantasy World, of an "erotic ghostly haunted house," and also a "complimentary tour." Only with purchase? Because I'm certainly curious.

Apparently, I've turned Mr. Hay so far to the dark side that he's now scooping me on Kells news. And, indeed, the official site confirms it and links to Target (!!! the R. loves the Tar?) where you can pre-order the edited version. Edited version? Amazon has the unrated.

Added: Mother of God! I think I just about had a laughter heart attack from the video for "Slow Wind," also available on the official site. It calms down after the first 30 seconds, but you owe it to yourself to watch those.

1) Syringe investigation ongoing. Lady seems okay so far.

2) The people who want to block all benefits to illegal immigrants are getting pretty riled, holding a rally, waving signs (what does that one that's cut off on the far left say?), pressuring the governor to take sides. It'll be fun to watch Sonny try to wriggle out of this one. Sam Zamarippa (whose kids I used to babysit) says Rogers is making stuff up. Cox and Taylor are keeping it zipped for now.

3) "...banished from the church rolls for his unacceptable bovine profanity" (Loran Smith writes about religious intolerance but also manages to amuse.)

4) We already knew how the ABH felt about school policy wrt walking at graduation, but it's softened a bit this time around, with acknowledgment that the tests may need to be looked at on the state level and that some sort of ceremony would be nice for those who've passed their classes but not the tests. Here's a letter from an educator opposing the change.

5) Letter on three-laning of Prince questions the math involved and raises some other safety concerns.

6) This NYT article on the increasing privatization of public universities doesn't specifically mention UGA (or USG), but clearly it's relevant.

7) Apparently, what we offer our grad students is better than what they get at Florida. "Graduate assistants are leaving to the University of Georgia, which Reynolds said offers better pay and benefits." If by "benefits," they mean "cheap drinks during happy hour."

8) If you allow it, they will surf.

9) Crotchet-o-rama letter in the AJC:

UGA students must major in rudeness

While wearing flip-flops to the White House is unusual, it is innocuous; true rudeness comprises acts that harm or inconvenience ("Just deal with it: Being rude's the American way," Living, Oct. 17).

Actions I observe daily among University of Georgia students, for example, include: Not washing hands after bathroom use; putting filthy shoes on chairs and dining tables; wearing filthy clothes in public; using cellphones everywhere; restaurant servers putting the palms of their hands over the tops of beverage cups or handling money and food simultaneously; and playing brain-rending noise ("music" ) in places where people are trying to read or talk.

And if people truly wanted to pay proper respect upon entering the White House, they would leave their flip-flops at the door and enter barefoot. Elect me, and it will be official policy.

GORDON LEE STELTER, Athens

10) R&B covers what the off-campus frats would have to do to bring their buildings up to fire code.

Houses on campus, such as the fraternities that must relocate, were previously grandfathered in by the University and do not have to comply with Athens-Clarke County ordinances, which require fire sprinklers and central monitoring alarms.

Now, whether the fraternities stay on campus or move off, the houses would have to comply with county building codes.

So why the change? Again, of course buildings should meet fire codes and safety is important, but was the change made to force the issue?

11) Chip Kidd today at the SLC. Team Brown will be representin'.

12) Open Mic with Mike is tomorrow. Makin' use of techmologie.

[bugmenot ABH; bugmenot AJC; bugmenot NYT]

It's really more like bile. I know that "asking" doesn't necessarily mean anything, but motherfuck if that isn't some fucking gall. Step. Off.

Thank you, CJR, for smacking the press around a little wrt the "perfect storm" cliché. It's been gnawing at me for a while now.

Also please note that, if it is the South's Largest, it is possibly not the South's Only.

Mack and friends gate-hop and photograph the Tupac Shakur Peace Garden.

Book XI. He's talking about Samuel Richardson.

Diderot has paid great compliments to Richardson about the prodigious variety of his tableaux and about the multitude of his characters. In fact Richardson deserves them for having characterized all of them well: but as for their number, he has that in common with the most insipid novelists who make up for the sterility of their ideas by virtue of characters and adventures. It is easy to wake up attention by incessantly presenting both unknown events and new faces which pass like the figures of the magic lantern: but it is certainly more difficult always to maintain this attention on the same objects and without miraculous adventures, and if, everything being equal, the simplicity of the subject adds to the beauty of the work, Richardson's Novels--superior in so many other things--cannot enter into comparison with mine on that score.

I'm partially attracted to this passage because of the magic lantern mention, that being a trope I've been tracking since spring semester.

The Ring Two: Still a step up from most major horror releases, but pretty crap compared to the first one, which was genuinely scary. Part of the lack of chills this time is that we know what to expect (yeah yeah, she comes out of the TV, what else is new?), and part of it is that, in the first one, it felt as though everyone, including us, was in danger, whereas this time around, it's more specifically Naomi and creepy munchkin. There are also too many endings provided, and occasionally the special effects are lacking to the point of distracting one from the action. This latter is especially the case with the deer attack scene, which could be scary (big animals menacing small people), but in which you keep seeing that they didn't always take out the glass in the front seat side windows digitally. Or maybe they're putting it back in digitally. At any rate, when you're busy going, "Is there glass there after all? Is this a dream? Did that really happen?" and also "Man, those deer look kinda fake" and a little bit "Heh, this was funny when it happened on the Simpsons,"* you don't have a lot of time to be horrified. The real lesson here is: don't date Naomi Watts if you want to live.

*in two separate episodes, one being, I think, the Scorpio episode, when Lisa is frolicking in the woods, and another being the episode John Waters guested on, with Santa's village and some ticked off reindeer

Whoo. It's been a long time, and I'm a little behind the times on the current U.S. singles.

Part One

Ashlee, "Boyfriend" -- Oy is she ever flat on this song. The "ha"s are indeed the best part. The rest of it doesn't have enough hook. Is this just annoyance with her being newly re-blond? I don't think so. The song's just kind of weak. (listen at her site, where it streams)
[4]

Common, "Testify" -- Aronofsky/Singer-influenced video (all those whooshes) goes on too long at the beginning establishing the story, but the beat does the slightly-off thing really nicely. Common's a little clunky over the top of it though, as tends to be the case. You sort of want him to shut up so you can hear Kanye's stuff. (video at his official site)
[5, but that's mostly for the beat]

Death Cab for Cutie, "Soul Meets Body" -- This is such a snooze. There's nothing specific wrong with it except that it lacks a strong melody, but it's very "Please use me in a sensitively themed montage." (streaming on their site)
[3]

Teairra Mari, "No Daddy" -- A lesser "Girlfight," with some nice flattened out bongos riding on the very top of the beat. It's definitely repetitive, but far more appealing than her previous singles. Besides, it goes with that whole big in 05 thing. (video at Roca-A-Fella)
[6]

Dem Franchize Boyz f/ Jermaine Dupri, Da Brat & Bow Wow, "I Think They Like Me" -- The rhythms are the only thing of any interest here, and they wear out pretty fast. I thought Southern rap was supposed to have melody incorporated. It's also interminable. (video on Yahoo
[2]

Goo Goo Dolls, "Better Days" -- If I coooould... then I woooould... etc. etc. If you're going to listen to this kind of earnest grown-up rock, you could pick something better. (live performance video)
[2]

Part two to come at some point.

People are influenced by things!

This doesn't mean that poorly executed pop culture references should be acceptable in sports writing or that people should be excused from doing their jobs, but it does mean that sometimes the NYT blows small things up into big things (cf. WMD).

Everything Idol returns at long, long last. Who will win in the epic battle of friends v. art? (Answer: Friends, of course, going on the chocolate-chip cookie theory.)

1) As usual, check Athens Politics for all the LPDS news and debate. There are, for example, details from LPDS on exactly what kind of music they're planning on (e.g., no "Gasolina"). Let me comment on the first line of this article though: "Even the people who live in eastern Clarke County lament the sprawl." Even? Even? Are we perceived as such idiots? Wouldn't it be normal for those who live in the area of the sprawl not to like it?

2) Wah, ABH is all redesigned and I'm confused.

3) Fun has no place within these walls! Or outside of them. Also, you're gonna have to have passed all the tests to walk at graduation.

4) Small-town fall festivals as industry. New perspective and a fine article.

5) Trotter's attorney says she was sober, not at fault in the hit-and-run.

6) It's nice that more people are riding the bus, but what kind of mileage does Tim Lett get to make four miles cost $1.96? That's 49 cents a mile and, at $3 for a gallon of gas, about 6 miles a gallon. Also, just because the state's working on an energy plan doesn't mean they're doing it quickly. Also also, people like the scooters.

