The Official LCK Year in Review
What a crazy year! Of course, I will especially remember 2007 for many reasons. One of which is certainly that LCK started in March of 2007. Rather than go through all of the stories we’ve posted on here, though, I thought I would go through the biggies whether or not anything about them appeared on our site.
* Where better to start than with the Presidential Election that seemed to kick off way too early?
This picture is great because it really shows that despite all of the added time this race has gotten it really hasn’t made that much difference. Well, maybe except in the case of Huckabee who inextricably is moving up the charts in the hearts and minds of Republicans. Other wise, though, the 08 race is exactly where it was at the start of 2007. Despite my best attempts, Kucinich is still waffling on the bottom of the heap and the Obama vs. Clinton match up that everyone was calling in January seems to be exactly what’s on the horizon.
* February was a great month in the news because of one person, Lisa Nowak. To be honest, I felt kind of bad for her. The story as I first heard it seemed like a love story of sorts, two astronauts who fell in love at zero gravity. How romantic right? That is, until it came out that she wore the adult diapers astronauts wear in space on her drive from Texas to Florida to stalk her man. Nothing says I love you like a soiled diaper…
<Hottie!>
* Then of course is my pick for person of the year: Larry Seidlin. The infamous judge of the Anna Nicole Smith trial, who told stories of his days as a tennis player, his relationships in the past, orange juice, his college days… Words fail me, so here is a good highlight reel of the madness that was the Anna Nicole case:
* The story that perhaps most rocked college students this year was the Virginia Tech tragedy where Cho Seung Hui killed 32 of his peers and then killed himself. The way he went about it, however, is perhaps the most distressing. He sent his own press kit to NBC, depicting him with guns, in camouflage and many other violent and frightening images. The political fall out around this issue is of course unfortunate, with some on the right claiming that had other students been allowed to have guns on campus this killer would not have claimed so many victims. I don’t understand this logic at all, but, in 2007 everything whether it was political in origin or not, became political.
* On August 1st a suspension bridge spanning the Mississippi River in Minnesota collapsed and killed 13 people. This tragedy came with some baggage though. Minnesota and the Twin City area in particular had just approved a tax payer funded new home for the Minnesota Twins. Money was going to building a new baseball stadium rather investing in infrastructure. Of course, immediately after this reports came out that perhaps as many as 3 in 4 bridges in America were not structurally sufficient which led me to one question: why can’t we be building bridges here and not just in Iraq?
* In August, Larry Craig made us all reconsider our public restroom behavior. There were two truly horrible things about this event. The first was how Craig handled the whole thing. He has been and continues to be a bigot actively campaigning against gay rights. And second, who wants to have sex in an airport bathroom? It’s hard enough to bring yourself to just use the facilities in an airport bathroom, you know? Despite all of this, he is staying in office… Good luck with your reelection Larry.
* The evil genius, the architect, Bush’s brain… Call him what you will 2007 saw the end of the great Bush & Rove partnership. Despite him being wrong, in my opinion, on virtually every political front, I will certainly give Karl his props here. He got an idiot elected Governor and then President, then convinced the entire nation that his party would be better for them because of “morals” and “values” which should have been read “profit margin” and “tax break.” Rove may be one of the most brilliant men to ever work in the White House, and he was never elected nor approved. Nonetheless, he was a terrible dancer and rapper. And Karl, for me you will always be MC Rove!
* Our boy Al Gore won the Nobel Peace Prize! How sweet is that? He won it, of course, for his work with An Inconvenient Truth and shared the award with the UN group responsible for coming out with the report on global climate change. Gore has taken the issue beyond a partisan debate to make it a sticking point on both sides of the asile and he has now accomplished something very few Americans have: he is a Nobel Peace Prize winner. You go Gore!
* And then finally and tragically 2007 ended in catastrophe in Pakistan. Benazir Bhutto was assassinated less than a month from the first formal election since 1999. She was campaigning for that race when she was killed. She had been living abroad for the last 8 years after General / President Musharraf seized control of the government in a military coup. The two had reached an amnesty agreement and had agreed to restore democracy to the country. Now, however, while the election appears to still be coming on January 8th questions still surround the assasination. Of course Al- Qaeda is claiming it and there are numerous reports of their pressence in Pakistan. However, Musharraf has had nothing but support from the US since he seized power and while Bush has condemned the act as cowardly it still bodes well for our strong military alliance in Pakistan as we continue the War of Terror. Sorry, War on Terror.
