cryptique

Why bother with napkins and pens?

If this is for a web-enabled Secret Santa thing, how about doing it this way: Each new person to show up and register is automatically assigned the previous registrant as their gift recipient. The first registrant would be the one who initiates the list (Jen?), and she would simply be assigned the last person to register before the list was closed. It would maintain a certain kind of randomness because the registration order wouldn't be known to anyone registering. Not a perfect system, but probably workable. I don't do scripting, but I'm guessing that would be a lot easier to put together

Two things: 1. Bush wouldn't have wanted to appear weak before the election. Jettisoning Rumsfeld would have been seen as weak by the wingnut core. 2. I saw speculation a week or two ago that under just these circumstances, Bush might deep-six Rumsfeld and then offer the Secretary of Defense position to Joe Lieberman, in an attempt to regain one senate seat. As for # 2 ... does anyone know how Lieberman's replacement would be selected if this scenario actually happened? Does the governor choose someone? Who's the governor?

The spin comes in the implication that only conservative Democrats can win, not progressive ones. The fact that progressive (or mostly progressive) Democrats did well in traditionally red states is being conveniently ignored. It's simply an attempt by the right wing to put a happier face on the results, but it rings hollow. And if a Democrat holds "some traditionally conservative views" but is otherwise a progressive, that means little. I'm a wacked-out liberal who doesn't even regard himself as a Democrat (because they're way too conservative for me), but I have traditionally conservative v

That's just the cherry on top of the sundae.

Regarding the "yeah, but they're conservative Democrats" talking point that's currently being sold by the right-wing ... here's Joe Conason on Salon.com: - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - [...] Anticipating this dreaded outcome in the weeks before Election Day, certain Republicans began to describe the Democratic victors as "conservative" -- a spin maneuver designed to salvage ideological victory from electoral repudiation. Although the wingers and their echoes in the mainstream media will continue to reiterate that theme, there isn't much substance to it. Sherrod Brown, the new De

Never thought they looked that similar, but an auditory SAB occurs when you listen to the first few albums from both of them. Somewhat different musical styles, but similar vocal deliveries.

That is interesting. Maybe people were thinking "Heck, I got a gun, but I don't got no fire truck." Yeah, the margin surprised me too. Devos reportedly put over $35 million of his own money into this race (he's a billionaire), and he's been running TV ads since at least March (several months before the primary). Couple that with the suddenly-more-visible Amway (suspiciously running TV ads for the first time in my memory) and he had quite a media juggernaut on his side. I think Granholm countered all that with two ads: the Devos-morphs-into-Bush ad (which is eerie, it's so good) and t

Cross-posted from a Grateful Dead board? Plus, we put over 111,000 people into a football stadium six times a year. Wilco only comes through, like, once a year -- if we're lucky. What I'm trying to say is, Wilco should play Michigan Stadium.

This is from Salon.com. I remain cautiously optimistic. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Where things stand Going into Tuesday night, Democrats needed to pick up six seats to take control of the Senate. Four -- Pennsylvania, Missouri, Rhode Island and Ohio -- are absolutely, positively in the bank. Here's where things stand in the other two. Montana: With 99 percent of the precincts reporting, Democrat Jon Tester leads Republican Sen. Conrad Burns 48.9 percent to 48.6 percent, with about 1,600 votes between them. That may not be a big separation, but it's important to remember

He was, for quite a while. They even put out an album called "Third Stage."

In Michigan, it looks like our Democrat gov'nor held off the evil former head of scAmway. Also, our Dem freshman senator survived. Maybe she'll make a little more noise in her second term. Too close to call right now on the referendum that would ban affirmative action.

Fixed it for you.

Weird. 2.0 actually seems faster to me.

I could say something about how there almost seems to be more compassion here for Ted Haggard than for Courtney, and how that may derive from a deep-seated misogyny that lurks just beneath the surface in most of us ... but I won't.

I saw 1964 a few years back. They sounded fantastic, but after the show I was down by the stage and realized that I was glad I'd seen them from the balcony. They have the physical mannerisms absolutely mastered -- from Harrison's goofy little dancing to Lennon's stance and McCartney's swinging of his bass (and their bassist is a lefty, unlike some Beatles tribute bands). But up close ... meh. The Harrison guy looks like Harrison did in the late '80s/early '90s. Their Ringo is about right, but also looks older. Lennon and McCartney -- nothing like 'em. Still ... a pretty damn good show. Sea

Instant classic.

SC-UF is on CBS for one major reason: Spurrier Returns to The Swamp. I spent a bit of time in Gainesville during the Spurrier era. That's going to be some crazy shit.

I'm willing to give the Beatles a lot of credit for popularizing the idea that artists can/should write their own songs -- they certainly managed to convince their record company of that, and the Stones and Kinks and others soon followed suit -- but I can't believe this thread has gotten this far without anyone mentioning the late, great Charles Hardin Holley.

It is sad. It's also immensely gratifying. When you've publicly railed against homosexuality the way this guy has, and spearheaded the effort to ban gay marriage, yet in private you engage in exactly the same conduct that you so vocally denounce, you're a hypocrite and you deserve exactly this kind of shitstorm when it all unravels. If this guy had just presided over his flock quietly and not built his popularity on hatred and bigotry, I would have a lot more compassion for him now.

It's going to take me a while to figure out how I feel about this one.

I rarely get to watch the Bears on TV living where I do, and this week was no exception. Now I'm glad I couldn't see this debacle with my own two eyes. SIX TURNOVERS? Losing to a Joey Harrington-quarterbacked team is just embarrassing. Though Grossman is starting to look more and more like Harrington, I'm afraid.