Displaying comments 1 to 50 of 831
MeFi post:
how I'll dream fast asleep
Somebody please make a heatmap of this. In shades of overpriced, watery brown.
posted to MetaFilter by felix betachat
at 2:45 PM on July 18, 2008
With the new advent of Starbucks inside Safeway/Vons, here in California we actually have instances of two Starbucksen in ONE PARKING LOT. You don't even have to cross the street.
I'm thinking Buridan's Ass (Yuppie version).
posted to MetaFilter by felix betachat
at 2:57 PM on July 18, 2008
MeFi post:
"I never claimed to be perfect"
Nope. It's the other side that demands loyalty oaths, insists on unattainable standards of perfect conduct, and which profits from airing personal failings in the public square. When liberals and progressives play this game as well, everyone loses.
Larry Craig or Ted Haggard are arguable cases. Exposing lawless hypocrisy in public figures can function to check immediate abuses of power and influence. Even there, whatever immediate gains are made are offset by the... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by felix betachat
at 4:22 PM on July 16, 2008
MeFi post:
The oldest joke in the book - really!
That McCain joke -- he really said that? I don't think even George Bush's judgment is that bad.
That's the burden of being a Straight Talker. When a joke with woman hating and vaguely racist undertones pops into your head, you have to tell it like you see it. That's what you learn in the Hanoi Hilton. Life is too short and integrity is too precious to pass on an ape rape joke simply to spare the delicate sensibilities of others.
posted to MetaFilter by felix betachat
at 10:10 AM on July 16, 2008
I don't know. What did they use for rimshots before snare drums?
The hollowed-out skulls of their enemies.
ka-thunk!
posted to MetaFilter by felix betachat
at 10:19 AM on July 16, 2008
MeFi post:
A Divorce Portrait
When I first saw their wedding photograph, I was reminded of The Best Years of Our Lives. The Homer Parrish character is so real and so conflicted that even today you can feel what a groundbreaking film it must have been. As a narrative, the story is hackneyed. Homer's long-suffering girlfriend Wilma loves him despite his amputations and his depression and their marriage resolves all the plot's tension. Despite its narrative simplicity, the film was tremendously powerful... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by felix betachat
at 2:44 PM on July 15, 2008
MeFi post:
'The Politics of Fear'
No Jeremiah Wright casting fire and brimstone on the smoking wreckage of the WTC? No leering Jesse Jackson with a knife in one hand and the soon-to-be ScrOTUS in the other?
Weak sauce, Remnick.
posted to MetaFilter by felix betachat
at 6:56 PM on July 13, 2008
She may have misspoke, or her remarks may have been nuanced, but allegations of her being unpatriotic aren't "preposterous."
Sure they are. She never sent a generation of impoverished idealists to their death in order to radicalize half the world, guarantee oil profits for a generation and reap unheard of wealth through unfettered war profiteering. Compared to that, Michelle Obama is Thomas Fucking Jefferson.
posted to MetaFilter by felix betachat
at 7:02 PM on July 13, 2008
MeFi post:
You know who else had his head torn off?
Ah, MetaFilter. Never let your ignorance get in the way of a good snark.
There are Germans who post here, and if I'm wrong in what I write here, I'll gladly defer to one of them. But in the meantime, maybe it's worth thinking a little bit about the cultural and political climate in Germany today, instead of treating this guy like he's some PCnik run amok.
There remains a deep and abiding unease in Germany regarding the display, not only of... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by felix betachat
at 8:53 AM on July 5, 2008
That's some industrial strength projecting there. Seems much more likely that he was just mentally ill.
I disagree for all the reasons I outlined above. There's no need to speculate on mental illness when the actions are perfectly comprehensible from within a given cultural frame of reference. Moreover, I think it's very likely that Mme Tussaud's was being intentionally provocative and culturally insensitive. They probably considered the possibility... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by felix betachat
at 9:28 AM on July 5, 2008
The backstory.
posted to MetaFilter by felix betachat
at 9:08 AM on July 12, 2008
MeFi post:
From blue to red
This story strains credulity. If neocons really could change history we'd be 75 years into Prescott Bush's Thousand Year Reich.
posted to MetaFilter by felix betachat
at 11:15 AM on July 10, 2008
MeFi post:
L’shloshet yamin: “In three days you will know that evil will be defeated by justice”
I'm about 75% certain that this text is bullshit. It pains me to say so, since I have a lot of respect for the scholars publishing on it at the moment. But, as has happened so many times before, people are rushing into print with provocative theses before the serious work of authentication has been done.
So, let's look at the facts:
*The Hazon Gabriel text surfaced on the antiquities market with only the vaguest intimation... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by felix betachat
at 7:32 PM on July 5, 2008
Wait a sec. If I'm a forger, and good enough to fool serious scholars with my forgeries, why would I forge something unprecedented, something so odd as to automatically raise suspicions??
Good question. It's possible that the owner of the text would be reluctant to let scholars scrape sufficient ink from the stone to allow C-14 dating. Without organic matter to analyze, it's possible that its (non)-authenticity could never be established with... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by felix betachat
at 7:55 PM on July 5, 2008
Hebrew transcription and English translation of the stone have been put online here.
posted to MetaFilter by felix betachat
at 11:02 AM on July 6, 2008
Also, I've asked around and the consensus seems to be that Yuval Goren's forthcoming article (mentioned briefly in the Times piece) will argue for the text's authenticity. Goren is a good and serious scholar who's been involved in debunking past forgeries. So his imprimatur will carry some weight. Still, I'll hold off passing judgment until I've seen the article itself. And all my other statements about the difficulty of working with unprovenanced material still stand.... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by felix betachat
at 11:10 AM on July 6, 2008
Looks like I'm not alone in my skepticism. Almost immediately, some dissenting voices are being heard.
posted to MetaFilter by felix betachat
at 11:43 AM on July 8, 2008
MeFi post:
"In the long run, we are all dead" -- JM Keynes
My only comfort, and it is, indeed, a cold one, is that MetaFilter will never run out of snark.
posted to MetaFilter by felix betachat
at 8:25 PM on July 6, 2008
Not that you were speaking to me felix but my comment was more of a flat fact than a snark.
