I'm up at 3:30am doing this ONT. So I hope all you bastids is happy.

Life in DC When You're NOT David Gregory

Blasphemy Against the State Religion of Texas

Well at a certain point the score simply reflects a disparity between teams' skills and the blown out team has some responsibility to just not suck so bad.

Why Can't The GOP Run the 1960 JFK?

Posted by: Maetenloch at 05:54 PM | Comments (697)
Post contains 254 words, total size 4 kb.

Tampa Bay at Carolina. 261 tickets available from $20. I heard.

Tampa Bay Twins beat Longbow which beats Crossbow which beats Tampa Bay Twins.*

ALSO Game 2 underway, bottom of the first, Cardinals at Red Sox. I have no dog in this hunt. You may discuss any sport here to-NITE.

ALSO ALSO: James Taylor gets around to singing the national anthem last night (via Slubs)

ALSO ALSO ALSO: I know they're not twins. I don't care. To me they are.

* ok not really, the twins trump everything

Posted by: Dave in Texas at 04:22 PM | Comments (273)
Post contains 101 words, total size 1 kb.

. . . that surround us in our daily lives -- very often completely unnoticed -- they sometimes have a way of obscuring the very essence of the world around us. A soft pink handgun seems somehow considerably less lethal than it really is, and a baby blue atom bomb would look a lot like a giant Easter egg. But, if you were to see either of them in black and white, their deadliness would suddenly become much more real.

And that's the beauty of black and white photography; it has a way of distilling the subject down to its bare essence, be it a landscape, a dog, or a human being. Color photography obviously has its merits, and can often capture that essence in skilled hands. But when you see things in monochrome, you're seeing it in an elemental state with no deceptively mitigating tincture to mask its true underlying character.

As a photographer, if I had to pick a favorite genre to work in, it would have to be black and white portraiture. I love the starkness with which it portrays people and environments in a jolting, hyper-realistic way that lingers in the mind long after the image falls from view.

And, with that in mind, I thought I'd share a few of my favorites in another photography-related post. Hit the jump for a few more from my collection.
more...

Posted by: Pixy Misa at 01:04 PM | Comments (160)
Post contains 394 words, total size 5 kb.

It worked out so well last time, I thought maybe we'd do it again.

Time for a late afternoon change of pace...

In Pop Culture news:

E! is reporting that an A-list actress worked the sex-club circuit to get roles.
My money is on Melissa McCarthy.

Animals and the Environment:

Look! Feral cows! My takeaway from this article: Never, ever try to break up a cow-fight.

Out of this World... almost:

Didn't qualify for the astronaut program? Can't afford a Virgin trip to outer-space? Here's your compromise.

Record-breaking news:

These folks had a burning desire to break a world record.

In Fresh Out of College news:

There are boring internships at stodgy, old pencil companies, and then there are these: The 20 Best Internships in America

In They-Just-Can't-Help-Themselves news:

The city of Seattle gets the jump on an upcoming property value increase; Uses eminent domain to take property from 103-year old woman.

This-Really-Deserves-Its-Own-Post news:

I would love to see Ace tear into this bitch: The worst wife in Britain

Sporting news:

So you love college football? Do you love just the big names, or do you support the little guys too? I'm not sure what to make of this.

And, a video:

The best sport in sports.

Posted by: Open Blogger at 02:34 PM | Comments (199)
Post contains 224 words, total size 3 kb.

This is just sickening. Seven suicide-vest wearing economic terrorist Senators are looking to delay settled law.

Seven Senate Democrats want the White House to postpone parts of the law while contractors and the government work out kinks that have kept many consumers from signing up.

West Virginia Democrat Joe Manchin is co-sponsoring a bill to delay the $95 penalty for not enrolling.

Six other Democrats up for re-election next year are asking to postpone the March 31 enrollment deadline. They are Sens. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, Mark Udall of Colorado, Tom Udall of New Mexico, Mark Pryor of Arkansas, Mark Begich of Alaska and Kay Hagan of North Carolina.

Posted by: JohnE. at 11:45 AM | Comments (243)
Post contains 131 words, total size 1 kb.

Serious You Guys

If a group under siege can demonstrate “that there has been a conspiracy, which has transformed politics and society,” the British writer David Aaranovitch, astutely observed in Voodoo Histories, then they can convince themselves that “their defeat is not the product of their own inherent weakness or unpopularity, let alone their mistakes,” but is instead “due to the almost demonic ruthlessness of their enemy.”