7) Didja hear? There are black people in Athens. And Andy Rusk has a website.

8) Wrapping yourself in the flag = the cha-ching.

9) Some more details about the LIHEAP program. Yes, it's being taken away from ACTION. No, that shouldn't affect the program itself much. Also, some in Congress are pushing for an increase in funding.

10) Athens PD to have higher-tech equipment than the GBI.

11) Columnists: War is apparently dangerous. Thanks for the news, Dick! Shipp on sales tax funding of public education. He also thinks we need to take a look at the entire Georgia tax system. Jim don't like No Child Left Behind anymore. Conclusion is slightly problematic, though: "We've studied the problems long enough. It's time to start looking for solutions." Admittedly, it's not the job of newspaper editors to propose solutions, but yelling that someone needs to doesn't do a ton of good either. ABH wants the court to leave right to die alone (innnnteresting). They're also pro Hotel-Motel Tax (or at least pro-ability-to-determine-hotel-motel-tax and anti-unanimity on the local level in terms of introducing legislation).

12) Venice Is Sinking: hotbed of sexual activity or not?

[bugmenot ABH]

Time does its own version of the Modern Library list of novels, but restricts it to post-1923 (the year Time began publishing). Infinite Jest is present. But so is The Corrections. I'm not anti-Franzen at all, even if he can annoy me sometimes, but I'm not sure that that novel, even though it's good, deserves to make the list. White Teeth, on the other hand, can be argued for as being culturally significant, if flawed. I'm at 35 out of 100, which is okay, but could be better.

1) Tales from the Darkside: The Movie: Dated as hell, but the advantage of a horror anthology is that you'll usually like at least one segment, which I did. The last one, "Lover's View," starring Rae Dawn Chong and James Remar, was pretty good, if a bit predictable. Also, the frame tale, featuring Debbie Harry as a witch who wants to roast and eat Matthew Lawrence, is entertaining. Lots of good character actors, even if not always well used. Middle story, "Cat from Hell," is teh suck.

2) Lucky 13: Rented only for Lauren Graham, because after a few Gilmore-less days, we already miss her. Emblematic of the bad indie movie with forced quirk. It's that plot where the guy visits all his old girlfriends in order to find out what he did wrong so that he can now do right. You know, High Fidelity. Except the problem isn't so much him as his taste in women, a point that's never brought up. It's also sadly lacking in Grahamosity and entirely missing an ending. Arg.

[Ah, that's better.]

Take that, you shmancy NYC folk. Intergalactic supastar, roaming the streets of Athens.

The indie-tinged cover song of a popular track from a few years ago is not really very hip anymore. And yet... I direct you to Jonathan Coulton's near-epic version of "Baby Got Back," which amplifies both sweetness and the funny of the original. [previously in Coulton love]

Is "assorted" putting it too strongly?

This is a first in a series of paintings featuring sports heroes in fantasy situations. [Scroll down to "T"'s section.]

1) Athens Politics covers ABH's take on Barrow, bike lanes, anti-LPDS letter, and GLOW bus for voter IDs (sidebar: voting results will be slower this year; other sidebar: Fine, props to Barrow. If he manages to achieve this, he'll have one tiny checkmark on his record. Woo-freakin-hoo.). And Johnathan informs us that Bruno's Pollo Criollo landlord ain't Mr. Generous.

2) This isn't in the news, but here:

Gov. Perdue announces “Saturday with Sonny” on the UGA campus – The event will be Oct. 22 from 8 - 10 a.m. at UGA’s Carl Vinson Institute of Government. Citizens will have five minutes with the Governor by appointment only. Reservations are first-come, first-serve and may be reserved by calling 404-656-1776 between 8 a.m. Oct. 17 and 5 p.m. Oct. 18.

Lord knows two hours of five-minute exchanges completely compensates for a desire to push all other government business into the closet, out of the way of the prying eyes of the media and citizenry.

3) Trotter arrested.

4) "Commissioners were scheduled to consider the three-laning in July, but dreading a political controversy, put it off until this month." What's so special about now as opposed to July?

5) When I started reading this, I was thinking I could say, "Well, at least they don't have rats." But I can't say that. There's a room full of exposed wiring that also leaks. School has been closed because the heat's broken. And yet, they'll be in the building next year too. Why can we not do something about this?

6) State legislators from ACC would like: 1) to be able to create tax allocation districts, which essentially fund development in areas by paying for it with the future property taxes such development results in (they don't have any areas in mind), 2) to be able to increase the hotel/motel tax by 1 percent to fund the Classic Center (also to be able to give Bob Smith, blocker extraordinaire, a wedgie). Also, commission is discussing eliminating the super districts again. Personally, I understand the drawbacks, but when one's commissioner is being called out by the local paper for craziness, it's nice to have other recourse.

7) Sigh. We like the information to be free to run around wherever it likes, but using the word "vomit" maybe was not so wise. Also, what was a Democrat doing working in Perdue's administration?

8) Candy is a weapon, and Arabic is high-larious.

9) Videotape dogs who drag parts of deer carcasses onto your lawn. And win $10,000?

10) I think it's wise you just read Johnathan on Texas's column.

11) R&B covers how a frat house goes about buying a new building and creating a housing corporation.

12) Romine reminds you not to be an idiot.

13) Max Jean-Gilles can eat six chickens.

[bugmenot ABH; bugmenot AJC]

This is only a line, from Book IX, but it is an insight worth posting anyway:

Pleasure is not a thing that depends on the will.

Part Two of McPhee's coal train odyssey is as lovely and epic as the first, but also not online. How do you think they're funding that DVD complete set of the magazine? Not by giving you what you want to read online.

Also, Gladwell's piece on why Harvard admissions (and, by extension, other selective universities' admissions) is the way it is. If, much like myself, you applied and didn't get in and went to a state school and secretly resent Rory a little bit for being at Yale and thinking it's the greatest thing ever, you will relish the fact that the initial reason for the whole complicated process was that Harvard didn't want to dilute its luxury brand by becoming too Jewy. Suck it, Harvard!

1) Athens Politics covers all the LPDS updates.

2) And the Voter ID issue, which is amazingly not dead yet, thanks to some very persistent people who can spell and define disenfranchisement.

3) Screening and discussion for National Coming Out week at UGA bring up people's fears about gays and lesbians being discriminated against and/or harrassed. Some of these are more valid than others, and it's very difficult to say so delicately. There's no question we have our fair share of homophobic fratboys (and the like). They're a part of life and not one that will be modified into paragons of tolerance overnight. On the other hand, the mention of "local teachers who are 'terrified' of having their homosexuality revealed because they fear losing their jobs" seems truly odd. Do they work at Monsignor Donovan? Or just in Oconee County?

4) Belk responds to invasion-of-privacy lawsuit filed by nekkid lady employees caught changing on camera. Says they should've known they were subject to being filmed, even though, when they asked about it, they were assured that they weren't being surveilled. Is this defense essentially "You should have known we were lying"?

5) Salt in the wound. What's next? Everyone gets to give ACTION an Indian burn?

6) What in the name of Jebus is this? Regents want to tie university funding to increases in graduation rates and student retention? Something universities don't seem to have a lot of control over? Is it just an excuse not to increase budgets?

Meeting each goal would amount to about 1 percent improvements every year.

"One percent per year initially may not sound like much," said Daniel Papp, the vice chancellor for academics and fiscal affairs. "But over the past seven years, national graduation rates have not changed by more than 1 percent to 1.5 percent."

Urrrrgh. This page is more specific. i.e., "The new 'performance-based funding model' was unveiled to the Board of Regents today as part of the System's response to Gov. Sonny Perdue's charge to all state agencies to increase accountability." I know $3 mill isn't a big chunk of the system's budget, but I don't like the precedent: Do something (intentionally or un-) that the country as a whole hasn't succeeded in and you get a cookie.

7) If I were Nowhere Bar, I might be annoyed at the characterization of this fight in the ABH, which says a man's jaw was broken there. It seems like that's just where the argument started. The jaw breaking happened outside, at Hull and Hancock. No security cameras there? Eh?

8) None of these steps, interestingly, has anything to do with finding alternative energy sources or, even, more gas.

9) Yarbrough files another dispatch (magical sunshiney rainbows of goodness!) and a reader expresses annoyance with the first one.

10) Oh you do not want to mess with Adrian Pritchett and his bus. He knows it can take your ass.

11) If y'all loved the column about the mall, you'll like this old chestnut too.

12) The new university in Gwinnett picks the most exciting name evs! So worth the wait!

