Picture Of The Day

The cover of Sarah Palin's second and newest book, coming out this November. Now I'm no marketing genius but I think they should have put a big American flag up behind her. I mean, how else are people going to know how totally patriotic she is and stuff? Except for the flag on her sweater, the two flags on her wrist and the word "flag" in the book's subtitle, of course. Do you think she could have chosen a more awkward position for her wrist or what? Can ya see 'em? Can ya see 'em?! Flags! Buy my book, 'cause flags!

Brain Rage, Unplugged

Sincerest apologies for the lack of posting over the past several days. I've been taking a much needed self-imposed sabbatical from the Internets and reading these weird old paper things called "books". Apparently they used to be all the rage back in the day, although I can't figure out how they became so popular without an RSS feed. So, is the BP oil well still... It is? Fuck.

Picture Of The Day

An illustration from artist Josh Cooley's Golden Book parody "Movies R Fun" (part of the Lil' Inappropriate Book line) which will be available at Comic-Con this year. You can see a few more examples from The Professional and The Godfather: Part II at the link.

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Book Club Break

No time for blogging today. My book club is meeting to discuss our latest tome over some BBQ and vino on a day so beautiful that it not only makes me glad to be alive but also extra glad that I'm spending it in Northern California. If you have the means to live here, or even just visit, I highly recommend it. Oh, and how this man is still alive is completely beyond me. I thought that I'd abused my body with chemicals but Ozzy is in a whole other realm of crazy. Regular posting will resume tomorrow.

Picture Of The Day

Even if this is faked, I still like it. Note the amusement...

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[Update:
This obviously isn't faked, and I love it. Note the nerdiness...

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Apparently I Really Am Brian Griffin...

I was reading an interview with Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane the other day in which he mentioned that the character of Brian the dog (the only character he uses his real voice to portray on the show) is loosely based on himself. Now I've been compared to Brian by several different friends in the past (I know it's hard to notice over the Internet but we even have similar voices) but it wasn't until I read his Wikipedia page that I realized just how much we have in common as far as politics, alcoholic refreshment, relationships, etc. Aside from the jazz and the cigarettes it appears that this guy is pretty much me if I were a cartoon dog and no, I still haven't finished that novel I've been working on:


[Update: A few readers have wondered in the past what the "B" in James B. Webb actually stands for. Yep, you guessed it...]

Joe The Author

It doesn't look like he'll be giving Steven King a run for his money anytime soon:

About 11 people wandered into the rows of seats set up hopefully in the basement of a downtown Border's bookstore to hear Joe speak...

Joe got a couple of news cycles' worth of attention starting on Oct. 12 -- he remembers the date clearly -- when he was videotaped confronting Barack Obama about his small-business tax plans... Now, only a few months later, he's kind of like a vestigial tail, a leftover artifact from a forgotten time...

Plumbing? Not happening. "I show up on a plumbing job and the first thing someone's going to say is 'Joe the Plumber didn't do the job right,' " he said. "The next thing you know, it's on the national news. It would be naive to go back to it."

Wurzelbacher says he's still no fan of Obama, but confessed that he never liked McCain all that much, either. Nor has he cared for the politicians he's met on Capitol Hill. "Liars and thieves," he called them...

Wurzelbacher was scheduled to speak and sign books for three hours, but the Joe Show was over in 55 minutes. Total copies of "Joe the Plumber" sold: five.

It's about time we ended the charade of pretending that this guy is anything more than a campaign prop left over from the last election. The smarter Republicans are starting to figure this out but many more have a long way to go.

(hat tip: Doug"e")

Finishing Timequake

No time for any more blogging today. I need to finish reading Timequake, written by one of my absolute favorite authors Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., before my book club meeting tonight. Also need to clean up my place and buy some wine before everyone arrives this evening so I'll talk to you again tomorrow. If I have time I'll try to write up a review of the book to post here soon.

Obama To Be Sworn In On Lincoln's Bible

Yes, in continuing with his practice of emulating the Great Emancipator president-elect Barack Obama will be sworn in on Abraham Lincoln's inaugural bible, making it the first time the tome has been used for such an occasion in over 140 years.

Now my well known anathema for organized religion aside, this is indeed a historical relic from the history of this country and my only hope is that it is treated with the requisite care it deserves; in other words, a book this old and important should be handled with gloves at all times because oils and acids from human skin can damage older leather and paper but I suppose the thirty or so seconds that Obama has his bare hand on it can be forgiven in a historical context.

Not to be a relic-Nazi or anything, but every person who winced along with me when the Declaration of Independence was rolling across a DC street after being tossed around like a rolled up dorm poster in the Nick Cage flick National Treasure will know exactly what I'm talking about. Just one more reason to hope for sunny skies on Jan. 20th, I suppose.

Burn Baby Burn

Just one more reason for people to make fun of the South. From the great state of Louisiana:

About 30 people gathered for a regional revival Friday night that included a book burning as a statement to reach out to local residents.

"It is allowed for Harry Potter to be taught in our schools, but not the Bible," International House of Prayer pastor James Crawford said during the Shreveport Regional Unity of Faith Revival.

That is one reason pastors from several denominations and races ripped pages from "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone." Those and pages from a pornographic magazine were put into a burn pit and set afire as praises bellowed from the congregation.

On a side note, I've never read any of the Harry Potter books but I really like the way they've contributed to a rise in the popularity of reading amongst kids; every other aspect of this story is utterly ridiculous and slightly troubling.

Physics? What Physics?

Hey all, had a date with a real cutie tonight so I don't have much time to blog but I wanted to post something for the loyal readers. As a tech geek, physics nerd and comic Fanboy (it's amazing that I can still get dates, huh?), I came across this article at Wired.com by James Kakalios of the University of Minnesota about the real world applications and constraints of Iron Man's armored suit. As an aside, if you're into discussions about theoretical physics and possible super powers, I highly recommend his book, The Physics of Superheroes; of course, if you're into getting laid then maybe you should just skip it. Fair warning.