What The Hell Am I Doing Here?

Wednesday, October 20, 2004

Dept. of What The?!?!
A picture named wtfkirby.jpg Jack "King" Kirby Does Superman
...and provides us with the WTF?!? moment of the day.
Somehow I managed to miss some of the most way-out happening comix of the 70's:

In issue 137, a gadget called the "Solar Phone" enabled Superman, Jimmy and a room full of young people to take a group "mind trip" through a realm of groovy images and (we're told) sounds and sensations. It's a perfect Kirby "cheat": Superman would never take drugs, but he does "do" science, and the Solar-Phone is the electronic equivalent of an acid tab (It's also a good chance for Kirby to show off his new mastery of the photo montage). Although some of the young people (Outsiders, Forever People and "Hairies") think Superman's pretty cool (and hunky!), he's really only welcome because he's "Jimmy Olsen's Pal" (a neat twist) because, after all, you can't really trust anyone over 30, even if he does wear the big red "S."
Nonetheless, when it comes time to feature a real-life celebrity in the book, Kirby opts not for Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, Timothy Leary or another icon of the counter-culture, but instead for the (then) middle-aged Vegas comedian Don Rickles (!) who appears not only as his vitriolic, mean-spirited self but also as an insufferably nicey-nice doppleganger named "Goody Rickles." Hmm...maybe Kirby left that Solar Phone on a bit too long!
Solar phone, man!!!
Eternal hosannas for Kevin, because he showed me the way to the Supes site.

4:19:47 PM leave/read comments []

Dept. of Disenfranchisement, Florida-Style

A picture named vigilant.jpg Hollow Victory. US blogger Markos Moulitsas is wary of Republican attempts to 'steal' another election. [Guardian Unlimited]

If you give one whit about democracy in the U.S.A., the first two paragraphs alone will make your blood boil.

It was Monday morning, the first day of early voting in Florida, and only an hour went by before the system collapsed in Broward County, ground zero for the 2000 fiasco in the state. Potential voters were turned away in this heavily Democratic county as election officials delivered a litany of excuses. The person in charge of elections is the secretary of state, Glenda Hood, a Republican.
It was an inauspicious beginning to Florida's election season, and a reminder that Democrats must remain vigilant against Republican efforts to steal yet another election. And in that regard, Republicans have been mighty busy.

What was that Thomas Jefferson said about vigilance and freedom?

3:38:08 PM leave/read comments []

Dept. of Zoology

The giant ocean sunfish (or Mola mola) is an amazing creature and one recently washed up on a New Zealand beach.

Sea monster. David Pescovitz: This monstrous sunfish washed up on a beach in Puponga, New Zealand. Link [Boing Boing]

Mike Johnson's website has some fantastic photos of live mola molas. For more info on this magnificent animal, check out Ocean Sunfish Dot Org.

3:17:53 PM leave/read comments []

Visualize Winning

Let the power of positive thinking wash over you and lift our country back to greatness!

It left me in tears. Tears of hope and joy.

via Julie

1:46:23 PM leave/read comments []

Bush Relatives For Kerry or: "Please, don't vote for our cousin!"

Dubya's family urges you to send him home.

"Bush Relatives for Kerry" grew out of a series of conversations that took place between a group of people that have two things in common: they are all related to George Walker Bush, and they are all voting for John Kerry. As the election approaches, we feel it is our responsibility to speak out about why we are voting for John Kerry, and to do our small part to help America heal from the sickness it has suffered since George Bush was appointed President in 2000.

1:19:40 PM

leave/read comments []

Dept. of Companionship

A picture named siren.jpg Siren has been adopted!

Yay! Little Siren has found a home! But there are still lots of cats who need a home at theCapital Humane Society in Lincoln, NE and at your local animal shelter. Open your heart and your home to a kitty, you'll be glad ya did.

1:41:43 AM leave/read comments []

Christ. What's in the report?

CIA 9/11 report suppressed by the President. Mark Frauenfelder: npr sez: "This is a secret report by the CIA that names names in terms of 9/11 responsibility but is being supressed by Bush. People who aren't registered at LA Times can read the full text of the article here.

"The agency directorate is basically sitting on the report until after the election," the official continued. "No previous director of CIA has ever tried to stop the inspector general from releasing a report to the Congress, in this case a report requested by Congress." None of this should surprise us given the Bush administration's great determination since 9/11 to resist any serious investigation into how the security of this nation was so easily breached. In Bush's much ballyhooed war on terror, ignorance has been bliss. The president fought against the creation of the Sept. 11 commission, for example, agreeing only after enormous political pressure was applied by a grass-roots movement led by the families of those slain. And then Bush refused to testify to the commission under oath, or on the record. Instead he deigned only to chat with the commission members, with Vice President Dick Cheney present, in a White House meeting in which commission members were not allowed to take notes. All in all, strange behavior for a man who seeks reelection to the top office in the land based on his handling of the so-called war on terror.
Link
[Boing Boing]

1:40:49 AM

leave/read comments []

Dept. of Mornings After

A picture named jon_stewart.jpg It's Jon Stewart MANIA!!!!

Jon Stewart 'Crossfire' Feud Ignites Net Frenzy. When comedian Jon Stewart blasted the hosts of CNN's "Crossfire" on the cable TV program, he ignited a frenzy of online activity. By By CNET News.com. [The New York Times > Technology]

Yes, the Rumble with the Dumbells is a big hit on the 'Net!

Jon Stewart on his Crossfire appearance. Cory Doctorow: UPDATED: Here's a clip from Jon Stewart's Daily Show monologue following on his now-legendary Crossfire appearance in which he post-mortems his performance. Very good stuff.
~~Link~~ New Link, Crossfire's response (via Waxy!) [Boing Boing]

12:08:41 AM

leave/read comments []