An hour to radio silence

Just telling y'all again. In case you didn't catch it earlier. Things are going to be nonexistent for a while until I get my act together webbernets-to-home-wise. There is much else to do online. Take joy in the sidebar of links.

Lil' hobby

Yes, you could headline this article the way it's headlined: "Redistricting plan might get veto from governor," but you could also look a little deeper and realize that what Sonny's actually saying is that, even if the redistricting plan does violate the standards established last session, he might let it go through. i.e., The news story here is not that there's a smidge of a chance he might veto it. The news story is that despite his saying "I feel very strongly about those principles," his desire to be responsible for nothing is stronger.

ABH wants Congress to talk about the tax code. Sure, it could be simpler. I know I take advantage of the free tax prep here in Athens. But if it's a choice between fucking up the entire system with a sales tax or a flat tax and dealing with a bit of complexity, I'll exercise my damn brain.

I can't be the only one starting to think John Oxendine is a bit of a wackjob. One fire in one chemistry lab in one high school isn't necessarily to be taken lightly, but still...

"There are two things that make up the backbone of our society: Our educational system and our legal system," Oxendine said. "When someone wants to strike out at our education system, it's a sign that this person may be mentally unstable and is too dangerous to have out walking around on the street. This is serious and we are not looking at it as a prank. "

You can raise taxes some places and sometimes without rioting resulting.

R&B says Adams is requesting state funding for the university today (from the higher education appropriations subcommittee, headed by your pal and mine, Bob Smith). Includes handy graph.

R&B talks about why that top 10% of your class admissions proposal has sucked hard in Texas.

USG newsletter summarizes some bills of interest.

Taylor's going hard on HOPE. (And R&B has an op-ed on why the lottery should be abolished.)

[bugmenot ABH; bugmenot AJC]

First JMac, now me.

I'll be in my trailer.

Really, I'm not sure how much insight I provided on the matter, other than that small amount that comes from being an employee of the system and the part of my brain that says "mandatory = generally a bad idea." After, they're what gave us mandatory minimum sentencing, unfunded mandates, and the like. They're what's behind the 65% solution making its way through the dome. Sure, some things are necessary (e.g., not letting folks go around conking each other on the head in order to obtain more cash), and it would be nice to have a little more diversity at this school at least in the field of accent, but the state government has more than enough control over the University System already, and less flexibility is, well, unwelcome.

Booya

All I'm sayin' is that I don't see anyone threatening to cut the White House Chief of Staff's eye out on Lost. Hotttness.

[Sidebar: Ahhh... David Fury. Natch.]

Verissimo

Luis Fernando Verissimo, that is. Author of The Club of Angels, which a friend just lent me and which I'm already about halfway through after an a.m. on the bus (it's a short book). You'd think, from the extended opening of the book in which the narrator discusses the nature of truth and the responsibilities of the author, that it's a pseudonym, but I haven't found anything to that effect. What it is mostly about is gluttony and punishment, as the amazon page will tell you. Here's a little bit from p. 38, which is a quote from the deceased Ramos:

"...and we will say: 'It was our best moment.' We will compare it with other moments in our lives and we will say that no moment was ever again quite like this one. We will sate our appetites again, of course, because that is the blessed nature of appetite. It isn't every day that we want to see a syrupy Van Gogh or hear a piquant fuge by Bach, or make love to a succulent woman, but every day we want to eat; hunger is the recurring desire, the only recurring desire, for sight, sound, sex, and power all come to an end, but hunger goes on, and while one might weary of Ravel for ever, one could only ever weary of ravioli for, at most, a day."

Panty-watch

5) This method, fire officials said, served Ms. Johnson relatively well. Twice last April, they said, she set fires in large stores in Harlem — an H & M and an Old Navy — and made off with bags of clothing. At the H & M store on West 125th Street, fire officials said, she was caught on a security videotape stuffing bras and panties into a duffel bag, firing up a lighter, and heading for the exit two minutes later as large flames flickered from the lingerie section.

On Wednesday, fire officials said, Ms. Johnson returned to the same H & M, filled a bag with bras and panties, and tried to walk out without setting fire to anything. She was caught. [from "A Fire Unset Led to a Thief's Arrest, Officials Say," by Andy Newman, 01/28/06]

Note: 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. The end of the year should result in a few more graphs.

[previously] [bugmenot NYT]

Perspectives

Apparently, we Athenians are cheap Republican bastards for not wanting to pay $15 on a Thursday to see Bob Pollard. Funny how that goes.

Lil' hobby

Walter Jones, Morris's man in the dome, writes about the 65-percent solution. At first, it seemed like he was poking fun at Sonny when he wrote, "Spending more than 35 percent on such frills as lunch, bus fuel, and campus police officers - and especially administrators - would be forbidden." You know, it seemed like sarcasm. And perhaps it still is a little, but the rest of the column goes on to make the case that Sonny in fact totally rocks on education and that it's pretty much only fat cat administrators who are against this proposal (despite the fact that I don't remember a single teacher coming out in favor of it). Later, he says this:

Education funding has grown during the Perdue administration by more than $1 billion, but it has still fallen nearly $1 billion short of what would be required to fully fund the level prescribed by the Quality Basic Education Act that is based on the number of pupils. In government-speak, that represents a "cut."

Mr. Jones, just because the number of pupils has grown statewide does not mean the state owes any less to those pupils. His wrap-up, which concludes that this could result in mergers of smaller schools and greater difficulty for those in rural settings is appreciated, but yet again, we have people treating the school system like the business it is not.

Jason hearts Heidi. But does kinda overlook the redistricting plan Heard proposed, which would've achieved the supposed goal of the current one without splitting ACC. You know, the one that even discussion on was voted down in a hurry.

Remember when PE used to be part of school? ABH not so much.

Sonny Perdue responsible for nekkid dummies on the front page of the paper.

Yo, Poverty Task Force, y'all might want to read this.

State Dems have found another way to outflank Repubs, this time by pitting rural folk against the suburban kids who make up most of UGA. Essentially, "Under the Democratic bill, all high school students who graduate in the top 10 percent of their class would be guaranteed a spot at the state university of their choice." Which is, I guess, a good political move but not a real smart one in terms of actual education policy, especially when the university a lot of them are going to want to go to already isn't being compensated for increased numbers of students.

Georgia sucks balls on the death penalty.

Asked whether Gov. Sonny Perdue would consider a moratorium, his spokesman, Dan McLagan, said simply: "Nope."

[bugmenot ABH]

Parts of things might be illuminated

Sasha says the best thing anyone has said yet about James Frey, working it into a larger picture that is about our need to contextualize, which (of course) is sort of the very vague version of what wallace-l has heatedly debated lately. Other people would like to talk about politics wrt art. I am not generally interested. What I am interested in is the less mediated reactions, the gut punch.

Mr. Brown and I talked about this for a bit this weekend, and he told me about reading this little book on Keith Haring we have, and how there is a section in which the authors basically explicate this one painting, and how it's very interesting the things they bring out, and in some ways probably did make him appreciate the painting more. But (bigness) he also said that if the meaning were the same and the visuals both different and sucktastic, that he wouldn't like the painting. So for Team Brown, the aesthetic dimension is clearly the primary one.

Movie Diary

1) That Uncertain Feeling: Minor Lubitsch, but Lubitsch nonetheless. His movies always feel like your standard rom coms, but when you think about them, it's clear that there's no faithfulness to a formula. Almost anything could happen at any time. And he manages to push production codes with ease. This one had one of my favorite fellas in it, too: the perennially self-amused Melvyn Douglas (who is, please note, Ileana Douglas's grandpappy, appropriately enough, since she often has a similar air of wryness and playing along for the sake of a joke).

2) Valley Girl: I'd seen the first 15 minutes or so back in high school but hadn't followed up on seeing the rest. As a Nic Cage (sidebar!!!) fan, this is a terrible oversight. Or was. Because now it's notched, and I see the charms of the thing. Sure, it's madly dated, to the point of the viewer having trouble distinguishing between the music the valley kids listen to and the "punk" of the rival group, but bad fashion aside, there is a sweetness that I don't think you find in Fast Times at Ridgemont High, otherwise a very similar movie. And Cage just burns up the screen whenever he's on it (he can still do this, but with the hairplugs and the veneers and so on, it's harder). What happens? Nothing happens. But there is a niceness to the nothing, most notably when Cage is kind of dancing down the path from Julie's house. (Here's what Eebs says.)