Well folks, there it is! 2007 was our first year at LCK and while it had its ups and downs we hope that you will continue to read us from time to time, post some comments about how we’re too young to understand anything, and get into great debates about a Dennis Kucinich Ron Paul campaign. Cheers and Happy New Year!
Bikes For Everyone!
Call what follows a naive and idealistic suggestion if you like but I think it’s worth some consideration. Paris launched a program this past weekend which could translate well to some cities on this side of the Atlantic. The program is called Vélib (an amalgamation of the words vélo [bike] and liberté [freedom]) and gives both locals and tourists alike a different way of getting around in the city of lights. I won’t take too much time describing how the program works; both the New York Times and Charles Bremner do a great job of that on their own. Suffice it to say that after buying a reasonable priced pass for a given length of time (a day, five days, a month) you’re able to pick up a rental bike at a station and ride it for “almost free” (it’s free providing that you return it in half an hour and seeing as how the stations will be no more than 300 yards apart from each other when the project is completed, that shouldn’t be much of a problem) all over the city.
The cost of the program is being deferred through the sponsorship of a French advertising company that gets advertising rights on all city owned billboards in return for paying for the program. This program is almost perfectly suited for Paris; the wide, Haussmann built boulevards, the exorbitant taxi rates, the millions upon millions of tourists that pour into the city every year, the beauty of the city which is missed when riding on the Metro, all of these factors make the Vélib program ideal for the French capital. This program, however, is one that should be considered in U.S. cities as well.
Cities such as New York, Boston, Chicago, Miami, San Diego and others could use a program such as this one to both decrease traffic congestion and help the environment at the same time. Granted winters in the northeast and August in the Deep South may cause a slump in ridership but if cities can get large, private sector, contributions to pay for the program why not go for it? It could be used to draw tourists to cities by promising them freedom and independence from rental cars and mass transit systems. It would promote the exploration of the city as a whole rather than just the main tourist attractions. For those that live in the city it would provide residents with a cheap and easy alternative to trying to find a parking space when going to a restaurant or movie.
Obviously cities like LA, Phoenix and Houston- where sprawl is so great as to necessitate a car- and San Francisco- where insurance issues would arise with thousands of tourists careening down Nob Hill- might not be well suited for a bike rental program but that shouldn’t stop other cities from trying it out. Why not encourage a little exercise for a population which desperately needs it? Why not empower people by letting them make a tangible contribution to the environment by trading in a day or two of driving per week with biking? Why not, if you can find a private backer for the program, (which I believe could be done through a variety of methods) go for it? I realize my optimism and enthusiasm for a bike rental program is probably making some of you a little queasy at this point so go ahead and bring me down off the cloud I’m currently perched upon. Explain why a program such as this one wouldn’t work in the U.S., as Darrell Hammond says while doing a great O’Reilly- “tell me where I’m wrong”
President Bush Is Smarter Than Any Doctor In The World
Former U.S. Surgeon General Richard Carmona, along with former Surgeons General C. Everett Koop and David Satcher, testified yesterday that he felt his four year tenure as SG was wasted. Carmona, and the others, said he felt immense political pressure from those in the Bush administration and had his reports censored. Carmona also said that he was not allowed to speak on issues such as “stem cells, emergency contraception, sex education, or prison, mental and global health issues”. That’s just fantastic isn’t it? I mean I know that whenever I go to a doctor and he or she tells me what’s wrong with my body I like to totally disregard what they say and tell them what I think and then follow that up by telling them that they’d better agree with me or else. I mean, medical school. What’s that about? What, do these doctors think that just because they put years and years of education into learning about the human body and diseases that they actually know more than I do?
President Bush is the most powerful man in the world so obviously that makes him the smartest. If he says that abstinence only education is the only proper method of sex ed then I for one believe him. It’s not like we need to have our heads clouded by all this medical information anyway. Carmona and others who complain about the Surgeon General being censored need to calm down. If Bush thinks he needs to overrule a medical professional then he probably has good reason to do so, look how well all his other decisions have turned out.
