On his show tonight, Sean Hannity said that this clip of Bill Maher…
was equivalent to this one of Rush Limbaugh…
Amazing.
The Virus of Reason
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Daily Archives: 15 Mar 2012
I Haven’t Had My Teeth Cleaned Since 1974!
Right now, I’m reading Four Plays: A Thought in Three Parts, Marie and Bruce, Aunt Dan and Lemon, the Fever by Wallace Shawn. The first, A Thought in Three Parts is disturbing in the extreme. It is all about how people are incapable of connecting with each other, despite all their external attempts. The second part is so pornographic that I wonder how it could be produced. But it has been. According to Wikipedia, it “caused a minor uproar in London in 1977 when the production was investigated by a vice squad and attacked in Parliament due to allegedly pornographic content.” Allegedly pornographic content?
(Bob is sitting on the bed with Helen and Dick. He masturbates. Helen and Dick watch.)
BOB: (masturbating faster and faster) I’m coming soon!
DICK: Oh boy.—
HELEN: Oh—God—
BOB: Oh! (He comes, shooting sperm toward Helen and Dick.)
It gets worse. Helen proposes a contest to see whether Bob or Dick can ejaculate higher onto her naked body. I forget who won.
Having said all this, Shawn is an extremely interesting writer. I’m sure seeing one of his plays today is very much like what it was to see The Bald Soprano in 1950. But they are in no way easy; they challenge emotionally and intellectually. Most people will not be willing to work as much as these plays require. What’s more, they are not what people who know Wallace Shawn, the film actor, will be expecting. There are no comments on the joys of electric blankets or exasperated inconceivables.
For anyone who likes Shawn or who has been paying any attention to politics over the last 30 years, the following clip is easy. And extremely funny.
DJ Flula Remixes Celebrities!
I am working diligently to create a series of videos. But with videos like the one below, it is hard not to get discouraged. The guy is a total freak—in a good way.
Boycott The Hobbit
The fucktards associated with Saul Zaentz’s production company are trying to shut down a pub in England. Why? Because it is called The Hobbit and the first part of Peter Jackson’s film is supposed to come out this December. The pub[1] has been in existence for 20 years, during which time Zaentz has owned the rights to Tolkien’s books. It seems to me that this is a clear case of squatter’s rights. But I don’t even see the problem here. Titles cannot be copyrighted. This must be some kind of trademark law run wild.
Stephen Fry (who will be in the upcoming film) tweeted, “Sometimes I’m ashamed of the business I’m in. What pointless, self-defeating bullying.” Indeed.
It is nothing for me to say I will not see the film because of this. Although I think Peter Jackson is very good, I also think his Lord of the Rings is wildly over-rated. Ditto for Tolkien. But there is something that all you with Facebook accounts can do: join the campaign.
Stupid evil fucktards!
[1] Fun Fact: the word “pub” is short for “public house,” just as “tavern” is short for “an establishment where alcoholic beverages are sold to be drunk on the premises.”
Dennis Moore
If we look at tax policy in the United States, we see that the government works as a kind of reverse Robin Hood. Conservatives like to say that inequality is surging everywhere so: nothing to be done! But of course, even this logic isn’t consistent. What’s more, the basic facts are incorrect. Inequality is much worse in the United States. We need someone as conscientious as Dennis Moore.
Satire is Dead
I’ve shut off comments here for a number of reasons, the most important being that there just isn’t a critical mass of readers. The only articles here that generate a lot of comments are those on Kory Stamper, which probably speaks to the fact that the writing here is too eclectic. But while I did accept comments, I accepted them all and deleted the spam.
Brad DeLong posted an article by Owen Thomas about limiting commenting to “experts.” I find the idea offensive in a number of ways, but mostly I just wonder if such people realize that their readership would fall through the floor if they did so.
A commenter, Cawley, wrote:
Speaking as someone who is neither an expert or particularly well informed or well reasoned, it strikes me that your comment threads seem to be populated by the expert and the merely well informed and well reasoned to a remarkable degree. And, although I’ve had a couple (admittedly snarky and potentially ad hominem) comments moderated out, you seem to accomplish this with a fairly liberal moderation policy. (After all, I get through it regularly.)
I could not help myself. I replied to the comment:
That should be “nor,” you dolt! Stop embarrassing yourself.
:) <== Satire is dead.
And what did DeLong do? He proved my point by refusing my comment. What a dolt! He should stop embarrassing himself.
Update
Comments are back on, but I am moderating them.