Mjaft.


"I think at the end of the day, you know, he'd made like 500 bucks before she hung herself." (via M*tafilt*r)


Blogstipation.

"A killing
at the heart of all their stories

and if we meet as lovers
cop and the chief suspect"

--R*gina Nig*r, Th* Cat Who Cough*d Up a Hairball (2007)

"...up to 2 million Iraqis have moved to neighboring countries, mainly Syria and Jordan, before and since the war, while 1.7 million are internally displaced."


"Life resembles a novel more often than novels resemble life." --G*org* Sand


"Wide are men's inquiries into uncertainties; wider still are their disputes about conjectures. However great the difficulty of adducing proofs, the labour of producing conviction is not one whit less; so that the gloomy Heraclitus was quite right, when, observing the thick darkness which obscured the researches of the inquirers about the soul, he declared that he had certainly not explored the limits of the soul, although he had traversed every road in her domains." --T*rtullian

Good-Latim*r Tunn*l adios.


WHPO*G*.


   "Ditau"

pill crow mob owl light
or Nixonian mirror
foundations crack lan nackward walks pull Karnak
furry grout
your radint down black Ixion iron
pig mask irony


Loving Sør*n.

   "Stand Up Against the Surge

The purpose of this old-fashioned newspaper crusade to stop the war is not to make George W. Bush look like the dumbest president ever. People have done dumber things. What were they thinking when they bought into the Bay of Pigs fiasco? How dumb was the Egypt-Suez war? How massively stupid was the entire war in Vietnam? Even at that, the challenge with this misbegotten adventure is that WE simply cannot let it continue.

It is not a matter of whether we will lose or we are losing. We have lost. Gen. John P. Abizaid, until recently the senior commander in the Middle East, insists that the answer to our problems there is not military. "You have to internationalize the problem. You have to attack it diplomatically, geo-strategically," he said.

His assessment is supported by Gen. George W. Casey Jr., the senior American commander in Iraq, and the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who only recommend releasing forces with a clear definition of the goals for the additional troops.

Bush's call for a "surge" or "escalation" also goes against the Iraq Study Group. Talk is that the White House has planned to do anything but what the group suggested after months of investigation and proposals based on much broader strategic implications.

About the only politician out there besides Bush actively calling for a surge is Sen. John McCain. In a recent opinion piece, he wrote: "The presence of additional coalition forces would allow the Iraqi government to do what it cannot accomplish today on its own -- impose its rule throughout the country. ... By surging troops and bringing security to Baghdad and other areas, we will give the Iraqis the best possible chance to succeed." But with all due respect to the senator from Arizona, that ship has long since sailed.

A surge is not acceptable to the people in this country -- we have voted overwhelmingly against this war in polls (about 80 percent of the public is against escalation, and a recent Military Times poll shows only 38 percent of active military want more troops sent) and at the polls. We know this is wrong. The people understand, the people have the right to make this decision, and the people have the obligation to make sure our will is implemented.

Congress must work for the people in the resolution of this fiasco. Ted Kennedy's proposal to control the money and tighten oversight is a welcome first step. And if Republicans want to continue to rubber-stamp this administration's idiotic "plans" and go against the will of the people, they should be thrown out as soon as possible, to join their recent colleagues.

Anyone who wants to talk knowledgably about our Iraq misadventure should pick up Rajiv Chandrasekaran's "Imperial Life in the Emerald City: Inside Iraq's Green Zone." It's like reading a horror novel. You just want to put your face down and moan: How could we have let this happen? How could we have been so stupid?

As The Washington Post's review notes, Chandrasekaran's book "methodically documents the baffling ineptitude that dominated U.S. attempts to influence Iraq's fiendish politics, rebuild the electrical grid, privatize the economy, run the oil industry, recruit expert staff or instill a modicum of normalcy to the lives of Iraqis."

We are the people who run this country. We are the deciders. And every single day, every single one of us needs to step outside and take some action to help stop this war. Raise hell. Think of something to make the ridiculous look ridiculous. Make our troops know we're for them and trying to get them out of there. Hit the streets to protest Bush's proposed surge. If you can, go to the peace march in Washington on January 27. We need people in the streets, banging pots and pans and demanding, "Stop it, now!" "

--Molly Ivins

(via comput*rclubhous* dot org slash flagship)


   "Zaitux"

hooks solid
pools skid ash ask rook
claypit night adorn child road

wobbly blindfold psalm is skim with odd taiga
ostrich thrifty walking as rich grout
solid pools skin sculpt or vacuum

typical spool poor
stir in again what storp forward addict hogans


Without as-if, language dances in leg irons.


