The International House of Bacon

…but no, I’m not going to waste time on a holiday weekend or at 1:00 in the morning on a Friday night/Saturday morning piecing them together.

Books:

Y: The Last Man: Ring of Truth/Girl on Girl/Paper Dolls/Kimono Dragons/Motherland/Whys and Wherefores - Brian K.Vaughan: Finally finished this series off this month, and I have to say - awesome, awesome series. The ending didn’t really throw me off or leave me disappointed as much as left me wanting a few more answers than I got, but maybe that’s just me. Either way, I’m very glad I was able to track all of these down and get through them. Now to pick a new graphic novel series…

Living on the Black - John Feinstein: A parallel story about the 2007 seasons of Yankee pitcher Mike Mussina and Met pitcher Tom Glavine. A really interesting insider perspective of the two players - a little longer than I needed, but still a pretty decent read all things considered. If you like baseball, you’ll like this, I think.

Street Gang - Michael Davis: The history of Sesame Street! I couldn’t resist when I saw this on the shelf at the library, and I had almost purchased it for myself when I was at YBP, and it was a fun read. It spends a looooong time on the histories of the individuals before getting to the show itself, but it was very fascinating to read how the show was created and, really, how it was total lightning in a bottle in regards to its formation.

Little Pink House - Jeff Benedict: The story of what would become Kelo v. New London. Got me angry all over again, enough to sign up for two or three other organizations by the time I finished it up.

Quiverfull: Inside the Christian Patriarchy Movement - Kathryn Joyce: I’ve read a fair share of books on religion recently, and this is the only one that annoyed me. It was interesting enough, but the problem with this - and many religion books - is how it treats the subjects of the book as strange or different. Joyce is a feminist writer, so her complete disdain for women who don’t meet her standard of feminist thought comes across loud and clear in this book. Compared to, say, the decidedly left wing tilt of Rapture Ready that still looked upon the people he spoke with in respectful, questioning tones, this book was in a whole different realm. Say what you will about the so-called patriarchy movement or whatever, but I would really like to read a book about it from the outside that doesn’t see the whole thing as freaky, to be honest.

Good Book - David Plotz: Think of it as an annotated Old Testament by someone who had previously never paid much attention to the Bible. It had its moments, but it was otherwise somewhat lacking.

Warbreaker - Brandon Sanderson: Keeping in mind that this was the first fiction book I had read in nearly two months, this was great. Absolutely Sanderson’s weakest effort, which is better than 90% of anything I’m likely to read period this year, but this was an engaging and fun read. I believe this was his first novel he actually finished, and if so, it does kind of show, but I feel like I’m unnecessarily damning this book, because I really did like it.

The Yankee Years - Joe Torre/Tom Verducci: Let’s be clear - this book was not actually by Joe Torre, it was more a Verducci book with direct quotes from Torre, like a long-form interview. With that said, it was schadenfrudelicious seeing the Yankee dysfunction in print, let me tell you.

The Rocket That Fell to Earth: Roger Clemens and the Rage for Baseball Immortality - Jeff Pearlman: Did I mention schadenfrudelicious? It’s definitely a negative borderline hit piece on Clemens, but still a fun read for what it was.

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies - Jane Austen and Seth Graehme-Smith : So. On one hand, this book is executed perfectly - It’s Pride and Prejudice with zombies, and thus it is awesome. However, as awesome as it tended to be, it did get old quickly. With that said, while I appreciate Jane Austen, I’m not a big fanboy about her, either, so that may have to do more with the tiredness I got from the book. But that’s that - still a fun experience to be had.

It Was Never About the Babe - Jerry Gutlon: A somewhat factually challenged but still competent history on Red Sox mismanagement over the years. Not a lot of new stuff here for diehards, but still a good read.

Movies:

Doubt: I feel this way about a lot of movies like this - great cast, excellent acting…meh story. I don’t know if it simply works better as a stage play or what, but the only thing that kept me engaged were the 4 main characters. Kind of disappointing.

Fanboys: A movie that was ultimately better than it should have been, but worse than it had potential to be. Ann hated it, but maybe I’m more of a nerd or whatever, because I thought the story of a bunch of folks trying to break in and see Episode I was charming in whatever way. Plus, Shatner!

THX 1138: Sci-Fi art film FTW! I don’t even really know what to make of this. It was good, I guess? I don’t know. Seriously.

Bolt: Cute Disney movie about a dog who plays a superhero on TV but doesn’t know it’s fake. Then he gets lost, and yeah. I really enjoyed it - it was exactly the movie I wanted to see at that point, and it was typical Disney fare in a lot of ways, but still very cute.

The Hangover: Funniest movie I’ve seen since Role Models, and definitely worth seeing if you’re on the fence. The best part, of course, was Zach Galifiniakis, though. Absolutely amazing.

Away We Go: The reason I think I loved Garden State so much while other people - typically older than me - did not is because it really spoke to a certain time of my life and a certain attitude of my existence that I was experiencing. I haven’t watched Garden State in about 3 years at least, but I suspect it has held up for me for those reasons at the very least. Away we Go takes the best parts of Little Miss Sunshine (it’s a Quirky! Indie! Dramedy!) while having the “this time of your life” gut punch effect that Garden State had. I fear that this movie is going to have the type of backlash a lot of these types of Quirky! Indie! Dramedy! movies have, but it really doesn’t deserve it, because while Little Miss Sunshine’s characters were almost caricature-like, and while Garden State was very specifically about certain experiences, I thought that Burt and Verona (a beautiful name that I’d never think of on my own, and now can never use) were a very real and very authentically written couple - my favorite parts were the diversions into their own world with their own discussions and inside…everything that showed how they worked as a couple - something you’re always forced to assume in most films.

I honestly can’t rave about this movie enough. I could go on and on about the emotions it drove up in me, how it both made me optimistic and angry about my (and Ann & I’s) current situation, how it’s still affecting me more than 24 hours later. Any film, album, any piece of art that can create this sort of reaction has some value, I suppose. Make plans to see it this weekend, really.

This has been stewing in my head for a few days now, and I just need to kind of regurgitate it, especially after point #2. But anyway…

1) So yeah - Iran’s a mess. I found out about exactly how nutty things were when I got home late-ish Saturday night, and really couldn’t get to sleep. I sat there refreshing Twitter and just watching the horrible news coming in and wondering why I couldn’t even get a BBC feed on the TV of what was going on. Meanwhile, the tweets are coming in how the Iranian Twitterers went silent all at once, that communications were being shut down…I dunno.