Singles

This week's jukebox is up.

It is nice to know others dislike the Gavin DeGraw comparably, but you will all (mostly) feel my wrath for disrespecting Chris Brown.

The Atreyu is far better than expected for being all, well, thrashy. Mike Barthel gets it right, only I went with a 5 rather than a 6. I gave the T-Pain a 7, as I believe I was feeling generous (and have a noted weakness for vocoders). Tokio Hotel and Tuung both scored a 4, Mogwai and Utada Kiraku got a 5. Paparizou, West End Girls, and Go Team all clocked a 6. Two of us prefer pajamas to Hi-Tack.

This is what I had said about Shuji & Akira, which I initially gave a 4: Here we go again. The beginning’s all Japanese mariachi musical, but when it does the same thing for minutes upon minutes, one does tend to get a little bored. Squealing trumpets are wonderful, and sometimes nothing happening is okay if the original thing is compelling enough to keep one around, but it’s not quite. A 4 might have been too grouchy, though.

If you want to hear any of it, email me by the end of Tuesday.

Oh staff listserv etc. etc. It's been a while.

S/L: tudor

Content of message: Thanks to everyone that responded to my request to help me find a tutor!

This isn't so much irony as it is the reinforcement of a point.

Self-censorship as artform

That may be taking it a little far, but there are positive things to say about the Pussycat Dolls' new single, "Beep," which is full of 'em, both the sound effect itself and, in the video, the things it stands for. The moral of the story is?

1) "My Humps" may have been a trailblazer (?).
2) Will.I.Am likes ass.
3) So do we all.
4) Karate kicks make anything better.
5) Mixed messages are catchy.

Mothafucka outlawed abortion too

AOL Music overstates the case a wee bit.

Lil' hobby

Chasteen's an ass. But then you knew that. Sometimes the desire for "leadership" can be overstated, falling too much under the "great man" theory of how politics goes. A need to project strength and independence is, after all, less important than genuine strength and independence, which doesn't need to assert itself for the sake of doing so. That said, like Kitty, we love balls. Which is why this paragraph is irritating:

It may, of course, turn out Chasteen took a correct position Wednesday, at least as far as his vote reflects an acceptance of the proposed redistricting. The plain truth is no one can say with certainty what might happen if - or, more likely, when - the proposed redistricting becomes a fact. On one hand, it's certainly possible splitting Athens-Clarke County between two Senate districts will have the happy result of doubling the number of advocates the community has in the upper chamber of the state legislature. On the other hand, it's also possible splitting the county and lumping it in with substantial portions of neighboring counties will dilute Athens-Clarke's voice in the legislature.

Even a hint in the direction of which is more expectable would be nice; just because there are two possibilities does not mean the chance of each happening is 50%. JMac has thoughts on how this affects the mayoral race. Impartial observer Steve Wiktorski thinks Chasteen is a courageous man. And Blake tells us that the Madison County Commission wasn't consulted either (luckily, some of them don't care). Even Cox is talking about it. And Lynn and Jordan were your two missing commissioners the other night, both of whom no doubt would oppose redistricting.

"We wanted to make sure it wouldn't be stupid." Um, yes. Fine aim there. And sort of helping the point along.

University Council would like to have all incoming freshman undergo mandatory drug and alcohol education. How much can it cost to print up fliers with the "liquor then beer" rhyme?

Damn it. Andy Herod might be president of the Green Acres neighborhood association and, as such, a thorn in the side of La Puerta del Sol, but he does do a nice job smacking the R&B upside the head for their misguided editorial on redistricting.

Tate Theater losing money.

Even sneak previews, such as last year’s showing of Alexander, provide little to no profit, Trawick said.

That might be because they're free. Some people think competition is the problem, but it's not like the number of theaters in town has increased recently. If anything, with the Georgia Theater's replacing its screen, competition should be decreasing. Others think it's a lack of advertising, and that's always been true. I'm sure the same factors that have contributed to declining attendance at other theaters are an influence here, but most of all, to me, it's that it doesn't feel like such a great deal anymore. You have to pay for parking in the Tate lot. You're certainly not guaranteed a space. Tickets have gone up to $3 for students and $4 for nonstudents. You may not even get a projected film. And when you do, the projectionists aren't nearly as well trained as they used to be. Not to mention the films scheduled have really suffered from a lack of quality. Tell me why I'd want to make the effort to go see something like The Shawshank Redemption in the theater when I can catch it any weekend on TNT. (It also seems that they've cut the 3 p.m. showings, except on weekends. That's one move I can understand, as it was rare to get more than five people.)

[bugmenot ABH]

And also

Remember when it was kind of cool to like Ray Romano because he didn't have the most popular TV show evar? No? There is a world beyond Cartoon Network, and this is your entree.

Magical words?

Corky commentary.

This is why not

Remember this post from a few days ago, about what I was reading and the particular difficulties I faced? Nancy Franklin's review of Battlestar Galactica in the New Yorker sort of illustrates exactly what I'm trying not to do. That is, it is somehow not right to say "well, science fiction stuff is really stupid, but I like this, and so I'm going to justify it as not actually being science fiction (or being only tangentially so) or whatnot." It is not right, but it is certainly easy, especially when you're trying to hold on to whatever molecules of cool you've managed to hang on to. And obviously, it is helpful to have more to say than just "it's good" or "it's not good," and we are all snobs at times in our own way, but still, reading something like this makes one feel like watching a kid get picked on.

You want an opinion, you creepy buggers?

Get those ladies some longer pants.

Who can it be now?

“He started to go into a series of karate kicks in the middle of the floor while the bartender, waitress and several customers looked on,” Hayden reports. Thankfully, a star-struck fan agreed to buy him several J&B’s on the rocks. After devouring a plate of chicken wings and littering the floor with bones, the star left without tipping.

And you thought polite Christmas tree assault was the end of it? This is equal parts "dood!", grimacing, and reminder that TV is not reality.

Calendars/Pig parts

Because you might miss it since it's in the AJC, here is nice fella John T's piece on meat-and-three eateries that focuses on the ones in Athens. Yours truly pointed him in the direction of a few of these, but you can't buy quotes like the ones from Dexter Weaver and Angelish Wilson. Notice this bit at the very bottom:

Want to explore the meat-and-three culture of Athens on your own? Join the SFA on April 8 for Camp Athens: An Edible Education in Oilcloth and White Linen. Meals and lectures will explore connections between traditional Southern cooking from institutions like Wilson's Soul Food and the haute Southern cuisine of boites like Five & Ten. Its chef, Hugh Acheson, is host; guest chefs include Scott Peacock of Watershed in Decatur. Registration details at southernfoodways.com.

I may be doing something for this. I may not. Either way, it should be worth your time if you're into grub.

[bugmenot AJC]

Lil' hobby

The commission rails against redistricting, but the vote's only 7-1 against. JMac has plenty of why Chasteen (dissenting) is an idiot, but I'd like to know who wasn't at the meeting. Clearly Chasteen and Dodson were there, but it's unclear who was in absentia. (R&B talks more to Kemp than anyone else and ends up playing the issue straight down the middle, presumably leading to the ridiculous editorial in favor of the split. I can tell you splitting the district will result in lower beer prices for everyone, too, but that don't make it so.) Also SPLOST 05 funds will contribute $4 million to building a skyway bridge between two parts of the Classic Center, parts that one can actually move between right now, parts that aren't separated by a four-lane highway or even a particularly busy road. $4 million. So conventioners don't get wet for two seconds. Because it's not like we could use decent public transportation or anything.

HOPE scholarship --> hard drugs?

If you, too, can awkwardly point at the sky, you might be eligible for an award (if you have the requisite genitalia).

By golly, Sonny boy might not be fully committed to ethics in government despite saying a thing or two about it from time to time.

"Act like a river because when a girl meets a stranger she holds back like a dam — go until your stopped and make a move when you’re let through again."

[bugmenot ABH]

Oh right. The Lostness.

Because Mr. Brown decided he had to wait to see those last two episodes of Veronica Mars before watching this week's new one and that instead we would tape it. So instead we watched Charlie act like a big fucking baby. Everyone else too. Man of faith Locke gets punchy. Claire does her usual hysteria thing (and doesn't understand that baptism is kind of beside the point if you don't actually believe in it). And how's that army-building going? Some tarps stretched over some sticks, eh?

Coming up on the show (pointedly not "next week"), something that seems like excitement because it is edited together extremely quickly and backed by pulse-pounding music, even though what it really is is clips of people sitting around doing nothing, as always. Nice try, y'all. You really almost did get me.