"To Americans raised on the persistent myth of the trackless wilderness and the dusky savage, this idea that the first European [Ponce de León] to officially set foot in what became the continental United States was greeted by a Spanish-speaking Indian is astonishing. (It was bad enough that the first Indian met by the Pilgrims in Massachusetts a century later spoke English.)" --Schn*id*r


On my victrola- Th* V*ry B*st of P*ggy L** (thanx M*lani*!)


Strang* Pi*c* of Paradis*.


Adios Molly.

Russian birch bark books. (via dbqp)


"The writer is not totally untalented, but it looks as if he is putting on paper miserable adventure stories with a sneer." "Say the name "Fu Manchu" and most people immediately conjure up an image of the bewhiskered villain. The evil, drooping mustache served Joe Namath well, and it inspired names for everything from orchids to tropical fish to Tiki mugs. ...Unfortunately, Fu Manchu had no mustache. The mustache was added in the movies..."

"Wow, now that the annual Screen Actors Guild awards have been presented, we're one step to closer to Oscar.  Last night's ceremony held no surprises, so this email will be brief.  As expected, the awards for individual motion picture performances went to this season's usual suspects:
Best Actress - Helen Mirren ("The Queen")
Best Actor - Forest Whitaker ("The Last King of Scotland")
Best Supporting Actress - Jennifer Hudson ("Dreamgirls")
Best Supporting Actor - Eddie Murphy ("Dreamgirls")
Of the four, Mirren is the only one I would have pegged as invulnerable to a last minute upset; however, now that all four have captured Golden Globes and SAG prizes, I can't see them stumbling at the finish line--and even if they'd lost at the SAGs, I don't think they'd be down from the count, far from it.  Instead, their respective races might have seemed more like contests instead of walks through the park, thus bringing the excitement and competition to the Oscars.
The prize for Best Ensemble performance was awarded to "Little Miss Sunshine," which over the past week or so was also named the yer's best film by the Producers Guild of America.   A lot of journalists who cover the SAG awards liken the Best Ensemble category to a Best Picture equivalent.  The same journalists like to point out the top SAG prize often mirrors the Academy's choice for Best Picture.  Sometimes, yes, but not always:  "Apollo 13," "The Birdcage," "The Full Monty," "Traffic," "Gosford Park" and "Sideways" are movies that copped the SAG prize but failed to won the Best Picture Oscar.  [And the SAG awards a we now know them only go back as far as 1995, so there's not a lot of history there.]
And why wouldn't "Little Miss Sunshine" be named the year's best ensemble?  After all, as has been pointed out, the six principal characters share almost every scene, and  a huge chunk of the movie takes place in a single--albeit mobile--setting, A VW mini-bus.  This is a true ensemble effort unlike, say, "Babel," which features intersecting three stories, each with its own cast, spread out over four countries (Morocco, Mexico, Japan, and the United States).  That's not a criticism, just an observation.  My point is, Best Picture is still too early to call.  From here, "Little Miss Sunshine" looks good, but historically its chances at the Best Picture Oscar are reduced because it lacks a nominated director (or, in this case, directors).
The tv winners included Hugh Laurie ("House"), America Ferrera ("Ugly Betty"), Alec Baldwin ("30 Rock"), and Chandra Wilson ("Grey's Anatomy"). And, oh yeah, Helen Mirren for portraying Elizabeth I in a teleflick.
Other highlights: the Mary Tyler Moore Show cast reunion (with a smashing Valerie Harper), and  Dick Van Dyke onstage to present Julie Andrews her Lifetime Achievement trophy.  Also: wee Abigail Breslin being escorted onstage by co-stars Greg Kinnear, Alan Arkin, and Steve Carrell to accept the award for "Little Miss Sunshine."  I liked America Ferrera's speech about  her peers in the union knowing both sides of success--and why that made the award mean so much to her.  That's the kind of speech that has resonance for audiences, as opposed to reading a list of names of agents, handlers, etc.  FYI to Forest Whitaker: Sweetie, you're the frontrunner for the Oscar and since you've won practically every award of the season, you really should be prepared.  Please work on that by next month.
The Screen Actors Guild Awards are usually a lowkey fashion affair, so not a whole lot to ponder for Best Dressed honors. I loved Kyra Sedgwick's beaded strapless number, but find myself at a loss to accurately describe the color.  Coco, maybe?  And I loved her updo. The verdict?  Much improved since the Golden Globes.  I was also wowed by the gold toned gown worn by Cate Blanchett.  What a knockout!
Okay, that's all for now....but stay tuned.
Mp"