2) Ann asked me last night why this stuck with me while I can’t get as geared up for, say, whatever genocide may be occurring anywhere else or every other fixed election this world ends up with every other week. It’s one of the few times she’s asked me a question that the answer I was forced to give made me uncomfortable - it’s because it was right in front of me. And I’m somewhat ashamed that I really have such an out-of-sight-out-of-mind mentality when it comes to world events, and I understand that, truly, we all do, but that doesn’t necessarily make it right. At the same time, there’s no way I could possibly keep abreast of every injustice in the world and a) accomplish anything else or b) retain my sanity, so I, along with everyone else, compartmentalize. It’s tough. I know part of it is because Iran is so in the collective American face with the War on Terror and the focus involving Iraq and such, but still…

3) It’s just kind of strange seeing this continue to roll out, and continuing to gauge my own reaction. I’m mentally exhausted from this specific issue, but I know that even a hair of public support might make a difference in this situation. I’m sick of the partisan excuses or comparisons people are making, but got really angry at President Obama’s statement tonight and couldn’t figure out if I was upset with his statement or upset because it’s Barack Obama and not someone else who made a statement on it I can’t get behind as an American. I’m sick of the not knowing - on one hand, we didn’t know who the next President was for a month in 2000, but I also wasn’t worried that protesters in Florida were going to be shot at by the government, either, so it’s different. And, frankly? As unlikely as I believe it to be, I don’t want to be a witness to a Tienanmen Square-style massacre. I could go through life without that.

4) The worst part, though, I think, is helplessness. I didn’t agree with how our own election turned out, so I joined up with groups to work toward changing it. During natural disasters, I can at least donate money. I volunteer locally when I can. But this? All I can do is sit and watch. And wait. And hope that this doesn’t end up having negative geopolitical repercussions.

1) MGMT - “Kids”:

Note: This is not how you make sure your children aren’t scarred for life.

2) Linni Meister - “My Ass”:

It’s not the autotune, or the completely ridiculous bubblegum pop, or the MySpace Glitter Graphics-style text, but the completely inexplicable pimping of the Nazi-zombies-in-the-snow movie Dead Snow that makes this worth noting.

What is going on in the world? Yikes.

Books:

The Margarets - Sheri Tepper: This is a sci-fi story with some pretty crazy mythology involving splitting personalities and whatever else. It took me forever to get into, but I’m glad I stuck with it, because it became a really interesting, albeit occasionally confusing, story. Definitely recommended for those who enjoy unconventional sci-fi/fantasy.

Star Trek: Countdown: I’m just glad I read this comic prequel before seeing the movie, because it made the movie that much better. I suppose most people who want to see the move have done so, but you should consider the comic first if you haven’t.

Ex Machina: Power Down/Ex Cathedra - Brian K. Vaughan: Glad to be able to finally catch up with this one. Forgot how much I liked this comic, as different as it continues to be.

Y: The Last Man: Unmanned/Cycles/One Small Step/Safeword/Ring of Truth/Girl on Girl - Brian K. Vaughan: Four words: Damn, this is good.

The Forest of Hands and Teeth - Carrie Ryan: I know a few people who didn’t seem to be jazzed by this, but this might be the best YA book I’ve read since The Hunger Games. This is a book that I likely would have pushed on every kid who walked through the door were I still at the library - it’s got zombies for the boys and romance for the ladies, and doesn’t fall terribly heavy into either side. I loved it, truly.

Rapture Ready: Adventures in the Parallel Universe of Christian Pop Culture - Daniel Radosh: I think that this book should be required reading for anyone who cares about the political conversation this country is (or, perhaps more accurately, isn’t) having. I try to keep up with religious trends and stuff because I’m genuinely fascinated by the culture within the culture, and a book about evangelical pop culture - and one that takes it seriously 98% of the time at that - was appealing. And the book does well - it presents the different stories without an agenda, and really does a good job letting the subjects speak for themselves and, more importantly, translating them for the rest of us. And the latter is the most important part of the story, really - that there are a lot of people ready to demonize evangelical types and make them out to be something they’re not, when, in fact, most of us who are not paying attention to the groups aren’t even speaking their language, or understanding what they’re actually saying. It’s a massive, massive cultural disconnect that nearly everyone in the “mainstream” (for lack of a better term) is missing. Really, if you care about this sort of issue at all, even a little, track this book down. I can’t praise it enough in terms of how important I really think it is.

The Unlikely Disciple: A Sinner’s Semester at America’s Holiest University - Kevin Roose: I was (and I’m still) on a religious book kick, so I picked this one up, too. Again, I love immersive-journalism-style writing, and this college student chronicled a semester where he transferred from Brown to Liberty University. A decent read following Rapture Ready, it does a great job kind of putting Liberty out there, warts and all. But even more interesting is how the student himself ended up with it in his own experience.

Blacklisting Myself - Roger Simon: Roger Simon is a writer? After reading this, I couldn’t actually be sure. What a waste.

Scott Pilgrim v. the Universe - Bryan Lee O’Malley: I like this series, but it’s starting to get kind of old and samey for me. I’m not sure how I feel about that, but I am excited about the movie.

In Our Hands: A Plan to Replace the Welfare State - Charles Murray: Recommended by Level Head, it’s a thought process on how to replace the unsustainable welfare policies in place. Honestly? I don’t think it made a great case, and I’m not sure it could work.

Gasping for Airtime - Jay Mohr: Mohr on his time at SNL. Interesting enough, but nothing much to say about it past that.

Elsewhere, USA - Dalton Conley: A sociological view on how the family and work dynamic has changed with the advent of technology and work and such. I’m still not sure if I liked it - some conclusions sat well with me, some did not.

Movies:

Star Trek: Discussed here. I’ve seen it twice. I still heart it very much.

Quantum of Solace: I still think Daniel Craig is the best Bond we’ve had, and I think Quantum is a great movie. With that said, it’s less about Bond and more about…stuff, and the Bond aspects seem to have taken a backseat. It’s still a Bond plot, and it being a direct sequel to Casino Royale means it starts with something pre-established, but yeah. I loved it, but not as much as I loved Casino Royale.

Starship Troopers: God, this is so campy and good. I forgot how much I liked this movie.

…and I think the world is worse off without him.

