James Brown - Rest in Ambivalence

So James Brown is dead. On the one hand, his late 60s & early 70s output - "Say it Loud - I'm Black and I'm Proud," "Santa Claus Go Straight to the Ghetto," "Hot Pants (She Got To Use What She Got To Get What She Wants)," "I Don't Want Nobody To Give Me Nothing (Open Up The Door, I'll Get It Myself)," "Get On The Good Foot," etc - was totally killer. On the other hand he beat his wife, led police on a high (and I do mean "high") speed chase and threatened employees at gunpoint for using the bathroom. So yeah, what a guy.

Gerald Ford stumbles into the afterlife

Gerald Ford died today and as Anderson Cooper is relaying the news his cavalcade of guests are spending the majority of their airtime defending Ford's legacy against the scourge of Chevy Chase. Be damned the fact that he was never actually elected to office, it appears that the central controversy of Ford's legacy revolves around the clumsy persona that Chase created in his Saturday Night Live impersonations.


Also of note - Cheney, Rumsfeld and Bush 1 came to prominence under Ford. Awesome.

Rad

I declare this Xmas to be... Awesome!

Castle Greyskull and Raiders of the Lost Ark on Betamax in one Xmas!!! Damn.

It's getting hot in herrrre, and it's killing my Xmas buzz

This weather is unacceptable. Seriously, it is so freaking hot that I am having a really hard time staying pumped for Xmas. This weekend I made a mix of the best Xmas songs ever (I will post a tracklist soon) to try and keep me in the mood but the weather keeps getting hotter so now I am resorting to visual aids. Behold, Xmas!

Tag? I am kind of confused but weird in these 6 ways

So Hillary did some tag thing to me and I think I am now supposed to tell you 6 weird things about myself (see: THIS).

Here goes:

1 - I often don't like to eat food that other people make - this includes potlucks, buffets, dinner made by strange people (Hillary you don't count, your food is awesome and you aren't strange), but does NOT include restaurants (non-buffet) or prepackaged food stuff. This makes me feel guilty because I am afraid someone will be offended because I don't want to eat their food but really I am just weird. Also note that I can't cook so this means I eat a lot of frozen pizza. Call me Mr. Healthy. Awesome.

2 - I love bloody violent horror and action movies but am a sucker for cute animals and my favorite website is CuteOverload.com. I don't think this is that weird but a lot of people that I work with do so I am including it.

3 - I hate the sun but apparently I need it to live. The sun makes me hot, sweaty, squinty and irritable but some people say that it is essential to life and living so I guess I just have to deal with it. This doesn't stop me from cursing its exsistence whenever it rears its ugly mug.

4 - I love writing but hate writing. I don't know if this is weird or normal but I enjoy thinking about writing something and I enjoy having written something but the actual act of writing makes me want to stab myself. This is a problem since most of things that I want to do with the remainder of my life involve writing.

5 - I am the most pessimistic optimist I know. Somehow I manage to be incredibly jaded and fatalistic while also having faith that everything will eventually work out for the best. So, while I constantly think I/we am/are fucked I also figure that there is an equal chance that I/we am/are about to win some amazing prize or change the world for the better.

6 - I have an amazing memory for minutia (see the long post/flamewar with Chuck on AthensPolitics for my ability to remember every detail of something from a long time ago) but frequently can't remember something that happened just a little while ago - as in: how did I get to work this morning? What did I do last night? What was it I promised to remind my wife? How do I tie my shoes? (OK I remember the last one but you get the idea).

6.5 - I look like young Homer Simpson, a fact which landed me the lovely Mrs. Lewis.









OK so now I think I am supposed to tell some other people to do this same thing on their Blogs. Since I don't know toomany other bloggers who aren't already doing this I pick LAMBO and SAUCE. Get to it boys.

Lou Dobbs and the Sinister Taco

Read THIS story on Wonkette about how illegal aliens literally are building the fence to keep themselves out of America. Oh man, brilliant!

Marvel-ous news

During the ongoing Civil War story Marvel is currently doing, Reed and Sue Richards (Mr Fantastic and the Invisible Woman if your nasty) are going through a spot of marital trouble as a result of their being on opposing sides of the Superhero Registration Act. The Human Torch sided with his sister Sue and the Everlovin' Blue Eyed Thing is claiming neutrality and high tailed it to the land of frommage and honey.

So... one major question in the midst of the ongoing superhero war has been - who will be the Fantastic Four now that the team has ruptured. Well I just got this picture (which I assume is an upcoming cover to either an issue of the FF or of Civil War) in an email from the Marvel PR peeps with the headline "New FF?"

Interesting.

Talk about some bullshit

WTF?!!! PBS in Georgia is not airing the Chanukah/superhero show that Hillary tipped me to and that I posted about in the post below this. Scroll down to read about said show - the comments by Lambo are a must read.