13) Fraternities seem to be more inclined to move off campus than to take the land on River Road. Why? Because there's no guarantee the university wouldn't boot them again at some point down the line. (Other interesting details as well.)

14) OMG! Conservatives love the gays. "Champions of tolerance," dude. Also, recycling is a big scam. Also also, staff don't get Spring Break? Uh Muh Guh! (Note: Graduate student.)

15) Unbelievable. R&B isn't clear on whether the frat/admin meeting was covered under open meetings laws or not, but for fuck's sake, the administration is persistent in giving the impression that they hate open government.

16) Brandon Lane said his favorite haunted house memory was causing a rather large woman to run into a wall, then get stuck on the ground cursing and kicking, like a turtle flipped on its shell.

[bugmenot ABH; bugmenot AJC]

The inevitable luxury football condos are planned in Tuscaloosa now. Please note the existence of a store called Sassy Britches.

Pinter gets it this year, which is odd, but also indicative of the more recent trend to give the prize to people you've heard of every other year.

From Book VII:

The justice and uselessness of my complaints left a seed of indignation in my soul against our foolish civil institutions in which the true public good and genuine justice are always sacrificed to some apparent order or other, in fact destructive of all order, and which does nothing but add the sanction of public authority to the oppression of the weak and the iniquity of the strong.

Yet again, nothing happens. Fat guy loves food, affection, wants to be Jesus. The Jesus of potato chips. Locke cracks a smile. Jack wants Kate. Ads are a big fake-out. Worth it mostly for mocking of Driveshaft.

1) Athens Politics clarifies the spot-zoning issue on LPDS. And JMac talks about State's crazy letter and how Bruno's recent eviction might relate to what's going on. Here's the article about that. It wasn't exactly a shocker though. Last time I spoke with Bruno, a few months ago, this was definitely a possibility. Basically, he initially did want to rent the entire property, but now he has two other balls in the air, and there's much juggling. [Added: Flagpole has a report on the meeting and a poll and a really good letter explaining why Bruno is attached to this location]

2) Regents approve a bunch of new crap to be built, big chunks of which get paid for not by the state (e.g., Athletic Association will fund gymnastics/b-ball practice facility by selling local development authority bonds). R&B notes that the current practice facility would be converted into a weight room, alleviating long lines at Ramsey (no feasibility study done yet), and mentions that the new facility is somewhat necessary to comply with Title IX.

3) Oconee school system is debating between paying as it goes and borrowing sales tax money from the future to fund necessary expansion.

4) The chick who hit and killed the skateboarder didn't come forward on her own. Where did the thing about the deer come from?

5) Look, if I were Joe Sikes, I wouldn't want my trial moved to a place where people are less likely to accept local eccentricities and being hot under the collar as an excuse for threatening government officials' lives.

6) It's not quite Kozlowski, but if you want to live the high life, Tom Meredith's mansion is for sale. Instead of investing in property, the Regents will now provide a housing allowance, which will probably be more expensive in the long run. Also note that Meredith was reimbursed $1,500 for damage to his dining room table, presumably during some sort of wild official business party. Kegger!

7) He was one o' them brown people. We're not sure which kind.

8) Five Points residents not interested in buying drugs and/or sex on the street? Or is is that the supply hasn't caught up with the demand? Also: Kinman is into pedestrian rights, and it does seem that, for once, someone complaining that the ABH didn't cover something is kind of right.

9) ABH supports ACTION, thinks HHS shouldn't take Head Start funding away from it.

10) Shipp says Perdue's legacy won't be a two-day gas holiday, but rather the culture of secrecy his administration has established.

11) "It was fun sticking my hand into the rumen of a cow."

12) Wrt those frat houses, they're a little nervous until they see some potential plans for the River Road location. Moving expenses will be paid at least partially by fraternities themselves and donors.

13) R&B cartoon mocks letter re: insensitivity. There's also a letter responding (and it uses the phrase "rat's butt").

14) Ew. Just.... ew!

[bugmenot ABH; bugmenot AJC]

This might be the best thing for sale. Ever.

Concrete answers to these questions may never be found.

Also, "Please respect other guest by not smoking in line."

Only one, but boy howdy...

Disturbance: On the evening of Oct. 8, a resident of Crystal Hills subdivision said he heard loud music in his neighbor's yard, so he walked over, shined his light in the yard, and told the neighbor to turn the music down. The neighbor responded, 'what's your ----- problem.'' Then the neighbor's friend reached in his pocket and pulled out a dark object, at which point the man took off for his home and called the law. When deputy M.E. Taylor arrived, he went next door and talked with two teenagers who said the man had come over and cursed them. They denied playing loud music and they said their father, who was present when the matter occurred, was coming back home. Taylor then walked back over to the complaining man's home and explained that the two adults were no longer there. The adults in the other home soon returned, so Taylor went back there and the man explained that he and his friend were in the house watching a ball game when the alarm on his vehicle was activated, causing the horn to begin blowing. He said he and his friend went outside and saw the next-door neighbor in the yard with a flashlight. He said he told him to get back in his own yard. Taylor then asked the man's friend if he challenged the other man to a fight and he said yes, because he was shining the light in his face. Taylor then asked what he had pulled out of his pocket during the exchange. The man reached into his pocket and pulled out a large cigar. Taylor took a report and left. A couple of hours later, the man who originally called the law called again to report that the teenagers had called him an ugly name.

How many gems can you count? The rest here.

In all the mocking of Mr. McCarter that has gone on since the last commission meeting, esp wrt the extended "you durn kids" skatepark rant at the end, why did those words never come up? Thank god for reruns. I was able to catch a good bit of the LPDS debate last night (though I missed Andy Rusk) and, despite badly needing some sleep, had to stay up to catch said rant, which indeed lived up to its reputation. Can I somehow get a .wav file of States saying "Vivacious Honky" to be my new mail notification sound? Because that would make me the happiest gal in the world. (You can hear the song itself here.) It's also clear that, even if I could get elected, there's not a chance I could make it through an actual meeting on the commission without my internal organs exploding from suppressed laughter. I don't know how they do it.

New Grub Notes on Bread Basket and more. Also, me being mean to Jason Mraz (I can't help it) and nice to Joy Electric.

Deadspin's been cataloguing blogs devoted to each MLB team, and today's the day they got around to the Braves, presented with the familiar complaints.

We can never figure out whether or not to feel bad for Braves fans. Sure, they get to make the postseason every season, but they do so in the most bland, vanilla, tedious way every year. (This season, ironically enough, was an exception.) And when they actually get there, they completely forget how they got there and crap out. Which is worse: Never making the postseason — and therefore never getting your hopes up — or having them crushed with depressing regularity? We can’t decide.

Quick! Get Chipper Jones some lessons with Bill Buckner so we can create some romance and excitement. And hire an intern to send out press releases on that Hooter's waitress.

Seriously. What the fuck do people want? Innovative facial hair? A rap album by the middle infield? Obnoxious buzzing noises piped through the stadium?

1) So if the fraternities on Lumpkin don't want to move on the university's schedule, they're going to have to bring their houses up to code. i.e., They're being coerced pretty strongly to do this fast.

The University is considering two leasing options for the houses that move to River Road.

One is a five-year lease that might allow for tax-deductible donations from fraternity supporters. The other is a thirty-year lease that would not allow for tax-deductible donations.

Both leases likely would not have a renewal guarantee.

Among the fraternity representatives’ concerns were the lack of plans for the houses on River Road, including a lack of information on both the size of the houses and the lots.

It's not so much that I'm completely on the side of the fraternities here--it's easy enough to dislike fratboys--and more that the exercise of power by the university is interesting.

2) States squabbles about whether he's squabbling. What's the most interesting part?

Finally, I believe you folks at the ABH need to determine whether the "In The Loop" component is news or a gossip-tabloid column. If it is news, it should be accurate, which it is not. Accuracy is sometimes just a phone call away.

Sources may have mentioned to me that he and Blake had a meeting the other day, which you'd think would be better than a phone call, but crotchetiness knows no bounds. This letter thinks the East side will degenerate into a vast Latin slum if LPDS is approved and that McCarter will receive the complaints. This one presents reasonable counter-arguments to many of the objections cited by neighborhood folks.

3) This is the place to be Homecoming weekend at 10:30 a.m. now. I did kind of have my eye on that huge Budweiser lamp with the Clydesdale figures inside it, but it's been pointed out to me that I don't live in a frat house.

4) ACTION's probably dead.

5) Actual conking would have helped.

6) At least one business owner doesn't understand the concept of charter.

