I'm Voting Republican...

This is excellent.

Happy Birthday, Professor

Best. Counterprotest. Ever.

Fred “GOD HATES FAGS” Phelps and his band of hate-mongering motherfuckers like to show up and “protest” at various public events, funerals of soldiers, etc. seeking publicity for their twisted cause, and ultimately hoping to inflame to the point that someone punches one of them out and they can sue—that's literally the Westboro Baptist Church business model.

Well they had no idea what they were dealing with when they set up shop across from the San Diego ComicCon.

Unbeknownst to the dastardly fanatics of the Westboro Baptist Church, the good folks of San Diego's Comic-Con were prepared for their arrival with their own special brand of superhuman counter protesting chanting "WHAT DO WE WANT" "GAY SEX" "WHEN DO WE WANT IT" "NOW!" while brandishing ironic (and some sincere) signs. Simply stated: The eclectic assembly of nerdom's finest stood and delivered.

The photos are filled with all kinds of win.

Daily Awesome

Working on a project at work, and I wanted to confirm using the term "The Old Country" in reference to Europe... Google led me to this.

Daily Awesome

This rules.

[HuffPo] Prepare to get your ass handed to you. While we're not sure what that actually means, we guarantee you that this guy is certainly capable of it. No description of his ability to rock will do this drummer justice - unless we simply write "amazing" over and over again. So we'll let the skins do the talking.

That clown from Cheap Trick is crying after watching this guy beat him at his own game.

It's over.

Gotta give props to Lee Dewyze and Simon Cowell for last night's American Idol. Cowell chose “Hallelujah” by Leonard Cohen (Jeff Buckley-style) for Dewyze to sing in the biggest moment of the competition. It's not a song I would have thought suited his more gruff / less pretty vocals—shows what I know. His performance was awesome. I wish the arrangement was kept simpler (ditch the horns, tone down the backing vocals in favor of Lee and his guitar along with the strings), but I think this just won him the competition. Check it out:



Not too shabby. I think a better arrangement would come as close as anyone to could to Buckley’s rendition—which I think is one of the finest vocal performances ever recorded.

UPDATE: k.d. lang's got some pipes too...

He's Coming!

It's the day after Easter, and you know what that means...

Links

"DONT TALK ABOUT GRAYSON"
That's what will be written on Sarah Palin's palm after this.

GAME SHOW POLITICS
This has been around for a little while, but I haven't. It's excellent: Democrats are playing "Jeopardy," while Republicans play "Family Feud."

BEATING THE DRUM
Kevin Drum rants about Republican mendacity—in this case, from Lindsay Graham—and at the end wonders, "Who do these guys think they're kidding?"

That's easy, Kevin: The guy sitting across the desk. And it's working.

TOM TOLES IS WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS

[h/t Ezra]

Movies

The local DVD shop on the corner is running a drawing: Put down your Top 10 Movies of the 2000s and they will draw a winner—and you'll win copies of those movies. So, in order to enter, I had to sit down and compile the list...

Now the Top 10 Movies I'd actually like to own/win may vary slightly from the ten movies I thought were the best—so here's what I think were the ten best movies (in no particular order):

There Will Be Blood -- I'm actually not even finished watching it (1:51 into it) and I can write it down with absolute certainty. Mrs F and I will continue it tomorrow night. A tour de force for Daniel Day Lewis and P.T. Anderson.

Gangs of New York -- It is over the top, cringingly violent and possibly the most tension-filled movie I've seen in years. Daniel Day Lewis had me shitting my pants every time he appeared onscreen.

Casino Royale -- Best Bond movie ever—don't try to argue otherwise. In fact calling it a "Bond movie" sells it very short—it is the only one that is actually a great film. I need to make Mrs F watch this.

Amelie -- Great story, and one of the most visually beautiful movies I've ever seen.

Memento -- His first, and possibly best film. Christopher Nolan hasn't made a bad movie yet.

Pride and Prejudice -- What?? Yes. Thoroughly charming and engrossing. It's on our DVR and I can sit and get sucked in every time. Keira Knightley delivers some of the best dialogue of any film on this list.

Gladiator -- I just wanted to test the surround sound late one night after setting up the speakers...even though it was like 2:00 a.m. and I've seen it many times, and own the DVD, I sat and watched the whole damn movie. Again. Should go down as one of the great epic movies ever.

Lord of the Rings -- I'm counting them all as one spot to save space for other movies. Return of the King is the best of the trilogy if you make me pick.

The Dark Knight -- Heath Ledger's Joker is one of the best performances I've ever seen. He carries what is already the best superhero film to the next level.

Pan's Labyrinth -- Fantasy? Fairy Tale? Fable? Nightmare? All of the above and thrilling and scary too.

Honorable Mentions: Mystic River, Children of Men, O Brother Where Art Thou, Adaptation, Capote, No Country for Old Men, You Can Count on Me

The DVDs I'd want to win? Realistically, the only people in this house that watch the DVDs we own are the kids, so I should just write down the PIXAR catalog, but that's not the point of this exercise. So, accounting for Mrs F's tastes, and taking some of the above list out because we already have them, and those don't call for repeated, casual viewing (too much Daniel Day Lewis is bad for my blood pressure) allows me to add a few other favorites...

The Fellowhip of the Ring
The Two Towers
The Return of the King (pretty sure I need to separate them for this list)
The Dark Knight
Casino Royale
Pride and Prejudice (TiVo won't suffice, need a hard copy)
Memento (only saw it in the theater, and wold love to be able to dissect it)
O Brother
Star Trek
Amelie (We had the DVD, but I lent it out to everyone at my old job, and it's gone.)


