We're staying at the Paris Hotel. Here's a view of it, with its silly shrunken Eiffel Tower, taken from the Bellagio across the street. Unfortunately, they don't let you cross the street, which is known as the "Strip." The only way to get across the Strip on foot is via some pedestrian bridges. But there aren't enough of them. After dinner my wife was too tired to walk over to one. So we took a cab--just to cross the street!.jpg)
To all Seinfeld fans (and non-fans), Happy Festivus!What a lovely day for Festivus,
a Festivus for the rest of us,
this is the place to hate,
let them wait, let them wait, let them wait.
It doesn't show signs of stopping,
I bought some caps for popping,
aluminum pole's aglow,
let them know, let them know, let them know.
With the feat of strength at hand,
stop crying fight your old man,
so go and drink another beer,
T'is the best time of the year!
What a lovely day for Festivus,
a Festivus for the rest of us,
gather your family around,
cut them down, cut them down, cut them down.
No need for decorating,
as tinsel's too distracting,
all you need is a metal pole,
cleanse your soul, cleanse your soul, cleanse your soul.
With the feat of strength at hand,
stop crying fight your old man,
so go and drink another beer,
T'is the best time of the year!
What a lovely day for Festivus,
a Festivus for the rest of us,
gather your family around,
cut them down, cut them down, cut them down.
No need for decorating,
as tinsel's too distracting,
all you need is a metal pole,
cleanse your soul, cleanse your soul, cleanse your soul.
With the feat of strength at hand,
stop crying fight your old man,
so go and drink another beer,
T'is the best time of the year!
T'is the best time of the year!
Developer: Is "buttload" hyphenated?
New guy: No, I think it's just one word.
When Deborah Lawrence got the invitation from the White House, the Seattle-based artist decided to make a lefty political statement.
But she never expected it would hang on the official Christmas tree.
Laura Bush asked members of Congress to pick local painters to decorate ornaments for this year's 20-foot Fraser fir in the Blue Room. The globes (to be unveiled by the first lady tomorrow) are supposed to showcase something special about each congressional district. Washington state's Rep. Jim McDermott contacted a local arts organization, which asked Lawrence, a collage artist, to create the local entry.
"I was at first nauseated, then realized it was an opportunity," said Lawrence, 55, who frequently combines politics and satire in her work and saw this as the perfect way "to highlight Jim McDermott because he's a hero of mine."
The nine-inch ball is covered with swirly red and white stripes -- and, in tiny glued-on text, salutes the Democratic congressman's support for a resolution to impeach President Bush. (Also showcased: Washington state's 1919 labor strike, its suffrage movement and the violent anti-World Trade Organization riots of 1999.) Lawrence sent it off to D.C. in September and was very surprised it was accepted for the tree -- and that she was invited to this afternoon's White House reception for the artists, which she flew to D.C. to attend.
"Apparently, they didn't read it -- or Laura Bush is more progressive than I believed," Lawrence told us.
Sally McDonough, the first lady's press secretary, said yesterday that hundreds of ornaments were submitted for display and there were no plans to pull Lawrence's artwork or her invitation. But, she said, "it really is too bad. I haven't seen the ornament, but I would hope that no one would take this as an opportunity to be divisive and partisan. There is a time and place for everything, and I don't think this is either."
This is a microcosm of the last eight years in a nut shell. The inability for the administration to pay attention to detail.
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(1) After buying your ticket, don't hold up the line by counting or putting away your change in front of the box office. Move to the side and do what you have to do.I think rule 7, coming from a theater owner, is quite generous. Most won't let you bring in any outside food or beverages.
(2) A baseball cap is a hat. Don't wear it in the theater.
(3) If the theater is not too full, don't take a seat right in front of the patrons behind you.
(4) On the other hand, if the theater is full, don't put your jacket on the seat next to you if you're not holding it for someone but only because you want more room.
(5) Feet on the seat in front of you are never acceptable, even if the theater is empty.
(6) Chatting should stop as soon as the theater is dark, even though the only things on the screen are trailers.
(7) With concession prices high, it's understandable to buy some of the food (like sodas) on the outside. But don't bring with you big bags of smelly food from fast food restaurants.
(8) Like all retail businesses, movie theaters (especially the art houses) are hurting. Don't take advantage by buying senior tickets when you don't qualify, age-wise.
(9) Even though you may not be talking, the light from a BlackBerry or iPod during the film is distracting to the patrons around you.
(10) If the line at the box office is long, have your money ready when you get to the window.
"It would add three extra weeks to the season," he said at the conclusion of a wide-ranging interview. "You could trim back on the regular season. I don't know any serious fan of college football who has disagreed with me on this.He's probably right about that. However, what he fails to realize is that the NCAA, and the colleges that run it, don't really care much about the serious fans of college football. Their first concern is for the alumni and local fans who fill the stadiums during the regular season. They, and the TV broadcasters, are the ones footing the bill for the college athletic programs. For each game that is subtracted from the regular season, over 50 stadiums of ticket-buying fans are lost. A seven game play-off is not going to make up for this, even with increased fees from the TV networks.
Subway beggar to the people on train : Yo, my daughter just died and I don't have any money to bury her... (recognizes someone on the train) Yo!