Brick toss*d by th* Pacific Oc*an.

   "XXV.

CHESSBISHOPS SHY TO ADHERE
to the juncture, to the bottom, to the crown,
to the underside of the numerators on foot.
Chessbishops and hotbeds of tiny lupines.

When the lee of each caravel recoils,
unravelled without americanizing,
they yield the plough handles with spasms of misfortune,
with puny pulse ill-accustomed
to blowing their noses on the backs of their wrists.
And the most acute treblesonance
gets tonsured and down, and fully
innazalates toward the icicles
of infinite pity.

Splendid backs are snorting
while bearing, hanging from musty breast-straps,
the silken badges with their seven colors
under zero, going from the guano islands
to the guano islands.
So much for the sores on the foul weather of poor
faith.
So much for the time of the rounds. So much for the rodeo
for the future plans,
when innanimate italics relate solely
disappointed tiptoed crusades.

They come then chessbishops to adhere
even to the false doors and the scratchpads."

--Smith's Trilc*


And what is transcendence but "else also" embodied?


Qosqo.

(via atmos dot washington dot *du slash gcg slash Atlas)


   "Zorami"

cryptic dragoman · with you through spiralling shadows
group coffin tryst walk

gruffly colorful can truant look
old maroon tarbush grim wailing bismuth born
labyrinth burning · star shroud

knowingly
burning catwalk pumas · glass isthmus
Rosicrucian dark
archways ozonous upon jaguar any


Tig*r Forc*.


Ic* Ag* Columbus. (thanx K*n!)

With only exclusive-OR, the ego has to reject or identify with the unconscious--both pathological outcomes. On the one hand, denial and the persecution of "enemies"; on the other, a humorless antinomialism whose further limit is crime. But with nonexclusive-OR, the ego can acknowledge and accept the unconscious. --On my car radio just now, "Werewolves of London."

A string on Holosync.


Found on "Sloan* 313" hunt. And. Plus.


Lunar months.

Laino.


Command*r X.


"Don Tendai lit cap
millibar denim agog
retro Babel asks
atari Jehu hejira
task saleb abort
ergo gamine drab ill impact
Iliad net nod."

--Lamont Craisin


On my victrola- Subotnick- Th* Wild Bull


Compromise as the natural and desired outcome.


"In 1525 Esteban Gómez, a Portuguese pilot working for Spain, returned from a voyage along the coast from New England to Cape Breton and word got around that he had discovered cloves growing there. To some in Seville, cloves implied that a route to the spice-laden orient of Columbus's dreams was found at last. The only problem was that what Gómez really said he had found was not clavos but esclavos, not cloves but slaves. --Paul Schn*id*r, Brutal Journ*y (2006)

(via distill*d*y* dot com)


"There is something in Latin America which can be explained only by the inexplicable." --G*rmán Arcini*gas, Latin Am*rica (1967)


Philosophically, if logical "true" is only not-as if (instead of fundamental), this accords well with the idea that while falsification of a theory is always possible, there is no final truth


star you call Sigma Draconis
atavist Zavijava
iron in pools such accrual
raucous flagrancy a ostrich
silk Ogpu ambush harsh way prog
that scuzzy Jodhpur


Kool.

"On Acoustica, Alarm Will Sound obviously tackles the work of...Aphex Twin on this release and amazingly play them all acoustically (with the only exception being electric bass). The songs themselves are turned into pieces that breath with strings, brass, woodwinds and live percussionists, along with some vocals."


"(For a minute I thought this might be some kind of hoax a la John Lurie’s latter day black-face Marvin Pontiac Zip Coon act...)" (via M*tafilt*r)