But seriously, who does a guy have to blow to see a show about Jews and superheroes in Georgia?! A stroll through the rest of the month's PBS programming reveals a schedule packed to the tonsils with Jesus shows but not a single show about Jews (aside from Jesus) or superheroes (again, aside from Jesus - for those of you whose parents made them play with bible action figures as kids). That's some bullshit people.

I want my Jews and superheroes!

Super Heroic Chanukah!!

FYI (For Your Infotainment) -

CHANUKAH: A TIME FOR SUPERHEROES - on PBS Monday, December 18, 8 PM

Chanukah: A Time for Superheroes illuminates the connection between ancient heroes and modern-day superheroes. Host Arye Gross begins with the Chanukah story of the Maccabees, the Hebrew band of brothers who fought against the religious repression of the Syrian-Greeks over 2000 years ago. This heroic tale has inspired comic book writers since pow, zap, and bam first appeared in print and on the silver screen.

This special program gives insights from marvel Comics' Stan Lee and DC Comics' Wil Eisner, who describe their humble origins and the backdrop of their Jewish experience that informed Superman, Batman, Spiderman, and Wonder Woman. We'll also hear from filmmakers Sam Raimi (Spiderman) and Brian Singer (X-Men), from Michale Chabon, the acclaimed author of The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, and they visit the studios of Art Spiegelman and the Hanouka brothers, cutting-edge graphic novelists.

Chanukah: A Time for Superheroes includes archival radio and movie clips, music, and readings, all woven around the compelling tale of how the holiday evolved from a story of military victory to one of light and inspiration.

- Thanks to Hillary for sending this my way!

So chaotic

So anyone remember last week right before the runoff election when I was embroiled in a flamewar over at Athens Politics? Well it seems that a certain participant (who will go unnamed as I really don't want this to drag on any further) couldn't take the heat and went so far as to try pulling strings (or grasping at straws) to get me fired. I shit you not. While it is flattering to know that a certain someone has such a hard-on for me, I find it hard to understand how revealing yourself as a 6 year old on a blog entitles you to mess with a person's means of employment. Kind of pathetic if you ask me.

Speaking of Pauly Shore...

...I had jury duty on Monday and the one thing I learned was that the Clarke County court house is the hottest place in Athens. It's a non-stop furnace party straight out of a Nelly song.

Does it make me an old man that all I could think about was how much money it must cost to keep the heater running constantly? Maybe the judge and co. could bust out a sweater and free up a few tax dollars to put towards something a little less dehydrating.

The Action 5

Read this week's Action 5 HERE.

Whew...

Well the political season is finally over and despite the crap results across our state we have plenty to be happy about locally (Heidi and Kelly won in case you hadn't heard) as well as nationally. And while the bile continues to spew over at Athens Politics, I am just happy that we can finally move on.

Time to make with the Xmas spirit!

Ryanetics in 2010!

Not sure what I am running for but I am humbled to have Andy Rusk's endorsement for a run at something in 2010. WOOHOO Ryanetics in '10! You heard it here first.

Lambo, you wanna be my running mate?

Honestly until I learn to keep my opinions to myself I would be a terrible candidate for just about anything. However I would like to publicly join the effort to push Hillary into a run for commissioner next time her district comes up. We could use a good level headed subversive like you in City Hall!

Finally!

Don't forget to vote today!

As much as I love a good political season, I am definately ready for this one to be over.

Oh yeah, vote for Heidi.

Daily Show and Colbert Guests

“THE DAILY SHOW WITH JON STEWART” – (week of December 4)
Monday 12/4---------- Nathan Lane- promoting Broadway show "Butley"
Tuesday 12/5---------- Sen. John Danforth- Former Senator of MO - promoting book Faith and Politics
Wednesday 12/6 ---------- Eve Herold- author Stem Cell Wars
Thursday 12/7---------- Ed Viesturs- high altitude mountaineer- promoting book No Shortcuts to the Top: Climbing the World's 14 Highest Peaks"

“THE COLBERT REPORT” – (week of December 4)
Monday 12/4---------- Will Wright- Electronic Arts, Video Game Designer (i.e. “Sims”)
Tuesday 12/5---------- Steven D. Levitt- Freakonomics
Wednesday 12/6 ---------- John Sexton- Pres New York University
Thursday 12/7---------- Dr. Francis S. Collins- The Language Of God
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Monday 12/11---------- Dr. Peter Singer- Princeton University & Animal Rights Advocate
Tuesday 12/12---------- Dan Savage- The Kid: What Happened After My Boyfriend And I Decided To Get Pregnant
Wednesday 12/13 ---------- Doris Kearns Goodwin- Team Of Rivals
Thursday 12/14---------- Daniel Pinchbeck- advocate for use of psychedelic drugs

Oh good grief Chuck!

So my blogtastic flame-war/pesterfest with one-time ACC District 9 candidate Chuck Jones led me to do some research on the little bugger and my digging turned up a gem. Check out a magical little tidbit about how this self professed man of faith and values got caught trying to pull a fast one on the Cobbham neighborhood association by clicking HERE. Delicious.