The Senate will always need a Robert Byrd →
He overcame his embarrassing opposition to civil rights and became an important critic of executive power (via Salon)
USA v. Ghana, rendered in Legos. Including the goal by my celebrity boyfriend, Asamoah Gyan. (via www.legofussball.eu)
In the aftermath of the US’s 2-1 loss to Ghana, a nation the size of Oregon, no fan in the US should be grumpy as well. Yes, it was a bitter, tough defeat. Yes, Landon Donovan spoke for many when he said to ESPN afterward, “It sucks man…. Soccer is a cruel game.” Yes, the US seemed overmatched in the first half, and as coach Bob Bradley said, “fell behind one too many times.” But it’s not a day to cry in our beer. It’s a day to appreciate the electric excitement of Ghana’s victory and look back fondly the terrific run by the US team. We should remember the rugged grace of Ghana’s goaltender Richard Kingston who made save after save. We should also appreciate the play of US keeper Tim Howard who fought his way all the way up the field into the Ghanaian goal box and almost scored on Kingston himself in extra time. We should be satisfied that, despite the best efforts of Glenn Beck’s lunatic, nativist, anti-soccer rants, the sport has taken a major step forward in the USA, with the ratings to prove it.
Girlcotting Urban Outfitters →
“Fathers, It’s Up to You to Preserve Your Daughters’ Virginity”? I wish I could see some irony there, but I can’t seem to find it. Anybody?
Rockpile — When I Write A Book
This is enough to make me want to buy a car.
Cats and vuvuzelas FTW!
daniel extra: Americans Too Greedy for National Sacrifice? →
Katha Pollitt, in the current (June 28, 2010) issue of The Nation, begins her column recounting how World War II was “the last time Americans accepted the challenge of sacrifice in pursuit of common goals.” War had necessitated rationing, conservation, war bond purchasing, and other…
The source for that "100 Best Novels" list... →
I am still not understanding the top ten or the Heinlein.
Apart from 1984, the top 10 on the reader’s list is beyond laughable. I don’t want to know the people who contributed to that list.
From the About the Lists page:
Since the “100 Best” story first broke in The New York Times on Monday, July 20, 1998, all kinds of opinions about the list - and theories about the Modern Library’s purpose in concocting such a contest of sorts - emerged… The readers’ poll for the best novels published in the English language since 1900 opened on July 20, 1998 and closed on October 20, 1998, with 217,520 votes cast.Translation: Greater Wingnuttia, which was in the throes of the Lewinsky scandal at the time this poll was conducted, got their collective shorts in a bunch when the Communist Dictatorship of the Times suggested they might be compiling a list of important works of literature. Fearing that Stalin’s Big Ol’ Guide For Baby Killin’ And Homo Lovin’ might make the list, the population of Greater Wingnuttia stuffed the proverbial ballot box. And thus we have a list that proves USians are loud, ignorant, opinionated bullies who really might become extinct by 2012 if they don’t get their shit together.
The best that we can do is to be kindly and helpful toward our friends and fellow passengers who are clinging to the same speck of dirt while we are drifting side by side to our common doom.
