Quote of the Day

“We’ve all been raised on television to believe that one day we’d all be millionaires, and movie gods, and rock stars. But we won’t. And we’re slowly learning that fact. And we’re very, very pissed off.”

-- "Fight Club"

Quote of the Day

“We’ve all been raised on television to believe that one day we’d all be millionaires, and movie gods, and rock stars. But we won’t. And we’re slowly learning that fact. And we’re very, very pissed off.”

-- "Fight Club"

Frankenstein

It is reported that rare book collectors have uncovered Lord Byron's copy of Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein". How sweet! I wonder what took so long. Somebody finally decided to look inside that closed box of Byron's that was kept lying around but nobody could be arsed to open?

(Source: The Millions Millions)

Frankenstein

It is reported that rare book collectors have uncovered Lord Byron's copy of Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein". How sweet! I wonder what took so long. Somebody finally decided to look inside that closed box of Byron's that was kept lying around but nobody could be arsed to open?

(Source: The Millions Millions)

The Republican Blues

Paul Krugman offers a quick and dirty assesment of our political situation that is enouraging if you are Democratic and liberal. I'm just afraid that he counts too much on the rationality of people.

_ _ _

Mitt Romney is catching a lot of flack from his own side now, which seems premature; although the odds are now against him, this is by no means over. But let me say that even if he does spend election night weeping in his car elevator, his critics from the right are being unfair. Yes, he’s a pretty bad candidate — but the core problem is with his party, not with him.

[...]

First of all, that old standby, national security, isn’t working; between Bush’s Iraq debacle and the fact that Obama was the one who got Bin Laden, the notion that only the GOP will defend America is dead for the foreseeable future. And at this point social issues are cutting the wrong way: there are almost surely more affluent women who will vote against the party of Todd Akin than there are white working-class voters who will punish the Dems for gay marriage.

And underlying it all is the diminishing whiteness of the American electorate.

This still might be a close election thanks to the weakness of the economy, and a better candidate than Romney might have had a better chance of pulling it off. But the long-term fundamentals are not good for Republicans.

-- Paul Krugman at The New York Times

The Republican Blues

Paul Krugman offers a quick and dirty assesment of our political situation that is enouraging if you are Democratic and liberal. I'm just afraid that he counts too much on the rationality of people.

_ _ _

Mitt Romney is catching a lot of flack from his own side now, which seems premature; although the odds are now against him, this is by no means over. But let me say that even if he does spend election night weeping in his car elevator, his critics from the right are being unfair. Yes, he’s a pretty bad candidate — but the core problem is with his party, not with him.

[...]

First of all, that old standby, national security, isn’t working; between Bush’s Iraq debacle and the fact that Obama was the one who got Bin Laden, the notion that only the GOP will defend America is dead for the foreseeable future. And at this point social issues are cutting the wrong way: there are almost surely more affluent women who will vote against the party of Todd Akin than there are white working-class voters who will punish the Dems for gay marriage.

And underlying it all is the diminishing whiteness of the American electorate.

This still might be a close election thanks to the weakness of the economy, and a better candidate than Romney might have had a better chance of pulling it off. But the long-term fundamentals are not good for Republicans.

-- Paul Krugman at The New York Times

Sexy Little Geisha

Victoria's Secret comes out with a "Sexy Little Geisha" outfit.



And, oooh, the controversy:

The negative reactions began several weeks ago. On Racialicious, Nina Jacinto took Victoria's Secret to task for essentializing Asian identity and reducing "Eastern" culture to a stereotype of exotic sexuality. "It’s a narrative that says the culture can be completely stripped of its realness in order to fulfill our fantasies of a safe and non-threatening, mysterious East," she argues. Done at the corporate level, "it’s a troubling attempt to sidestep authentic representation and humanization of a culture and opt instead for racialized fetishizing against Asian women."

Cripes, we are not grade-school children! Can't we have a little fun sometimes? How can people have such a rarefied attitude and remain tolerant of the extreme economic inequality that people really have to live under?

(Source: ONTD)

Sexy Little Geisha

Victoria's Secret comes out with a "Sexy Little Geisha" outfit.



And, oooh, the controversy:

The negative reactions began several weeks ago. On Racialicious, Nina Jacinto took Victoria's Secret to task for essentializing Asian identity and reducing "Eastern" culture to a stereotype of exotic sexuality. "It’s a narrative that says the culture can be completely stripped of its realness in order to fulfill our fantasies of a safe and non-threatening, mysterious East," she argues. Done at the corporate level, "it’s a troubling attempt to sidestep authentic representation and humanization of a culture and opt instead for racialized fetishizing against Asian women."

Cripes, we are not grade-school children! Can't we have a little fun sometimes? How can people have such a rarefied attitude and remain tolerant of the extreme economic inequality that people really have to live under?

(Source: ONTD)

Ahmadinejad Loves Israel

Defying a warning by the United Nations secretary general against inflammatory remarks, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran said Monday that Israelis had no historical roots in the Middle East and that the existence of Israel was just a passing phase in the region’s long history.

-- The New York Times

Well, it's good to see we are making progress on that front.

Ahmadinejad Loves Israel

Defying a warning by the United Nations secretary general against inflammatory remarks, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran said Monday that Israelis had no historical roots in the Middle East and that the existence of Israel was just a passing phase in the region’s long history.

-- The New York Times

Well, it's good to see we are making progress on that front.

The American Dream

WASHINGTON -- It's time to retire the American Dream -- or at least give it a long vacation. We ought to drop it from our national conversation

-- Robert Samuelson at The Washington Post

Bah, at the very least the phrase is rich in ironical value. You cannot drop a pervasive, long-used meme just like that. It's in our DNA now.

The American Dream

WASHINGTON -- It's time to retire the American Dream -- or at least give it a long vacation. We ought to drop it from our national conversation

-- Robert Samuelson at The Washington Post

Bah, at the very least the phrase is rich in ironical value. You cannot drop a pervasive, long-used meme just like that. It's in our DNA now.

Daily Fun

A kiss on a bridge over the Seine, Paris

( Read more... )

Daily Fun

A kiss on a bridge over the Seine, Paris

( Read more... )