Thursday, March 6, 2008

Putting A Shine On Fridays!




Is this a real coffee table book?, Nyahhhh, but you never know, they've got coffee table books for just about everything these days. And thus my first object of illumination:




1) Other Coffee Table Books You'll Probably NEVER See
In Your Friendly Neighborhood Barnes and Noble:







And HERE is a CNN feature on some REAL weird coffee table books.

And last but certainly not least, Amazon carries THIS volume on, you guessed it, COFFEE TABLES!


2) Passing The Torch #2994: This week, syndicated Miami Herald columnist Leonard Pitts wrote a very cool column of his experience in passing words of wisdom to an aspiring high-school age journalist. The basic gist was this, that STILL, by some miracle in an age of unreason and when people like Bill O'Reilly and their ilk labor under the foolish notion that one wins an argument based solely on the volume level or viciousness of said argument, that some are persuaded by actual words and logic. This young journalist had written a column taking to task the wearing and display of Confederate flags (something referred to as some as The American Swastika) and of course he was expecting flack but wasn't quite prepared for threats to his person. Leonard counseled him very compassionately and in such a manner that encouraged him to keep going and stick to his principles. Better still, one person that read that column saw the light and "retired" his wardrobe. The complete column HERE

3) The Old Bush Magic: Well George Dubbaya's gone and done it, he officially endorsed his former rival John McCain for prez. So, will the old "Bush Magic*" work for Insane McCain this fall? One could hope! (*Bush Magic = A well known quirk of George Bush Senior and Junior that when they say someone's doing a great job or endorse a person in ANY capacity, it's a sure fire kiss-of-death to that person's career and/or reputation)

4) Admitting It Is One Thing--: But when will our ever so vigilant FBI (Federal Bureau of Incompetence) show the proper remorse over recent revelations that it KNOWINGLY obtained personal information on innocent Americans improperly and WITHOUT ANY just cause whatsoever for FOUR YEARS RUNNING!!? William Moeller, I know a good sackcloth and ashes dealer just down the street from you-- (STORY HERE) And wouldn't you know it, the FBI has had 39% FEWER referrals and prosecutions since 2001, you're slipping here guys! Story HERE.
And it's not looking too good for the White House Clowns either,Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington has just bought before a Federal court allegations that the White House has made numerous false and misleading statements regarding e-mails that it was under legal obligation and orders from a Federal judge to preserve but deleted anyway. All I can say is this, there HAVE to be special circles or places in Hell for people like the shamelessly lawless and amoral Bush Administration, one could hope anyway. The story HERE

5) Comedy Changing Culture? A fascinating new book has surfaced recently that has my interest, a profile of a number of innovative and cutting-edge comedians and how they've served to alter our culture, and have us laughing at and even confronting once taboo subjects. Starting with George Carlin's rise to prominence in the late 60's, "Comedy At The Edge" examines how a slew of comics in the late 60's through early 80's stripped away the sugar-coating and got us to not be so uptight with certain subject matter. Richard Zoglin did his research alright, delving into the workings and psyches of folks like George Carlin, Robert Klein, Richard Pryor, Steve Martin, Albert Brooks, Andy Kaufman (who started to lean more towards performance art in many ways) and the rise of a young upstart by the name of Jerry Seinfeld by the early 80's. Wondering why you laugh at and WHO you laugh at sometimes, take a look at this book, the insights and answers just might surprise you.


HAPPY FRIDAY Y'ALL!!

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