My memory of Jay Bennett as a musician and as a human being all fall on the same evening, one that I remember rather vividly and apparently didn’t find all that interesting at the time. It was the night after one of those classic New England snowstorms that dumps a foot and a half of snow and then expects you to do what you gotta do in its wake. I trekked out to Cambridge much earlier than normal because I expected traffic and parking issues where there were none. So I sat at the bar, watching that ridiculous Michael Jackson interview, and Jay and Ed Burch, who he was touring/collaborating with at the time, came over and sat with me and a couple other guys at the bar just chatting it up and mocking the program. Totally didn’t have to - the guy was in Wilco, for god’s sake - but he did. And he was a really cool guy about it, at a time where I was not exactly the most articulate, non-star-struck type.

And the music! The Palace at 4am (Part 1) would likely end up on a top 25 list for me in all-time albums: “Venus Stopped the Train” and “Puzzle Heart” still tumble through my head once every couple weeks, and there’s not a single song on the album I would replace. I’m fully of the opinion that Wilco has not been nearly as good as they were since he was no longer part of it, and while his post Palace efforts, to me, were somewhat lacking, it could be chalked up to whatever problems he was running into (I fear drugs), and some reviews I recall reading about his live shows a few years back also tended to suggest that.

Absolutely horrible, and completely depressing. I don’t even know what to say.

You must be my new most anticipated television show of 2009! Good to meet you.

Holy crap this looks good.

* My wife hated Star Trek: The Motion Picture.

* My wife fell asleep during the pivotal scene in The Wrath of Khan.

* My wife has no interest in The Next Generation, even though Ron Moore (Battlestar Galactica) was involved.

* My wife was a Star Wars kid growing up (I a Trek kid).

Regardless, we went to Star Trek tonight because, well, I’m a nerd and she’s a nerd and she likes Zachary Quinto and I like spaceships. She has no love for the series, no childhood memories of dirty things with Deanna Troi crazy adventures with Q (that’s better). Her with possibly low expectations, my not wanting the movie to destroy everything I love about the series.

She says she’d give it 5 stars. I’d say it may be one of my favorite pure science fiction films, if not the favorite at this point, and this coming from someone who’s seen Serenity about 8 times at this point.

Seriously? Nearly pitch perfect from start to finish. Without spoiling major things, the casting, minus some quibbles, was great. The plot was executed very well, the special effects were flawless. I mean…wow. Just incredible.

Go see it. I want to see it again, like, right now.

Books:

Dirty Little Secrets of the Record Industry - Hank Bordowitz: It’s incredible that a 2.5 year old book can sound so horribly outdated, but this book on the reason the record industry is in shambles right now is still an interesting read to say the least.

The Knife of Never Letting Go - Patrick Ness: A YA sci-fi/fantasy mix that was a major surprise for me. I had written the name down before I left the library and forgot about it until recently. For whatever reason, I put off reading it for about a month and was kicking myself by the end. A village populated only but men who can hear each other’s thoughts is the original setting, and it follows a boy who is set to become a man in the town until something disrupts what’s known in town. Really thrilling, very interestingly written.

The Elfish Gene - Mark Barrowcliffe: A British man’s childhood with Dungeons and Dragons. It had its moments, but I think my expectations for this book failed to match the reality.

Ant Farm - Simon Rich: Essentially a book of short comedic stories. Some of them were brutally funny. Not much else to say, but I do recommend it as a quick read.

Raising Freethinkers: A Practical Guide to Parenting Without Belief: The parenting guide companion to Parenting Without Belief, a guide for atheists/freethinkers and raising kids. It was a really good read if only to see a lot of the ideas and principles in action. Sadly, it did not help quell my wife’s baby craziness.

The Lost City of Z - David Grann: I love books like this. A reporter decides to try and find out what happened to British explorer Percy Fawcett, who was trying to find the advanced city of Z in the Amazon rainforest. A really well-done nonfiction book, switching easily between the modern trip and Fawcett’s own notes and story. Loved this.

Alcatraz vs. The Scrivner’s Bones - Brandon Sanderson: I’m still not convinced that I like Sanderson’s kids offerings, but his adult fantasy is so rock-solid that you end up loving it anyway.

Superpowers - David J. Schwartz: If Heroes was done with college students and a coherent plot, it’d be Superheroes. Good, not great.

Preacher: Gone to Texas - Garth Ennis: A few people have been pushing Preacher for a while. I’m hooked, this is very very good. I’m starting the next one today.

Saga - Conor Kostick: Epic was a very cool story, sort of an MMO-meets-coming-of-age tale. Saga tried a bit too hard. It wasn’t a bad read, but the potential that the first book came up with was completely lost on me with this one.

Movies:

28 Weeks Later: Not as good as the original, which I felt was more subtle, but there’s something about this series that does it for me in ways other horror/action flicks don’t.

Dark City: Upon hearing Chelsea’s angry rant on Dark City and remembering that I liked it when I saw it the first time, I gave this a second try recently. The verdict? Not as good as I remember, not as bad as I think a lot of people feel it is. I think the age of the movie at this point, given that movies like The Matrix exist, hurt it a bit, because it feels very derivative. But I could go on and on and won’t - I didn’t mind seeing it again, myself.

Because I don’t have a lot to say, but I have bought a lot of music recently.

* Keren Ann: A name I heard a lot, I was able to get Nolita and her self-titled albums both. While they’re nothing amazingly special, they fit a great mood that I didn’t expect. Very different than what I expected, and quite good.

* The Pains of Being Pure at Heart: Strange noisy 90s-ish indie rock. That’s the best way I cam describe them, but it’s still a good listen.

* The Decemberists - The Hazards of Love: How long has this album been out now? I still don’t know how I feel about it. It starts strong, “The Rake’s Song” is a classic, but it feels very draggy from time to time, and the prog rock elements are often a bit much. So yeah. It’s still better than Her Majesty, though.

* Bat for Lashes: I hated (and still strongly dislike) “Horse and I,” which got significant Sirius airplay last year. But Amazon mp3 had the debut album on sale a while back, and I figured it was worth a lark for the price - wow! Great album, and the newer album, Two Suns, is even better. Sort of a Bjork meets PJ Harvey meets Portishead sort of vibe, I love it.

* Dr. Dog - Fate: I don’t get it. Sorry.

* Pet Shop Boys - Yes: Proving that the Pet Shop Boys formula clearly still works, you just might not care.

* Tinted Windows - Tinted Windows: The good news is that it’s fun power pop as advertised. The bad news is that I can’t think of a single memorable standout song from the album. That’s not a bad thing, but not great news, either. Still, hearing and enjoying anything Taylor Hansen is associated with…

* The Hold Steady - A Positive Rage: The only positive I got from it was selling it for a buck more than I paid. I forgot how I didn’t care much for their live show, and this reminded me right quick.