7) ABH goes all Bob Barker.

8) It's pretty odd that Dick Yarbrough is in Iraq, but I suppose he's kind of putting his money where his mouth is.

9) "No Southern farm always had friend chicken in the summer." Well, of course. If you're gonna eat 'em, why bother palling around?

10) College paper, damn it. (See letter #3)

Added:
11) Also note that there's a poll on LPDS at the bottom of the home page today.

[bugmenot ABH]

With Common and Fantasia and Keyshia Cole? You fucker. You know I don't go to arena shows. Why is UGA not on the ball with this? It seems like every other university in the country is. Only one date in Georgia?

the Wit (66% dark, 38% spontaneous, 21% vulgar)

your humor style: CLEAN | COMPLEX | DARK You like things edgy, subtle, and smart. I guess that means you're probably an intellectual, but don't take that to mean pretentious. You realize 'dumb' can be witty--after all isn't that the Simpsons' philosophy?--but rudeness for its own sake, 'gross-out' humor and most other things found in a fraternity leave you totally flat. I guess you just have a more cerebral approach than most. You have the perfect mindset for a joke writer or staff writer. Your sense of humor takes the most thought to appreciate, but it's also the best, in my opinion. You probably loved the Office. If you don't know what I'm talking about, check it out here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/theoffice/. PEOPLE LIKE YOU: Jon Stewart - Woody Allen - Ricky Gervais The 3-Variable Funny Test! - it rules - If you're interested, try my latest: The Terrorism Test

My test tracked 3 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender: You scored higher than 83% on darkness You scored higher than 29% on spontaneity You scored higher than 12% on vulgarity

Link: The 3 Variable Funny Test written by jason_bateman on OkCupid Free Online Dating, home of the 32-Type Dating Test

36) "In Her Shoes" is rated PG-13 (Parents strongly cautioned). The sight of Ms. Diaz walking around in panties, T-shirt and heels may cause some audience members to break out in a sweat. [italics theirs not mine, from a review of In Her Shoes, by Manohla Dargis, 10/07/05]

Panty-watch is a regular feature here dedicated to tracking appearances of the word "panties" or "panty" in the New York Times, partially because it's amusing to see the Gray Lady venturing into such areas and partially to see if it correlates with anything specific. There will be graphs or a graph at the end of the year.

[previously] [bugmenot NYT]

Gilmore Girls season 4: All 22 episodes go bye-bye in the space of about a week, a week during which Team Brown still managed to go to work and accomplish other things. Why must you suck me in, Rorelai? So, season 4 is 1) particularly cruel in where it ends; you see it coming, but you still yell "No!" at the TV (a lot), and then you think to yourself, "Maybe it wouldn't be so bad if I just started watching season 6, so I'd feel better about things," and 2) the season of Luke. Yay for Luke! He is very much the hero throughout, and it is so nice to see someone doing what you want him/her to do.

So do we try, again, to catch up via ABC Family's syndication of the show, which (if my calculations are correct) will start showing season 5 Nov. 1? Because we cannot leave things the way they are. Eep!

From Book VI:

I would like to know whether there sometimes pass in the hearts of other men puerilities similar to those that sometimes pass in mine. In the midst of my studies and a life as innocent as one can lead, and in spite of everything they had been able to say to me, the fear of Hell still troubled me often. I asked myself, "In what state am I? If I died at this very instant would I be damned?" According to my Jansenists the thing was indubitable; but according to my conscience it seemed to me that it was not. Always fearful, floating in that cruel uncertainty, in order to leave it I had recourse to the most laughable expedients, for which I would willingly shut a man away if I saw him do the same. One day, while dreaming about this sad subject, I exerted myself mechanically by throwing rocks against the trunks of trees, and did so with my usual skill, that is to say, almost without hitting any of them. Right in the middle of this fine exercise, I took it into my head to make it into a sort of prognostic for myself in order to calm my anxiousness. I tell myself, "I am going to throw this rock against the tree which is across from me. If I hit it, sign of salvation; if I miss it, sign of damnation." While speaking this way I throw my rock with a trembling hand and with a horrible beating of the heart, but so luckily that it strikes right in the middle of the tree; which, to tell the truth, was not difficult; for I had been careful to choose one that was extremely big and extremely close. After that time I never doubted my salvation again.

1) A truly classic Halloween costume never goes out of style.

2) Hey, sailor.

1) Arch Foundation votes on a budget, which isn't all that big, but seems so relative to the assets they're currently managing. Obviously, expenses go up by less and less as more gets added to an endowment, but still. What are the UGA Foundation's operating expenses? A good bit of it goes to Adams's discretionary account, but we don't get exact numbers.

2) Athens Politics rounds up ABH's LPDS coverage, which is snowballing nicely. McCarter is pissing everyone off (open warfare with Dodson!) and John Barrow is still a douchebag (more on that here and here's the letter from the man himself). Even the ABH thinks he's a little zealous lately. Note that the Neighborhood Notification Initiative, which will email you if someone wants to build, say, General Beauregards II next to your house, is getting underway. Defining the boundaries of neighborhoods that don't have them could be a mess.

3) Yay! The state has money, but remember, the schools ain't getting any of the extry. Also, federales take control of Head Start away from ACTION by not giving it any more money in that area. Interim ACTION CEO says that money will still fund Head Start, but through a different, unspecified agency.

4) Will they get more applicants if they call the person a czar? A bunch of really nonspecific groups, some governmental, would like to have one person in charge of coordinating Katrina relief in ACC, and then also maybe after, since poor people always have these kinds of problems, but what aegis would this person be under? How would the position be funded? Etc. etc.

5) Voter ID law goes to federal court Wednesday.

6) Rogers, who runs an interior design business and lends his name to a line of Home Depot furniture, favored oversized couches and tables, white shag rugs, mirrored walls and brass lamps and fixtures in the 10,000-square-foot Mediterranean-style mansion. Yeah. That one.

7) This is kind of a nice reflection on what's changed in the 10 years since Edgar Wright was shot while naked and unarmed in Athens. And a sad one, since it doesn't seem to be a ton. Lumpkin sees the gulf as more economic than racial, but it's always important to consider both aspects, even if they're interrelated. (Obvs, the NAACP thinks so.)

8) Isn't "masterminded" kind of a strong word for an idiotic prank call (or series of)?

9) Canine Angels still have too many dogs, even under new ordinance, but there's nowhere else to put them. Laws that can't be enforced are pretty pointless.

10) Another report on rising gas prices in Georgia and what's being done in local governments to combat them.

11) Columns: Jim makes fun of the 100-minute Bible. Winders thinks the Carmike Theater is poorly run (I have some friends who could confirm that). Shipp talks about how Perdue is starting to see the difference between talking about how to run a state and actually doing it; he also quotes a bit of Dooley on Adams. Economic Justice Coalition chair sets some things straight about the living wage movement.

12) Letters: Joggers should pay attention too. (Indeed.) Anti-three laning. Only a deranged person would tape a syringe to a movie theater seat. (Nuh duh.) Gourmet shopping guide incomplete.

13) “Sometimes it’s not as good as I thought it would be,” White said. Oh, the heartbreak of reality.

14) Students don't need a car on campus. These numbers are confusing, though. If there are 21,000 permits out there, including plenty to faculty and staff, and 1,000 students using alternative transportation, what are the rest of them doing? Parking illegally? Or just not registering as using alternative transportation with Parking Services.

15) R&B wants answers on the Lumpkin frat relocation.

[bugmenot ABH]

Since the next in McPhee's transportation series (kind of mentioned here), a two-parter on coal trains, isn't up, you will have to make do with this Q&A, which confirms that there's a book coming out at some point and is pretty good on its own. The first part of the article (which is all I've gotten to so far) is the usual torrent of facts and wonderfulness.

So a lot of people punked out, meaning I'm putting my reviews of the singles I had time to listen to here. I didn't get the Simply Red or the Bob Sinclar in time.

