Episode 23 of The Delivery has now filled the intertubes and only your vigilant and enthusiastic listening, downloading, or subscribing (with helpful comments and ratings, please) can relieve the pressure of the built-up awesomeness doing so has caused and prevent a potential catastrophe. I am told the intertubes can only hold so much pure and undiluted awesomeness before they burst with such a cataclysmic fury that the only way to retell the tale will be in the form of an epic poem sung by a supremely-skilled balladeer. Your patronage may avert the possible breaking of the world, or, you know, not.
Just don’t come crying to me when the whole thing blows up. I did try to warn you.
You’ve probably noticed that the graphic for this week’s program is more heroic than usual. SuperMegaProducer Mike seized on the very last topic of the show, a story that I only skimmed when I first came across it but which stuck with me like a burr on a cardigan sweater. I freely admit that I’m not a particular fan of comic books (though I did like the Scissormen storyline from The Doom Patrol
Also, I make my fearless Super Bowl pick. It’s fearless because I don’t have any money on the game, so let that be your guide as to how much you should trust it. Still, it’s as good a piece of football analysis as you’ll get from most of the bobbleheads hosting shows on ESPN Radio.
Tags: Podcasts, The Delivery
I have a post up at NewsReal Blog this morning on the odd “Green Police” commercial that aired during the Super Bowl and Audi’s dishonest explanation of what the commercial was really all about. Here’s an excerpt:
Wow, it didn’t take long for our non-judgmental Green Police guide to slam a guy’s head onto a checkout counter and frog-march…err, “guide”…him out of a grocery store, did it? Then there was the “humorous” warrantless search of every garbage can in the neighborhood leading to a bum rush of a private residence where the “caricatures” will no doubt “help” the resident right into a court date. And how about that guy carefully “guided” into a police car after being “arrested”? I bet he didn’t feel judged at all, especially by the big spotlight from the helicopter and the news vans parked in front of his house. And how about the guy dragged out of the pool who is almost cuffed before he takes off, with the Green Guides in hot pursuit? It sure seemed he had all kinds of Green Shirt…oops “Police”…help, didn’t he?
I’ve seen guiding and, friends, that’s not it.
It’s worth remembering that, though Audi is trying to play the commercial off as a joke, this stuff is really happening. Dave from Point of a Gun notes that you actually will draw a fine in San Francisco for not sorting your trash. The Green Troopers say the fine is to raise “awareness” but the part about raising urgency rings far more true. After all, you can’t let a manufactured crisis go to waste, right?
Please stop by there and read the whole thing. Remember, I’m still auditioning!
Photo by Advantage Lendl on Flickr
Issued by The National Weather Service
Baltimore/Washington, MD
9:22 pm EST, Mon., Feb. 8, 2010… WINTER STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM NOON TUESDAY TO 7 PM EST WEDNESDAY…
A WINTER STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM NOON TUESDAY TO 7 PM EST WEDNESDAY.
* PRECIPITATION TYPE… SNOW.
* ACCUMULATIONS… 7 TO 14 INCHES.
* TIMING… MID-AFTERNOON TUESDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY. MODERATE SNOW RATES WILL OCCUR TUESDAY NIGHT… AND HEAVY SNOW IS EXPECTED ON WEDNESDAY MORNING.
* TEMPERATURES… TEMPERATURES AT OR JUST ABOVE FREEZING AT THE ONSET TUESDAY AFTERNOON. TEMPERATURES WILL DROP INTO THE UPPER 20S AND LOWER 30S TUESDAY NIGHT AND WEDNESDAY.
* WINDS… LIGHT SOUTHEASTERLY WINDS TUESDAY BECOMING NORTH- NORTHWESTERLY 15 TO 25 MPH WEDNESDAY.
Clearly, we have ticked Gaia off, perhaps by presuming that we know her after only studying her climatological caprices in earnest for a minuscule amount of the time we’ve existed. Gaining her good graces may require some sort of sacrifice. Has anyone seen Al Gore lately?
We are, by the way, within a snowball chunk’s distance of breaking the all-time record for snowfall in the Washington, DC area. If that doesn’t quite give you the sense of how unusual this winter has been, consider that the amount of snowfall thus far has been greater than the total accumulations of the last three winters combined by almost ten inches. We have had three snowfalls of more than 10 inches around my way, which is more than I can remember (I don’t even remember that many in the ‘95-’96 year, though I remember two big storms back-to-back).
Also, If you are a weather geek you’ll probably enjoy this incredibly detailed explanation of this past weekend’s Snowpocalypse II.
Tags: Washington DC, Weather
Two things came to mind when I saw this picture:
1) I want one so very, very badly. A smaller desktop model will do, thanks.
2) The captioning potential is almost limitless.
On that second point, how about a caption contest? I’ll prime the pump.
…and the last thing Santa heard as he cam down the chimney was “EXTERMINATE! EXTERMINATE!”
…finally, the Daleks devised a way to hide amongst the humans until they were ready to launch their master plan!
…Joe the Dalek hated being the new guy at the Company Christmas Party.
Drop yours into the comments. Let’s have some fun!
