lowercase post title

Another in the (apparently never-ending) series of "it'd be funny if it weren't so sad" posts.

rerun (child rapists edition)

From the Guardian UK, in a story headlined, "Pope dismisses 'petty gossip' of sexual abuse allegations":

Pope Benedict, facing the worst crisis of his papacy as a sexual abuse scandal sweeps the Catholic church, declared today he would not be "intimidated" by "petty gossip", angering activists who say he has done too little to stamp out paedophilia.

Of course, activists (and, in fact, every human being with an ounce of humanity) should be angered by a church hierarchy dedicated to protecting child rapists. But being pissed off by that "petty gossip" comment? Hey, if you've been covering up for child rapists for as long as these folks have, one or two more allegations probably would seem pretty much like petty gossip to you. After all, the church is now lead by a man who punished a priest for holding a Mass at a peace demonstration (leading the man to ultimately leave the priesthood), but who couldn't be bothered to take action against hundreds of priests who were raping young children (apart from doing everything possible to make sure that knowledge of their actions didn't become public and "embarrass" the church).

So, in honor of the attention now being given to this "petty gossip," here is a reprise of a video I first posted as part of a longer entry last summer. Back then I saw it as confrontational comedy designed to make Bill Donohue's head explode (always a worthy goal). Now, it's looking more and more like a documentary.

alien vs pooh

Exactly what it says. Alien vs Pooh.

lies we can believe in

From Jon Walker at Firedoglake, after enumerating the long list of ever-changing excuses given for why we couldn't have a public option in HCR:

Occam’s razor teaches us the simplest explanation is usually the correct one. Here, the simplest explanation is that, months ago, Obama promised to kill the public option as part of a secret deal with the for-profit hospital lobby, and that for months he lied to the American people about supporting the public option while working behind the scenes to stop it.

So, when exactly does that changing the way Washington works thing start again?

Read the whole thing.

mashup #2

So, in the spirit of that last post, here's something I found somewhere. It, itself, is of course a mashup of other peoples' work and had, no doubt, been posted by someone who may or may not have encountered it on the original mashupper's (could that possibly be a word?) site.

Normally, I'd credit the site where I discovered it, and, if possible, the original artist, but I guess that's so Twentieth Century and Not Digital now. And anyway, unlike David Shields, I don't have a publisher with a staff of lawyers telling me I have to.

(Oh, what the fuck. It's by mofaha via Unpolitically correct.)

mashup

Anyone with any interest in art or writing (especially fiction writing) in the brave new world of social media, might do well to read this New York Times article by Michiko Kakutani.

let the finger-pointing begin

From David Frum, former Bush speechwriter, on the Right's HCR "strategy":

We followed the most radical voices in the party and the movement, and they led us to abject and irreversible defeat.

[...]

So today’s defeat for free-market economics and Republican values is a huge win for the conservative entertainment industry. Their listeners and viewers will now be even more enraged, even more frustrated, even more disappointed in everybody except the responsibility-free talkers on television and radio. For them, it’s mission accomplished. For the cause they purport to represent, it’s Waterloo all right: ours.

One can only hope. Though I must say, as much as this bill is a sad excuse for actual reform, it's nice to see some Republican heads exploding for a change (metaphorically speaking, of course).

current events

(Paul Madonna)

And just in case anyone is assuming that by "us" I mean "them," well, don't.

But yes, it definitely means them as well.

プロの職人によるアイロンがけテクニック(ワイシャツ) ("ironing techniques by professional craftsmen (shirt)")

cyoa

(via Skull Swap)

...

(via Yimmys Yayo)

holy fuck! now glenn beck's attacking me

way to the neighbor

As long as we have a vaguely NSFW theme going this weekend, here we have the 1968 German short film, Weg zum Nachbarn, by Lutz Mommartz. Whether you're a fan of bicycling, or are just curious about what may be one of the original inspirations for Beautiful Agony (another being Andy Warhol's 1964 Blow Job), the last minute or so is worth the ride.

asteroid

The real reason the dinosaurs became extinct. (Decidedly NSFW.)

decades late, the future is finally here

just say neigh

While we're otherwise engaged, how about a reading recommendation from those wonderful folks at Awful Library Books:

And just in case you thought the "naughty horse" description was somehow metaphorical, well, guess again:

I think this book actually extends the existing upper range of the WTF? scale.

the fun never ends

pain rating

(h/t rocket girl for the observation)

#ftw!

In an all too rare media victory for reality-based medicine, Rachael Dunlop (@DrRachie) has won the Shorty Award in the Health category. Suck on that, "Dr." Mercola (no link).

enjoyment

So, a little over 24 hours later, I'm extremely gratified to see that you all took me at my word.

antidote

Yes, this is probably all over everywhere by now (it had about 26,000 views this morning and, ten hours later, is now over 300,000). But as a contrast to my previous posts about the rise of CGI (and the no doubt obvious despair of the last two), the pure joy of the low-tech DIY esthetic of this video is, to me at least, absolutely irresistible. Enjoy.

Seriously. Enjoy.

the leading voices of conservatism are hideous people

It's one thing to have a different opinion about the role of govenment in our lives. It's another to be a vile fucker. Rush Limbaugh, Glen Beck, and a whole bunch of other "conservative" luminaries show themselevs again and again to be the latter.

Doubtful? Go here. Or just take my word for it.

Vile fuckers.