* Silversun Pickups - Swoon: Another album that’s solid from start to finish, but with nothing standing out. They’re a great band, don’t get me wrong, but I can think of a ton of second albums that sound very similar from start to finish and ultimately become forgettable.

* Camera Obscura - My Maudlin Career: Talk about a band that has found its sound and does it arguably better than most other bands with such a unique presentation. I really love this album a whole lot more than I expected.

* Blitzen Trapper - Furr: I bought this because “Black River Killer” is one of my favorite songs of the last 12 month. No other song sounds like it on the album, and no song on the album sounds like another song on the album. How Blitzen Trapper can switch genres so smoothly and make it work, I’ll never figure out.

* Art Brut - Art Brut vs. Satan: The jury is still out on this, too. I feel like a lot of the fun of the first two albums is missing, or that I’m missing the joke.

* PJ Harvey and John Parish - A Woman A Man Walked By: I didn’t like White Chalk at all, but my enjoyment of PJ Harvey is based more on how I think she sounds in my head, not so much what she actually sounds like, if that makes sense. This album is what I think she sounds like in my head, so I love it, crappy reviews be damned.

* RemoteTreeChildren - Veteran of the Loudness Wars: A digital-only album by Glen Phillips and, I think, other folks. Sort of a weird faux-electronic thing with a bit more attitude than anything else he’s done. It works, but I kind of wish I knew it without the Phillips connotation - again, sounds in my head. It’s very enjoyable, but very different.

Still on minor hiatus for the moment while I get other ducks in a row, but I can’t let this go by unnoticed. Apparently, the Congress wants to extend Community Reinvestment Act terms to all financial institutions.

Let’s break this down for a quick second: while I acknowledge that there is debate as to how much responsibility the CRA has in regards to the current economic climate, as a matter of basic economic intelligence it does not seem at all useful to be forcing institutions to extend credit to the uncreditworthy when foreclosures are at ridiculous highs and bringing the financial market to its knees. It defies all logic. Credit is allegedly frozen up to those who are worthy, but we’ll make it national policy to, uh, unfreeze it for those who aren’t?

As a second point, the concept that this was a punitive measure of sorts to combat perceived redlining in the 1970s is one that should not go unnoticed either. Do all financial institutions need to suffer in 2009 because of the mistakes made by some lenders 30+ years earlier? Is there really a need for this at all - is there some sort of clamoring regarding low-income folks not getting mortgages right now that should be?

Dear Democratic Congress (and Democratic President) - keep your eyes on the ball, please. If you want to fix things, then fix them.

One: enraging:

Okay, no criticism of a guy clearly not able to articulate in front of a camera. I feel badly that he was somewhat put on the spot. But seriously, what is going on with this “reporter?” And yes, scare quotes are necessary. There’s a reason I don’t watch television news, and it’s rank nonsense like this. Absolutely pathetic. There’s a massive blogswarm about on this, and with good reason. Absolutely shameful performance here. “Not family viewing?” For shame.

EDIT: Via National Review and through NewsBusters, she didn’t seem so stunned about the “Bush look-alike.” How can one not be appalled by this?

Two: amusing:

Way to keep up with the pulse of the nation there, Mr. President. Every time I think I can’t be surprised by him anymore…

Three: amazing:

Show me a better cover version of this song. I dare you. TRUEFAX: I was hoping that the band I may be starting up would employ this as a cover, but now I know we could never reach these heights.

Okay, a bunch to get to. We’ll see how this goes.

* Stimulus? Who needs it? Not these Hawaiians, that’s for sure. RELATED: Willisms gives us an example of the negative impact of the stimulus in Texas.

* Cato utlines how poorly Obama has lived up to his transparency promise thus far. This, again, should not be surprising to anyone.

* Post the good news in Iowa regarding gay marriage, Eugene Volokh notes the legal slippery slope that is being created.

* Patterico reminds us about regulatory history.

* Why won’t the Obama administration accept early repayment of TARP money? Maybe it’s because of control?

* Another good piece from Huffington Post, this time from Ian Welsh. Read it all, but note: “I thought it wasn’t the executive’s job to decide that Congress is wrong and then deliberately end-run it. I thought we had an election to stop this sort of thing. This is one of the things we spent the last 8 years blasting Bush for doing. But in this particular case, the new administration is being less compliant with Congress’s will than the Bush administration was!”

* How President Obama’s climate plan will hurt us. RELATED: Newt Gingrich shares how difficult it is to offer public comment on drilling issues in this “transparent” administration.

* More dispatches from Obama’s trade war. This administration is so ignorant of history it’s pathetic.

* Can someone please explain how the stimulus website needed to cost $84m?

* A German family seeks asylum in the United States so they can homeschool their kids.

* A profile of South Africa’s next President. An, uh, interesting character to say the least.

* Reason on New York’s factless war on salt. When will food fascists learn?

* Detroit has more registered voters than eligible citizens.

* National Review profiles Jake Tapper.

* A great takedown of Naomi Klein’s Shock Doctrine.

* A fun story about Massachusetts left wing grassroots fraud.

* Cracked lists 5 popular safety laws that don’t work.

* A possibly scary future: Time Warner is testing bandwidth caps. Blah. RELATED: The Pirate Bay launching a crazy proxy service.

* New information on the Knights Templar and the Shroud of Turin. Ultra-fascinating.

* Facebook helps a woman find the drunk who stole her laptop.

* In a slow news week, Fox News profiles 4chan.

* A week late, here’s Toronto’s best April Fool’s joke.

My schedule is all screwy this week, and my birthday this week isn’t going to make it easier. I’ll get back on track at some point this week, so let’s plow through a couple fun links:

* The economics of Facebook. It’s both scary and interesting to see how they’re operating. Too bad it’s so convenient.

* Video game achievements and you. I will say this much - achievement hunting has totally revolutionized how I play video games, usually for the better. Squeezing the last drop of life out of a game you’ve finished is a lot of fun, but, also, often puts games without strong achievements on the back burner, which is never good. Regardless, I think it’s a net positive for gaming on the whole.

Trying earlier in the day timestamping again. Some testing tonight after a ridiculous afternoon made me notice some more WordPress anomalies, which should be shocking to everyone involved, I’m sure.

* Two for health care: First, a sign of possible things to come. The story is this - 9 patients accounted for 2700 ER visits over a 5 year period in Texas. Now, some caveats - while this is very extreme in terms of how much of an outlier it is, and would likely not be replicated very often, it is emblematic of the type of problems you invariably encounter when health care is “free.” The answers, of course, will end up having to be some form of rationing or deterioration in care, which destroys the point.