Man on the train: Hey! How's the wife?
Subway beggar: Oh, she good, she good. She be working too! She working on the 4 line!
--1 Train
Client with sick dog: I need to see the veterinarian on duty because my dog isn't feeling well.
Veterinarian receptionist: Is your dog a male or female?
Client with sick dog: She's a male.
If first impressions matter, Obama and his wife displayed one similarity to the super-punctual Bushes, pulling up to the White House's South Portico 11 minutes early. The couples traded warm and easy greetings in the crisp autumn sunshine, with the wives exchanging pleasantries about the fall hues each wore - Mrs. Bush in a brown dress and Mrs. Obama in a red one.It's wonderful to see a news story where what the men wore was noted, as well as the women's fashion choices. Kudos to writer Jennifer Levin.
While Obama and Bush, in business suits, proceeded waving and smiling down the White House Colonnade for nearly two hours of private talks, Mrs. Obama and Mrs. Bush had their own agenda...
Teen boy #1: I don't like any of her family except her mom. She's okay.
Teen boy #2: Her mom is crazy, yo. I want to rape her with this umbrella. I bet you if I fucked her, she wouldn't even remember, she's so crazy. Wouldn't it be cool if there were a hot chick, like 21, with Alzheimer's and you fucked the shit out of her and then the next day she couldn't remember?
--Q44 Bus
ANTWERP, Belgium (AP) - One man's stink is another man's major art project. A piece by Belgian conceptual artist Jan Fabre at the Antwerp's MuHKA contemporary art museum is challenging the nose as well as the eyes.
The installation "Spring is on its way" consists of onions and potatoes hung from the ceiling in condoms. And the vegetables are, well, spoiling....
There are no pictures of Joan of Arc, apart from a couple very crude drawings. However, Patricia Nell Warren on the Bilerico Project thinks that this might actually be what she looked like, apart from hair color. Her theory is a bit of a stretch, but it's still quite interesting.
Little boy: Mommy, John McCain likes Abba.--Overheard in New York
Mom: Does he really now? Then you two have something in common.
Little boy: Noooooo!
Principal, over PA system: Attention: We are testing out the PA system. If you don't hear this, please call the office.Overheard in NY
--Public School
The Transgender and Allies group has moved up to seventh on ActBlue's ranking of donors to the Obama campaign! We're up to 259 donors when I write this.The Trans for Obama Day is over, but our effort goes on. Contributions made today will count toward the Obama campaign's third quarter statistics, the last major reporting period before the election.Bush and Mukasey are at it again. They’ve announced dangerous new FBI guidelines that will severely jeopardize the personal privacy of innocent Americans. These regulations need no congressional approval and are terrifying...The ACLU believes the proposal is unconstitutional.
If implemented, new guidelines will allow the FBI to interview you, your friends and your family under a false pretext.
The FBI could recruit secret informants and have them infiltrate peaceful protest groups.
Investigations based on little more than race, ethnicity or religion would be allowed.
Subject: We're all suspects?!
Under new FBI guidelines proposed by Attorney General Michael Mukasey, all the FBI has to do to put anybody they want under prolonged physical surveillance is assert an “authorized purpose” such as detecting or preventing crime or protecting “national security."
These kinds of Bush/Cheney/Gonzales/Mukasey “just trust us” policies have been eroding our rights for the past eight years. After illegal spying and top-level torture policies coming from the White House, this is absurd. Enough is enough!
These new guidelines would allow the FBI to interview you, your friends and family under a false pretext. The FBI could recruit secret informants, and have them infiltrate peaceful protest groups. And the FBI to could initiate investigations based on little more than race, ethnicity or religion.
The FBI could also search commercial databases for personal details about your life with no real reason.
And all of this would be allowed without an ounce of evidence that you or anyone else has done anything wrong.
These guidelines represent one step closer to a police state. And the worst part is that there is good reason to believe the FBI has been violating its internal guidelines all along.
Fortunately, there is something we can do about this before the new regulations are implemented.
I just demanded that the Inspector General at the Department of Justice launch an investigation to determine if the FBI has been violating its own guidelines. The Inspector General’s office at the Department of Justice has proven to be an unbiased, internal watchdog that has consistently exposed wrongdoing. We need to urge the IG to do it again. Take action now at:
http://action.aclu.org/fbiguidelines
The Transgender and Allies group has moved up to eighth on ActBlue's ranking of donors to the Obama campaign! We've gotten 143 donors as of this writing.So far today we've added about 30 donors and $1000 for the Obama campaign through the trans page on ActBlue. If just 4 more people make donations we'll move up to the eighth largest group! If you make a donation NOW, you could be the one who moves us up the list!Man in elevator on cell: Yeah. That's what I'm paying for, right? Next time just make sure it's a male to female.
Today a number of trans and allied bloggers are renewing our plea to help the campaign of Barack Obama for president. Back in June a group of us sent out a request for donations to the Obama campaign through a specific page on Act Blue, the online clearinghouse for Democratic action, which was set up with the help of the Stonewall Democrats. The purpose of this effort was to demonstrate to the Obama campaign that we trans people and our allies are a significant group supporting him. 
A fan of one of those New Jersey football teams. (The only NFL team in New York is the Bills.)
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