Read

Here's a fine insight for you, courtesy of David Levering Lewis's review of the third part of Taylor Branch's America in the King Years:

King had begun to perceive that society tends to confine its indignation to injustices that can be attenuated without imperilling fundamental economic relationships.

Tad Friend's online Q&A on his article about the TV popularity of vehicular pursuit in LA should make you want to go buy the magazine.

Deductive reasoning

1. Wake up to alarm going off very loud, 45 past the hour.
2. Usually wake up at 25 past hour. Flip out. Leave house fast, wondering why backup alarm did not go off.
3. Once outside ponder on how very dark it is. Often the moon and stars are not quite so visible as this.
4. And much colder than usual.

Query: How long (in blocks) does it take you to figure out what's going on? You have had some coffee, but not as much as you usually would have.

Dude, you so steered me right on that pork chop

More satisfying than Jim Thompson biking to work on a challenge, less satisfying than the forced reeducation of George Will. Snobby-pants Bruni works as a waiter for a week. Learns my god but people are rude. e.g.,

Bryan, a young server with whom I'm training, brings me up to speed on the crazy things diners do. They let their children run rampant, a peril to the children as well as the servers. They assume that the first table they are shown to is undesirable and insist on a different one, even if it's demonstrably less appealing. They decline to read what's in front of them and want to hear all their options. Servers disparagingly call this a "menu tour."

...I'm shadowing Tina, who has worked at the East Coast Grill for decades and seen it all. She is handling the same section Bryan did. She offers a psychological profile of a woman sitting alone at L-3, who declared the chocolate torte too rich and announced, only after draining her margarita, that it had too much ice.

"Some people are interested in having the experience of being disappointed," Tina says.

...I encounter firsthand an annoyance that other servers have told me about: the diner who claims an allergy that doesn't really exist. A woman at X-10, which is a table for two, or a "two top," repeatedly sends me to the kitchen for information on the sugar content of various rubs, relishes and sauces.

But when I ask her whether her allergy is to refined sugar only or to natural sugars as well, she hems, haws and downgrades her condition to a blood sugar concern, which apparently doesn't extend to the sparkling wine she is drinking.

Are we all psychotic these days? Is this just the way one always feels working in a customer service job? Is it only to add to the excitement of the piece? Is it a New York thing?

Orange Pink

Not the latest Crayola. Stereogum's posted Pink's new video, which is a mix of celebrity mocking (occasionally amusing), girl power platitudes, and a kinda catchy hook on the chorus. Oh, and there's vomit in it. All the bits about how she wants boobies are awkward to watch, but the bits where she plays Jessica Simpson (in mid-car-wash) are well done--the way she throws herself into the parts reminds me a bit of Jenny McCarthy when she had her sketch show. It's not always good, and it's definitely not subtle, but it does provoke the occasional giggle.

Lil' hobby

I believe what I'm hearing you say is a wisecrack about how badly people drive in the ACC. Also how this exemplifies the gubner's approach to funding education (even though he's not the one who removed it from the budget).

It's possible that Bob Smith's proposal that we locate higher education programs that need space in abandoned buildings shouldn't have been phrased exactly the way it was (makes one think of Hostel and the like), and it's possible it's a bad proposal anyway (allowing the state government to act like it's doing more than it is), but if Sonny's just gonna skip around on the list and fund whatever gets him the most votes, some kind of solution is welcome.

Parental notification of school activities bill is alive and kicking. And proponents of the voter ID bill are lifting their inspirational phrases from el presidente (or, rather, his speechwriter).

Walter Jones tells us that now Cox is the moderate and Taylor the communist.

Suck it, crazy lady.

R&B has a very detailed timeline (including vomit) of the night Lewis Fish died.

[bugmenot ABH]

Energy tips from Bob Pollard

You can find 'em in Emerson's magnificent interview with the fella, which does a mighty fine job capturing the appeal, the hero status, the lifestyle.

Police Blotter

There is something very postmodern fiction about the following entry. Mostly the word "containing":

Damage: On Jan. 16, a resident of Long Creek Drive reported that a material that appeared to be laundry detergent and eggs had been thrown on his vehicle. A bag containing a fingerprint was taken into evidence.

I cannot say that I would notice if this were the case in my house:

Theft: On Jan. 10, a resident of Aycock Road reported someone entered her home. She discovered the burglary after noticing that the peanut butter and bread was out of place, along with the shampoo in her shower. A key chain, valued at $1, along with some social security cards and birth certificates were stolen.

We repeat: "boyfriend's wife."

Harassment: On Jan. 17, a Watkinsville woman called to report that her boyfriend's wife had called and cursed at her. She said the woman actually threatened to come to her home and kick her rear end. The deputy explained there wasn't much he could do because her boyfriend's wife didn't live in Oconee County.

That is, of course, the correct place to store a brick:

Arrest: On Jan. 21, deputy Byron Smith was dispatched to Sourwood Court for a domestic argument. When he arrived, he saw a man bleeding from the head, a wound the victim said was inflicted by his wife, Tameika Victoria Smith, 27. She denied hitting her husband, but retrieved the brick from a closet and said she had hit him on the leg or foot. She was charged with battery.

It was quite a busy week. A million more entries here.

Publications

Review of The Swear's EP. And a little mock in this week's Grub Notes.

Photoshop contest to follow, no doubt

The best thing about Kanye's upcoming Rolling Stone Jesus cover is the way you can imagine he's reacting to every other headline up there.

"Cat Power, I feel your pain."

"Oh, Bode Miller, my son, you must learn to control your appetites."

"Battlestar Galactica, it maketh me weep that your DVD set of season 1 costs $60 in-store."

"Executive jumbling" sounds straight out of 19th-century political cartooning

WB + UPN = CW? To be distinguished from C&W. I kind of dig this approach, earthshaking and weird as it is, since the stuff I like is staying on. Plus Smackdown.

UPN and the WB have struggled to attract viewers from the four established networks since they were launched in the mid-1990s. But each has its strengths.

The WB has had some hits throughout its history, particularly with younger audiences, having done well lately with shows such as "Smallville" and "Gilmore Girls."

UPN has recently gained some critical acclaim and strong ratings for its sitcom "Everybody Hates Chris," which airs on Thursday nights and fared well against shows such as NBC's "Joey" and Fox's "The O.C."

I like this chunk because it seems to be explaining what those strengths are without actually managing to do so. Perhaps someday (perhaps today) we will find out what "CW" stands for, but for now, it's fun to say "kwuh." Long live Kwuh!

[Update: The C is from CBS, the W from Warner Brothers, and the whole thing means nothing. Kwuh!]

Lil' hobby

Please note that state senator Regina Thomas (Savannah) has bigger balls than anyone else in state government. I'm sure her seat is perfectly safe, but still, it's far too easy to vote yes on this ridiculous sales tax break on natural gas that saves the consumer virtually nothing while depriving the state of needed moneys.

State Sen. Regina Thomas, D-Savannah, was one of three senators who voted against the bill Monday, arguing that it was a feel-good item to pass during an election year.

"This is a joke, and I'm not going to be a part of it," said Thomas, who called for legislators instead to think about re-establishing state regulation over Georgia's natural gas industry. "We need to get a backbone in here and do something to help the people of this state, and this is not going to do it."

High frickin' five.

Bonus police blotter

Peer pressure strikes again?

A University of Georgia student reported he was robbed by a group of young men who jumped him early Sunday as he was walking home to Russell Hall from downtown, Athens-Clarke police said.

A man approached the student at the corner of West Broad and Hull streets at about 2 a.m. and asked for money, the student told police. When he refused, the man continued to follow, telling the student he had something "really cool" to show him across the street, the student told police.

The student crossed the road and was attacked by a group of about six men who knocked him to the ground and kicked him before stealing his wallet that contained $30 and identification, police said.

[Here in the ABH]

Or perhaps it will drive her into the sweet, soft arms of Edgar...

Awesomeness continues. Here is what Heather said:

But most enjoyable of all was the Chloe Gets Laid story line. Geeky Chloe, nerdy, troublemaking, whiny Chloe, has always been an oddly appealing, extremely out-of-place presence at CTU. Chloe represents all of us comfort seekers at home, watching the show. She's the conduit for all of our anxieties, she represents all of our flaws, flaws that would quickly emerge in a pressure-cooker setting like CTU. Chloe embodies the best and the worst traits of regular, everyday non-heroes like you and me. And that means that when Chloe gets a piece, we all get a piece, chickens.

And it is amazing, indeed, that such an odd character has not only not died in the seasons she's been around, but ascended up the ladder in terms of billing for the show and size of character part. Do the writers just love her? Or do they know the secret nerd heart that beats inside most of us 24 fans? Sure, it's a vastly popular TV show, watched by millions in the States alone, but I'd be willing to bet the percentage of geekazoids who dig on it hard is higher than for, say, Grey's Anatomy.

Movie Diary

Malibu's Most Wanted: Watched this weekend and clearly made such a strong impression on my mind that I neglected to remember I'd seen it for a day or two there. Yeah, there're a lot of "blacky acts whitey" and "whitey is a wigga" jokes. They come with the territory. Some are funny. Some are not. But Jamie Kennedy is good at this kind of thing, and he's good at making me like him. He's not wussy about committing to a character, and the laziness of the movie kind of goes along with the improvisatory nature of his canceled TV show. Is it weird as fuck to see Bo Derek and, especially, Ryan O'Neal in this? It is, but there is a suprising amount of acting talent present: Jeffrey Tambor, Taye Diggs, Blair Underwood, Anthony Anderson (don't mock). I didn't mind watching it on Comedy Central.

Read

A particularly nice paragraph from Steven Shapin's "Eat and Run: Why We're So Fat," an essay masquerading as a book review, in the New Yorker:

In the early-modern period, books of manners recommended that a gentleman always eat in company. King James I warned his son never to eat alone, lest people think it was for the “private satisfying of your gluttonie, which ye would be ashamed should be publicklie seene.” The social setting was understood to set moral limits on consumption. The shared meal marked the beginning and the end of eating: there was a time to eat and a time to stop. The meal defined the when, the what, the how, the how long, and the how much. You adjusted your consumption to those who were eating with you. You didn’t have exactly what you wanted, exactly when you wanted it, and exactly as much as you might want. The marking, ordering, and, above all, limiting character of the shared meal remained largely intact into the twentieth century: Leith’s grandmother used to warn him about appearing “greedy” at the table, and, while my own grandmother absolutely required that we have “seconds,” it was not a great idea to be seen eating when she wasn’t feeding you. Sometime in the postwar era, though, the domestic meal began its unremitting decline. Now, like many of us, Leith mostly eats standing up—no grandmother, no mother, often no one at all to witness “greed.” The individualization of eating has done much to cut us free of dietary limits. We’ve been told that an index of our times is that we “bowl alone”; something similar might be said of our gastronomic habits. We eat alone and we get fat together.

Lil' hobby

At least two kinds of revulsion in only one police blotter item. How many kinds in this article about Gov. Perdue?

Another article covering the campaign to get at least one student Regent; this one contains more pricelessness from Kempy boy:

Because Kemp doesn't know "all the sides of the story," he isn't yet taking a position on the matter, he said.

"I understand where the students are coming from," he said.

Clearly several weeks, articles in both Athens media and elsewhere around the state (including the AJC), and the fact that it relates to his district didn't allow him time to decide how folks who could help him in his Ag Commish race feel about this issue.

UGA student dies in dorm, probably from too much drank, but administrators seem to be keeping things in perspective so far.

More explaining on the 65% education spending proposal.

Jim no comprende that satire is supposed to resemble what it's makin' fun of.

Winders brings the mock on redistricting, but seems to view stupidity and partisanship as separate things in this case.

Our man Pritchett lets students know that they can actually vote in this town.

There is, of course, mucho mas at AthPo and Safe as Houses.

[bugmenot ABH]

Doody. Booger.

Here is Nancy Franklin on the appeal of Family Guy. Feel free to make fun of her for being behind the curve. She does say some interesting things about animation being produced mostly by dudes because dudes tend to think fart jokes are still funny, but this is the bit that jogged my brain into remembering what perhaps annoys me most about the show:

The show’s signature is its constant cutaways to scenes packed with inspired non sequiturs and references to everything that was thought up by Hollywood and Madison Avenue in the past hundred years—from Fatty Arbuckle to the DuMont Network, Mister Rogers, “Laugh-In,” and the Hope-Crosby “Road” pictures.

It's not the non sequiturs themselves so much. After all, The Simpsons does it too. (Though one could make the point that the earlier show does much, much more.) It's more the precise references themselves. The ones she's choosing don't feel representative to me. The Simpsons does a beautiful job drawing on the largest sphere of comic references possible, while Family Guy, to me, tends to make ones that are obvious. It's sort of the equivalent of someone asking you if you've seen Office Space yet. Not quite in the "yeah, baby, you make me horny" realm, but edging toward it. A-Ha = ha ha? Meh. Throw my knowledge a fucking bone, y'all. One of the things that is most marvelous about Gilmore Girls is that there are references I do not get. The point isn't whether they're accurate for certain characters to make or not. The point is that the show a) is not stupid, and b) does not assume I am (i.e., that my brain contains largely information from 1980 on). Ditto Veronica Mars.

Viewing Diary

Team Brown is now slightly more than halfway through season 4 of Smallville, having waited far, far too long to get around to it. And let it be said that season 4 is also known as "the season of the shower" because every time you turn around or get up for some popcorn or whatnot, someone's all silhouetted and steamy. And a-ha! I knew that writer's name was ringing some bells. You've got your classic "greatest fears" episode, your standard body-switching scenario (which actually allows Mr. Welling to show he's more than just a purty everything), lots of metaphors about secret-keeping, and, of course, the showers. Ahhh... the showers.

Singles

Week 2 Jukebox is up. And I am grouchy in it. I just felt it was a pretty weak week, Morningwood aside (and interestingly, they seem to be receiving some love, so maybe it's just reviewers who have reacted to their album with "ick"). Non-blurbed are as follows: Remiriomen [3], Party Squad [4] (howevs, Nederhop is clearly the word of the week), Pharrell [4], Ne-Yo [a solid 5], A-Ha [3], The Shortwave Set [5], Richard Hawley [6; note that his album is rapidly becoming one of my favorites from last year since I acquired it recently; this song is very late 60s to me], Bodies without Organs [6; and a shock to the system; utterly fucking ridiculous to the point of me actually enjoying the song], and Morningwood [7].

I understand Ian Mathers's reaction to Little Big Town but please know that it sucks for other reasons (as well).

Use the email link if you want to hear anything.

Two ways to make yourself vomit

You know, if you're feeling a purgative is necessary.

1) XLR8. Trust me on this one.

2) Full compendium of Berman nicknames. Ow. It hurts.

They left out #7

Indianapolis Star has follow-up article on how Survivor's Rupert is the new Trump, because there are no other rich people to make the comparison to. Sidebar reads:

RUPERT'S SURVIVAL SKILLS

Tips from Rupert Boneham on surviving business (learned from his time on reality TV's "Survivor"):

1. Don't try to dominate and control the outcome of the game.

2. Lead by encouraging others to succeed.

3. Make sure your team is working toward common goals.

4. Be honest and fair in your dealings and you will get clients for life.

5. If you can help others be productive and increase their worth, it will increase your worth.

6. It never hurts to be the nice guy.

The last rule, which they left off is

7. Finish solidly in the middle of the pack, behind a lot of people (Raaaam-ber) who don't play by any of these rules and generally act like jerks.

[via]

Read (ha!)

Eric Konigsberg's New Yorker piece on the life and death of child prodigy Brandenn Bremmer ain't online, but emdashes talks about the reaction to it, which has been large. It's a fascinating article not least because the people most focused on (Bremmer's parents and child psychologist Linda Silverman) keep saying progressively more and more unbelievable things. That is, we move from:

"He chose when he would wean himself. I wanted to nurse for a full year, but at eleven months he crawled into the kitchen and motioned for a cup" [Patti Bremmer]

to

She [Silverman] described an effort, in the nineties, to eliminate gifted programs in public schools as "a form of discrimination that makes me think of Nazi Germany."

to, after Brandenn shot himself and his organs were donated,

"The latest from the hospital a few minutes ago was that Brandenn's kidneys were a 'Perfect Match' there were only 6 perfect matches in the US and the chances of those 6 getting kidneys were almost impossible. Once again Brandenn did the impossible. His liver went to a 22 month old baby that would have . . . died without it. His heart is now beating in the chest of an 11 year old boy who was down to hours . . . ." [Patti Bremmer]

to

"I'm ambivalent about Christianity, but a lot of people have said he reminded them of Jesus. You know: 'He came, he taught, he left.'" [PB]

to, from Silverman's husband, "a psychic and healer" who "has cured people of cancer,"

"Well, I can tell you what the spirits are saying," he said. "He was an angel. . . . Brandenn was an angel who came down to experience the physical realm for a short period of time. . . . I'm talking to him right now," he said. "He's become a teacher. He says right now he's actually being taught how to help these people who experience suicides for much messier reasons. Before Brandenn was born, this was planned. And he did it the way he did so that others would have use for his body. Everything worked out in the end."

