Here and There

I dare you to watch this and not fall over in your chair:

I finally got the July 21, 2008, issue of the New Yorker that had so many bloggers, blog readers, and media types in a tizzy earlier this week.

I was outraged. And here’s why:

From the moment I saw the cover (Sunday night, I believe it was), I thought it was funny, if not hilarious, if not brilliant. New Yorker cartoons often take a moment to fully sink in and realize the hilariousness of. Ditto here, except that I was realizing how funny and awesome it was — what a great Fuck You to the legions of morons out there who believe any or all of the stereotypes so artfully portrayed by the artist.

But I was pissed looking at this cover, once I held it in my hands, because now all it does is remind me what an annoying little episode it represents in this never-ending campaign season.

Maybe I’m wrong. Maybe it’ll fade away into the depths of long-term, collective memory. We rarely talk of Reverend Jeremiah Wright these days, after all.

But maybe I’m right. Gee, that would make a great alternative title of this blog. Heh.

The New Yorker editor-in-chief speaks sanity to a non-story run amok.

I dunno. Should I feel bad for not freaking out? It’s so clearly over-the-top satire, I don’t think it’s gonna persuade anyone who’s on the fence.

The way I see it, there are three camps of U.S. voter: Obama, McCain, on the fence. Obama supporters will still vote for him. McCain voters will still vote for him. People on the fence won’t be pushed to McCain because of this cover of a magazine, never mind that it’s the New Yorker.

To me, it doesn’t perpetuate stereotypes as much as it does expose the ridiculousness of them.

The U.S. has killed at least 47 Afghan civilians who were in the process of committing that horrible crime of … attending a wedding. The bride was among the dead.

Jesus Christ, this country sucks. A bunch of fat, lazy, selfish, ignorant assholes who let this kind of shit happen. And Afghanistan is the war that was justified. Who are these fucks who keep bombing civilians? I mean, seriously, if I were held to such a low standard at my job, you wouldn’t be able to read a single fucking word at Wired.com. I don’t get it.

War is messy? No, war, modern war, U.S. war, is run by fuckheads who cling to such tired lines.

I don’t care what Andrew Stanton says, WALL-E got it right about this country. So consumed with consumption and greed that we’re killing ourselves.

Don’t see the connection between the movie and the story from Afghanistan? You’re not looking hard enough.

Pretty poignant essay on the legacy of George Carlin. By Jerry Seinfeld.

Get ready for a fuckload of motherfucking headlines with tons of goddam cuss words in them today, tomorrow, and the coming days. Weeks, perhaps.

That’s all. Back to work.

This guy practically taught me how to cuss, as well as how amazing language is and how fucked-up some people are. His wit and insights will be missed:

Movies, I mean.

Finally someone quantifies what has been clear to us since at least Titanic (fitting, isn’t it, that we sank with that ship).

Still, I want to know why movies are so long now. I feel like everything from Charlie Wilson’s War to 3:10 to Yuma parks me in the theater seat long enough to get bladder pains and crotch chafing. Okay, TMI. Deal.

Thx: Sullivan.

Vintage Colbert:

The other Charlie Wilson has spoken. Finally. Let’s go home now.

Okay, okay. Today has been a good one.

From The Onion, Researchers Discover Massive Asshole in Blogosphere.

Beyond description.