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Wednesday, October 14, 2009
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| On Roger Goodell and Standards |
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NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said yesterday that he had concerns about Rush Limbaugh's efforts to become a minority owner of the St. Louis Rams. "I've said many times before we're all held to a high standard here, and I think divisive comments are not what the NFL is all about." In other news, the NFL and its owners yesterday moved to allow Black Eyed Peas singer Stacy "Fergie" Ferguson to join the ownership of the Miami Dolphins. Among her vocal credits, a song called "Let's Get Retarded" -- the early version of Black Eyed Peas hit "Let's Get it Started." Because nothing brings us together like making fun of the developmentally disabled? High standards or double standards?
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Thursday, January 08, 2009
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| Taking Chance |
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In 2003, my friend Matt Burden of the military blog Blackfive published a remarkable, deeply moving account of Marine LtCol M.R. Strobl's escort of a fallen Marine's remains from Iraq. The blog posting eventually found a spot in Matt's definitive book on military blogging, The Blog of War, and has now been made into an HBO original movie. HBO movies and miniseries tend to be superbly written, crafted, and produced -- it appears that Taking Chance will be no exception. Here's the trailer:
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Monday, January 05, 2009
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| Big Hollywood Arrives |
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On Tuesday, Andrew Breitbart, friend to many here at TWS, launches "Big Hollywood," a website of culture and politics which has "changing Hollywood" as its modest goal. Breitbart, who helped establish the Drudge Report and the Huffington Post, has discarded more good ideas than most of us have had. (One idea that does not fall into that category was his plan for huskymalemodels.com, a website featuring photos of men whose high-school-era good looks had been compromised by a steady diet of beer and wing in the years since. While there would have been no shortage of "models," I'm not sure that one would have generated much traffic). With Big Hollywood he hopes to engage conservatives and libertarians in the bi-coastal ideas war he has been fighting for years. As Breitbart puts it: "Until conservatives, libertarians and Republicans - who will be the lion's share of Big Hollywood's contributors - recognize that (pop) culture is the big prize and that politics is secondary, there will be no victory in this important battle." Breitbart lifts the veil on the project in his column today over at The Washington Times. Starting tomorrow, you can access the site here.
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Tuesday, October 07, 2008
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| First Word on W. |
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Variety's Todd McCarthy isn't so much a movie reviewer as a tribune of absolute truth. This morning he's got the verdict on Oliver Stone's W.:
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Friday, August 22, 2008
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| Try Credo Mobile! |
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Are you a right-thinking progressive appalled by the world George W. Bush has created? Are you tired of having Republican corporate pigs like AT&T profit from your text messages? Then try Credo Mobile! That's the pitch Credo Mobile is making. Billing itself as a company that supports progressive values, Credo promises to donate 1 percent of your charges to progressive groups. In an email pitch they sent around this week, Credo takes after the other wireless companies--AT&T in particular--as being proponents of "Karl Rove's values." One side note: Yesterday I stumbled on an event scheduled for Denver called Unconventional '08. It's an indie rock concert organized in partnership with the Obama-worship project Manifest Hope. The concert is being sponsored by a number of organizations, including MoveOn.org. And AT&T. Is there no end to the dastardly tricks these corporations will employ to confuse good-hearted progressives! ![]()
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Wednesday, August 20, 2008
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| Chicken Bingo Banned in Quebec |
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I'm surprised that residents of Quebec would let animal rights activists get the better of them on their 400th anniversary:
Did supporters of the tradition refer to it as the "Thetford Chicken Massacre"? I imagine not, but who knows. Perhaps a good compromise would be allow the tradition to continue one last year, and instead of using chickens, Quebec residents could sacrifice the hybrid animal France gave to them in celebration of their 400th anniversary. Do recall Quebec residents were so unhappy with the animal that the Vachibou was forced into hiding. Why not honor both the Vachibou and Quebec with a hybrid hecatomb?
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Thursday, August 14, 2008
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| Is John Edwards Paying Child Support? |
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If the rumors are true, John Edward's former mistress is receiving $15,000 a month in child support/hush money from a former campaign aide. Edwards says he wasn't aware of the payments, and has nothing to do with them. The Enquirer says nonsense in the tabloid's most recent update. At $15,000 per month, Rielle Hunter is receiving a sum somewhere between what P-Diddy's baby mommas and Britney's baby daddy get. ⢠K-Fed is allegedly receiving $20,000 per month from Britney, but that breaks down to $10,000 per child. That's less than what Rielle Hunter is receiving. ⢠Hip hop mogul Russell Simmons pays $20,000 a month per child and must also buy or lease a car for his children, worth $60K or more, every two years. Not starting when their 16 years old and can drive. Starting now. ⢠P-Diddy pays $30,000 per month to the mother of his first child. The mother of his next three children requested $100,000 a month, averaging out to about the same. Reading about such sums makes one wonder where this money is going, and how everyone else in the country manages to raise kids at a fraction of the cost.
