The Only Republican in San Francisco

Belated shouts-out

There are a number of new and new-to-me blogs that you should check out.

The first is economist Greg Mankiw’s, which is something of a sensation even in its infancy. I learn something every time I go there. He is a former Bush adviser who might-maybe have been pushed out for being a little too clear-eyed.

Another is Knowledge Problem, a novel combination of economics and social issues. Lynne and Mike do a good job of uncovering novel ideas.

There is also the gun-totin’ libertarian Ali’s Voice. Ali accused me of moving to the left as I get less and less trustful of government. Don’t worry, it is a question of historical semantics more than ideology, check it out.

And I had the opportunity to dine with Ed Driscoll lately, longtime blogger and audio engineer to the blogging stars. Great guy and always on top of it.

Bad things happen when the drums stop

[Warning, for music geeks only]

Setting: Deep in the African jungle, mid-1800’s. Dr. Livingstone and his trusty local guide, M’Benga, hike through the dense growth. Sound of drums in the distance.

Livingstone, afternoon on Day 1: I say, we’ve been hiking all day and the drums simply won’t stop. What is their significance?

M’Benga: My friend, trust me, you do not want the drums to stop.

[Fast forward: 3am, Livingstone pokes his head out of the tent, drums ongoing.]

Livingstone: M’Benga, what could be so all-fired important about those drums? They won’t stop and I haven’t slept a wink.

M’Benga, wearily: My dearest doctor, you do not want the drums to stop. Bad things happen when the drums stop.

[High noon, Day 2, African sun blazing, drums continue.]

Livingstone: I tell you, with this heat and those confounded drums, I don’t know how much more I can take.

M’Benga, calmly: For our own sake, we do not wish the drums to stop. We will be very sorry if the drums stop.

Livingstone: But why?

M’Benga: It is too horrible to mention. You could not handle it.

[6am, Day 3, dawn breaks. Drums relentless.]

Livingstone: Seriously, I am not sure that our cultures can ever get along if those incessant drums are part of the deal. I am ready to get on the boat back to England.

M’Benga: As I have said, very frightening things will happen if the drums stop. You will need to trust me, it is for the best that they continue.

Livingstone: But what can be worse than this relentless pounding? You must tell why they won’t stop.

M’Benga: Alright, I will tell you, but do not say you weren’t warned. What happens after the drums stop? Bass solo.

Today I had a pleonasm

Is it possible that this sentence of words in engaging in the occurrence of the phenomenon of pleonasm?

I like new words — my favorite of the past year is schadenfreude — though it may be hard to actually find a use for the above without sounding a bit pedantic. You know I'll try...

Who needs politics...

...when you’ve got Stairway to Heaven, sung backwards, then played backwards, resulting in something vaguely Dutch?

Surry bout that

Seems like Typead (my blog host) had an outage, so I was offline for a few hours. It looks like we are back. Well, if you are reading this, we are back. If you are not reading this, then we are still offline.

Fitting too many stereotypes

This is too funny. It is a profile of the blogger behind a site called My Left Wing, which I’ve never actually read.

One stereotype about liberals and conservatives, in my humble and entirely unbiased opinion, is that conservatives talk about the issues and liberals talk about themselves. It makes me sad the the left side of the blogosphere is defined by this sort of thing.

On the one hand, it’s good for Republicans since the sheer Tourettic madness on the other side takes the opposing party off the cliff, politically. That’s the schadenfreude argument, and it’s one reason ‘Pubs are able to retain power (even when they abandon their own principles).

On the other hand, it’s not actually a net gain for the country or the world because we lose a lot of good minds to such infantile regression. Hey, anger and passion make us who we are. And then we grow up.

Updated design

So, my good buddy JoeTekk suggested I move away from the dark-background thing here on the blog. Yeah, I had to agree, but I am also 100% incompetent at visual design. So I fired up one of the Typepad templates and made a few tweaks for readability.

Fell on Black Days

Black is today's theme. At the bus stop, a poster taped to light pole:

Have you seen Blackie?

(picture of ink-black dog with frisbee)

Last seen at Hyde Street park

Wife and kids in hysterics

$3000 reward

Very sad. But the honesty of the poster is very funny. Is three grand the value of the dog, or Dad's peace of mind?

Today at Ask a Ninja:

"Giving a ninja something black is like giving crazy to Angelina Jolie"

And, I will offer a fabulous prize (iTunes gift certificate maybe?) to the first person to tell me the time signature of the title song of this post. Oh, and what was unusual about the video? (Answer using the comments link)

Oscar predictions

If you know me, you know I am an avid movie-goer and follower of Hollywood. ;) The Only Girlfriend is having an Oscar party in a few hours. Greg Gutfeld has offered a few predictions. Excerpt:

George Clooney will plant an on-stage kiss on Matt Damon after Matt cites Clooney's "bravery" in "tackling the new McCarthyism" in "Good Night and Good Luck." The entire exchange is about as spontaneous as a shuttle launch. [...]

Morgan Freeman's hair has gone more gray, making him appear 65 percent more trustworthy than last year. [...]

Philip Seymour Hoffman says Capote is "a role of a lifetime." He thanks his girlfriend. Twice, to make sure.

"I miss my wife?"

Nobody delivers it better than Shatner.