Also, it's all Prison Break-y in parts wrt hyper-intelligence being connected to greater empathy yadda yadda. And one definitely gets a creepy "think of the children"/separatist vibe. But all the stuff that makes it hard to believe also makes it, um, hard to believe. Worth a read, though, if you can find it.

Lil' hobby

So, a couple of commissioners have been slightly swayed by the revised La Puerta del Sol plans, and a couple more not so much (not "one iota").

Commissioner Elton Dodson, who's publicly struggled with a decision on the development, implied he is leaning toward voting against allowing the project, although he likes the concept and design.

"In the end, my vote is going to have to be based on the people I represent on that side of town," he said.

Dodson came under enormous pressure from opponents last year for his ambivalence on the rezoning.

Fella doesn't represent me, apparently. Or anyone else who's in favor of the rezoning.

And ABH opines on the Bible bill, because a political stunt of this type is more likely to hurt business in the state than, say, our resounding "we hate the gays" vote in 04?

Graduate Council and Graduate Student Association at odds over new continuous enrollment policy that's going through. This hasn't been a big news story, but every grad student I know is unhappy about it (and simultaneously resigned to its passing). It's understandable that the university wants people to finish their degrees faster. Clearly, that desire's been driving plenty of policy for undergrads, too, but increased requirements, decreased available classes, and more seem to keep making it harder to complete a degree at the same time that those having difficulty graduating have to pay a financial penalty.

People di'int like the "Brumby butt" article in the R&B?

Lauren Morgan writes about her experiences post-WVU-fans column.

[bugmenot ABH]

Let it be said again

Keyshia out-Bliges Blige. New video, "Love," was premiered on 106th and Park the other day (and can be watched at AOL Music), complete with an enthusiastic in-studio appearance from the girl herself, during which, when she was asked to explain in 10 seconds why people should buy her album, she merely lifted the mic and sang the chorus to this song, full-bore, all-out, and both totally live and perfect. It's one of the show-off tracks for her strange, big, scratchy, broken up voice. I can't say I approve of the ridonkulous coat featured therein, but girlfriend does heartbreak in vocal form better than anyone out there right now. (And it's nice to see that her album's still on displays in stores.)

Viewing Diary

First, let it be said that Borders is evil for running those "buy 3, get 1 free" sales, as any person with any desire both to obtain things and to save money while doing so cannot possibly resist, resulting in far too much time spent trying to make equations come out right.

Anyway, Danger! 50,000 Volts was one of the package, and it is as entertaining as hoped, though in odd, inconsistent ways. Sort of like The Worst Case Scenario Survival Handbook TV show that was on briefly and sort of like Mythbusters, but then with more humor and information that is only occasionally useful (though the bit about how to create a solar still to condense drinkable water into a cup if you're in the desert was duly noted). Nick Frost is quite inherently funny, though, so even a mild reaction shot can result in ridiculous amounts of laughter. There also seems to be a moment in every show where he receives morphine for some reason or other (frostbite recovery, pole through chest) and drifts into a marvelous reverie.

Um yeah... Get your quote from a freshman

R&B has an article about ID scanners being tested at one bar downtown. Here is what you need to know:

1) The bar in question is Flanagan's, not exactly the unfriendliest place for underage drinkers.
2) All they're doing is testing them for the company that manufactures these, not implementing them.
3) Most of the quotes in the article are from that company (e.g., "That’s why we need technology because we cannot tell from a naked eye truly anymore (if an ID is valid)”).
4) Georgia's driver's licenses are particularly difficult to scan. Only the most sophisticated machine this company makes can catch mistakes on them.
5) IDs are scanned only at the door, so if you have another way into the bar, you'd seem to be clear.
6)

Athens-Clarke County also has tentative plans to include the installation of ID scanners as part of recommendations for bars that have committed a third violation of selling alcohol to minors, said Athens-Clarke County attorney Bill Berryman.

“We recognize that it’s a limited tool, but it does do a pretty good job of eliminating fake documents,” Berryman said.

Since there has been only one third-time violator in the past few years, Berryman said he does not anticipate recommendation to affect many other bars.

7) Think about the slowdown that would result.
8) The freshman in question provides the closing quote: "It’s always been kind of don’t ask, don’t tell." To which, um, no. There are looser bars and tighter bars in Athens, but the analogy is both an odd one to choose and pretty much entirely wrong.

I don't belong on 'Iron Chef.'

That is correct, honey. Clearly, the show's already bastardized, and the lady quoted certainly has her place in TV cooking shows, and she's damn sight better than the other chickie roped into this thing, but... sputter... [via]

Mass Market

My outside-of-class reading for the past few days has been Lirael by Garth Nix, part of (brace for it) a fantasy trilogy by Garth Nix, the first one of which I read a few years ago and found unexpectedly gripping and good. Philip Pullman said the first one (Sabriel) is "fantasy that reads like realism," so there's at least that to recommend it. So, I'm enjoying it, and when one's brain is occupied with this and that all over the place, it is sort of satisfying to be able to read a 700+-page book in a work week. But it is also good for me to carry the book around, it being indeed very squat and mass-markety, full of medieval-looking fonts, and with a cover illustration that, while it doesn't contain any dragons, clearly marks it as not high literary fiction. And then, of course, I've been asked about it at least once (by the dude who waits at the same bus stop I do). And I have to explain. And I also have to try not to talk down the book. Basically, I think I'm not at the same place with books that I am with music in terms of not being embarrassed by things, and so this is a little of a learning process. And besides, I'm totally going to read the third one. (Sidebar: Note that there does exist an "adult" copy of the book, which has a maybe slightly less geeky cover and proper trade dimensions, but I chose not to get that one so as to save a dollar.)

Mini-hobby

Because ain't no one else talking about it yet. So the Regents and UGA officials are talking about snagging the Navy School property for some kind of partnership with the Medical College of Georgia, though they won't say yet what exactly.

Until university and system officials know whether they will get the property, they don't know what kind of partnership could exist between the university and the medical college, Regents Chairman Timothy Shelnut said after the meeting.

Which is quite the load. Obviously, they have some idea and aren't talking about picking up that many acres just for kicks.

When asked how the regents might pay for the property, Shelnut said "we're not anywhere even near there - I hope it's free ... I would hope (the Department of Defense) would consider giving it to the university system."

So, clearly, this wouldn't result in any taxable property, but the idea of MCG having some sort of location here other than the nursing branch on Barnett Shoals and the connection to the pharmacy school is kind of a good one, and one would think the university could sell it to Athenians as a benefit to the community in other ways. If they're smart, they'll hook this up with the poverty initiative and figure out how to provide free or low-cost health care for the poor to help out the clinics that exist in Athens and have had their funding cut repeatedly. Sort of the equivalent of pro bono work for lawyers.

Also, please to note presence of Republicans sponsoring this redistricting nonsense at town meeting last night. Wait. They didn't care to show up? They couldn't give less of a flying fuck about what the people of Athens think? Shockah!

Inviting it

Oh Mr. Lewis. You are a nice fella. But folks who are at least six months late to the party don't get to mock. Do they?

This said, someone needs to make him a Kells mixtape, stat.

Panty-watch

3) "An elderly woman beaten to death," Lamont continues. "Apparently a burglary gone bad. Possible attempt at sexual assault, nude, her panties down around her knees." [from the, uh, "Funny Pages," in Chapter 2 of a serial called "At Risk," by Patricia Cornwell, 01/15/06; har de har har]

4) As his camera moves in closer and amid the panting and ouch-worthy thumping against the wooden stairs, Mr. Cronenberg maintains a dead-eye, presentational perspective here, never assuming either character's point of view. He keeps this stance even at the pivotal moment when he transforms us from bystanders into voyeurs, a shift that happens the instant when, during the most violent part of the staircase rough-and-tumble, Edie's bare legs part to reveal a pair of spectacular thighs and black panties. (Now we know why she's wearing a skirt.) [from "Dark Truths of a Killing Love," a piece under the subhead "The Unforgettable Moment," on Cronenberg's A History of Violence, by (who else) Manohla Dargis, 01/15/06]

Note: 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. The end of the year should result in a few more graphs.