U2, “All Because of You” — Throw in something about Ireland and you’ve covered all the bases. I think they should use this tune to sell tacos.
[4]

Friday Hill, “Baby Goodbye” — They don’t say “girl” in a heartfelt way enough. I would’ve thought boyband crossed with tiny touches of Lady Sov would be awesome, but it’s pretty laughable and lasts an eternity.
[3]

Missy Higgins, “Scar” — Melody’s been sorely lacking in this week’s crop of tunes, and this has got loads of it. Messy and full of piano and drums, but I like the way she says certain words (is a Joanna Newsom comparison too weird?) and there’s plenty to listen to.
[7]

Clor, “Good Stuff” — Not quite as exciting as the best dance music should be, but the Knack-ripped bassline draws you in despite the underwhelmingness of the chorus. Also, songs that go up and down make me think of dancing on a flight of stairs, and that’s inherently good.
[6]

Lisa Scott Lee, “Electric” — The metaphor is stretched, and the song knows it. Michael Jackson could maybe have pulled this off, but the slow churn reminds one more of a washing machine than a dance song you can grind to. Profoundly unsexy.
[3]

Spoon, “Sister Jack” — I presume this is sort of the way people who don’t like The Beatles feel about that band (minus the massive cultural role), in that it’s all very nicely done (and a little similar sounding, esp wrt late Beatles) but not, ultimately, swoon-worthy. Of course, those people are wrong. And I am right.
[5]

Roll Deep, “Shake a Leg” — Fake live music? And they love nachos? Just enough novelty song characteristics combined with an “I’m on vacation and I will dance” hook make this completely irresistible, and the way it sounds like you’re just approaching the venue and can hear a bit of the music drifting out makes you want to get ever closer to it.
[9]

M.I.A., “Galang” — Now that it’s made its way into a car ad and been detached from the music nerd pants creaming, this song is easier to appreciate. I’m still not sure it has a structure—i.e., it starts and then it stops, but it’s got no arc in between those points—but Ms. Pacman bloops and so on are growing on me.
[7]

So again, if you are desirous of making your own judgments, it's hillaryhazelbrown at gmail.com.

The Day of the Beast: So exciting that Mr. Brown promptly fell asleep on the floor of the friend's house we were watching it at and snored lightly on and off throughout the entire movie. But really. It's good. He was just very tired. Mucho insanity, including a creepy animated goat-man Satan and Xmas massacre stuff (which is always good). Badly dubbed, but with an incredibly strange horror-comedy thing like this, that sort of adds to it.

Morningwood was very impressive. When they started playing, I was back by the merch table, and I could still feel the bass in my organs, which is something I like. Mr. Brown said that if it were the late 1970s, they would be huge, but it's not. Their recorded sound, as heard on the myspace page I linked to, is a little more polished, but live it's got more punk in it. And frontlady is something else.



Gang of Four was good. Not transcendent, but I'm not the biggest fan of the band. By which I don't mean to minimize them or their influence. I like them. I'm just not insano for them like a lot of people are. Sometimes their stuff is a little long, and it's also kind of trebly for me. But they didn't sound like a bunch of old guys. They played hard. Could've been louder, but I'm not complaining much.


However, I was outside for the supposedly amazing encore with Stipe and Vanessa and who knows who else. I was tired. Look at how sweaty this guy's arm is. I needed water and relaxation.

Added: Just ran into my boss, who was there (though I, being unobservant, missed him), and he compared it to a Swinging Medallions show. But in a nice way. Mad accuracy there.

Stylus does top 50 films of the past five years. There are good choices and bad choices, and nothing super shocking. What I'd like to direct your attention to is this fine line concluding our own Josh Love's review of About Schmidt, "All this, and Kathy Bates’ best work since Waterboy!" High-five, fella. After catching most of the movie on TBS last weekend (or was it the one before), I was rethinking its quality. Sure, I enjoyed it when it came out. I saw it in the theater. But I didn't know where to rank it in the Sandler oeuvre. Now, I think it's up there. Not quite Billy Madison, but probably equalling Happy Gilmore. The plot remains doofusy and unimportant, but there are a lot of fine character performances, including the one by Kathy Bates. The lady can do the funny. All this means is that, whether or not that was a throwaway joke, I will pretend it is serious and concur with its sentiments.

To the Scrap Mobile!

1) Apparently, the UGA faculty gets a choice of retirement plans. Staff, not so much. But the thing is, they're annoyed about it and want more oversight of the options besides the TRS.

2) The fratboy convicted of vehicular homicide last year gets his case thrown out by the appeals court because of improper instructions to the jury.

3) Pigeons disgusting. Fake owl creepy. Hobson's choice. Also, "Pigeons are protected under federal, though not state, law, so they can't be legally killed or harmed, Mengak said."

4) Clearly Athens music history isn't being preserved because it's hazardous to the public.

5) Remember that historic preservation thing in Winterville? Psych!

6) John Lewis is disappointed in you. Also, the Republicans don't want the entire state back, district-wise, mostly just Athens.

7) ABH thinks if you don't pass the graduation tests in Georgia, even if you're going to take them later and work super hard to pass them, that you shouldn't be allowed to walk at graduation.

The current policy also is a disservice to students who don't pass the graduation tests in time to participate in commencement exercises with their classmates. What the policy does is make those students complicit in a sham that, for all intents and purposes, signifies they have earned an honor to which they clearly are not entitled. What's worse is that it's a sham perpetrated by people who have some responsibility for educating the county's young people.

Oh come off it. This is what you get all huffy over? Survey the kids who did pass their tests and see if most (or any) of them care. What harm does it do?

8) And... three, two, one... Hitler!

9) Pro and con in AJC wrt replacing property taxes with sales tax to fund education. So small business loves it. So what?

10) Why is gas more expensive in college towns? More disposable income means the market will support higher prices?

11) Career advice: learn how to write a grant application. Fundraising is more and more a part of jobs at the university.

12) Last letter is pissed about buying a space in the Classic Center deck only to discover no parking available. Free market, university... there's not that big a difference.

13) JMac thinks it sucks that Kinman's multi-use pathway didn't pass the commission.

[bugmenot ABH; bugmenot AJC]

A lot of you bought this film last month, but before the year’s end, you’ll have a choice of double-dipping with Sin City: Recut & Extended DVD edition. On 13 December, Dimension will release a 147-minute version of the film along with two 5.1 tracks in DTS and Dolby Digital, three commentaries (directors Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller, Rodriguez and some hack named Tarantino, and a crowd reaction track from an Austin screening). There will be a ton of featurettes, including an in-depth look at Tarantino’s contributions. You can also expect a copy of the original graphic novel to be included. The SRP will be $39.99.

From DVD File.

WR query: Mason and J. Smith are givens. The question is who gets the third slot: Stallworth (who's a great start if Horn is out)? Lloyd (with a rookie QB)? Coles (with exactly the opposite)? Input is always appreciated.

Of the amount of yelling I was doing at the TV last night, here are the first two items FOX put up on the screen to describe John Smoltz's pitching style, in handy bulleted list form:

-- Goes right after hitters
-- Away Away Away

Even those of you who do not appreciate baseball fully may understand the nausea things like this produce. And this was during a win. Some of you have seen me during/after a loss. Most of you have not and do not want to. All the rage at having my heart stepped on with a hobnailed boot (again) gets channeled into announcer hatred. It ain't pretty.

This from an important passage at the end of Book IV (Part One):

I would like to be able to render my soul transparent to the eyes of the reader in some fashion, and to do so I seek to show it to him under all points of view, to clarify it by all lights, to act in such a way that no motion occurs in it that he does not perceive so that he might be able to judge by himself about the principle which produces them.

If I took responsibility for the result and I said to him; such is my character, he would be able to believe, if not that I am fooling him, at least that I am fooling myself. But by relating to him in detail with simplicity everything that has happened to me, everything I have done, everything I have thought, everything I have felt, I cannot lead him into error unless I want to, even if I wanted to I would not succeed easily in this fashion. It is up to him to assemble these elements and to define the being made up of them; the result ought to be his work, and if he is deceived then, all the error will be of his making. Now for this end it is not enough for my accounts to be faithful; they must also be exact. It is not up to me to judge the importance of the facts, I ought to tell them all, and leave to him the care of choosing. This is what I have applied myself to with all my courage up to this point, and I will not slacken in what follows. . . . I have only one thing to fear in this enterprise; that is not to tell too much or to tell lies; no, it is not to tell everything, and to be silent about things that are true.

Oh shit, I just talked to on the phone:

Someone from Playboy Magazine (I picture one of these ladies: http://www.ritzyrags.com/pinups/telephone.jpg), who said that they’re planning to come here to cast for a video they’re making on “girls of the top ten playboy party schools” or somesuch.

This is nicely timed. And I must say my reaction is less "ew, that's so not classy" and more "Woo! Go Dawgs!" Our ladies were not shown to huge advantage way back in the Girls of the SEC issue, so this is a chance for redemption. [Also note that the link is perfectly work safe, unless undergarments larger than the shorts a lot of chicks wear around campus are frowned upon at your place of employment.]

