New Iraqi Leader Chosen

I find this one to be pretty puzzling. Granted, she has her own unique style and everyone seems to really like her. And of course, the fact that she comes from humble beginnings will make her more empathetic to the average Iraqi citizen. But I'm still disappointed that Fantasia Barrino has been named the new prime minister. I hope they at least let her finish the summer tour. Obviously Jon Peter Lewis would have been a much better fit.

A Conversation With Charlie (Age 3) In The Car Last Night (Joined Midway Through)

HIM: So we need to get another Lion King video that isn't scary.
ME: Okay, well, we'll look for that.
HIM: But I don't want to watch Brother Bear cause that's scary too. That's a little bit scary, Dad.
ME: Yeah, let's not watch that.
HIM: But you can watch it.
ME: Okay, I'll put it on my list.
HIM: You and mom can watch it. After I go to bed.
ME: Yeah, that sounds like a great idea.
(long pause of about 30 seconds)
HIM: Dad! Dad!
ME: What?! What is it?
HIM: Are we real?

Got a thing on the McSweeney's site.

Topical. Sort of funny. It's here.

Ah, Now THAT'S Some Swedish Drama

If you haven't already, please become aware of Strindberg & Helium

Dear Person Ahead Of Me In Line At Starbucks,

You are, what, 20? You will have so many muffins over the course of your life. It doesn't really matter which one you pick this morning. So just pick one. Okay?

Love,
John

I Don't Often Link to George W. Bush's Website...

But this is pretty funny. Here is his "Compassion Photo Album". And it's, like, mostly of Bush touching, assisting, and lurking around black people. The Health Care section is mostly him hanging out with health care workers and sick people, the Social Security section is him making speeches about the issue and hanging out with old people but Compassion is, evidently, mostly about black people.
The LA Times had some fun with this.

Paradigm Shift

So I saw this woman on the street talking to herself and just assumed that she had one of those wireless cell phone head sets on. Nope. Crazy person. Good job wireless headset marketers, you've repositioned societal assumptions!

The Cruise Authority is a Waffler!

Which is it, Cruise Authority? Right or Left? And more importantly, do I get a discount if I do both?

Erroneous Sussiptions

So my 3-year-old son Charlie is trying out the word "suspect" but he chooses the very alt pronunciation "sussept" as in "I sussept I want to watch a video". Here was our conversation in the car yesterday:

HIM: Dad, I sussept that butterflies have small wings and bees have big wings.
ME: Well, I think it's the other way around. Bees have very short little wings and butterflies have really big long wings.
HIM: No, I sussept bees have long wings.
ME: You know who has really long wings? Dragonflies.
HIM: I sussept dragons turn into dragonflies. Dragons turn into dragonflies, Dad.
ME: Oh. Does butter turn into butterflies?
HIM: No. That's silly.

Oh, I'm Sure You've All Seen This...

But it is pretty funny. (thanks to the estimable C-Diddy).

But Stupid People Might Not Make It Through The Article

Jacob Weisberg of Slate has come under some criticism over the years for his cottage industry of "Bushisms". And while it's certainly true that written transcripts of things expressed verbally can make most people appear stupid, this article in Slate takes the whole "Bush is stupid" issue quite a bit deeper. Good reading. You moron.

In Other News...

Baseball's integrity is somehow besmirched.

The #1 Choice
Eli Manning was the first overall pick in this year's NFL draft. Almost won the Heisman trophy. But now he faces a tough choice: accept the fame and riches of football or pursue his passion for web design?

It's Like Graffiti

But more bleak!

A what to Clay Aiken?

A WHAT?

There may be more trenchant political sites...

But none has a URL as good as this one.

Whew...
For a minute I almost thought this was an actual news story and not a made up joke one.
...
What? It is real?

Shocker
I can't believe that The American Prospect would come out and say something like this about the Bush re-election effort.

A Tropical Paradise

Like most people, my ultimate dream in life is a leisurely cruise with Ed Gillespie and Dinesh D'Souza. Of course, if Kerry wins this would be a pretty interesting cruise to take.

Talk About Being On Message!
Via the estimable Wonkette:

The U.S. Treasury says:
"America has a choice: It can continue to grow the economy and create new jobs as the President's policies are doing; or it can raise taxes on American families and small businesses, hurting economic recovery and future job creation."
And the RNC also says:
"America has a choice: It can continue to grow the economy and create new jobs as the President's polices are doing; or it can raise taxes on American families and small businesses, hurting economic recovery and future job creation."

Great minds think alike, no? Or something. OK, OK, you could call this using taxpayer money to produce campaign literature. We prefer to think of it as thrifty. Of course, some people think of it as illegal. Whatever.