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Wednesday, August 13, 2008
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| The Unabomber Hates the Newseum Also |
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Ted Kaczynski's cabin is on display now at the Newseum in Washington, DC, and he's none too pleased about it. Apparently an ad for the Unabomber exhibit found its way into his "supermax" federal prison in Colorado. He has sent a three page handwritten complaint to a U.S. Court of Appeals requesting relief -- on behalf of his victims and their families. Kaczynski explains how he came upon the news: "I recently received a page from the Washington Post, June 19, 2008, page A9. This compromises a full-page, full-color advertisement that features my cabin, which is being exhibited publicly at something called a 'Newseum.'" He goes on to say that he's troubled that his victims must endure further publicity of his crimes, as they have objected in the past to the publication of his writings. Although I question Kaczynski's sincerity, I do share his dismay with the Newseum. Andrew Ferguson had the definitive take-down in the WEEKLY STANDARD.
So I guess the question is does the "hands on" experience of the Newseum allow visitors to handle the contents of Kaczynski's cabin? Do recall among his only possessions was an underlined copy of Al Gore's Earth in the Balance.
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Thursday, August 07, 2008
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| It's Close Encounters All Over Again |
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A guide to Canadian etiquette for President Bush and his staff:
Say hello and shake hands when greeting another person? What a novel idea! Something tells me the U.S. delegation might have been better prepared by watching episodes of South Park.
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Monday, August 04, 2008
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| Paris Hilton Responds (Sort of) to McCain |
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Paris Hilton's parents have contributed to the McCain campaign. Although Paris Hilton is refusing to take any formal stand -- brands don't belong to political parties, don't you know -- she refused to object to the McCain ad and some suggest she may be a closet McCain supporter.
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Monday, July 14, 2008
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| His Holiness Does Not Wear Prada |
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The Pope wears red shoes?
Perhaps his Holiness is a fan of the Wizard of Oz? As many questions are raised as answers given by this list of fun facts about Pope Benedict XVI. No surprise that his favorite brewery (Franziskaner Weissbier) is German, but let's hope to God he doesn't like their Hefe-Weisse Hell.
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| Salman Rushdie Has the Kavorca |
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The new target of Salman Rushdie's affections is a 27-year-old Bollywood star. That puts her a full decade younger than his ex-wife Padma Lakshmi and more than three decades younger than the four-time married Rushdie who has pledged never to marry again.
I would have guessed when you're Salman Rushdie, you must get bored talking to beautiful women less than half your age.
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Wednesday, July 09, 2008
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| Amy Winehouse's New Addiction |
![]() Amy Winehouse's friends are worried about her addiction to tanning. One unnamed source tells the Telegraph, "This is another addiction that puts her health in danger. Why canât she take up squash or something?" Maybe the enablers in her life should be a little less preoccupied by her love of tanning and a little bit more preoccupied by her smoking crack. After all, if Winehouse lives long enough to get skin cancer, I think a lot of her fans will be very surprised.
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Wednesday, July 02, 2008
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| Study Aliens After School |
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From alien killer to alien worshiper, Will Smith is starting a new school to bring the teachings of L. Ron Hubbard to impressionistic young people. I'm sure parents will be eager to send their kids, because Smith is such a great judge of character and has said yes to aliens. As long as children are studying Battlefield Earth and not the Bible, no one in Hollywood should get too upset.
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Wednesday, June 25, 2008
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| When Peacocks Attack ... |
![]() They're no longer biding their time. The peacock revolution has begun:
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Friday, June 20, 2008
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| Hollywood Triumphalism Watch |
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Further developments on the counting your chickens front:
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Tuesday, June 10, 2008
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| Miss Scarlett |
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Jeffrey Ressner of the Politico reports that actress Scarlett Johansson has a crush on Senator Barack Obama. âMy heart belongs to Barack,â she is quoted as saying. After the last ABC debate, the star of Lost in Translation emailed the candidate, praising him for his performance. Believe it or not, the candidate wrote her back:
Other Things That Shock Scarlett Johansson: Her personal trainer has time for hands-on demonstrations. Her masseur cancels other appointments to prolong his massages free of charge. Her cable installer shows up 30 minutes early and checks and double-checks the cable connections. In her bedroom. Bartenders make her fancy cocktails on the house and they never skimp on the alcohol. Air-conditioning repairman returns her call in minutes, offers same day service as well as dinner. Auto mechanics offer to reupholster her carseats for free and keep the old ones for themselves. Waiters are constantly bringing her free food and feeding her by hand because itâs âfamily-style.â
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| Scalia Hearts 'Sex and the City' |
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Readers of THE WEEKLY STANDARD might assume that Sex and the City: The Movie was just terrible. But finally, we have a man's man who recognizes the wit and charm of this wildly entertaining, if unrealistic, TV series and film: None other than Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. New York's Intelligencer reports:
Now, a killjoy Supreme Court spokeswoman is trying to knock down the story, but Justice Scalia shouldn't be ashamed. After all, you donât have to be socially liberal to enjoy this sharp and designer-shoe-filled guilty pleasure. (H/T Above the Law)
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