A couple of pictures of Maddy that I took up at Como yesterday.



Smile for the camera, monkey...



Yesterday was the twins' birthday (1 year old), and today is Marit's birthday (4 years). Happy birthday! Check out the bro's web site for pictures. The slacker hasn't posted in over a month, though... hmmph.

Saturday night look for the blue moon.

This is my favorite link of the day. Check out Will Ferrell's video on George W. Bush.

WWDCD?

What would Dick Cheney drive? Apparently a Winnebago.

Speaking of... Lil' Orphan Annie thinks Dick needs a time out!

What do you think of the 9/11 Commission Report?

New study reveals that coffee may make you... oh, what's that word?

Rockin' Ribfest is here again -- this weekend, downtown.

Doh! Now the Simpson's are doing a gay marriage episode, and one of the characters will come out of the closet. Mayor Quimby for Senate!

How much do you remember from school?

Hot buy indeed. For a mere $25.99 you can buy a piece of red string at Target. And it will protect you against the evil eye.

Pretzels, Segways, and Mountain Bikes. Oh my! I still liked Kerry's comment the last time he did this: "What? Did the training wheels fall off?"

Our fairy tale wedding.

What's so funny about peace, love, and understanding?

Well, interesting evening last night. I went to check out a indie film dog and pony show at the Theatre de la Jeune Lune. My former screenwriting instructor, Steve, just received a grant from the Minnesota Independent Film Fund, and now he's trying to scrape together the big dollars to actually make his movie, Holiday Beach. Here's the pitch: It's 1962. Holiday Beach, on a remote island just off the coast of Alaska. A naval radio communications outpost to intercept radio signals from the Russians. Then 2 events that change everything. One, the Cuban missile crisis. Two, a sailor goes nuts...

Oh, and it's a true story.

That's about all I know. The affair last night started with a welcome reception, followed by a script reading with several local actors, and then an investment pitch. Pretty interesting stuff. Anyway, I certainly hope they get all the funding, because I'd love to see this film get made. The target is to start shooting if early 2005 if everything goes as planned.

Steve (who's directing) interned with Waldo Salt (Midnight Cowboy, Coming Home), and he gets credit for launching the career Rachael Leigh Cook. At 14, her modeling agency sent her to read for a short film (26 Summer Street (1996)) and changed the course of her young life--from that moment on, Cook was hooked on acting.

Anyway, hope that works out. No fun links today.

Exactly 1 month to the State Fair!



In celebration, I'm taking the day off. Instead, go visit the official state fair site today and get psyched.

Interesting series of articles in the Strib yesterday on the 1904 St. Louis World Fair, and how fairs have helped introduce such staples of everyday living as the hamburger, hot dog, and ice cream cone.

Also, Fair filled with crowds, innovations -- and butter. And Fair's fare is stuff of legends. This should be required reading for all of you fairgoers out there.

Coming out in October, this looks to be a great CD box set -- Left of the Dial: Dispatches From the '80s Underground. The title and several tracks come courtesy of The Replacements.

And the tallest nationality is... the Dutch.

Yuck. Krispy Kreme has a new beverage offering -- Glazed-Donut Flavored Drink.

Monkey At zoo walking on two legs after near death experience.

Bill O'Reilly -- SHUT UP already.

Job predictor.

List of company name etymologies.

And what would your name look like?... in hieroglyphics? My name has a couple of those Monty Python stomping feet, an eye, and 2 birds.

Okay, my inner 7th-grader found this funny -- actual British "news" story from the BBC.

Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest -- 2004 Results

That's it for today. It's going to top out in the 90's today, so I need to take Maddy to the park before it gets too sweltering hot.

Mark your calendars. Sept. 29th is the day the aliens will invade earth.

And speaking of burnination, a new preview of Homestarrunner's new game -- Peasant's Quest.

MacGyver challenge winner. Make some nifty iPod speakers using a deck of cards and some altoid tins.

More funny Jon Stewart commentary on the gay marriage amendment.

I'm George Bush, and I approved this message.

Some pictures from a birthday picnic I attended last weekend, together with some Como Park pictures from this weekend. You can decide which is which -- party animal or zoo animal?

Some of the pictures are not so high quality because I had had to downsample the images and I lost some resolution. Don't worry, I'll have this fixed by the time the state fair starts.

Possible follow-up songs for one-hit wonders.

Worst songs of great rockers.

Let's see. On my list of things to do today, let's put this on top. Teach Maddy to steal garden gnomes.

Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., complained more than once during the Senate's debate that supporters of the amendment had been disparaged as intolerant.

"I would argue that the future of our country hangs in the balance because the future of marriage hangs in the balance," he said shortly before the vote. "Isn't that the ultimate homeland security, standing up and defending marriage?"

Um. No. Stopping terrorists from blowing things up is the ultimate homeland security, but thanks for asking.