[previously] [bugmenot NYT]

The Lostness

I am weak. And I love the mocking. And apparently, I will actively seek out opportunities to bore myself. So. Anyway. This week on Lost: no characters did anything unexpected. Again. And I think this may be the real fault of the show (which Mr. Brown has taken to referring to as The New X-Files, which is true, only minus the occasional comedic episode). At first, we didn't know these people. Now that we do (with exceptions, like Rose and Bernard), they remain the same. It's possible that this reflects reality, but the grind of same-old same-old is not why we watch the TV. 24's characters are a bit static too, but at least there, we're distracted by shiny, twirling plot. (Sidebars: If it weren't clearly a plot device and Jack's dad hadn't talked to him about it, would y'all really have thought Jack and the daughter were flirting or whatever? Because maybe Matthew Fox is just that impassive as an actor. And why is Kate never allowed into the jungle?)

Can't. Tear. Eyes. Away.

There are two examples of this kind of TV show that I will bring up now.

1. The Way of the Master, a.k.a. "Kirk Cameron accosts people on the street and harrasses them about Christianity." (Website of which, in broadband version, will provide you with the virtual version and allow you to watch episodes online.)

2. The Suite Life of Zack & Cody, a.k.a. "Those kids from Big Daddy still have jobs? But they're horrible?!" Yes. They do. And they are.

There are at least two different kinds of literal writhing that can be provoked by art, usually in the TV form. There is the kind that 24 and Veronica Mars produce, when you feel utterly and gloriously manipulated by a fabulous genius mind that is smarter than you are or at least better at pushing your buttons than most things. And then there is the kind that numbers 1 and 2 above produce, when you feel utterly theoretically manipulated (but not actually) by a mind that is far dumber than you are or at least not interested in trying to work on a higher level. (Note that this is different from a simple show like AFV, which is not interested in trying to work on a higher level, but results in laughter rather than a kind of psychic pain.)

So there is pleasurable mental pain and then there is more painful mental pain. Really good TV results in the former. The arguments presented in The Way of the Master and the "comedy" of Zack & Cody result in the latter. Not that it's not still watchable. It's just more along the lines of dudes daring each other to eat high-capsaicin-level stuff.

Added: Y'all cannot tell me you don't watch The Way of the Master either. Because I know you do.

Please. No.

I don't even want to watch Lost, y'all. And yet, the forces in charge of UPN are practically pulling a Clockwork Orange on me by continuing to rerun Veronica Mars (and not even reruns I haven't seen). Do I have the strength to resist the possibility of Michael shooting people when my real show I've switched allegiances for isn't really on? I think I am very weak indeed.

Underwater guitar solo

There is one in the video for Joe Nichols's "Tequila Makes Her Clothes Fall Off," but that's not how I was introduced to the song or why it's worth your time to go listen to it (e.g., at AOL Music). One of the occasionally nice side effects of riding the campus buses is the presence of the driver's choice of music, and there's one lady in particular with a weakness for the country. So this came on the other morning and grabbed my attention, even in the early a.m. brain haze. It's walking the line between novelty song and real song, but I think it tips over into the territory most people are more comfortable with due to Nichols's Travis-flavored voice. Does it make my knees weak the way Randy can with a mere twangy dip into the low range? Meh. Not so much. But he sells the title line well enough to curl around wherever it is physiologically that stores catchy tunes. The rest of his stuff seems okay, but this is the song.

Police Blotter (typo or Weekly World News headline? edition)

Just because the hobbyhorse has been sent to the glue factory doesn't mean Police Blotter has been laid off too.

Theft: On Jan. 10, a resident of Wire Bridge Road reported that someone went to his home and stole a green Yamaha Grizzly 600 four-wheeler that was parked under his deck. The vehicle, with a one-ton wench, is valued at $7,240.

That's a big gal.

Arrest: On Jan. 10, deputy Jay Parker was dispatched to a dispute on Oakwood Drive, between a man and his two children. The man said he got home and found that the two had skipped school, so he tried to avoid an argument. When a stray dog wandered into the yard, the man got some rocks and started throwing them at the dog. The daughter began cursing and threatened him if he actually hit the dog. When he addressed her language, the son joined the argument and threatened to assault his father with a fire poker. The law was called, but both children had left when Parker arrived. However, he saw them off Oliver Bridge Road. They ran into the woods, but Parker called for them to come out. He took both back to the house and the son, Jacob Doster, 18, was arrested on a charge of making a terroristic threat. The daughter was not charged.

Which is best: intro that seems beside the point, "addressed her language," or the simple beauty of "the law was called"?

Arrest: On Jan. 10, security at Kohl's called for help when a shoplifter ran from the store. Security had observed the man in the store about 4:10 p.m., where he went to the shoe department. He obtained a trash bag and placed some shoes into the bag. Security watched as he walked around the store, then leave without paying. When he was confronted outside the store, he dropped the bag and took off running, losing a shoe and his cell phone in the process. Deputies Shane Partain and Kevin Nolley responded to the call and Partain saw the suspect on the Epps Bridge Road bridge, where upon seeing the deputy, he went over the bridge. Partain stopped on Tangle Brook Drive, where he shouted for the man to stop, but the man looked back, then ran along a creek to get away. Partain went into the woods and began hunting for the man. Partain searched along a path and was able to find the suspect hiding in a thicket, where he had laid on the ground and cleverly covered himself with leaves and sticks. Nolley arrived and they cuffed the suspect. Adarian Dillard, 36, of West Paces Drive, Athens, was taken to jail on charges of felony shoplifting, obstruction and giving false information.

He teaches a course at the community college in wilderness survival skills.

Arrest: On Jan. 10, deputy Jay Parker was on patrol at Arbor Glenn Mobile Home Park about 12:30 p.m., where he observed a car leave the area and pass through two stop signs without stopping. He pulled the car and learned that Lynette White, 40, of Kings Mill Run, Athens, had no driver's license. However, as he talked with the woman, he observed that she was nervous, so he asked if she used crack cocaine. She told him 'not lately.' She allowed the deputy to search the black Camaro, and Parked found a napkin containing a rock of crack cocaine. She admitted that she purchased the cocaine in the trailer park from an unknown male. She was arrested for possession of cocaine.

What does "lately" really mean when we're talking crack? (The rest is here.)

Brain porn

Hot shotz of David Foster Wallace reading in San Francisco. Query: Are unfortunately cuffed jeans counterbalanced by really cute eyeglasses?

Yes, but chewing is still required

I, for one, will not be satisfied until they make a Cheezit flavored yogurt in a disposable tube.

Hobbyhorse

To hell with it. I have things that need doing. Consider it in a coma state here for now. AthensPolitics has loads up. JMac will generally cover things in depth fairly often too. If I see a story being massively overlooked, I will try to step in and warm up the defibrillator.

Also, advice for free, because I'm nice like that

Dear Mark Warner,

When Stephanopolous asks you if it is okay for the president to spy on American citizens without a warrant, the answer is very simple, and it is not hemming and hawing about this and that. Unless, you know, you don't care about either: a) me flipping you off, or b) votes from, uh, Democrats.

Love,
me

Synonymity

The thing is, sometimes it's hard to find new ways of saying things. And if you care at all about communicating in a way that is more than rudimentary grunting (for which, see, e.g., RoboDave in the comments on the Day Jobs), you're going to make an effort to vary your speech, even in small ways, like finding a synonym for commonly used words. Take the Middle East, for example. It's hard to come up with new designations for the region. So who's stepped into the void (rushing in where angels fear to tread, one could say)? Our buddy Chrissy-poo, with his new phrase "that al-Qaeda land over there." Can we get that on a Neighborhoodie?

The suckiness of Lost

If you didn't know it by comparison with Veronica Mars (and it would be understandable if you didn't), you might choose, instead, 24, four hours into its new season already and scaring the beejesus out of us pretty darn consistently. Perhaps it's just the glow of love reawakened when things start up again, but it feels that the show is definitely on the upswing again. Last season contained much greatness, but even that did not raise the pulse quite to the level it's hitting this time around. For one thing, ruthlessness has been reestablished. Oh you thought we were afraid to kill off major characters before, watchers? Take that! And also that! And maybe that (but maybe life after all, only with horrible burning on the face, which might even be more for the good of the show than death for all parties)! Also: Chloe is gettin' some sex, Jean Smart is rivaling Mrs. Palmer as a fascinating character, and Jack has reasserted self as best dude named that on TV. Acting and action. It can be done.

