Arts & Culture

Meet Brazil's bin Laden, and Clinton, and Obama....

Beau Friedlander — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 14:30:06 -0400

The Telegraph brings news (a wee bit of days ago, but worth going back in time) regarding local elections in Brazil. Seems there are a lot of contenders for not much power and so to stand out among a crowded field, folks are adopting pseudonyms.

At present in the municipal sweepstakes there are no fewer than 200 candidates who have re-named themselves Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who enjoys 80% approval from Brazil's people. Barack Obama is popular, with four running. Other names floating around: Chico bin Laden, Jorge Bushi, and DJ Saddam.

Thanks to Claire Gutierrez of Harpers Magazine for the heads up.

Deepest Sea: Odd Creatures

Beau Friedlander — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 04:00:45 -0400

Okay, so this has nothing to do with tonight's debate, and less to do with the upcoming election. And that's why I'm directing you to this BBC report on weird fish deep down in the sea off Japan.

"No-one has ever seen fish alive at these depths before - you just never know what you are going to see when you get down there."

The deepest record for any fish is Abyssobrotula galatheae, which was dredged from the bottom of the Puerto Rico Trench at a depth of more than 8km (5 miles) in 1970. However, it was dead by the time it reached the surface.

My Encomium to Bill Maher and His Magnum Opus "Religulous." Please, America See This Movie!

Lionel — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 13:59:27 -0400

Bill Maher's jocumentary "Religulous" is without peer. Simple. This jocose documentary is funny, no, hilarious, but not because of the genius of Bill Maher, but because of the words and ideations of the veritable endless bevy of religious wackos interviewed, no, make that, those booby-trapped by Mr. Maher's assault on their "reality." No, make that those sucked into the black hole of absurdity by merely answering a question about his or her "faith." Translation: hope, dream, fantasy; superstition; unquestioning acceptance of mythology. He was simply superb. Surgical in his cross-examination, deft in his ability to just let the religious rusticator wax inane. They (and I'm not sure who "they" actually are) say that there are two subjects you should not discuss in polite company -- politics and religion. But that has to rank up there with "Love means never having to say you're sorry" as one of the most stupid statements ever voiced. Political nescience is no excuse today for any member of society to opt or or not care. I don't have to explain all that is happening now that is rather, oh, I don't know, important, to say the least. And said politics is all too often inextricably entwined and entangled with religion. Exhibit A: The '08 Election.

During the primaries Romney's magic underwear and his Mor(m)onism were the talk of the country. Huckabee's "Elmer Gantry" corn pone hokum led him and his fellow science illiterates (Brownback and Tancredo) to wave their hands sillily when asked who disputes evolution and Darwinian mechanics. Some yokels and churls around this great place still think that Barack's a Muslim. Itsy-bitsy Sarah Palin thinks the Earth is 6000 years-old. Our soon-to-be ex-Prez knows a faith so fanatical, he seeks the advice of an invisible man in the clouds for military advice. Shall I go on?

OJ: Saturday's Philosophy Lesson

Beau Friedlander — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 08:53:18 -0400

All right folks, time for this week's romp through the wonders of Greek philosophy. Heraclitus was a pre-Socratic philosopher, which means to say he was one of the thinkers who came before the progressively logical thinker who made possible lawyer folk like Lionel and Ron Kuby!

That's right, today is Crying-Philosopher day. Give it up for Heraclitus, the man who said you can't step in the same river twice. And while we all know that (right?), OJ Simpson seems to have just found out.

The Big H also said "character is fate." He said it a gazillion years ago, but it still bears true.

Simpson and his codefendant, Clarence Stewart, were both convicted on all 12 counts. As the court clerk read "guilty" 24 times shortly before 11 p.m., Simpson grimaced and then nodded slightly, quickly regaining his composure.

Barring the sort of miracle the Juice can no longer afford, he's going to spend the rest of his life in prison.

The Los Angeles Times covers the story we couldn't possibly tell and evidenced by the present exercise in avoidance.

Another pre-Socratic theory comes to mind, a paradox concocted by Zeno of Elea constructed to support yet another position held by P armenides who said "all is one." These guys were both peerish with Heraclitus (like erstwhile OJ pal Kato Kaelin and latterday accomplice Clarence Stewart). Aristotle sums it up nicely in the Physics:

If everything when it occupies an equal space is at rest, and if that which is in locomotion is always occupying such a space at any moment, the flying arrow is therefore motionless.

Freestyling in the Race

Tim Einenkel — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 11:17:59 -0400

I didn’t want to write another vice presidential related post but I just had to when I saw this video.

As a hip-hop music fan, I have always been infatuated by the art of freestyling. Nothing is better in the hip-hop world, when you have two artists rapping back and forth with words that have not been written down beforehand. Jay Smooth, founder of WBAI's Underground Railroad and founder of video blogging site at Illdoctrine.com put together a video that would have made last night’s uneventful debate, a little more eventful.

O'Reilly: "Nancy Hitler!"

Tim Einenkel — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 14:18:50 -0400

Besides the obvious (O’Reilly comparing Pelosi to Hitler), what is wrong with the following statement?

You know who used to do that, who practiced for hours before making a speech? And I'm not making any comparison here. So, don't -- you crazy left-wing websites out there, it's not a comparison. Adolf Hitler. Adolf Hitler practiced for hours, all of his ... gestures and everything else before he went out there. So if you practice your gestures, and then you get out there and you screw them up, you just -- you should just be natural."

Nothing besides the obvious. Why would you want it to be any more fucked up?