The other is a pretty incredible Virginia Postrel piece defending her own previous essay lauding a cancer drug that helped her survive breast cancer. In a call-and-response style from many e-mails and letters she received, it ends up being a solid defense of private health care and a sincerely articulate presentation of the argument. Simply one of the best I’ve seen on the matter period, and one everyone should read regardless of political leanings.

* Car and Driver was forced to pull and apologize for their April Fool’s post about President Obama banning GM and Chrysler from NASCAR. Sometimes, the problem is that the jokes seem too plausible, which was the case on this one.

* Let’s not forget - On 1 April, “[o]ne of President Barack Obama’s campaign pledges on taxes went up in puffs of smoke.”

* Four banks return TARP money citing restrictions.

* Reason says that, in terms of economic policy, we are turning Japanese. Truly a shame.

* The politicization of the Department of Justice. When Bush allegedly does this on global warming science, it’s bad. When Eric Holder does it on Constitutional issues, all we hear are crickets. RELATED: Rep. Steny Hoyer doesn’t “know technically where the authority would be” for the President to oversee automaker reorganization. You don’t see the authority because it’s not there, Rep. Hoyer. Way to notice that we have rule of law here. RELATED: Remember, Barack Obama will listen to our commanders in the armed forces.

* Our embarrassing President: “Unfortunately, he inadvertently broke a cardinal protocol by at one stage using England to denote U.K.” SEMI-RELATED: Cardinal Francis George on Notre Dame’s decision to have President Obama give a commencement speech: “It is clear that Notre Dame didn’t understand what it means to be Catholic when they issued this invitation.”

* Reason on why Detroit is a losing bet.

* Why should we oppose overregulation? Unintended consequences such as this, where a “safer” cigarette cannot enter the market.

* A great example of why I don’t take Paul Krugman seriously.

* I don’t have strong opinions in either direction regarding sex education in schools. This, however, should not be acceptable to anyone on either side of the debate.

* I thought I posted this for Wednesday, but apparently not: Man sues hospital for saving him following a suicide attempt.

* Chud offers a good article on the leak of X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Talk about absolutely crazy - this will be studied for years.

* Awesome stuff about finding some of Blackbeard’s booty.

Books:

The Numerati - Stephen Baker: A book about those folks who do data mining and figure out patterns from data, sort of like how Netflix and Amazon and those zillion doubleclick cookies work. An interesting read, although not much of anything new for me, who was already familiar with a lot of it.

The Hero of Ages - Brandon Sanderson: Why did I only read 6 books this month? This book, which essentially owned my life for two weeks and for good reason. The story is about a world where people have extra powers based on the types of metals they can burn, and there’s other supernatural elements at play that the heroes of the story are facing. This tied the books together VERY nicely, and really was exactly the type of epic fantasy I was in the mood for at the time. A great end to the series, to be sure.

Losing My Religion - William Lobdell: Religion journalist finds, then loses, religion. A lot of stuff on the sexual abuse scandals within the church, which wasn’t quite what I was looking for in this book, but still an interesting enough read.

Ultimate Spider-Man: The War of the Symbiotes: Not my favorite Spider-Man arc to be sure, but at least I’m caught up now.

Ultimate X-Men: Apocalypse: Really crazy X-Men arc here, although the pseudo-retconning makes me more than a little wary.

Eleven Karens - Peter Lefcourt: Subtitle should be My Sexual Exploits, Let Me Show You Them. I’m no prude, but this really felt like an unnecessary sexual diversion that I still don’t quite know why I finished. I ordered the book because I heard it had similarities to An Abundance of Katherines - outside of the protagonist having multiple relationships with women of the same name, there’s no comparison at all. I’m still kind of angry I spent as much time on this book as I did.

Movies:

Watchmen: Originally posted here, and a belated apology to anyone who got screwed by my ham-fisted spoiler handling. After being away from it a bit more, the more I liked the movie. I can’t wait for the uber-extended edition.

Smart People: More like Boring People, am I right? It certainly had its moments, but talk about a movie with otherwise uninteresting characters that never really went anywhere. A shame, considering the cast (Ellen Page, Thomas Haden Church, Sarah Jessica Parker)

I Love You, Man: An enjoyable, uncomfortable comedy. Yay Paul Rudd! Pretty simple, but just what the doctor ordered.

Super High Me: Comedian Doug Benson gets high for 30 straight days, similar to Super Size Me. Interesting in parts, could have been a little shorter, and seeing a medical marijuana raid on the screen was a bit unsettling.

The internet is not very fun today. I don’t know why.

* First, linked everywhere:

One has to ask where the complaints of fearmongering are now.

* Microsoft set to receive stimulus cash. Because Microsoft needs stimulus money. Plus, note how it undermines the entire argument for the stimulus on a small scale - 18 months of temporary work on a project that would, for all intents and purposes, happen anyway. You’ve been hoodwinked - do you care?

* Read this piece about the New York Times spiking an article about deep links between the Obama campaign and ACORN as “a game changer” and then tell me the media was not complacent with a straight face. I fully expect all of those people who thought I was being ridiculous to remain silent on this one.

* Social Security is in trouble due to recession issues. Great, just what we needed. But hey, “no crisis,” right?

* A follow-up from Monday on how “green jobs” hurt economic prospects. RELATED: How are the solar panels at the Denver Museum of Science working out? The answer shouldn’t surprise you.

* The Volt is not good enough for car expert Barack Obama.

* Another day, another Obama nominee with tax problems. This brings the count of problematic appointees that we know about to 14, I believe. If I chose not to pay my $500 tax bill this year, the IRS would be knocking at my door, that’s for sure.

* Dear Democrats: PLEASE make Sarah Palin your next target. Maybe you can make up more stories about her and look even more foolish!

* Daily reason as to why Massachusetts is stupid: a proposed ban on pornography involving folks over 60 years of age. While it’s not my thing…

* A scary story about a near-disaster of a 1988 Space Shuttle flight.

* An interview with the brains behind the Museum of Hoaxes concerning April Fool’s Day.

* T. S. Eliot’s rejection of Animal Farm. Pretty interesting to see some of this come out.

* While I wish this explained things, The Onion explains that President Obama has been dejected since the finale of Battlestar Galactica. Fun.