And Now For Something Completely Different
After what happened yesterday I thought everyone could use a respite from being pounded in the head over and over again by the realization that George W. Bush no longer cares what he does in the White House… Where do I turn in times of crisis and despair you may ask, to other blogs of course! Some of these are listed on our sidebar, some aren’t. None of them are purely political (though some cover politics almost exclusively… that makes total sense, right?) and you’ve probably heard of most of them, at least in passing. Hopefully you like them and if not, no worries, at least they got you to stop thinking about the incompetent boob running our country for a second or two.
Drama For President – All things Entourage including spoilers, clips and forums. This show is one of the shallowest ones on TV and consists of nothing more than shiny objects, beautiful people, bright colors and expensive stuff… how can you not love it? Victory!!
Unjouraparis.com - Photo blog from Paris, one of my favorite photo sites. High quality work.
Dark UFO and The Tail Section - Because even though Lost isn’t on right now doesn’t mean there’s not plenty of theorzing to do.
Open Road Imagery - Another photo blog from a young, up and coming photographer named Jeff Ambrose. It’s got an interesting mix of content and great use of lighting.
What Would Tyler Durden Do – Like TMZ only much, much, much funnier, and with content TMZ won’t show you since they’re owned by AOL.
Kissing Suzy Kolber- Everyone’s heard of Deadspin but KSK will keep you laughing for hours with their running story lines. Personal favorites: The Offseason Adventures of Michael Vick, Sexy Rexy Grossman and their hatred of Bill Simmons. Speaking of Bill Simmons…
Bill Simmons – Is he a pompous ass who blatantly favors all things Boston? Yes. Is he hilarious and still managing to stay relevant? Yes. Enough said.
Charles Bremner – As if I don’t link to his page enough… I can’t get enough of his posts, if Adam Gopnik were British and had blogged while writing his first book this is what it would have looked like.
Truth Out- A first rate collection of news articles and opinion pieces. This is where I get my Frank Rich fix for free.
Funnyordie.com – Will Ferrel’s baby which get some of the biggest names in entertainment in their films. Check out the David Blaine stuff, it’s not the actual magician but it’s fantastic nevertheless.
Enjoy!
Myspace vs Facebook: The Study
A recent study from a UC Berkley PhD student named Danah Boyd found some fascinating differences between high schoolers who use myspace versus those who use facebook. The study’s main findings were:
The research suggests those using Facebook come from wealthier homes and are more likely to attend college.
By contrast, MySpace users tend to get a job after finishing high school rather than continue their education.
Beyond this, the study also shows that myspace users are more likely to come from homes where their parents did not go to college. Facebook users tend to be the “in” crowd in schools and are more focused on academics. Myspace caters to “most of the kids who are socially ostracized at school because they are geeks, freaks, or queers,” she said.
Her overarching conclusion about social networks was that “This division is just another way in which technology is mirroring societal values.”
The fact that there are people studying the two social networking sites most popular with our generation is fascinating, but the implications as far as who is actually using those sites is even more illuminating. My personal thought on the matter would be that initially Facebook was only for college students where myspace has always been open to everyone. Because of this Facebook’s college slant has carried over even though Facebook is now available to people who are not affiliated with colleges or universities. One also doesn’t see the pornographic advertisements myspace struggles with on Facebook. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, Myspace is owned by NewsCorp who also owns FOX Noise, making it fundamentally evil. Ok, that’s just my personal opinion but there might be something to it.
Whichever site you use, or if you use both, social networking is on the rise and becoming such a major force in our lives we now use verbs like facebook me, or myspacing. I hope we see more studies on these sites, maybe one that will tell us why we’re so addicted! Hang on, I just got poked…
Drunk Sarko?
A big thanks to Charles Bremner, the fantastic writer for the Times of London, for writing an article on this. Nicolas Sarkozy was recently in Germany with the rest of the G8 leaders when he showed up to a news conference half an hour late and seemingly intoxicated. Bremner reports that it was hardly picked up on at all by the French media because they didn’t believe Sarko was drunk- per Bremner he drinks pas du tout- however media outlets from other European nations picked up on the story (this clip is from a Belgian news show). I don’t really care either way if Sarko had been going shot for shot with Vladimir Putin or not I just think this video is one of the funniest things I’ve seen in a long time as the normally hyper-manic Sarko can’t seem to figure out where he is.