Publications

Stylus has thumped the jukebox to start it up again.

Among songs not blurbed, I think the Ashcroft is pretty boring, the Arctic Monkeys is a bit better than it averaged, the Lee Harding is as advertised, the Busta is one of my least favorite tracks this week (and I kinda like the Daft Punk song it samples), the Jose Gonzalez is v. v. good, the Ashlee is better than some folks think, the Veronicas somewhere in the middle, it's possible I just don't like Will Young, Twista continues the suck, and the Belle & Sebastian is a fair pick for song of the week, even if it's not mine.

Dude! No one else likes the Mark Owen? Okay, obviously some people do, but not that many among those voting. Or the love was canceled out by the hate.

As ever, feel free to request a listen in my gmail box.

[Sidebar: We are not liking the new layout at all.]

Not so much, kids

Gawker misses the joke. Because they're not really the types to think Coke's all that evil. (One Two Three imdb page)

Updated: Corrected now.

It is in fact in the lack of details

New best website ever?

You've got a ma, which is never bad

Listening to this new local CD Mr. Hassiotis passed along for a review and vaguely grooving along to a song I think keeps repeating "fresh manure" in its chorus, because, like, eh, he's kind of country.

Look at track listing.

"Freshman Year."

Hobbyhorse

1) Bifurcating of Athens into two state senate districts to help elect Kemp's brother-in-law is first bill to hit floor of the senate and, of course, passes. Note that Glenn Richardson is still cutting people (i.e., Jane Kidd) off while they're speaking. As though the current folks in power haven't made their love for democracy emininently clear. We won't be stuck with Kemp for too much longer, but I'm sure he'd love to hear how you feel about this issue. But I'm sure locals were consulted and their views taken into consideration... No? Huh. Note that the Chamber of Commerce totally digs the idea, according to Blake.

Hudgens introduced the redistricting bill at the request of the chamber and Madison County officials, who wanted a small slice of the county in Kemp's district returned to Hudgens', he said. He called the criticism of his redistricting plan "partisan," and said his map is the only way to split Clarke County and unify Madison County without violating the Voter Rights Act by diluting minority voting power.

Wow. Consider jaw dropped. Maybe we could get, I dunno, an editorial on the subject?

2) State of the University address focuses mostly on minority recruitment. Increased revenues from the UGA Bookstore (now that it's being leased to FTX) will result in $500K a year for four years to fund outreach. Also, tuition will go up again to enable UGA to increase faculty salaries but not hire more faculty. ABH likes the move. R&B's report on the same has more details about exactly where Adams would like tuition to end up. Student reactions to the speech. AJC brings out that half the annual $500K for minority recruitment will go directly to students and half will go into an endowment managed by the Arch Foundation. Two birds. One stone.

3) Four-laning of 72 the whole way to South Carolina has opponents (in places it's already been four-laned, like Colbert) and proponents (in places it hasn't, like Elberton). It's not that there's too much traffic so much as that four-laning makes the road theoretically safer and is supposed to spark economic development (i.e., trucks?).

The broad highway, which in Colbert has a raised median instead of a grass one, is still a source of irritation for some in Colbert, including long-time Mayor John Waggoner. The raised median rules out left turns into many of the businesses and streets along the road, forcing traffic to go through residential neighborhoods, Waggoner said.

The raised median is supposed to be there for safety, but that's not what older residents feel, he said. They feel more endangered now crossing the street.

Are there no breaks in the median the entire way? And aren't older residents displacing the danger caused by the addition of more lanes onto the defenseless median? Anyway, this is the kind of long-range, highly complicated project that should provide nerd fascination for some time.

4) The BC to get ExpressPoll machines for voting, which sound extremely impressive and supposedly will lead to magical in-and-out-like-that-type efficiency, but how exactly that'll happen is never specified. Do they run on fairy dust?

5) Modified voter ID bill passes house, but Heard and Kidd vote no.

6) Chase Street Elementary gets bond funds under reduced class size initiative to renovate.

7) Letters: Poverty initiative rules, even if taxes end up raised. And, like, the wallpaper doesn't even match! Dude from Maryland (?) writes in re: Nakanishi to say that calmness and scientific data are needed on TCE, points out that "the state Environmental Protection Division doesn't have an established exposure limit, likely because it is waiting on the federal Environmental Protection Agency to refigure its risk calculations."

8) Franklin College Cultural Activities and Events Program knows what motivates students. This is a really smart idea and rigorous enough to discourage people who will go to cultural events but sit in the back and talk. And speaking of this sort of thing, the new, shorter drop-add has come and gone, and some students hate it, while others are merely indifferent.

9) John Knox thinks ratemyprofessors.com is relatively accurate, and he's an instructor, not a student.

10) Rachel Boyd cannot tell the difference between a movie and reality.

11) It's confirmed. Perdue's not restoring the austerity cuts to education and, in fact, is reducing per-pupil funding that goes to transportation (new school buses, anyone?), staff development, and teacher salaries. Supposedly, these cuts, totaling $169.7 million, are temporary, but we've heard that line before. Un-fucking-believable. The full article details what's been cut and when and how much and exactly how pissed teachers are. Gwinnett Daily Post says a whole mill has been earmarked for staffing the new college there and notes that there is a long way to go yet before things are really operational.

12) Chip Rogers is a total pussy. At least when it comes to one of anti-immigrant bills.

[bugmenot ABH; bugmenot AJC]

Panty-watch (2006 kick-off)

1) All around Ms. Lauren and Mr. Buck were designs in development: plates, umbrellas, bags. These, along with the rainbows of M&M's, gummy bears and jawbreakers -- plus the chocolate bubble bath, Swarovski crystal Pez dispensers, striped scarves, candy panties and ''I 3/5sheart 4/5 Goobers'' T-shirts already for sale -- are the signs of what Ms. Lauren hopes will grow into a diversified candyland in which candy girls, and perhaps a few candy boys, will turn to Dylan's not just for sweets but also for candy-theme housewares, apparel, spa products and parties. [from "Candy-Colored Dreams" by Erika Kinetz, 01/01/06]

2) At first glance, Puerto Grande is stunning, a cuticle of fine sand in a lagoon framed by black lava rocks lapped by warm green waters. But fishermen have legally used the beach for years to strip and repaint their boats. A short walk inland uncovered scraps of plastic, panties and a disturbing mound of toilet paper. [from "Galápagos Unbound" by Tim Neville, 01/08/06]

Note: 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.

The eternal return

Blow Out: Jonathan's a Daddy Now and Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List: I better just be breaking up with my awesome husband to create a better show returning to Bravo. Everything this article lists sounds pretty much equally great.

Really, Misses Next

There is just no call for this. First mocking of Spenser and now, much later in the book, this, which is more between Thursday and Gran:

"While we're here," she went on, changing the subject without drawing breath, "can you think of any books that might be included in the 'ten most boring classics'? I'm about ready to go.:

"Gran!"

"Indulge me, young Thursday!"

I sighed.

"How about Paradise Lost?"

Gran let out a loud groan.

"Awful! I could hardly walk for a week afterwards--it's enough to put anyone off religion for good!"

"Ivanhoe?"

"Pretty dull but redeemable in places. It isn't in the top ten, I think."

"Moby-Dick?"

"Excitement and action interspersed with mind-numbing dullness. Read it twice."

"A la recherche du temps perdu?"

"English or French, its sheer tediousness is undiminished."

Get back in the kitchen and make me a sandwich

Hoo boy. Remember that column in the Red & Black about the toothless, poor WVU fans? Meet the webbernets, Miss Morgan. It is not a pretty place.

Newsy news of the big variety (in Jeopardy format)

A. Me.

Q. Who just got an actual career-furthering job, meaning blogging will be dead during work hours in about two weeks, but boredom will be more than compensating for by duties that are actually fulfilling?

Tunes

One of these is Amy Diamond. Yes. You may call be obsessed.

The other is Jules Shear, off his upcoming record.

They are very different. The Shear is the most up-tempo track on his album, which is a little slow. The Diamond is one of many I haven't been able to get out of my head. Enjoy?