Why no one want make Hulk 2? And, equally amusing, Hulk Blog. Hulk saw movie about bug-man and it was good but needed more smashing. AND HULK DID NOT GET SNIFFLY DURING ROMANTIC SCENES SO IF YOU HEAR IRON MAN OR THOR TALKING ABOUT IT THEY ARE LIARS.

Britney Spear's wedding registry on Amazon.

10 fun comebacks for your telemarketer.

Maddy and I have a new favorite hang-out. This St. Paul dog park. St. Paul kicks butt over Minneapolis when it comes to being a dog friendly city. This park has 4 1/2 acres of wooded area -- all enclosed by a chain link fence. The cost? Nada. Zip. Big goose egg. As long you have your dog licensed (which is a mere $30 lifetime fee), you can come on in and get your hound on. In stupid Minneapolis, meanwhile, someone like me (a St. Paul resident) would need to pay $50 a year just to take Maddy for a walk in the park. Woof-da.

Fortunately, with such an awesome free dog park nearby, that's not an issue. We've gone 2 days straight, and it's nice to see Maddy running around off-leash and playing with other dogs and sniffing through the woods. St. Paul rules (again).

Two days ago, to commemorate Bush's visit to our fair state, I took it upon myself to go see Fahrenheit 9/11.

Biased? Yes. Manipulative? Yes. Out of context? Occasionally, yes. Scenes that are gimmicky and ill-conceived? In my opinion, yes.

Still, Michael Moore has still done a brilliant job of making a compelling film with loads of "facts" (which are laid out in between the editorializing). I thought I was reasonably well informed on Bush being an idiot. Turns out I was wrong. He's worse. Way worse. There were times in the movie theater where I just kept thinking to myself in a slow, somnambulistic drawl, "Nooooo Waaaay!!!... There is NO WAY this guy is our president!" Anyway, there's enough solid information in this film that anyone even THINKING about voting for Bush in the next election should see it. Mind you, you don't have to agree with it (all of it, at least), but it raises enough questions that I think a reasonable person wanting to make an educated decision should see it.

Oh, and if you've already decided NOT to vote for him, then you have my full permission to go see Anchorman instead.

If the Democrats were smart (which they aren't), they'd license this movie and mass-mail DVD copies to every home in America (just like those stupid AOL disks). I really think that would swing the election. But they won't. Because they're stupid. And they didn't approve this message.

Let's see. Oh, I was so riled up that I just HAD to go and get my new McSweeney's fix -- The Future Dictionary of America. This book was conceived as a way to bring almost two hundred authors and artists together to promote progressive causes in the November 2004 election. The book is an imagining of what a dictionary might look like about thirty years hence, when all or most of the world's problems are solved and our current president is a distant memory. The book is by turns funny, outraged, utopian, and dyspeptic.

I also had to get this T-shirt. IMPOSSIBLE YOU SAY? NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE WHEN YOU WORK FOR THE CIRCUS. That's going to be my official State Fair T-shirt this year. Look for it.

Whoa! Trippy.

Prank phone call to AT&T (American Telephone & Telegraph) from a guy who wants to have a Telegraph installed.

The 'facts' behind one of Bush's negative ads against Kerry's voting record.

Guess the dictator and/or TV sit-com star.

By the way, today is Maddy's 6-month birthday. I think I'll take her out for a treat a little later.

Oh for Pete's sake. What next? Republicans dip freedom fries in "W Ketchup", not Heinz.

Here's some other neocon-diment suggestions:

• Dick Cheney's "Go Fuck Yourself" pickles. Now available from Halliburton for only $8,341.22 a jar. Also try his delicious "Brown & Root" Yams!
• John Ashcroft's "YELLOW ALERT" mustard. Don't eat too much, though, because you might get mustard gas and the Dept. of Homeland Security will detain you in Guantanamo.
• Rumfeld's "Abu Graib" salsa. Just one teaspoon and you'll be naked on the floor with dogs barking at you. Or something.

This land is their land. (big download, but worth it)

Reader's Digest guide to European stereotypes.

Check out Homestarrunner's Decemberween in July shorts. It must be the heat, but these are pretty surreal.

Some very odd penguin game.

Get your paws off me, you damned filthy apes! Escaped monkey bites two at Winona County Fair. Fairgoing -- the next extreme sport!

The Amazon.com Knee-Jerk Contrarian Game. First, look up the most popular and critically-acclaimed books, movies, and music on Amazon. Click on "Customer Reviews," and sort them by "Lowest Rating First." Hilarity ensues!

I tried it with Salman Rushdie's The Moor's Last Sigh (one of my favorites). This is not a well-told story and I, for one, would not waste a fatwa on this pretentious author.

Nice. State Education Secretary Richard Riordan jokingly told a child her name, Isis, meant "stupid dirty girl," prompting the head of the California NAACP on Thursday to call for his resignation.