1) Athens Politics talks about what has to happen for the La Puerta del Sol rezoning to pass the commission. Here's the snotty letter from a Cedar Creek resident that accuses the ABH of trying to push LPDS through. Wild accusations about bias will get them on your side a hurry...

2) Grants to UGA for public service and outreach (it's hot and sexy, we promise), research (down the least), and instruction down. Again. Not by a ton, but...

One factor in UGA's slipping numbers simply could be the decline in the number of UGA faculty members over the past few years of state budget cutbacks, according to Smith.

And part of this year's decline is artificial, because the 2005 numbers do not include some big grants that did not come until near the end of the fiscal year, said UGA vice president for research David Lee.

But the numbers also reflect budget cuts in the National Science Foundation and other major grant-funding agencies, Lee said to explain the flat numbers.

..."It is possible that federal support for research will be a tempting target as Congress and the White House look for ways to fund the recovery," [UGA VP for Research David Lee] said. "We hope this doesn't happen, given the critical need for sustained (research and development) support for the long-term competitiveness of our country."

Associate VP for Research blames it on (get this) 9/11.

3) What else happened at the commission meeting? Jordan's light ordinance goes down, and Jordan himself votes against it because he thinks it's been neutered. No more chances, apparently.

4) Stormwater bills will be late and, therefore, look big.

5) OMG! You should so spend your time and effort to recruit us, even though you clearly don't need to.

6) Tammys everywhere prepare for onslaught of annoying jokes. (Except for the one in the picture trying to move her car. She's probably distracted.)

7) Awww. ABH and Perdue make up, with smoochies.

8) Hey, someone tell Ryan Lewis that Joss Whedon forgot to crib Lucas's suckage.

9) R&B characterizes it as to Bush's credit that he picked two lackeys for the Supreme Court.

10) This column about how you, too, could get knocked up and have a tough time going to football games also ran in the AJC a day or two ago.

11) R&B reviews strip-aerobics, in surprisingly dull fashion. They don't even talk about that move where you do that sexy "I'm putting my finger almost in my mouth but really just next to it" thing. Team Brown has pondered much what muscle that one works.

12) Anatomy class recommended here.

13) Son of a bitch. Perdue swayed by farm lobby into canceling school?

"Republican or not, he made the right call," said House Majority Leader Jerry Keen (R-St. Simons Island). "The only criticism I have heard is from people who were inconvenienced about 'what do I do with my kids.'"

I think they're called your constituents. Also, when there is a crisis, a leader must preside over the opening of a BrandSmart.

14) Adams loves up on the Macon Telegraph staff and they reciprocate.

15) Why the free wi-fi in Athens sucks.

[bugmenot ABH; bugmenot AJC; bugmenot MT]

Salon turns self into Slate. Only more complicated and hard to read.

But that's a sidebar. I was going there to grab this:

Oct. 5, 2005 | A quick glance at the T-shirts ought to be enough of a clue that all is not well in American mass culture. Girls no more than 14 saunter down the street with their low-riders jammed down below their thongs and, snugly fitted over their brand-new breasts, piquant words of wisdom: "Everyone loves a Jewish girl." "What boyfriend?" "Save a Horse: Ride a Cowboy." A picture of a rooster above the word "Tease."

It's from a review of Ariel Levy's Female Chauvinist Pigs, which generally seems to be about why the young ladies today are so classless. i.e., It's in that genre of "people eating bugs on TV is why our culture is coming to an end." But the point is, the bit I've boldified isn't necessarily emblematic of that, even if you do believe we're in the waning days of the Roman Empire and people will be marrying horses for money before long. It's a song. A pop country song. And while the title of that song might be a little vulgar, it's not quite the same thing as wearing the slogan sans the existence of the song. What it says is a little less "I'm a big whore" and a little more "I enjoy the music of Big & Rich" (and also, by extension, "I'm into country music, but not necessarily in a dogmatic stars-and-stripes-forever kind of way").

From Book III:

It is not only in conversation that I have this slowness in thinking joined with this liveliness in feeling, I have it even when I am alone and when I am working. My ideas arrange themselves in my head with the most incredible difficulty. They circulate there dumbly; they ferment there to the point of rousing me, heating me up, giving me palpitations, and in the midst of all this emotion I do not see anything clearly; I cannot write a single word, I have to wait. Insensibly this great motion subsides, this chaos sorts itself out; each thing comes to put itself in its place, but slowly and after a long and confused agitation. Have you ever seen the Opera in Italy? In the changes of scene in these large theaters, there reigns an unpleasant disorder, which lasts a rather long time: all the backdrops are mixed up together; from every direction there is a pushing and pulling which is painful to see; one believes that everything is going to turn upside down. Nevertheless little by little everything is arranged, nothing is lacking, and one is completely surprised to see a ravishing spectacle follow this long tumult. That maneuvering is almost the same as the one that goes on in my brain when I want to write. If I had known how, first to wait, and then to render in their beauty the things that depicted themselves there, few Authors would have surpassed me.

If you want to have fun, you can try to connect these segments with the character of Rousseau on Lost. Games!

Could something, um, actually happen? Yeah. I would be in favor of that. Also, as discussed last night, there should be more of Sawyer and the taking off of his shirt. Sure, his hair could use a good wash, but even dirty beefcake is an improvement on running around yelling about stuff. "Man of science!" "Man of faith!" Arr. Rrrrr. Those are the noises of people growling at each other. And what (in the most important question not to be answered) happened to the chocolate in Kate's pants?

We're on to Rousseau's Confessions (Kelly translation) and that's something new and exciting as well. I think this passage, from Book II, kind of captures all the weirdness that is Rousseau. He's writing about a woman he worked for who had breast cancer:

Finally we lost her. I saw her expire. Her life had been that of a woman of intelligence and sense; her death was that of a sage. I can say that she made the Catholic religion lovable to me through the serenity of soul with which she fulfilled its duties, without negligence and without affectation. She was naturally serious. At the end of her illness she acquired a sort of gaiety that was too even to be feigned, and that was only a counterweight given by reason itself against the sadness of her condition. She kept to her bed only for the last two days and did not stop conversing peacefully with everyone. Finally no longer speaking, and already in the throes of agony, she made a big fart. "Good," she said turning over, "a woman who farts is not dead." These were the last words she pronounced.

The deadpan quality of that last line after the seriousness and then scatology of the rest of the paragraph is a killer, and it's also all appropriate, as he proposes to tear the curtain away from the messiness of humanity, using himself as a case-study.

I think she's asking an audience member, "Is that free cake?"

1) Remember how yesterday we talked about how the funds to pay those Lumpkin frats to move come from the same place that funds for increased energy costs do? Well energy costs at the university for 2005 FY increased 15 percent, and that ended in July.

2) More follow-up on hit-and-runs. The lady who was hit on Whit Davis apparently had bipolar disorder and liked to walk in the middle of the road at odd times.

3) More crap opens on Epps Bridge. Why locate there?

The new retail location also will pay approximately $78,000 in taxes on the land and building, said Todd Paschal, chief tax assessor for Oconee County. He wasn't sure about what Kohl's would contribute in taxes on personal property - furniture, fixtures, equipment and inventory.

In Clarke County, the Target store, a 125,000-square-foot facility on Atlanta Highway, is taxed on $4.5 million in personal property, which equates to more than $600,000 in taxes.

4) Valet parking at the hospital only sounds frivolous.

5) Gwinnett Daily Post has a decent op-ed on the plans of Georgia Republicans to target illegal immigrants in 06 without necessarily alienating Hispanics as voters for a lifetime.

6) There's other commission news besides LPDS stuff. Kinman's sidewalk widening voted down but sidewalk committee passed (committees are free).

Commissioners also signed off on a new 10-year franchise agreement with Charter Communications to provide cable service to the county. The agreement provides an improved leased-access channel where residents can air programming for a small fee, and stipulates that at least 90 percent of customer service calls be answered within 30 seconds.

Not even 100 percent, and this 30 seconds thing is bullshit anyway, as it means your call is immediately answered and just as immediately, you're put on hold. It does nothing to improve customer service at all.

7) ABH editorial contrasts inverse condemnation with eminent domain. Georgia's looking into expanding property owners' rights to the former (basically allowing them to sue the government for things that affect their property value). Concludes, ". . . it's heartening to see legislators taking a look at ways to limit government intrusion into people's lives."

8) Shipp tries to explain that there's still a racial divide in this state.

9) Really, this letter goes wrong from its first sentence...

10) Professional research ecologist says John Barrow is teh suck.

11) Hey you kids, get those deer heads off my lawn!