No excerpts posted

Because I'm reading the Nibelungenlied, specifically in a prose translation that's not insanely inspiring in terms of the language. I like the work, but I can't figure out what to put up here. It is oddly obsessed a la Joan Rivers with what people are wearing. And it makes me want to see the two Lang films.

Flagpole's new things that should be printed in every issue

See post title.

Hobbyhorse

1) State of the state address: edumacation, but not so much the higher kind, and also not so much with the fully funding the whole thing ("fully funding classroom reductions," which you might think, if you turned your head or went to go get a Coke, meant funding all of it, but clearly doesn't (also a proposal to buy 1,000 new school buses, which doesn't really seem to go along with this 65-percent crap); fancy things like nanotechnology and biofuels; "Meth Force" (15 whole dudes); and tax breaks, most of which were passed earlier and are now taking effect. Kemp speaks positively about it; Democrats don't. Also, what's with the gift card? AJC says it gives teachers $100 to spend on classroom materials, but uh, why in gift card form? What if you don't spend the whole $100? Where can it be used? It seems like it's included mostly because it can be held up and literally pointed to. Cox and Taylor respond, the former talking mostly about health care and the latter about protecting HOPE.

2) Step taken toward historic preservation designation for downtown. There seem to be a lot of very reasonable stances taken in the first draft of historic preservation regulations, which will take an eon and a half to go into effect. Commission is working on guidelines in lieu of a moratorium until the new designation is established. One guy's not on board:

"If I own a building downtown, it's my building, not your building, and you shouldn't tell me what to do with it," said one man, who declined to give his name.

Hell, maybe he doesn't believe in fire codes either. I believe these are the proposed guidelines, but the distinction between "guidelines" and "regulations" isn't addressed very clearly on the ACC site. i.e., Are these the ones for the proposed historic district? Or are they the interim ones? In any case, they include a photo of the 1901 Athens Wheat and Oat Fair.

3) State Benefit Health Plan kind of goes out of its way to screw teachers. UGA's not on this, but there was some buzz around here when this was first proposed. a) It's not very fair in the first place. b) It's been implemented in a truly sucky fashion. So remember this as much as you remember your possible gift cards, educators.

4) Athens isn't among the 20 meanest cities to the homeless, but it's not exactly friendly.

5) Barrow County's revised homestead exemption for seniors has income and property value restrictions, which makes it much improved. Also, they are gonna annex that property for the jail.

6) State votes on funding voter ID equipment for all counties (yes, but won't withstand court scrutiny) and on bullshit gas tax halving (yes).

7) State of the University address at 3:30 today. Won't talk about Navy School plans because they're not ready.

8) R&B digs the 4 percent salary increase Perdue has proposed, but mentions restoring cuts to higher education and the fact that it's an election year. Yay skepticism! Whereas the ABH calls it "rewarding lackluster results in the classroom," ignoring the inclusion of state employees in the raise pool, proving it hasn't learned from the last column judging education in business terms, and pegging student achievement to teacher pay (which, huh?). It is interesting that Perdue's proposing to borrow the money needed to reduce class sizes, though. More details on that would be welcome.

9) Josh Love makes like The Strokes aren't a pop act. And doesn't like Morningwood (but is nicer than Pitchfork, which doesn't understand the difference between a chant and singing something).

10) Letters: Splitting Athens in two state senate-wise means Republican-controlled state govt loses credibility. PR for Salvation Army points out that they're operating a homeless shelter. Rural schools should consolidate.

11) Regents still working on boosting retention.

[bugmenot ABH; bugmenot AJC]

Do you want not to be surprised at all?

You could watch Lost. Or you could read this account on Stereogum of Jon Pareles's interview of Death Cab dudes.

1) Is that Pareles on the left? Dude. No wonder he likes U2.

2)

Yet Ben says that everyone needs a gateway to get into music -- if people find out about Stars or Mates of State via Death Cab or The O.C., then more power to them. If people figure out that "Ashlee Simpson really is shitty," even better.

Will we ever move past the Ashlee-mocking as a nation? It is roughly analogous to the macarena, and by this point, it should be roughly analogous to the macarena in 1998 or so, assuming late 1996 to mid-1997 as the time of most-macarena-ness. Don't be so lazy, Death Cab. Make a little effort to find someone who sucks more. Say... Jessica Simpson.

The Lostness (Farewell?)

It is astonishing how this show has gotten to the point where it can make even things that were formerly interesting not so. Namely: Mr. Eko. The smoke stuff. Michael and Walt's correspondence. The thing is, since Lost last aired, both the wonders of Gilmore Girls season 5 and Veronica Mars have been experienced, and the thing those two shows have in common and Lost lacks is speed. Start counting the seconds reaction shots take on Lost. I know it's meant to build the drama, but what it builds instead is a sense that the writers are desperately trying to stretch out what tiny amounts of plot they actually do have written. An episode in which not even the relatively undramatic promise "Sawyer gets a haircut" is fulfilled (try a trim, y'all) is, uh, not such a good episode.

Fatties 08

Compare: Keillor. Me.

Different reasons, and I'm sure not going to bring up Ariel Sharon as a positive example, but still, it's an idea whose time is coming.

Thank you, life, for deciding to be odd

I was musing, in the light of Frey and LeRoy, about which writer I would pick to be making it all up, if I could. And I thought, in light of her regular Salon pieces (this one, for example), that maybe I would like it to be Ayelet Waldman. The confessional stuff tends to creep me out in her case more than in a lot, and this without drugs and violence and people getting put in jail or being tattooed. She's kind of the more national-scale version of Athens's Deroshia.

Lo and behold. She has a piece today that's actually on LeRoy. (Note: Michael Chabon is cooler than I thought he was.)

Hobbyhorse

1) So Sonny wants to give me a raise and not raise health insurance costs this year, which is nice and all, but a) it's not going to make me vote for him, b) it's a pretty transparent ploy ("Democrats in the legislature say his earlier budget requests show he never cared much about education before and that he's only putting the money in now because he's worried about his re-election chances"), and c) so how about, uh, fully funding education in Georgia? Also:

State School Superintendent Kathy Cox said the 65 percent rule will make local leaders more open to suggestions from state officials about proven techniques for improving student performance.

"It's really not meant to be draconian," she said.

It ain't meant to be. It just is. R&B covers too, notes that these aren't a sure thing and that restoring austerity cuts hasn't been decided on yet, quotes a bunch of university people saying the world "faculty" as many times as possible. State of the State at 3 p.m. today should give more details.

2) Rundown of moneys collected so far in various races. Analysis from AthPo and a bit from JMac, but no one answers what we really want to know: Did Heidi pay her $5 too?

3) State program is designed to help parents figure out ways their kids can go to college, but capitalization is weird. Is it an acronym? Is it supposed to make me think of the thing ABC was doing online for a while?

4) 40 people have applied to head up ADDA.

5) Holy fuck. The Madison County Commission Chairman makes $68K a year?! Group in the county isn't so big on the change in governmental form that's being proposed, thinks it'll cost more money while not achieving its goals.

6) University System would like its own, bigger version of the UGA Real Estate Foundation, so that smaller schools would be able to get stuff built by issuing bonds, etc. Note:

The state rarely pays for projects needed to handle growing enrollment such as residence halls, parking facilities and student centers and pays for other capital projects on a very limited basis, Bowes said.

Gosh. That makes sense. I mean, if there's anything they should be paying for... Also, the three things discussed at yesterday's Regents meeting all passed.

7) ABH knows what it's doing in devoting more space--this time in an editorial--to PETA, and yet it can't stop.

8) Shipp suggests some career possibilities for Newt.

9) Letters: Bertis Downs thinks the newspaper is a meanie. I, too, think the editorial page has been too hard on the school system here, or at least not nuanced enough. On the other hand, it's making people write letters. And we all know Jim is willing to change his mind. SBA administrator says it was totally within the rules for businesses a thousand miles from New York to benefit from STAR loans because economic activity across the country suffered. In the fast-food restaurant field? Jim Ponsoldt writes his monthly letter, referring to this article, and saying that far from planning directors knowing what their job is, they should, in fact, go beyond what they're supposed to do. This letter says UGA is part of the problem when it comes to local poverty and isn't counting the jobs it outsources through temp agencies in its average wages figures. UGA fans urinate in public too.

10) Law School has some diversity.

11) UGA submits three possible architects for Tate 2 to Regents for approval.

12) R&B is, of course, on board with the student Regent idea, with some proposals and modifications of their own.

13) 41 will be in town in a few months.

[bugmenot ABH]