According to the WP and ProPublica, lots of folks are getting rich off of BP money.
Unfortunately, it seems like many of those folks were, well…
More:
This is my shocked face:
Archive for April, 2011
Corruption and cronyism? In Louisiana?
Wednesday, April 13th, 2011Random notes: April 13, 2011.
Wednesday, April 13th, 2011The Dallas Stars have fired Marc Crawford. I think I speak for many of my readers when I say “People still play hockey? That’s a thing?”
The California Legislature is considering revoking the city charter of Vernon, a notoriously corrupt city in L.A. County. But business owners are worried…
Obit watch: April 12, 2011.
Tuesday, April 12th, 2011Pierre Celis, of Celis Brewery fame. Celis made some swell beers back in the 90’s.
There’s an old saying, “In heaven there is no beer, that’s why we drink it here.”
I think this is wrong, and I think Mr. Celis is sitting on God’s right hand, trying out Heaven’s own homebrew.
Obit watch: April 11, 2011.
Monday, April 11th, 2011I wanted to note the passing of Sidney Lumet.
There have been some surprisingly good discussions of Lumet’s career at both FARK and the Onion A/V Club. I don’t have much to add to those, but I did want to link to one of my favorite moments in a movie; a movie directed by Lumet, of course. Those who know me well, or pay attention to my blog taglines, probably already know which moment that is. But there’s more to it than just Howard Beale yelling “I’m mad as hell, and I’m not going to take this anymore.” Note how this opens, with the disheveled crazed prophet walking through the rain.
“…all we say is, ‘Please, at least leave us alone in our living rooms. Let me have my toaster and my TV and my steel-belted radials and I won’t say anything. Just leave us alone.'” How many of us think that?
“You’ve got to say, ‘I’m a HUMAN BEING, God damn it! My life has VALUE!'”
“Things have got to change. But first, you’ve gotta get mad!.”
Much of this is, of course, also attributable to Paddy Chayefsky’s script, and Peter Finch’s acting. But I suspect this would have failed and come off as strident or ridiculous in the hands of a lesser director.
Noted without comment.
Friday, April 8th, 2011101 Nook Color Tips, Tricks, and Hacks: The Unofficial Guide to Getting the Most Out of the Newest Nook eReader By William Percy
Link goes to the Kindle edition.
T.R.F. update.
Friday, April 8th, 2011We have previously noted the issues at the troubled Thoroughbred Racing Foundation.
The NYT offers a summary of a report by Dr. Stacey Huntington. Dr. Huntington was hired by the TRF to evaluate the horses under the care of the foundation:
(Her report is based on evaluating 860 of the horses.) Continuing:
It looks like these people got trapped by the economy, and by a desire to take care of more horses then they really could (almost like crazy cat ladies, but on a much larger scale). But the NYT also makes it look like the TRF is still in denial that it has problems, while at the same time hoping for someone to bail them out.
Fast and bulbous!
Wednesday, April 6th, 2011Okay, that title is misleading. The Library of Congress did not pick “Pena” as one of the 25 recordings added to the National Recording Registry this year.
They did, however, pick “The Blimp”.
Here’s a link to the complete list with audio samples.
A few things that jumped out at me:
- George Crumb’s “Black Angels (Thirteen Images from the Dark Land)”. I haven’t heard this recording; the only one I’m even vaguely familiar with is the Kronos Quartet
recording.
- Steely Dan! Yes!
- I see that the LoC decided to include a work from Blind Willie Johnson, but has once again neglected the work of the great Delta blues musician Narcoleptic Rutabaga Nixon.
- The story behind Édouard-Léon Scott de Martinville and his recordings is rather interesting.
- GOPAC strategy and instructional tapes? Oooooookay…
If not now, Sven?
Wednesday, April 6th, 2011I promised folks an update on the fortunes of spamming scumbag Sven Alstrom in his race for a seat on the Lawrence, Kansas City Commission.
Well, the election was yesterday, and…
…Sven finished fifth in a field of five candidates running for three open seats.
Here’s a breakdown by precinct.
Don’t let the door hit you on the way out, Sven you spamming scumbag.
Random notes: April 5, 2011.
Tuesday, April 5th, 2011The NYT has discovered the underground trade in “loosies”: sales of loose cigarettes. A “legal” pack, with taxes, goes for $12.50 (thus sayeth the Times); the “loosie” dealer profiled in the article sells loose cigs for 75 cents each, two for a buck, or $8 a pack ($7 if he knows you). And business is good, Mayor Bloomberg.
Tilman Fertitta and the Landry’s chain are trying to purchase McCormick & Schmick’s Seafood Restaurants. Good luck with that.
Random notes: April 4, 2011.
Monday, April 4th, 2011Should the Chowchilla school bus kidnappers be paroled?
Sagra Italian Restaurant damaged by fire. The SDC ate there, and, well…we wish the owners the best, even if we can’t say we were wild about the restaurant.
I intended to blog this a few days ago: the latest APD suspension is for 90 days. In this case, the officer in question “was rude to a citizen and initially gave misleading statements to investigators”.
Oh, sure, you laugh at me for picking the Cubs to win it all. But I’ll point out that the Cubs have actually won a game this year, unlike certain other teams (cough cough Houston cough cough) I could name.
April 1, 2011.
Friday, April 1st, 2011Things that have made me laugh today, as of about noon:
EFFector 24.11. “…undergraduate degrees in Facebook Privacy Settings”.
The PLAYMOBIL ™ Apple ™ Store playset.
The new project from His Scalziness. (The prologue is up at Tor’s site.)
The NYT falls for another April Fool’s joke. Popehat has the details.
Paolo Bacigalupi and the bacterial colony formerly known as Peter Watts are collaborating on a new shared world anthology. “‘We expect suicides,’ said Watts. ‘And maybe a Nebula.'”
Updated about 1:30 PM:
“‘Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark’ Gains Sentience, Hungers For The Flesh Of the Living“. (Hattip: Pope Scalzi the First.) Mostly because this line had me rolling on the floor: