Today

the coffee shop discussion was about Obama gathering together top experts from across the political spectrum to prep him for his positions, the gist being that this is what makes a good leader.

Food for Thought

What Bush and Batman Have in Common
A cry for help goes out from a city beleaguered by violence and fear: A beam of light flashed into the night sky, the dark symbol of a bat projected onto the surface of the racing clouds . . .

Oh, wait a minute. That's not a bat, actually. In fact, when you trace the outline with your finger, it looks kind of like . . . a "W."

There seems to me no question that the Batman film "The Dark Knight," currently breaking every box office record in history, is at some level a paean of praise to the fortitude and moral courage that has been shown by George W. Bush in this time of terror and war. Like W, Batman is vilified and despised for confronting terrorists in the only terms they understand. Like W, Batman sometimes has to push the boundaries of civil rights to deal with an emergency, certain that he will re-establish those boundaries when the emergency is past.

And like W, Batman understands that there is no moral equivalence between a free society -- in which people sometimes make the wrong choices -- and a criminal sect bent on destruction. The former must be cherished even in its moments of folly; the latter must be hounded to the gates of Hell.

"The Dark Knight," then, is a conservative movie about the war on terror. And like another such film, last year's "300," "The Dark Knight" is making a fortune depicting the values and necessities that the Bush administration cannot seem to articulate for beans.... read the rest it is a fascinating viewpoint.

Going too far

I read Home decor and Gardening magazines for the inspiration, not to be lectured and indoctrinated.

I'm sick of the sanctimonious "green-preach."

Architectural Digest is about great big beautiful homes, it's about architects dreaming big, it isn't about cramming everyone into a little space so as not to have too large a "carbon footprint." It isn't about thinking small and shutting everything down, about blocking designers' creativity because there are too many windows in a house.

I don't live in a mansion. Far from it. But I appreciate those who dream - and do - big, and that's what I want from these magazines. And that's the kind of mentality I think needs to be projected.

So enough green-preach already.

Is this for real?

I mean - did he REALLY say this?

Al Gore made a surprise appearance Saturday at the Netroots convention in Texas: Mr. Gore spoke for a few minutes, noting that the polar ice cap, which is about the size of the continental United States and has been there for three million years, has a 75-to-80 percent chance of completely melting in five years.
(funny political cartoon)

Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog

Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog
Go watch it while you can (for free)
It's silly, but clever and witty.
Wired - Joss Whedon Waxes Dr. Horrible
The creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, and Firefly - has decided to try something different. He is releasing is latest project on the internet in three parts. part three comes out tomorrow. And all three will vanish the next day.

Don't try this at home

Are you kidding? You have to try this!

Pop Corn téléphone portable micro-ondes
Uploaded by sassiere

Hah! Update: it's a viral marketing campaign UrbanLegends.com for Cardo Systems Bluetooth
Urban Legends has links to:
• Popping Popcorn with Cell Phones - YouTube video
• Cell Phones Cook Popcorn - Museum of Hoaxes
• Physicist Debunks Cellphone Popcorn Viral Videos - Wired.com
• Cell Phone Popcorn Trick Revealed - Urban Legends
• How to Cook an Egg with Your Cell Phone - Netlore Archive

CNN report - it's digital editing :)

Dang. It looked like fun, too.

WAY more than $20

Drivers in sticker shock over hand-held citations
Drivers not abiding by the new cell phone law may think twice when they see how much money in court fees they'll have to pay in the end.
Previously, California Highway Patrol said the citation for driving while talking on a hand-held phone would be $20 for a first offense and $50 thereafter, but those numbers don't factor in processing and other penalty fees.
Driving while talking fees
Base fee: $20
State penalty: $20
County penalty: $14
DNA Identification Fund: $4
Court penalty: $10
Surcharge: $4
EMS penalty: $4
Total: $76
Source: Uniform Bail and Penalty Schedules, California Rules of Court, Rule 4.102, January 2008 Edition

An interesting interview with an Officer who spent part of Tuesday looking for cell phone violators, making between 15 to 20 traffic stops.

No mention of how UTTERLY STUPID this law is.

Related: Happy new stupid law day!

Tony Snow

Source
We cared. You mattered. You made a difference.
Besides all the other things, you were the absolute best White House Press Secretary ever.
Tony Snow's Freedom of Speech Award Address Things you never got to hear.
Tony Snow Accepts WFB Media Excellence Award at 2008 MRC G

"I love your determination, I love your creativity, your terrier-like refusal to let the press get away with things that violate the canons of journalism. But while I'm at it, I want to take a moment to talk about what is the most indefensible lapse of all. And we've seen several examples of it tonight. That is, the failure of the press to shake off maybe the greatest bit of laziness that you see often in journalism, it's what I call 'facile cynicism.'

"It's the attitude that, when you look at American life, you look at it with a sense of boredom; you're surrounded by people who are mediocre; the politicians are boring; oh, you look at it with a yawn. There's a kind of an Olympian look down at the people that fails to acknowledge that even now, in a time when we are riven by disagreements about a war and when we are anxious about our economy, this is still the world's dream machine."

Tony Snow (June 1, 1955 – July 12, 2008) Wikipedia

Tony Snow, R.I.P. Michelle Malkin

How much is too much?

Coffee places have become the new bars, in a way. With little coffee places on every corner, a proliferation of little drive-thru huts, all making mochas and lattes and cappuccinos... a nice way to start the day, but they're a far cry from the old school coffee shop/diner with 25 cent bottomless cups of coffee. The price keeps going up - sometimes the stores say it is the coffee market. sometimes it is sugar futures... thing is, when the market goes back down the prices never do. So I've wondered for a long time, at what point do the specialty coffee shops price themselves out of business? We've passed the $3 mark, even $4 in some cases. Now the national news is reporting coffee sales down - comparing a $4 latte to a $4 gallon of gasoline. (It's $5 here, by the way, a gallon of regular gas)

So - how much is too much? Have we reached that point? Will you start making your own at home?

Or is the human contact what you are really paying for?

Related: Starbucks closing 5 percent of U.S. stores (photo source)
As many as 12,000 Starbucks workers will lose their jobs when the company begins closing 600 U.S. stores this summer. Seattle Times As many as 12,000 Starbucks workers will lose their jobs when the company begins closing 600 U.S. stores this summer... The Seattle coffee company is cutting 5 percent of its U.S. locations as part of a wide-ranging effort to boost its bottom line and its stock price. The chain is accelerating international growth.

MAYBE they oughtta try lowering the price. Or is the trend coming to an end?