With a tip of the hat to Scott:
What American accent do you have? (Best version so far)
Northern
You have a Northern accent. That could either be the Chicago/Detroit/Cleveland/Buffalo accent (easily recognizable) or the Western New England accent that news networks go for.
Click Here to Take This Quiz
It’s fun, but I think their claim to be [...]
Live coverage of WWDC.
My Powerbook is now well into its fifth year of flawless service, and the only thing keeping me from buying a new MacBook is Leopard’s release date. October seems so close, and yet so far away, and I’m betting on one more hardware upgrade between now and then.
The keynote was as fun [...]
So I’m trying to read The Assault on Reason, Al Gore’s new book looking at the way institutions like the media and the press are failing our political process, by applying to political coverage the same vacuous and entertainment-based narratives that used to be reserved for celebrity gossip (as in, who on earth thought it [...]
Imagine my surprise when, out of the blue, Isthmus published a great article by Linda Falkenstein, about horseshoes, a Central Illinois speciality that is basically a sandwich topped with french fries and then covered in cheese sauce.
According to Wikipedia, which is never wrong, the traditional sandwich meat is hamburger. I’ve never eaten one that way, [...]
The first three paragraphs of a horrifying AP article should refute, once and for all, the lie that the Republican Party is primarily concerned about small government and the free market, as opposed to say, a regulatory system that maximizes the profits of the large corporations which fund their election campaigns:
The Bush administration said Tuesday [...]
Midwest decides they can make more money by making their passengers uncomfortable, and removes the incentive to check them first when looking for airfares. Terrific.
I was prepared to be outraged, or dismayed, or saddened. I was expecting an overtly political movie – the kind that makes fun of people like James Dobson for saying that Fred Thompson (Church of Christ) is “not a Christian”.
Instead, I was impressed by the sincerity and dedication of most of the people [...]
A few days ago, Tom noted the behavior of his insurance company in the aftermath of last year’s hail storm.
The same storm did roughly the same amount of damage to my house, and forced me to repair the roof. (Mad City Roofing did a great job, and I’d recommend them to anyone in a similar [...]
Via Steve, BeliefNet has a new survey of politics and religion that I really wanted to find informative, but that was ultimately lacking in a lot of different ways.
They divide the American landscape up into twelve “tribes” (get it?), and then assign political and religious attributes to each group. “Black Protestants” are heavily Democratic, and [...]
Three related but independent articles, by nationally-syndicated columnists in well-respected publications:
Thomas Sowell writes in National Review:
When I see the worsening degeneracy in our politicians, our media, our educators, and our intelligentsia, I can’t help wondering if the day may yet come when the only thing that can save this country is a military coup.
Victor David [...]
Rick Perlstein’s been reporting on the food safety hearings held by the House Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations.
There’s a lot to be learned from the goings-on that take place away from the media spotlight, and this hearing is no different. The Republicans on the committee are downplaying the problem, and trying to change the subject. [...]
Ramesh “Party of Death” Ponnuru writes at the Corner:
Least Persuasive Gun Control Argument Ever [Ramesh Ponnuru]
Timothy Noah says that the reason we don’t ban the civilian ownership of handguns is that we just don’t care enough about the victims of gun crime.
Far from being the “least persuasive argument ever”, it seems incontrovertible to [...]
The New Republic:
Say what you will about Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, but he has always had a keen sense of fashion. Which helps explain the trendy attire chosen for the clean-shaven British sailors and marines whom, fresh from a makeover, he paraded before television cameras in Tehran on Wednesday.
The New York Times:
On Wednesday, before their [...]
Bush Refuses To Set Timetable For Withdrawal Of Head From White House Banister:
Though critics have argued that he does not understand the futility of his current situation, President Bush announced today that he has no plans to remove his head from its current position: wedged painfully between two balusters on a White House staircase. …
“Why [...]
Next to Thanksgiving and the Fourth of July, it’s the greatest civic holiday of the year. And Casey at the Bat remains the best poem of all time.
Oh, somewhere in this favored land the sun is shining bright; / The band is playing somewhere, and somewhere hearts are light, / And somewhere men are laughing, [...]