12) Athens Gourmet Shopping Guide

13) R&B editorial complains more about students' wages, points out that a lot of units that employ students are self-supporting, meaning it doesn't affect taxes if students get a raise. Which I suppose is true, but the level of student wages is a pretty small issue relative to the larger one of a living wage.

14) Yesterday, a student got huffy about the Gideons passing out Bibles on Rosh Hashanah. Today, a bunch of others get huffy right back.

15) Creative non-fiction writing grad student at the university wants you to bid on the rights to a percentage of his future earnings. How much is 5% of $20,000 pre-tax freelance income a year?

[bugmenot ABH]

It sadly does not consist of last night's commission meeting, which is what it should've, but those Gilmore Girls are so distracting. Basically, season 4 arrived on the porch yesterday, and Team Brown was all, "Oh hey. We'll just watch an episode while we eat dinner." And then another. And another. And another. Because the Stars Hollow is addictive, it is. So we ended up watching four and tuning in to the commission meeting when they'd moved on to the lighting ordinance. But there was synchronicity, as episode 4 of the ones we watched deals precisely with a town meeting and the equivalent of a zoning hold-up (historic preservation guidelines being wielded for personal gain, power dynamics, meetings at which time is devoted to praising the story "The Happiest Donut" and the clock is manipulated to harm the opposition). It's what reminded me, with a shock, that I'd forgotten to tune in to check out the La Puerta del Sol debate. Thankfully, I'm not the only person interested in such. The good snarky folks at Athens Politics covered it beautifully, complete with most excellent paraphrases of commissioners' statements and a summary of what happened (short version: tabled for a month), and JMac rants fabulously as well. Here's the ABH story on it as well, but if you want mocking of Carl Jordan, you'll have to visit the other two sources.

What? For tobacco, dude.

Arrest: On Sept. 30, deputy R. W. Elder was running radar on U.S. Highway 441 when he stopped a Chevrolet pickup traveling 72 mph. As Elder checked the man's license, he saw rolling papers in the car and the man became nervous. A check of the car revealed some marijuana over the visor. Daniel Eric Jones, 20, of Madison was arrested for possessing of marijuana and speeding.

But not the beer fridge or the deer blind?

Theft: A resident of Wildwood Place, Watkinsville, reported that between Sept. 21 and 23, someone entered the garage and stole a camouflage-colored golf cart valued at $3,600 and five cases of beer valued at $100. Deputies have the name of a possible suspect.

Read it all here.

Reviews of The Like (cute girls) and Little Brother in this week's Flagpole. Plus you should read Mike Barthel's Liz Phair review, as it is cranky and funny.

What is depressing? This is depressing. Receiving a green tri-folded piece of paper in your work mailbox that, when you unfold it, begins with the text: "You're receiving this invitation because you may be in your 'mid-career' years at UGA." Which makes me feel as though a) I have been here forever, and b) I have so many, many more years to go.

Tracy Allerton makes a bid at being the new Andy Rooney.

Sometimes, yes, a single word can be so imbued with meaning that it does make an intriguing title. Take Lost: These plane-crash survivors are indeed lost -- physically, emotionally, spiritually -- and their search for salvation is an addictive hour of television. Or Survivor, which has turned out to be an apt title: Its 11th edition, which just got off to a strong start in Guatemala, sure has me glued. And come January, I can see myself devoting 24 precious hours to following the newest adventures of Jack Bauer and company.

1) OMG! Public service is a part of a state university, Dr. Adams?

Schools such as LSU and UGA have three main missions - teaching, research and service - and even before Katrina, the service aspect had become more emphasized than at any time in the previous three decades, Adams said. Now the service aspect will become even more important, he said.

So important it won't get its budget slashed continually?

2) Coverdell Building nearing completion. Top two floors will be owned by the UGA Real Estate Foundation, technically part of the UGA Foundation and no longer officially connected to the school, and rented back to the university. Occupants of those floors are undetermined because UGA is in the middle of hiring a new research veep.

3) Commission will vote on LPDS rezoning and discuss new franchise agreement with Charter for cable tonight.

The proposed Charter agreement includes a provision that all customer service calls must be answered within 30 seconds. Polls and public comments indicated that customer service was the No. 1 complaint about Charter.

The deal also includes an improved local access channel, where residents can air their own productions with the approval of county officials. Commissioner Elton Dodson had pushed for a more unfettered public access channel, but the agreement doesn't include one.

So, basically, nothing will change. And here's another pro-LPDS letter.

4) Why buy the cow... Also: Does this corner look uncluttered?

5) Did this guy seriously not add a "bitch" at the end of his question?

6) Aw, snookums. It's so cute when you question authority.

7) Loran Smith feels a little guilty.

8) R&B continues to follow this frat-house story. Money to reimburse the kids for their houses/build new ones will come from unallocated funds in the FY 06 budget. "Nesbit said the funds are meant to provide money for unforeseen costs such as increasing energy and equipment costs." You mean like those increasing energy costs we have? There's something in the range of $13 mill to draw on. Also, if they move to River Road, we'll have a little musical chairs game going on.

9) University is trying to promote recycling among students. But the only thing we recycle in my building is paper. We don't even have a bin for aluminum and glass.

10) Apparently, it's hard to be an observant Jew and a college football fan.

11) Those poor caucasian students. They're clearly so oppressed at UGA. (3rd letter)

12) Don't steal food, gas.

13) "Georgia is working on its first energy plan, which could mean tax credits and incentives for drivers who buy fuel-efficient cars, homeowners who use solar power in their homes and businesses that create new forms of energy." Read that again. First. Energy. Plan.

[bugmenot ABH; bugmenot AJC]

We have one about these pills, these new pills called ‘Ass Breath Killers.’ Ass Breath is something you get when you kiss ass to the boss. So we invented these pills…It stops you from kissin’ ass.

Boots Riley of The Coup, on new mag Econoculture. Should they add a hyphen for clarity?

35) "When I'm a boy, I don't get the men I want," Georgina said, playfully sprawled on the sidewalk, her fishnet stockings and red panties exposed beneath her short sundress. "But when I'm a girl, I get the man I want." [from The Chase: "Beauties in Heels, and the Men Who Love Them," by Denny Lee, 10/02/05]

Panty-watch is a regular feature here dedicated to tracking appearances of the word "panties" or "panty" in the New York Times, partially because it's amusing to see the Gray Lady venturing into such areas and partially to see if it correlates with anything specific. There will be graphs or a graph at the end of the year.

[previously] [bugmenot NYT]

Remnick, I'm about at my rope's end here. How does your web staff know, week after week, exactly what I'd like to link to (so that they can not put it online)? I wanted to talk about the lengthy and lovely article on Valentino, who, admittedly, will be among the first up against the wall when the revolution comes, but knows how to live the high life well. And I wanted to be able to cut and paste this paragraph from Dana Goodyear's "Out on the Town," about mogul in the making Sam Nazarian, but as it is, I'll risk the carpal tunnel:

Until recently, Nazarian had been living in "an amazing little house" (four thousand square feet in Brentwood, near the Getty Center) where, he said, "I had a three-hundred-degree view of L.A. And you could walk around butt-ass naked there." The Lopez house wasn't yet on the market when he saw it, but, he said, "I literally made an offer, and the next day we're in escrow, and thirty days later we just closed." . . . A few minutes passed, in which he recounted the origins of his new friendship with Quincy Jones and showed off the screening room that Lopez has installed for her ex-fiance Ben Affleck. Then, leading the way through the master bedroom and into a white-tile-and-turquoise-glass bathroom, with a white ostrich-skin upholstered vanity stool and an immense walk-in closet, he said, "Let me show you one thing J-Lo left behind. This is the 'hers' bathroom. I'm like, Why do women have to have the big bathroom? I took it." He went into the shower and emerged with a white plastic loofah on a rope. "Everyone I know says to sell it on eBay. No! I look at it every morning when I get in the shower."

In this case, I think it's the capitalization as well as (if not more so) than the content:

A friend and I have been invited to take part in a managed hunt on Blackbeard Island. We’ve found out that it is HIGLY recommended to have SNAKE CHAPS (rattler heaven). I’m in desperate need to buy or borrow 2 sets of chaps, I need them for Oct. 18th to 24th if borrowed I’ll gladly return ASAP.

My new band name is SNAKE CHAPS. Wikkid!

Added: Snake Chaps, pictured.

To miss the key line in the blurb announcing the dissolution of Paris^2:

Hilton insisted the two will still make the Earth move together in other endeavors. "We will also be business partners and have movies in the works," she said.