Grey skies…

* I have little to say at this point about Barack Obama’s automaker stuff, except that it does fill me with more than a little dread. The knee-jerk partisan in me wants to start yelling about how this is what corporatism really looks like, but the reality is that this is just more boneheaded, shortsighted “governing” from our President. It’s going to be a long four years if this keeps up.

* The “it’s gonna be a long four years” isn’t just me talking, either. The Economist isn’t exactly on board at this point, either: “Despite his resounding electoral victory, his solid majorities in both chambers of Congress and the obvious goodwill of the bulk of the electorate, Mr Obama has seemed curiously feeble.” I can only hope people keep waking up.

* Can anyone else find anything missing from this piece on the state of journalism? The words “trust” and “bias” do not come up even once in the discussion, even as trust in the media continues to plummet. I wonder how much better off American journalism would be if they stopped pretending they were neutral and objective and went back to the old way, when we knew who swayed in what direction. There are a few people in particular I hope will chime in on this.

* George Will makes the case that the bailout was unconstitutional. Uh, duh? RELATED: “Good thing government bailed out the whaling industry in the late 19th century. Where would we get lamp oil now?” SEMI-RELATED: While we’re busy bailing out businesses that need to fail, don’t hold your breath for that middle-class tax cut.

* Meanwhile, it’s becoming pretty clear that we can count on the Obama administration to screw up at least one aspect of any diplomatic overture they make. The latest is Hillary Clinton’s trip to Mexico, where she embarassed herself at Our Lady of Guadalupe, asking who painted the famous image. I hesitate to call it common wisdom, only because I don’t know if my knowledge is more due to years of Catholic schooling or not, but, at the very least, someone - anyone - should have been able to brief Clinton ahead of time about one of the most famous religious relics in Mexico, if not the world. Absolutely shameful.

* In-person questioners “at random” were were all Obama supporters. I submitted a question, as well as over 700 words at recovery.gov. But the “pragmatic” Obama only needs to “hear” opposing viewpoints in order to claim he is listening.

* Two stories of compassionate law enforcement at work. Most people are reasonable - this simply guarantees that more will become unreasonable.

* Depleted Cranium on 30 years since Three Mile Island: “Yes, it’s been thirty years since the “Worst Nuclear Accident In US History.“ An accident which claimed the lives of zero people, sent zero to the hospital and destroyed zero homes. Approximately zero acres of land were contaminated and it took zero days before the area would be safe to return to. Since then, a total of zero cancerous tumors have been attributed to the incident and zero individuals have suffered from severe birth defects.” Yet our President continues to push for unproven technologies with his stimulus packages. Great. RELATED: “Subsidizing renewable energy in the U.S. may destroy two jobs for every one created if Spain’s experience with windmills and solar farms is any guide.”

* Does anyone expect the MoveOn.org drones to start making commercials about Obama’s deficit?

* Truth in so very few words: “We haven’t had a free market. We live in a heavily regulated, subsidized, coddled-and-attacked, over-taxed society. If the current debacle proves any system unfeasible, then the one proven wrong is the one we have. It’s the mixed economy that has proven to have worse than mixed results.”

* “Sexting” is becoming more prevalent with technology, but the law, unsurprisingly, doesn’t appear to know how to keep up. Is charging a 14 year old with child pornography charges a rational way to deal with the situation? Is threatening pornography charges with clothed teenagers smart? Reason details these and more here.

* Washington State creates a black market for detergent.

What a day. Great way to start a week, eh?

* EU President: The Obama economic plan, supported by UK PM Gordon Brown, will send us on the “road to hell.” Good times. RELATED: Why can’t we have politicians like this? Decorum sometimes sucks.

* Hillary Clinton on the Mexican drug problem is essentially this: “The government failed! We need more government!” Of course, Obama isn’t brigning marijuana legalization to the table (surprise, surprise), so expect more black market violence. RELATED: Hey, Eric, remember Holder saying there’d be no more medical marijuana raids? As the saying goes, all Barack Obama promises come with an expiration date. There’s no reason to consider Barack Obama trustworthy.

* The Wall Street Journal savages the Massachusetts health care plan. “In Massachusetts’s latest crisis, Governor Deval Patrick and his Democratic colleagues are starting to move down the path that government health plans always follow when spending collides with reality — i.e., price controls. As costs continue to rise, the inevitable results are coverage restrictions and waiting periods. It was only a matter of time.” This is the type of “health care” that the Democrats in Washington want to foist upon the nation as a whole. It cannot work - it never has, it never will.

* Questioning the stimulus numbers. Why wait until now, AP?

* The teleprompter issue is silly, but it’s clearly affecting Obama, as his news conference changed it up a bit.

* When Ted Rall is off the bandwagon, you know your left wing President is in trouble.

* Bobby Jindal may have out-fundraised the President this week.

* MA Governor Deval Patrick is tanking in polls. Sadly, the Massachusetts Republicans are in such disarray that it’s not going to get any better. Patrick, by the way, ran a campaign extremely similar to Obama’s. I recognized it as an abject failure before last fall, I wonder how long the US electorate will take to come to their senses.

* Georgia expands its sex offender registry to catch non-sex offenders. Why does anyone think these laws are a good idea? Why does anyone choose to give the government more power when we know the power will be abused?

* Why does Big Labor have to distort the record to make a point?

* Via Power Line, Obama’s attempts to tie the Red River flooding in the Dakotas to climate change is not supported by the historical record.

* Two great Olbermann flubs: First, he names Twitter his “Worst Person in the World” for having a “phony account” in his name. MSNBC, of course, runs his Twitter account. Second, Howard Dean makes Olbermann a wee bit uncomfortable.

* Kids weigh in on Obama’s longer school day proposal. They’re right - when a problem is institutional, a longer day isn’t going to fix that.

* A teacher sells ad space on his papers to cover paper costs. We should really be encouraging this sort of way to help figure out budget shortfalls.

* Top 10 pointless USB devices.

Feeling like a slow week for anyone else?

* Corrections Department: Bikini wax ban was rejected. Good move.

* Corrections Department: Obama letter to Chirac more than likely a response to a letter from Chirac. While this fails to clear up why Obama still appears to be shunning President Sarkozy, this does look a little better.

* Credit Where It’s Due Department: The Dow was up big on Monday following the Obama/Geithner bank asset announcement, and it held the majority of those gains through Tuesday. If we’re going to hold Obama responsible for the drops, we need to credit him when the market reacts favorably to his proposals. Of course, Obama is on TV Tuesday night, and long term trends matter, but still.