Give your brain a break
So, I have been MIA from LCK for quite some time and I am not one to make excuses, but I am one for full disclosure.
So, here it is. I have been living under a rock. It’s true. Well sort of, I’ve been writing a dissertation and literally I have not read anything that is not directly related to that. Nor have I watched any TV. That’s right, I’m admitting in the most public forum possible on a “political” site: I haven’t even seen a single debate. I know, my credentials for writing on this site are plummeting pretty quickly right now.
So while my committee will be proud, I haven’t exactly felt that I was in a place to contribute to the fantastic dialogue this blog has seen recently. So, I’m not even going to try. What I am going to do, is to tell you all about how I spent the only two hours last week that was not related to my research. I watched a movie – and it was intentionally un-intellectual, so I thought.
To my surprise, it was a delightfully well done satire of the Bush administration and American Idol (and every freakin’ spin off). I mean does it get any better than that?
The movie’s American Dreamz. I’m pretty sure the critics didn’t love it, but if you appreciate satires and you’re of the ‘liberal’ persuasion you might just enjoy it. Now don’t be mistaken, this is not like a Michael Moore expose by any stretch of the means and I’m pretty sure the nuanced criticisms would fly right over those it intends to critique. Think of how Best in Show picks fun at dog shows and apply that to, well Americans. It is completely and totally silly, but in a really clever way.
The writer/director is Paul Wietz (American Pies, In Good Company, About a Boy, etc.). The cast includes some regulars of Paul’s other movies, such as Hugh Grant (as “Simon Cowell”), Dennis Quaid (as W), Marcia Gay Hardon (as Laura B.), Mandy Moore (American idol wannabe), the MILF from American Pie movies (as Mandy’s ‘white trash’ mom who identifies as middle-class)…
Here are some highlights to peak your interest:
• The movie starts off with the president of the U.S., a god-fearing, good ‘ole boy from the south, waking up the day after winning his second term in office. To his butler’s surprise, he doesn’t want to start his day working out and reading the day’s briefs prepared by his trusted staff as usual, but he wants to have breakfast in bed and read the New York Times. You quickly realize he has not read anything for (at least) the last four years, and the world he thought he knew (via his expert staff) has a lot more details then he was being made aware of.
• Willem Dafoe plays the character that would-be Dick Cheney brilliantly. The satire of W & and D.C.’s relationship is epitomized when he convinces the president to use a microscopic earpiece for him to feed him speeches in every public context a la Cyrano de Bergerac.
• One of the ‘American Dreamz’ final contestants is an under-cover-terrorist-Broadway-musical-aficionado who is cast when the producers stop by the Beverly Hills home of his aunt looking for his gay cousin who auditioned to fill the Arabian/Jewish cast role for the upcoming American Dreamz season.
• In the tradition of all good satires, there is not a happy-ending. Unless you consider the president ditching his VP and hiring his wife as chief of staff a happy-ending?
So, if you need a mindless break or just want to re-consider all these issues we talk about in the “political context” in a different, refreshing context, add American Dreamz to your Netflix queue.
note: I have not received any compensation from the movie or netflix for posting this…
Just When I Thought I Got Republicans…
I’ve lately been making an effort to understand the methodology and reasoning behind being conservative. I’ve tried to stay away from my past notions of selfishness or dogmatic religious doctrine as reasons. Basically I came up with the idea that conservatives reject new stuff and want things to be like they were in the imaginary “good ol’ days.” They say things like “small government” and “no taxes.”
But in all seriousness, I can understand a pro-family values candidate. Someone who stands up and says that you know what there’s too many divorces, abortions, and out of wed lock births in this country. It makes perfect sense to me that someone that really represents the ideal American family man should make a fine presidential nominee.
Enter Fred Thompson, the moral majority’s guy. Family values up the wazoo, etc. right?! HAVE YOU SEEN HIS WIFE>?