This observation has screamed back into my mind this week as I watched the disastrous rollout of Obamacare’s much-vaunted health-care exchanges provoke apologists into spreading nonsense. Somewhere, deep down, the president’s allies must know that their man blew the launch — and blew it good. Nevertheless, some of the brighter members of the movement have caught themselves in a trap, responding to the widespread criticism of their signature achievement with the ludicrous allegation that it is being thwarted by outside forces — namely, Republicans and their donors. Indeed, even Barack Obama has proven susceptible.

In the course of a defiant speech at the White House, the president rode bravely into the realm of magical thinking: “It’s time for folks to stop rooting for its failure,” Obama said, adopting the panicked tones of a cheap infomercial salesman. Why? “Because hardworking middle-class families are rooting for its success.” For her part, Nancy Pelosi offered her own insinuation yesterday, suggesting that Republicans who continued to oppose the law were guilty of “sabotage.”

That piece is by Charles C.W. Cooke, so of course you should read the whole thing. He got a little ahead of himself, though

Amusingly, the president’s defiance has simultaneously inspired his base and irritated the press corps. Friendly journalists such as Ezra Klein, Greg Sargent, and Ryan Lizza have been brutally honest about the scale of the mess, while, in the alternative universe that progressive users of social media inhabit, frustrated defenders of the rollout have started to blame the usual suspects. Do a quick search on Twitter for the words “Koch sabotage” and you’ll find an astonishing number of results. The same goes for “Koch Obamacare” and “Koch ruined,” too.

... leading to this inevitable update:

They'll all come around eventually.

As for myself, I usually don't go in for these conspiracy theories. When Team Orca screwed that system up royally, there were those on the right who floated the theory that it must have been DDoS'ed or something, when in reality it was obvious that it was a botched rollout.

But in this case, there's something to this sabotage idea. And I only say that because the HQ has obtained an exclusive photo of the saboteur in action. more...

Posted by: andy at 10:30 AM | Comments (388)
Post contains 515 words, total size 4 kb.

Your afternoon open thread.

From what I gather, helicarriers are death traps. Which, y'know, the obvious end result from an absurd idea, but COMICS.

Posted by: Gabriel Malor at 09:13 AM | Comments (159)
Post contains 38 words, total size 1 kb.

Album: Latin: neuter singular of albus white, i.e., a blank (tablet).

more...

Posted by: Open Blogger at 01:51 PM | Comments (592)
Post contains 238 words, total size 2 kb.

As the U.S. becomes more and more polarized (thanks to President Petulance’s unity platform), many of us have relocated to greener pastures and many more are considering making a move. How do you decide where to live? Well, after factoring in economic factors such, as job growth and real estate markets, and personal factors, like proximity to family, you might also want to consider the “mood” of the states you’re contemplating to see if it fits with your personality. This article published in Time offers a short test to match you with the right state by mood.
more...

Posted by: Open Blogger at 12:37 PM | Comments (209)
Post contains 159 words, total size 1 kb.

• What Is Wrong With Rooting For Failure
  
• Hey Let's Completely Destroy Our Party In The Midst Of The Obamacare Debacle
  
• Millions Of Americans Are Losing Their Healthcare Plans Because Of Obamacare
  
• Teacher's Unions Fight Bill That Would Bar Sex Offenders From Schools
  
• Obama Heading Off For A Five Week Fundraising Blitz
  
• Manchin Introduces Bill To Try And Save His Senate Seat
  
• Healthcare.gov Pricing Feature Dramatically Underestimates The Actual Cost Of Insurance (video)
  
• No One Sabotaged Obamacare, Not The Kulaks And Not Even Republicans
  
• Minnesota Democrat To Obama Man Up And Start Firing People Over Obamacare
  
• Obama's Credibility Is Melting
  
• Will US Public Debt Reach 22 Trillion By Feb 2014?
  
• Obama's Redesign Of The Marine Uniform Not Going Over Well
  
• Hillary Heckled During Speech
  
• Police Kill 13 Year Old Boy With Toy Rifle (video)
  
• Awesome Toddler Halloween Costume
  
• Nigerians Not Happy About Ted Cruz's Joke
  
• You Could Have Bought The Forrestal For One Penny
  
• Amazon's Gigantic Bio-domes Have Been Endorsed By Seattle
  
• Good Interview With Mike Rowe
  
• The Rams Asked Brett Favre To Unretire*
  

*fixed.

Follow me on twitter. more...

Posted by: Pixy Misa at 05:33 AM | Comments (349)
Post contains 207 words, total size 4 kb.