* Let’s be clear: there is no Constitutional justification for this, and I think this should nail the coffin shut on the “of course Obama will be good on Constitutional issues, ’cause he’s a lawyer/professor.” Shameful.

* Environmentalists block solar power expansion in California. “‘Deserts don’t need to be sacrificed so that people in L.A. can keep heating their swimming pools,’ Mr. Frewin said.” I love it.

Yeah, that’s about it.

Well, this was gearing up to be a fairly uneventful weekend until the blogswarm this morning changed my tone at 7:30…

* France’s President, Nicolas Sarkozy, has not been able to get a meeting with President Obama since the start of his term. President Obama was, however, able to find time to write a letter to former French President Jacques Chirac. So, the “repairing of our image abroad” now means outright snubbing the President of a nation that was actually at odds with American policy under Bush? And what’s the point of this? Obama’s not so stupid to think Chirac is President, obviously, but was this snub intentional because Sarkozy was critical of Obama during the campaign or was it yet another ham-fisted attempt at diplomacy? Seriously.

* “Gallows humor.” That’s what the giggling over last night’s 60 Minutes interview was when President Obama started cracking up while discussing the bank plans. I mean…huh? I’m not saying that tragedy is not above humor - we all make “inappropriate” jokes about bad situations, but in the right context. Is a 60 Minutes interview proper for this? I remember the outrage of Bush joking about a picture of himself looking under a couch for WMDs during a humorous press event, and even I could see where that may have crossed the line. This seems to be contextually problematic. RELATED: The administration apparently wanted this interview on 60 Minutes because they felt they were having trouble getting their message out. Really? They can say that with a straight face, but not discuss the bank plan with one?

* Editorial of the day. A portion: “What the polls can’t say directly, and thus perhaps the White House can’t yet hear, is that the policies themselves are diminishing Mr. Obama’s appeal. There are indications of this in the polls themselves, but they are subtle. On one issue after another, from bail-outs to the environment, Medicare, life issues, foreign policy, the polls now tend to confirm what this pundit and a few other incorrigible reactionaries knew from the outset: that a plurality of American voters had embraced Mr. Obama not because of, but despite the policies he was signaling.” Judgment matters.

* The CPSIA hit could be reaching $2b in toy sales. In a bad economy. In a nation where lead in toys is a rare issue these days. Ridiculous. RELATED: The New Book Banning.

* Corrections department: the fed denies trying to end the armed pilots program. Hopefully this gets sorted out soon.

* New Jersey contemplates banning Brazilian waxing.

* I do think continuing to prey on Obama’s speaking skills is a low blow, as I did with Bush. With that said, Barack Obama’s Teleprompter Blog is funny.

* A goodbye to my personal favorite Red Sox pitcher of all time, Curt Schilling. Played the game right, spoke up like he didn’t care, and gave his body to make millions of Red Sox fans see something we never, ever thought we’d see. I salute you.

* Police say there’s “no reason” adults should want to own Animal Crossing. The inbreeding aspect of Viva Pinata was not discussed.

* Sheep herders with too much time on their hands. Best video I’ve seen in ages.

Happy Friday!

* Sarah Palin’s approval rating? Still high, and not falling the way Obama’s has been. I’m sure that Palin declining a portion of the “stimulus” money will help her, as well. Related: a great Palin editorial: “What a good thing that Palin, whom Christopher Buckley called ‘an embarrassment, and a dangerous one,’ wasn’t in office to cause such debacles, and that we have Barack Obama, Joe Biden, and Hillary Clinton instead.”

* Let’s be clear: Barack Obama started this trade war. This is 100% avoidable, and President Obama instead chose the path of angering our trade partners. Remember this at the supermarket in the coming months. Related: we’d better get used to it. This is how we “repair our image,” apparently.

* In a smart move, Obama is backing off on his plan to bill private insurance for vets. Maybe he’s not as tone deaf as he appears.

* xkcd nails my feelings on bonusgate:

I look forward to the Congress passing a law that cannot possibly meet legal scrutiny. Related: it’s gonna hit more than multimillionaires.

* So the DVDs that Barack Obama gave Gordon Brown? As expected, they appear to have been region 1, or unplayable in the UK. Thumbs up, Mr. President. Related: his bowling adventure was “like the Special Olympics.” Imagine if the last guy said this…

* One of Appalachia’s last moonshiners killed himself rather than go to prison. Our government at work, sadly. More.

* From the “missing the point” department, a bank is being bothered by the FDIC for being responsible. Why? CRA violations. Go figure.

* Five myths about Obama.

* Via Willisms, Heritage breaks down the Obama tax hike. The cap and trade in particular is the big doozy, and will affect those of us under the $250k threshold, and significantly. Thumbs up, Mr. President.

* Economy is more important than environment. Maybe we are getting smarter…

* Scalia on originalism. A pretty decent piece, regardless of how you feel about him.

Been a while since I did one of these:

* Neko Case - Middle Cyclone: I’ve always considered myself a fan of Neko Case the way that I’m a fan of a number of groups - enjoy their albums enough, make it a point to seek out what’s next, but never get significantly swept away by anything they do. For whatever reason, this album has absolutely grabbed me and won’t let go. “People Got a Lot of Nerve” and “Never Turn Your Back on Mother Earth” are two early favorites, but this has been a pleasant surprise up to this point.

* Duncan Sheik - Whisper House: This is the album of a musical he’s writing/finishing/staging, and I didn’t like it much on the first few listens, but after seeing him live last week, the album really fell into place for me. I still can’t call it my favorite of his, but it’s still quite good.

* Spinnerette - “Ghetto Love“: The beauty of satellite radio is finding songs that you would never be exposed to otherwise, and this is one of them. Totally not my style, but I still get my driving groove on when this pops up on the display. And it turns out this is Brody Dalle’s (the Distillers) new project? I never would have guessed.

* The Decemberists - “The Rake Song“: I know it’s old in internet weeks, but this song cracks me up. Absolutely great song.

* Chris Cornell - Scream: Chris Cornell + Timbaland = ?. I don’t know what to make of it, quite honestly - I like it, but I don’t know why I like it, and I’m not sure if I actually like it, if that makes any sense at all. No?

* Ben Kweller - Changing Horses: Whatever you think a Ben Kweller country album would sound like, this sounds like it. Whether you’ll like it or not depends on that. I only kind of like it, if that matters.

* Clem Snide - Hungry Bird: Even a bad Clem Snide album is something I’ll normally like, so with that in mind - hardly the best Clem Snide album. As glad as I am to see them back together, my expectations were sky-high for this, and I’m starting to wonder if I’m really as big a fan of Eef Barzelay as I thought at this point.