Koff koff, nudge nudge, wink wink.

Salon wonders (and it's not the first, just the most recent), if Ashley Smith's meth habit changes anything:

Georgia authorities have said they won't go after Smith. There was no evidence of illegal drugs other than her videotaped statement, said Gwinnett, Ga., District Attorney Danny Porter on Wednesday -- not enough for a prosecution. And Smith will still get $70,000 in reward money from authorities for helping to capture Nichols.

Case closed, technically speaking. But what about for the chorus of conservatives who back in March nominated Smith for sainthood? These are the same folks who tend to advocate locking up drug users and throwing away the key. Not only did Smith still have an illegal stash back then, she lied about it by omission.

Only those conservatives don't really seem to be changing their minds much, just not commenting directly to Salon. And I don't see why they should be. I don't think Smith is an angel, but she does seem like a nonjudgmental person. I can't believe I'm agreeing with Peggy Noonan here, but she says, "Life is complicated and so are people," and she's right.

1) If the university can actually come to an agreement with the five fraternities occupying the land it wants on Lumpkin Street, it could cost more than $1 million, which doesn't, honestly, seem like all that much, considering the size and location of the houses and what it would probably cost to build new ones. R&B doesn't mention this, but does note that some people are unhappy about it.

2) It's only a political scandal if you actually get elected.

3) Stanley McRae, commanding officer of the Naval Reserve Center in Asheville, N.C., is new CPD enforcer, starting Nov. 1. So send him those flowers now.

4) ABH don't cotton to plagiarism.

5) Will the decision to reduce lots given to Cupples in exchange for trestle from four to two derail (heh) the deal? Looks like everyone's out of town anyway.

6) So those "snow days" didn't really help with the diesel fuel situation? This article's ostensibly about natural gas shortages, but talks about diesel the whole time.

7) The machine marches on. The nice thing about this is that many of us won't have to suck it up and vote for flag-lover John Barrow. The less nice thing is that we'll most likely end up with worse. The Visitations wrote a lil' song about such and tried to visit Barrow, but he wasn't around:

According to the band, Barrow wasn't in his office when they visited, but they spoke with a staffer who told them that the former Athens-Clarke commissioner took a stand in favor the amendment because Republican redistricting is making the 12th Congressional District more conservative.

Barrow's assistant did, however, assure band members that the congressman wouldn't be supporting a flat tax, and promised them a flag that had been flown above the U.S. Capitol.

At the same link, ABH is digging deeper into La Puerta del Sol issue:

Commissioner States McCarter continues to vehemently oppose the rezoning and insists that eastsiders are unanimously united against it. But conversations and written exchanges with eastside residents make it clear that's not the case.

Some residents say McCarter is trying to browbeat them into joining the opposition, for unclear reasons, and that there are racial undertones to the dislike for the Latin-themed development. And the developers say they've received nearly 100 letters of support from residents.

(Editorial elsewhere says it's complicated.) And Chamber of Commerce is opposing Prince's three-laning, but quietly. Letters on La Puerta del Sol are appearing:

Even though some may disagree with him on this issue, know that his position has nothing to do with the ethnic nature of this development. Go ahead and bring in a Chili's restaurant and you will find he will not let up one bit.

But wouldn't that have something to do with the crazy Latino flavors available at Chili's [sinister look]?

8) Dude. Willie Banks is not making a lot of friends lately.

9) Winterville actually has some historic preservation statutes?

10) What in the ever-loving name of fuck, Morris Communications? What is your deal with the amount of coverage related to switching educational funding from property taxes to sales taxes? Do you own a lot of property? You're making me very nervous here, you know?

11) That three-laning of Baxter was awesome, huh? I snark, but the project to add bike lanes to Research Drive seems like a reasonable one.

12) ABH talks about Greenville's historic district and construction guidelines, which were drawn up by the same people doing Athens, but the photo makes it seem more like the kinds of regulations in place in a lot of subdivisions, i.e., where's the historic character?

13) AthensPolitics covers Cowsert's entry into the state senate race against Kidd, providing analysis of ABH article on same. Both Cowsert and Kidd are talking plenty about health insurance. We can only assume they have pretty different solutions.

14) Long Morris article on costs of Katrina to state budget.

15) It's good to look before you sit down. Always.

16) Wouldn't it be awesome if this really were Bill Shipp's column? In actuality, he's focused on telling the Big Guy to run for Lieut Gov instead of Gov. Other columns: Jim likes quiet, Winders mocks Perdue (yes! Make with more of the mocking!).

17) More on Charter cable franchise renewal. Journo prof Wally Eberhard gives his opinion.

18) Mayoral candidate Andy Rusk wants ACC to switch to biodiesel. UGA buses are moving in this direction, but not far enough.

[bugmenot ABH]

1) Inside 9/11: Taped it a few weeks ago and got around to watching it now. It's a little weird to decide to go out in the middle for Milk Duds and chips, but such is life in this century. Well made, but even at four hours, it feels incredibly short and skips a bunch of stuff. And it's a bit much with the clips of ranting guys in beards. Oooh, the scary Arabs.

2) Flight 29 Down and Endurance: The former comes on before Endurance, and it's a kids' version of Lost! Unfortunately, it's not very good. Novelty lasted about half the show, then wore off and we flipped away. Wrt Endurance, I think I may be saying the word Tehachapi quite a lot for the next several months. And then maybe "bless you."

3) Saturday Night Live with Steve Carell and Kanye West: Oh, Tina. I may have dissed you in the past, but please, please hurry back. I must assume the abysmal quality of this show was due to your absence. Because I am human and need to provide explanations for things that give me hope. Which was worse: Finesse Mitchell's bit on Weekend Update or the fact that they didn't even bother to write an actual sketch for Kanye? Musical performances absolutely the highlight (note that the little fella didn't mime, as he was quite out of breath at times).

4) Girl with the X-Ray Eyes (on TLC): Does she have 'em. Uh, no. But it was fun finding out.

Here's the entire album from the fair, with captions and everything.

This week's feature is up. Lovebites only end up with a 6! Travesty!

Unblurbed:

Starsailor, “In the Crossfire” — Stadium-worthy rock that doesn’t overextend its talents, keeping it short enough not to get aggravating. Not brilliant but beats the pants off Coldplay and U2 these days.
[5]

Robbie Williams, “Tripping” — Oh, Robbie. Sometimes your screeching is kind of appealing, but this song is mostly flailing. The chorus would be vastly improved if pitched down an octave vocally. Are y’all sure this isn’t the Ricky Martin song in disguise?
[4]

Bratz, "So Good" — Not immediately super-impressive, but a definite grower. The bigness still sounds artificially big compared with Avril’s wall of sound, but the vocals are perfectly suited to a doll that rocks the hell out.
[7]

Love Bites, “You Broke My Heart” — Chick Blink 182 exists, only better! Yes, it’s adorable and snotty and short, but it’s got a real rock hook in it as well as the obligatory parts where almost all the instruments drop out.
[8]

Depeche Mode, “Precious” — Nicely done in that it seems appropriate both for the slightly goth kid in high school and for the now mid-30s office worker who used to be that kid and is feeling nostalgic. Makes you want to paint your nails a color your parents don’t approve of.
[6]

Bloc Party, “Two More Years” — Putting me to sleep, but not in a bad way. This is so unexpectedly soothing, and it does make it seem that whatever’s wrong will someday be right.
[7]

Rachel Stevens, “I Said Never Again (But Here We Are)” — Harder than “Negotiate with Love” and with almost the same melody as Goldfrapp’s “Ooh La La.” The femmebot brings all her icy weaponry to bear. It sounds like there is an army of alien hotties marching behind her, smashing windows and clapping their hands.
[8]

As ever, just shoot me a heads up if you are curious about any of this.

Serenity: Yeah I used up some of my precious leave time to leave work early on Friday and go see this movie at 4:10 with a bunch of black-trenchcoat-wearing Dragoncon frequenters. What of it, bitches? It was absolutely worth my doing so. Can I judge how well it works if you haven't seen the show? Fuck naw. I watched that shit when it was on, and if the rest of you (not you, per se, faithful readers; I know that many of you did) had done so as well, maybe it would still be on. But then we wouldn't have gotten the big-screen-ness. So there are good things and bad things about all that. FX are obvs much improved. It does take about 10 minutes before you really get into it, but when it clicks, it clicks for the rest of the way. Joss could do a better job with the camerawork during non-action sequences (action sequences are filmed well), but I understand that when you get a new toy, often you want to play with it for a bit. Also: thanks for the cheesecake. It was delicious.