The hand that feeds
This is an old story from last May, but since some of you aren’t Trent Reznor fans, you may have missed it.
Trent’s band, Nine Inch Nails, had a spot on the MTV Movie Awards. They wanted Trent to perform The Hand that Feeds, the lead single from his new album, With Teeth.
Trent asked that a photo of George W. Bush be used as a backdrop for his performance.
Well, maybe not that photo. In fact, Trent has stated that the photo would have been “unaltered and straightforward”. I like the George-flipping-bird photo because it reminds us all what an uncouth jackass the man is.
Anyway, MTV refused to let NIN do this, saying it would politicize the Awards. Trent, stand-up guy that he is, pulled out of the festivities. Read more about this here.
Why did Trent want George’s mug as a backdrop? Oh, maybe because the song is all about Dubya. Here’s a bit of lyrics, and you can find the whole song here.
You’re keeping in step
In the line
Got your chin held high and you feel just fine
Because you do
What you’re told
But inside your heart it is black and it’s hollow and it’s coldJust how deep do you believe?
Will you bite the hand that feeds?
Will you chew until it bleeds?
Can you get up off your knees?
Are you brave enough to see?
Do you want to change it?What if this whole crusade’s
A charade
And behind it all there’s a price to be paid
For the blood
On which we dine
Justified in the name of the holy and the divine
Chorus.
D.
Why it pays to go to a board certified ear, nose, and throat doctor
Meanwhile, over at Chelicera, Karen reviews the gruesome history of the Mississippi Flood of 1927. (Don’t freak over the title. She’s being sarcastic. Or ironic. One of those.)
Those who don’t remember history are condemned to repeat it, right?
D.
Blacks in America are Just a Tad Paranoid
“It didn’t really matter if these people were uncomfortable. It didn’t really matter if they were starving. It probably wouldn’t have really mattered a whole lot if a lot of ’em had died for one reason or another. They were gonna keep their laborers and that’s just ruthless contempt for human beings.” *
Where is this from? The speaker is talking about thousands of poor blacks who were surrounded by floodwaters from a broken levee. A few white people were stranded with them. Transportation was available with room to evacuate all the flood victims but only the whites were taken to safety. The blacks were left behind without food, water or shelter. Eventually they were put in refugee camps patrolled by the armed National Guardsmen. A Republican in charge of federal government relief efforts engaged in a coverup of the refugee scandal.
The fundamental frequency of guy thought
From Monica Jackson’s blog, The Way There:
“Okay, tell me the truth. Do you ever go to the grocery store or somewhere like that, and count the guys you’d possibly sleep with in a ratio to the ones who are ick, and work it out mathematically—and figure out when is the highest likelihood of the greatest concentration of fuckable men at particular grocery store at any one time?”
Thank you for asking this question, Monica. Why? Cuz I never would have guessed that women think this way. Guys, yes. Beginning at puberty, sex never leaves our brains (except for a thirty minute interval after each orgasm).
Quien es mas lindo?
One Saturday afternoon in 1982, I watched The Sting with Karen and her two roommates, Kira and Suzie.
“So,” I said, “who is cuter, Newman or Redford?”
Take a moment to answer that one for yourself. Even if you’re a guy. Especially if you’re a guy, cuz the point of this exercise . . . well, hell, let’s not get too pedantic just yet. Guys? Ask your wife this question. Try to predict what she’ll answer.
I figured it had to be Newman. Those blue eyes, that chiseled facial bone structure. (Great bones do it for me every time. I still have wood with Lauren Bacall’s name on it.) But, no. All three picked Redford.
Even then, twenty-two years ago, Redford had a white raisin thing going. And now look at the two of them.
Newman first.
It still baffles me, this question of what women find attractive or unattractive in certain men. Miss Snark has femwood for George Clooney. Maureen’s nipples go stiff over Al Pacino. Meanwhile, the Bitches keep ripping on poor Fabio. (See, Beth? I worked in a Fabio reference!)
This question is important to me, since I enjoy writing strong female characters. These female leads have been mutant parakeets and giant spiders, but eventually I mean to get back to Homo sapiens. When I do, I’d better have a grip on the feminine mystique.
So, help me out, y’all. Here are some pairings of famous duos. Tell me who is cuter and why. To keep from prejudicing things, I’ll save my opinions until the end.
More Hurricanes
There are two possible storms brewing, a low-pressure area off the east coast of Florida, and one south of Bermuda. The Florida one has a good chance that it will turn into a tropical depression or worse. If another hurricane hits the U.S., I don’t see how emergency services will be able to cope. With the Bush Administration in charge, the results will be horrifying.
Even if this particular system doesn’t turn nasty, the height of hurricane season is coming up. NOAA is predicting 6 more hurricanes and, historically, 1 of 3 hurricanes hit the U.S. So, statistics indicate a good chance for 2 more hurricanes to pummel the Gulf states. People who live in those areas should gather together an emergency kit to cope with another disaster. This link gives a list of supplies for the kit.
Other kinds of donations
My thanks go to Beth for the idea of sending much needed supplies to aid the refugees. I did some web surfing and found this website for the Baton Rouge Area Foundation. A moment ago, I spoke with a woman there, who told me the following items are much needed (in no particular order):
Toothbrush, toothpaste
Soap
Water
Deodorant
Diapers
Feminine hygiene products
Baby formula
Underwear
Towels
Blankets
Contributions should be clearly marked “Katrina Disaster Relief”. Here’s the address and phone number:
Salvation Army
7361 Airline Highway
Baton Rouge, LA 70805
(225) 355-4483
The link above (to BRAF) has information for a number of other agencies who are accepting material donations. I would encourage you to call first and find out what they need.
Nothing wrong with monetary donations, of course (we contributed to the National Food Bank), but somehow this feels more helpful. Probably an irrational impulse, but it wouldn’t be my first.
D.
Quick AM followup to that last story
If you trust the New York Times, AP really did misreport the story on the first release. The police didn’t kill any of the Army contractors:
The convoy, which included officials from the Army Corps of Engineers and was being escorted by a group of police officers on an anti-looting detail, was crossing the Danziger Bridge, 10 miles northeast of the French Quarter, when the shots were fired.
W. J. Riley, the assistant superintendent of police in New Orleans, said a gunfight ensued between the police and a group of six men.
“All our officers said the assailants all had guns,” Mr. Riley said. Later, he said all the assailants were “neighborhood thugs.”
“Five of the subjects were shot,” he said. “Two were killed, three were wounded.” The sixth gunman was arrested and charged with attempted murder of a police officer, but none of the gunmen were identified.
Okay, that’s it for the news. Not even 8 AM and, thanks to Kate’s link to this story about Americans not holding Boosh accountable, I’m already depressed.
Back to creating funny business.
D.