(no, that’s not her Dad, or her Grandpa it’s her HUSBAND! Atta’ boy Freddy.)
Yeah, that’s her… And she’s HOT! And 25 years younger than him. She’s almost young enough to write for this blog. So, to recap:
The guy running for the Republican nomination as the family man, family values and all that stuff divorced his wife whom he married when he was 17 in 1959. He lost the old one, and upgraded to a woman who’s certainly easy on the eyes, but what does that say about his high morals? What kind of example does this set? And how on Earth can the moral majority’s candidate marry someone, after getting a divorce no less, who’s that much younger?
Further, his daughter died of a drug overdose in 2002. What kind of parenting skills does that show, you know? I’m not saying that it’s Thompson’s fault for his daughter’s actions but come on! Doesn’t the candidate have to actually do the things he says he believes in? Like protect the “sanctity of marriage?”
Once again, the Republicans blow me away. If anyone can clear this matter up for me I’d love to understand all of this. Oh, and one last note on Thompson: he supports the war, his plan on immigration is to build a big wall, and has ties to Karl Rove. Who can possibly like this guy?
Three’s Company
The New York Times reported today that there was a brief (three minutes to be exact) conversation today between American and Iranian officials at a conference on Iraq which is being held at Sharm el Sheik, Egypt. This come just a day after Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice met with her Syrian counterpart for the first time in… well, let’s just say it’s been a while. The participants in today’s discussion were Ryan Cocker, the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, David Satterfield, a senior advisor to Iraq and an unnamed Iranian deputy foreign minister. Neither side would disclose what was talked about in the “impromptu” conversation but I can only guess it went a little something like this:
Cocker: Man, this bathroom line is long!
Satterfield: Seriously, I knew that fourth cup of Sanka was a bad idea.
Cocker: Have you seen that video of Bush dancing yet?
Satterfield: Yeah, what a douche huh?
Cocker: Tell me about it.
Satterfield: Crap…
Cocker: What?
Satterfield: There’s an Iranian minister coming right at us.
Cocker: Maybe he’s just making a run to the chocolate fountain.
Satterfield: I don’t think so I saw him going Sanka for Sanka with me earlier, but that reminds me did you try those little éclair things they have over there to dip in the chocolate? SO GOOD!
Cocker: I know, right? They’re so yummy! Not like I need to eat them though I look like a whale.
Satterfield: Shut up! You do not you look amazing!
Cocker: Please, have you seen these love handles?
Satterfield: Whatever, you’re crazy… shhhh, shhh, he’s coming. Be cool. Be cool.
Deputy Iranian foreign minister (DIFM): gets into bathroom line behind Cocker and Satterfield Oh, uh, hello gentlemen, fancy meeting you here…
Satterfield: Oh, uh, hey man, how is…. uh… how’s it going?
DIFM: Oh, well… uh… you know… it’s going…
Cocker: So, uh, you guys… you guys doing alright over there in Iran and all?
DIFM: Oh yeah, we’re doing great…
Cocker: Cool, cool….
Awkward 35 second pause
DIFM: Man, these bathroom lines are just the worst aren’t they?
Satterfield: Totally.
Cocker: Totally… so, um, listen… since you’re here I gotta ask… is there any way you guys could um… well, you know, see the thing is…
Satterfield: …the thing is we’re kind of in a bind with this whole “Iraq” thing and we we’re hoping maybe you could throw us a bone or something.
DIFM: What is this, “throw you a bone”?
Cocker: You know, help us out a little. Maybe you could just back off your nuclear program a bit… an, uh, if it wouldn’t be too much trouble… say that the reason you’re doing it is because George Bush is an amazing man who instills fear in the hearts of radical Islamists everywhere and you bow to his strength and wisdom.
Satterfield: If it’s not too much trouble that is.
DIFM: No, not a chance, death to America.
Even more awkward 50 second pause
Cocker: So, do you watch Lost?
DIFM: I never miss an episode, best show on TV if you ask me, also, what’s the deal with Dancing With the Stars? Why isn’t Joey from Blossom on it anymore?
Cocker: You got me on that one, that man is God’s gift to dancing…
It’s good to see that our government is really dealing with pressing global issues isn’t it?