Cribbing heavily from the folks at Reason today:

* Amusing sidebar from this silly anger over how AIG plans to use 0.1% of their bonuses, Tim Geithner was in on it from the beginning. How was this news to the Obama Administration again? At what point do we get to start asking if they have any clue as to what they’re doing? RELATED: anyone with this sort of “fashion sense” should not be allowed near the executive suites. Thanks to Michael for this and the image at the end.

* Speaking of economic lunacy, if you’re the President of a country going through economic turmoil, and one of the guys who was in charge of an institution’s ability to see these things coming pops up, isn’t hiring him the LAST thing to cross your mind? Seriously?

* President Obama is quietly dismantling the armed pilots program. Can anyone explain why this is a good idea?

* Obama gives the Brazilian President an Obama-style welcome, misspelling his name two different ways and bumping him for St. Patrick’s Day. Trends matter.

* Like clockwork, Mexico is retaliating for Obama’s suspension of the trucking program, and now Obama has to start begging Congress to get it back. But, again, I was told not to worry about Obama and trade, right?

* Massachusetts’s dumb health care plan is, as predicted, unsustainable. The chances Massachusetts will actually learn from this? Nil.

* Reason puts this ridiculousness best: “The administration is iincreasingly concerned about a populist backlash [against banks],’ so then feeds into it, and then complains about it, all while the president continues to merit (undeserved) praise for the New York Times for his ‘cool style,’ even though he has been bashing Wall Street and banks in such non-inconspicuous settings as a nationally televised speech in front of a joint session of Congress.”

* Do stimulus packages work? The answer shouldn’t surprise you.

* A study on the spending of President Bush. How sad, and it’s only getting worse.

* It appears the plan to charge vets for service-related injuries is real. This is utterly shameful, period.

* Via The Locker Room, some on the left are starting to worry about a “progressive” President and Congress facing a “conservative” court. I take umbrage at just about every label, but Mitch Kokoi said it best: “the new administration can take one simple step to avoid judicial losses: follow the Constitution.”

* Space porn, this time a great photo of Saturn. I love astronomy.

* Randy Barnett at Volokh celebrates 40 years of 1776, one of my favorite musicals.

* Finally, it’s funny because it’s true.

* First, credit where it’s due. If Obama lowers the corporate tax rate, yes, that’ll do more for the economy than the stimulus. Let’s hope he follows through.

* Congress introduces a birth certificate bill. Yes, those who were playing the “Obama ain’t a citizen” card were mostly nutters, but if this requirement existed from the start, a lot of the conspiratorial stuff could have been avoided. Seems like common sense.

* One line in this piece says it all: “Yes, it’s early, but an eerily familiar feeling is spreading across party lines and seeping into the national conversation. It’s a nagging doubt about the competency of the White House.”

* While I fear the trutherism, this is an interesting take on the existence and responsibilities of Osama bin Laden.

* Why do unions fear 401(k)s? “It’s been shown clearly that individuals make a lot of mistakes.” I think I’m smart enough to have a 401(k), don’t you?

* When John McCain says the economy is sound, he is ridiculed. When President Obama’s administration says it, there are no jeers. Complacent media at work.

* Government bans “downer cows” from food supply. Take a look at the statistics of how many people actually contracted mad cow sometime - this is panic action of the highest regard, completely ridiculous.

* The “Tea Party” movement is gaining. RELATED: some in the press don’t want you to know.

* “The argument that it cuts the debt in half in four years is, ahh, is truly spurious.” I guess we know why Judd Gregg removed himself. Also, he’s dead right - read the whole thing and revel in the crazy.

* Is the stimulus unconstitutional? (Of course it is, and it’s sad we have to even question it).

* Yay corrupt cops!

* Why is Henry Waxman avoiding CPSIA-affected businessfolk?

Happy Friday the 13th. My black cat has crossed me 3 times already.

* Jake Tapper exposes Obama’s “bipartisanship” for what it is. Again, that he’s the only person with the gumption to ask these questions says a lot about the state of the media right now.

* I’m making no statement on the actual value of the bill (I support school choice, not federal funding of vouchers, for instance), but it’d be great if Obama could get a little consistent on this. I do wonder if the fact that his kids go to the school that benefits from this has had an impact.

* Obama: “Oh, all that rushing? Don’t worry, the economy isn’t as bad as we think.” Well, thanks for letting us know after you forced through a spending bill disguised as a stimulus package that’ll likely make things worse. Much appreciated.

* Caveat: I’m incredibly radical on veteran’s benefits. If I were dictator, anyone who served in a war is getting $100k a year from the government, and, more importantly, health care for their battle wounds. Barack Obama doesn’t appear to come close to agreeing - while he can find over $1 trillion for god knows what, apparently shifting some of the service injury treatment costs to private insurance is a good cost saver. This is really disturbing to me. Very, very disturbing.

* The Democrats are continuing to flail around with this Rush Limbaugh thing, and are planning to put up this billboard. The unintentional irony in the context of the “stimulus” was apparently missed by the DNC, unsurprisingly.

* More Obama nonsense: “This week, White House budget director Peter Orszag said taxing employer benefits was among several ideas that ‘most firmly should remain on the table.’” This was an idea John McCain had paired up with a tax credit during the 2008 campaign - no such credit from Obama, but the campaign did spend a good deal of time going after McCain on it. I wonder what changed…

* I wonder if “reporting” like this is assisting in the downfall of print news.

* Forbes on how Obama’s mortgage rescue plan numbers don’t add up.

* Overlawyered covers a number of toy stores closing due to CPSIA issues. And the government sits and twiddles its thumbs. One has to wonder how much this may be affecting the economy at this point, because you know that not every extra cost is being reported at this stage. Ridiculously shameful - has President Obama even said one word about it?

* Harry Reid is attempting to place Employee Free Choice act failure on the Republicans. For whatever reason, I think the GOP will be okay with that. Related: EFCA worries end up lowering Wal-Mart’s stock rating.

* Another funny Watchmen photo.

* Uncomfortable with your teen playing Call of Duty? How about making him abide by the Geneva Conventions?

* Carrie Brownstein (Sleator-Kinney) gives a eulogy for BMG Music Service.

* Music nerdity: In Search of the Click Track. The results are very fun.

* Man replaces finger w/USB drive. Mike should skip this link and move right along to the next one, thanks.

* Lex Luthor would like a bailout.

* When farts interrupt council meetings.