Tags: Random Geekery, sci, Television
Okay, now I’m jealous. My friend Melissa Clouthier, whose podcast is already a must-listen, is starting a second podcast with Andrew Malcolm. Malcolm is one of those rare ink and paper journalists who has jumped into the new media world with both feet. His witty “Top of the Ticket” blog has been a favorite of mine for some time now. Melissa and Andrew worked together well in this episode of “The Right Doctor” in which he guested on the show. I feel pretty confident that their show is going to be good.
The inaugural episode of “Melissa & Malcolm” is here. It’ll be on iTunes shortly. I recommend you grab it when it gets there.
Tags: Podcasts
Stacy McCain says that Max Blumenthal is a purveyor of “Agitprop for A**holes”. I think Stacy’s pulling his punches. Blumenthal is one of the nastiest little guttersnipes on the left and his latest attack on James O’Keefe only proves that he’s capable of finding new lows on deadline.
What Blumenthal did was darned-near close to libel and he should consider himself incredibly fortunate if James O’Keefe isn’t tapping into some of Andrew Breitbart’s legal connections right now to look into whether Blumenthal might have gone over the sloppy edge.
He operates safe in the knowledge that he’s too minor a character for the people he hectors to take seriously, as Matthew Vadum’s devastating profile amply illustrates. But he’s bitten off way more than he can handle with Andrew Breitbart, who has more than enough time and tenacity to make the little guttersnipe regret waking up the day he filed his story.
If Max is smart, he’ll make amends and take Glenn Reynolds’ advice to heart.
Tags: Andrew Breitbart, Progressives
I just saw on Hot Air that Congressman John Murtha, of Pennsylvania, has died. I knew he recently had surgery and had more recently been admitted to the I.C.U for a serious condition, but I assumed that no news was good news. That was a mistake.
Like Ed Morrissey and Sister Toldjah, I’d rather highlight the choice parts of Murtha’s life today instead of dwelling on his multitudinous sins. From the Washington Post obituary:
He entered the Marine Corps in 1952, during the Korean War period, and served until 1955. He returned to Johnstown to run the family car wash and finish his undergraduate degree from the University of Pittsburgh in 1962, and he joined the Marine Corps Reserve. During the Vietnam conflict, he volunteered for combat and served near Da Nang in 1966 and 1967.
In 1955, he married Joyce Bell. She survives, along with their daughter, Donna Murtha ; twin sons, Pat Murtha and John M. Murtha ; and three grandchildren.
…Murtha, whose military decorations included the Bronze Star and two awards of the Purple Heart, was one of the first Vietnam veterans to sit in the House.
My condolences to his wife and family. I am truly sorry for their loss.
UPDATE: More, both hagiographic and realistic, from Michelle Malkin, Ed Driscoll, and the torrent from memeorandum
Tags: Jack Murtha
Oh where, oh here has that Stacy Mac gone?
Oh where, oh where can he be?
With his shoes so worn and his Kia so strong,
Oh where, oh where, can he be?
The last we saw the intrepid and extraordinary blogger Stacy McCain, he was reporting hard from the campaign trail in Alabama. Here he is at a parade in MIllbrook, schmoozing with one of the candidates and his lovely daughter and here, introducing Ali Akbar to some of the local lovelies in Montgomery.
He’s also been running down some of the infighting inside the state Republican party centered around controversial Attorney General Troy King. This is the sort of hard, on-the-ground reporting that you don’t see very much lately, even from local newspapers. It is, I think, the future of blogging, assuming that there’s a demand for it that brings remuneration. Stacy has a tip jar which desperately needs to be hit often, so if you like the work he’s doing, do not stay your hand. If he can’t bring home the bacon after being in relatively warm Alabama while his wife has had to endure the Snowpocalypse, this piece by Bob Belvedere may not be such a comedic piece of fiction.
Tags: 2010 Election, Journalism, Stacy McCain
Here you go, faithful readers. Here is the ad that your government paid $2.5 million to air during the Super Bowl. That figure, of course, doesn’t include the tens of dollars paid for the D-List actors or the failed comedians who came up with the theme.
Almost immediately after it aired, the Census Bureau took to Twitter to explain why they didn’t just throw your money down a toilet and flush lustily. You see, if even one percent of Americans saw that godawful ad and, for some reason it persuaded them to send in their census form, we save $25 million dollars!
Of course, if 1% saw that ad and decide not to send in their census form in protest of the almost insulting awfulness of the ad, we’ll spend $25 million more. Which do you think is more likely to happen?
That $2.5 million is only the tip of the $340 million iceberg of taxpayer cash the Census Bureau will be spending to hype this year’s enumeration. Thanks to Amanda Carpenter, we know the Bureau has sent agents to throw parties, go tailgating, and hang out tchotchkes emblazoned with the Census logo in the hopes that more people will answer up. However, the article notes that when the government spent 360 percent more to market the Census in 2000, the response rate actually dropped. This year’s marketing budget is double what we spent in 2000, which only goes to prove that the Federal Government sucks at marketing. And economics.
Michelle Malkin has done yeoman’s work documenting the rampant waste of this census’ marketing effort. Her column is definitely worth your time. You’ll get more information about the census and how our government is burning through your money than you will from Washington’s ridiculous commercial.
Tags: 2010 Census, Big Government
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