Hank Jr. is about as far from snark as a man can get.
posted to MetaFilter by felix betachat
at 8:34 PM on July 6, 2008
orthogonality, that was beautiful. You're like a hateful, hateful Marilyn Monroe.
posted to MetaFilter by felix betachat
at 8:45 PM on July 6, 2008
MeFi post:
Jezebelism
They're just grabbing headlines ahead of the rollout of the next Gawker portal: lothario.com, a group blog for the hipster date-rapist set.
posted to MetaFilter by felix betachat
at 3:29 PM on July 6, 2008
This show could be fun. Lizz Winstead should have Mel Gibson on next to discuss the Gaza Strip.
Awesome. She could serve him Manischewitz.
posted to MetaFilter by felix betachat
at 4:27 PM on July 6, 2008
I think these writers were interesting when they were sober.
Nah. Coleridge was at his best when he was high.
posted to MetaFilter by felix betachat
at 4:35 PM on July 6, 2008
MeFi post:
Sexual Surrogacy
Whoa. I absolutely do not "look down" at people who have been molested. Nor do I look down at sex workers. But, yes, I see pathos in the story of a woman who was molested, and who aspired to and sought direction toward work in a profession, who was nonetheless roped into prostitution when that was not her intention. I think that's sad.
Ugh. The mind boggles. So, despite your outstanding tolerance for molestees and prostitutes, you still... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by felix betachat
at 10:39 PM on July 3, 2008
#4's your problem, right there. Doesn't follow based on #2.
And #5 is just pure drama queenery, so knock that off too, why doncha.
posted to MetaFilter by felix betachat
at 10:55 PM on July 3, 2008
Yep. Missed that. Sorrie moxiedoll, that knuckle rap was misplaced.
posted to MetaFilter by felix betachat
at 11:12 PM on July 3, 2008
um...sorry
...geez...
posted to MetaFilter by felix betachat
at 11:13 PM on July 3, 2008
MeFi post:
Spain - 2008 European football Champions.
Fantastic tournament. Nothing is going to beat the excitement of Turkey's last second goal against Croatia. That was an unbelievable highlight in an all-around amazing tournament. In the end, Spain was a machine and the Germans, for all their heart, were simply outclassed.
posted to MetaFilter by felix betachat
at 5:04 PM on June 29, 2008
MeFi post:
Autobiography of Read
Any encomium of Carson should begin with Eros, The Bittersweet. It's extraordinarily penetrating philosophy and literary criticism, beautifully written and the key (in my mind, at least) to much of her poetry. Her translations of Sappho are masterful. Much like Seamus Heaney, who has single-handedly dragged Beowulf into the 21st century, her Sappho is without peer for its poetic and philological sensitivity. Carson has been for years on my short list of... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by felix betachat
at 8:02 AM on June 23, 2008
MeFi post:
UAV Sniper Drone
I like how their artist's conception shows the American flag in the background. Nothing says "All men are created equal" like an airborne, robotic killing machine.
posted to MetaFilter by felix betachat
at 11:49 AM on June 2, 2008
MeFi post:
Mark Bittman talks to TED about what's wrong with what we eat.
I've been cooking with Bittman's vegetarian cookbook for about six months now. It's fantastic and has turned me, an unrepentant carnivore with shockingly high cholesterol, into a joyful and creative mostly-vegetarian. As far as I'm concerned, he can rant all he wants. Pollan may inspire a lifestyle change, but Bittman actually teaches one the mechanics of getting there.
posted to MetaFilter by felix betachat
at 11:15 PM on May 31, 2008
MeFi post:
Bush Guilty of Treason?
Huh. Junior's got balls. I was sure that one was Cheney.
If we still had anything resembling a functional system of checks and balances, this would be huge. As it is, the non-prosecution of this high crime can only enhance the imperial aura of this presidency.
posted to MetaFilter by felix betachat
at 10:26 AM on May 29, 2008
Also, bullshit self-linkers must die.
posted to MetaFilter by felix betachat
at 10:27 AM on May 29, 2008
MeFi post:
Want a Kaffiyeh with that Donut?
I've heard that they also yanked the follow-up ad which had Rachel Ray sitting cross-legged on a prayer rug with an AK-47 while eating an apple fritter.
Cowards.
posted to MetaFilter by felix betachat
at 9:50 AM on May 28, 2008
Hopefully, Ray will address the absurdity of this on her show, thus exposing the inherent indecency and disingenuity of Malkin and her ilk to a whole new, and large, audience.
More likely, Ray will begin to describe the process of creating quick, tasty and healthful meals as a religious obligation akin to the early struggles of the Prophet and his followers to conquer Mecca. This new interpretation of jihad as culinary struggle will... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by felix betachat
at 11:12 AM on May 28, 2008
MeFi post:
Main Core
The best part about this new crypto-oligarchy is that we get to imagine that it's our boot stepping on a human face forever.
Of course, that's hardly the point, since "our" boot is made in a Chinese sweatshop, sold to the government by Halliburton and filled by the foot of a "robust temporary employee" from Blackwater.
posted to MetaFilter by felix betachat
at 1:38 PM on May 20, 2008