If you're going to see the new Spiderman movie this weekend, watch out!

The movie I'm most wanting to see is the director's cut of Donnie Darko, coming out later this summer. I knew nothing about the movie when I first saw it, and it just blew my socks out of the water. Sadly, it didn't do bupkes at the box office. But, now it's getting a second life. Thankfully.

Here's an interview with writer/director Richard Kelly. (warning! SPOILERS in the article, so if you haven't seen the movie and plan to -- best skip it)

Some person ranting about why young people don't watch local news. Pretty good. I like a good rant.

Monty Python and the Holy Grail is coming to Broadway in Spamalot.

Unfortunately, this film is not a documentary. Pauly Shore is Dead.

Some Steven Wright one-liners.

Slow news day yet again. Go play some disc golf until I find something interesting.

You got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em. Hmmm. Is he talking about poker or babies with diapers? Kenny Rogers becomes a dad at 65.

Dewey Defeats Truman! The New York Post makes up news instead of reporting it.

Hey Cheney, go f*** yourself. Again. WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Sept. 11 commission, which reported no evidence of collaborative links between Iraq and al Qaeda, said on Tuesday that Vice President Dick Cheney had no more information than commission investigators to support his later assertions to the contrary.

Speaking of Dicks, A. Dick lives up to his name on new reality TV show.

Florida student asks Jeb Bush to answer a basic geometry question from the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test, which Bush has championed. Guess what happens?

Slow news day. First, some McSweeney's lists:

• Playlists on Dick Cheney's iPod.
  
• If Charles Bukowski had written children's books.
  
• Little-known Nancy Drew titles.

The brilliantly weird cars from the 1976 lineup from AMC Motors. I have a sentimental attachment to the AMC's. I learned to drive in my Mom's white Pacer, and my first car was a 1974 AMC Ambassador station wagon (pre-cursor to the 1976 Matador). It was my gas-drinkin', wallet-shrinkin' alley cruiser. Cherry-red with fake wood paneling. Loved that car.

Yar! Johnny Depp buys his own island in the Caribbean.

And finally, try this fun little flash game...

I did check out Alex Chilton at the Taste of Minnesota on Friday. Not bad. If you're not familiar with him, he's most familiar song is the theme song to That 70's Show -- "Hangin' out... down the street... the same old thing... we did last week..." That song. Anyway, it sure beat the pants off of Jefferson Starship and Rick Springfield, who were also playing that night.

Yesterday I went out to my Mom's house to check out the splendiforous 3-hour tractor fest known as the Delano parade. I thought bringing Maddy to the parade would be more of a challenge, but not so. Sure, there were sirens and other loud noices, water guns, and really scary clowns. And the ubiquitous candy throwers tossing tootsie rolls right in front of her little wet nose. But, she didn't even flinch, not even at blasting firecrackers. Very much a success, I think.

Here's some pictures from the 4th of July Parade. I'm playing around with some new image gallery software, but I think this is an improvement over the past attempts. The automated slideshow feature is kind of iffy, but if you manually click through the slideshow it should look okay.

Here's the Strib's take on the parade.

The IHBFD -- or Internet Hanna-Barbara Fashion Database.

An Open Letter To The Radioactive Spider That Never Bit Me.

X-Entertainment visits the carnival. Not as good as the State Fair, but looks like they still had fun.

That was very foolish, Mr. Bond! Sigh. What's wrong with this guy? Arlon Lindner says he'll run for reelection as independent. Go away, already. Sheesh!

And speaking of dog shit, here's something to do with pet tech support.

Happy Fourth of July! I'm heading out to watch the oldest and largest 4th of July parade in Minnesota, which runs just a few blocks from my Mom's house. Maybe I'll have a few pictures by Monday...

The Taste of Minnesota starts today. What does Minnesota taste like, you ask? Campbell's Cream of Mushroom soup mostly.

Lots of oldies acts playing (check out the music link), but I might try to make it out to see Alex Chilton tomorrow night. Don't know much about him, other than he was hugely influential on Paul Westerberg and the Replacements. In fact, the 'Mat's biggest single came with the song aptly named "Alex Chilton". I wonder if the reclusive Westerberg will show up? Probably not, but who knows...

I should not be allowed to say the following things about America.

I've been watching this story about Plain Layne unfold for a couple of weeks now, and Fimoculous Rex does a story about it for the City Pages. I was one of the daily visitors to Plain Layne's site for about 2 years, because, quite frankly, it was the most utterly fascinating blog out there.

For a reason. It turns out Layne was an "experiment" in interactive fiction. She's not real. In fact, she's a MAN, baby. Sigh.

Good photoshop contest of animal movies.

This sounds like the most boring video game ever -- John Deere American Farmer. "Deere & Company was enthusiastic right from the start. Gamers will really enjoy the challenge of creating and running a working farm," he says.

I just hope it supports virtual cow tipping.