Movies on everyone else's lists I have yet to see?
The Departed, Donnie Darko, Eternal Sunshine, City of God, Hurt Locker, Monster, Almost Famous, 25th Hour

Quote of the Day

Michael Steele says there's no such thing as black dialect, in his blog "What Up?"

Roger Ebert on Twitter

Behold...

15 inches of snow measured in West Asheville
ASHEVILLE CITIZEN-TIMES — Friday’s winter snow storm dumped a whopping 15 inches of snow on West Asheville, according to the National Weather Service.

About 11.5 inches of snow was measured on the ground 6 miles north northwest of Asheville through about 7:45 p.m., the NWS reports. Waynesville recorded 13.8 inches of snow.

Snow totals for other locations in WNC through Friday evening:
- Linville: 12 inches
- Fletcher: 10.5 inches
- Woodlawn (McDowell County): 13 inches
- Little Switzerland: 9.3 inches
- Burnsville: 4.5 inches

Little Switzerland can kiss my ass!

Despite the fact that we have no power at home (since last night around 10:00), this is pretty awesome. We haven't had real snow since we moved from Michigan.

Let this be an offical "Mr Furious Heartily Endorses..." endorsement: All-Wheel-Drive Subarus rock. Last night on the way home I plowed through I don't know how many inches of snow on snow-filled streets, passing dozens of abandoned cars on the highway in a few short miles.

This morning on the way into town in search of gas, some groceries, firewood and ATM cash, the only thing that slowed me down at all, was our totally unplowed street because the snow between the tire tracks was high-centering the car—it was ten inches high! But the lean, mean aquamarine machine persevered—bad front tires and all.

I'm in the office to grab my extra camera batteries, post this, and I'm off to complete my mission. Unfortunately, my card reader is back at home, so pics will come later.

Quote of the Day

"[Tea baggers and conservative bloggers] want Obama to be ruthless and authoritarian because they want to think of themselves as a heroic resistance. They evoke Hitler not because they fear another Hitler, their very obsession with Nazi imagery betrays their attraction; no, they're longing for a Leader, a Hitler of their own. Even a Hitler in high heels, if you can picture such a lady, and I think we all can..." — James Wolcott, Vanity Fair

Al Franken Fan Club — Sign Me Up

Al Franken Is The Change We've Been Waiting For

Seriously. This guy is good.

I don't think there's another Senator in either party that can stand there and have that kind of discussion with a crowd—particularly a crowd of his political adversaries.

He's informed, he's engaged and engaging, he speaks clearly and directly and treats the people he's talking to like adults. He answered every question and treated each questioner with respect—and received it in kind.

Every one of those teabaggers will walk away from that conversation, at the very least, questioning what they thought they knew going in. Some might even walk away persuaded.

The GOP should be scared shitless of that guy—maybe they already are and that's why they stalled the election certification so long.

As for the rest of the Democrats—all the way up to Obama: Watch, and take fucking notes, you jackasses.

[h/t Balloon Juice]

Rep. Henry Waxman Fan Club

Sign me up. As Booman says, "Waxman is a stud-hoss." Waxman's Energy and Commerce Committee has put together a website with analysis of every Congressional district in the country and exactly how screwed each community is by the current health care system, and how much reform will help...

The Committee has prepared, for each member, a district-level analysis of the impact of the legislation. This analysis includes information on the impact of the legislation on small businesses, seniors in Medicare, health care providers, and the uninsured. It also includes an estimate of the impacts of the surtax that is used to pay for the legislation.

The results summary for my district:

America’s Affordable Health Choices Act would provide significant benefits in the 11th Congressional District of North Carolina: up to 17,200 small businesses could receive tax credits to provide coverage to their employees; 12,000 seniors would avoid the donut hole in Medicare Part D; 700 families could escape bankruptcy each year due to unaffordable health care costs; health care providers would receive payment for $120 million in uncompensated care each year; and 134,000 uninsured individuals would gain access to high-quality, affordable health insurance. Congressman Heath Shuler represents the district.

It then breaks the numbers down in more detail and gives this: "The surtax would not affect 99.2% of taxpayers in the district."

Cronkite's Heir

The whole thing is good, but the payoff at the end is freaking awesome.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
William Jefferson Airplane
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Spinal Tap Performance

Bridge to Nowhere—In a Good Way…

I cannot believe The High Line [article, slideshow, another article] is real and actually finally happened. Makes me SO want to move back to New York.

Greatest. City. In. The. World.

UPDATE: More from the Times. Plus, a Flickr pool.

"It's got a cop motor, cop tires, cop shocks..."

And I thought Mrs F wasn't a fan of the Technicolor Dreamcar...

When I told her that if I had found this car before the Subaru, it'd be parked out front, she declared, "Are you kidding me? I would DIE before I'd let you drive me around in that thing. I'd lie on the floor—"

"Yeah? I'd make you sit in the backseat. Like a suspect."

Seriously. I want it. I've always wanted it. The only way it could be better is if it was a Grand Fury.

Bombs Away

Shep Smith has seemingly strayed from the dark side of late, and here he lets loose on two FOX News clowns "debating" torture.



Awesome.

Easter's Over—Watch Your Back!

It's the day after Easter, and you know what that means...



Best. YouTube. Ever.

Brilliance From Just Ten Sentences...

It was just over a year ago when I first heard they were making this movie. While it didn't build the same level of anticipation within me that the Lord of the Rings did, I was pretty freaking excited. Rumors that the project was falling apart left me crestfallen, but apparently everything worked out and the trailer is here.

And it looks fucking amazing.

I'm not embedding it, because it's an Apple Exclusive, and all the embeds I've seen have been choppy and shitty. Just go to Apple and watch it as big as you can.

GO. NOW.